The Challenge stars Trishelle Cannatella and Rachel Robinson have solidified their status as two of the most powerful women to appear on reality television.
The iconic MTV stars received spots on Variety’s annual list, which features 30 influential reality TV stars.
While they debuted on MTV’s original shows The Real World and Road Rules, they joined The Challenge for multiple seasons thereafter.
Other shows with stars on the list include Jersey Shore, Below Deck, Vanderpump Rules, and The Real Housewives franchise.
Both Trishelle and Rachel had impressive returns to reality television in recent years, some of which included The Challenge.
As of this writing, Trishelle accomplished her first win on reality TV, while Rachel is appearing on MTV and looking to add another win to her resume.
Trishelle won her first reality TV competition in 2024
Trishelle’s debut arrived with MTV’s The Real World: Las Vegas 2002, which is considered an iconic season by many longtime fans. She appeared on four seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, with her last coming in 2013 on Rivals II when she quit on her partner, Sarah Rice.
Her return arrived eight years later when The Challenge: All Stars debuted on Paramount+ in 2021. She joined other OGs, including Aneesa Ferreira, Darrell Taylor, Kendal Sheppard, Mark Long, Derrick Kosinski, and Katie Cooley.
While her return for All Stars didn’t result in a trip to the final or winning season, it set her up for another reality TV show. Trishelle joined The Traitors Season 2 cast with fellow reality TV stars Johnny Bananas and Chris “CT” Tamburello.
Ultimately, The Challenge fans celebrated hard when Trishelle won the season with CT, outlasting other reality TV stars to split the prize money and add another accolade to their resumes.
Rachel returned for The Challenge: All Stars, Battle of the Eras
Rachel also took a long hiatus from reality TV. The Road Rules: Campus Crawl star appeared in eight seasons of MTV’s competition series, winning it twice. Viewers last saw her in 2012’s Battle of the Exes, where she and ex Aneesa Ferreira were eliminated before the final.
It wasn’t until this year’s All Stars 4 that Rachel returned to screens, competing with castmates including Laurel Stucky, Cara Maria Sorbello, Kam Williams, and Nicole Zanatta. Ultimately, she lost an axe-throwing elimination event to Cara, ending her time on the spinoff.
However, that opened the door for her next appearance, a return to MTV for the epic Battle of the Eras. Rachel outlasted the other nine competitors on her Eras 1 team. It initially featured several other former Challenge winners, including Mark, CT, Derrick, Darrel, and Jodi Weatherton, all of whom got eliminated.
As of this writing, Rachel has earned a spot in the Season 40 final, giving her a chance to win her third Challenge title.
According to Variety, their 2024 list features the 30 most influential women on reality TV over the past 12 months.
In addition to Trishelle and Rachel, other reality stars on Variety’s list include Jersey Shore’s Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, Summer House’s Lindsay Hubbard, and Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix.
Variety named The Challenge’s Tori Deal to their 40 Most Powerful Women list in 2023.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV. The Challenge: All Stars Rivals premieres Wednesday, January 29, at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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