Winning seven times on The Challenge is no easy feat, but Johnny Bananas has been testing out some new challenges in his time away from the show.
The winner of MTV’s reality competition series shared several preview clips as he participated in the sport of Murderball and did some free-falling, both of which could easily wind up on a future edition of The Challenge.
Bananas was ready to give both sports a go, although they really put the Total Madness winner to the test in some challenging new ways.
Johnny Bananas shares Murderball preview clip
In a clip from the upcoming episode of 1st Look, Johnny Bananas is trying a new game that’s never been on MTV’s The Challenge. It’s called Murderball, which almost sounds like something that TJ Lavin could unveil as a future elimination event.
However, Murderball is wheelchair rugby and features plenty of skills to play. Bananas will be put to the test as he gets his first look at the game.
“It’s the best sport no one’s ever seen,” Texas Stampede head coach James Gumbert says in part of a teaser clip that Johnny Bananas recently shared on Twitter and Instagram.
Based on the footage, the wheelchairs are specially designed for mobility and impact, with players participating who are highly skilled in the sport. In one highlight, wheelchairs collide, sending one player’s wheelchair tumbling over.
“What the h**l just happened?” Bananas asks in the fun preview video, which also features interview clips from members of the United States Wheelchair Rugby team.
The Texas Stampede also shared the above clip with a special message to thank Johnny Bananas and also let fans in their region know when to check out the show.
“Thanks @johnnybananas for giving it a go! Can’t wait to see if he has what it takes! Airtime in Austin is next Friday night 3am or on the Peacock app tonight!” the Stamped posted on their Twitter page.
Bananas will also try out free falling with Kyra Condie
In addition to playing some Murderball, viewers will see Johnny Bananas go free falling with Olympic athlete Kyra Condie, a competitive rock climber from Minnesota. She has an inspiring story which may be told on 1st Look, as she went from having life-threatening scoliosis to becoming a United States Olympian, per a WTOL 11 report.
She’ll be a competitor in sport climbing which makes its debut as an event at the Tokyo Olympics. It replicates the sport of mountain climbing and will feature three parts with speed climbing, bouldering, and lead climbing.
In a preview clip from NBC’s 1st Look, Kyra shows off the MoonBoard to Johnny Bananas, which features a hydraulic system and mobile app that can change up the climb to make it more challenging.
“Do you have a medic on hand? Because I promise you after what I’m about to try here, we might need one on call,” Bananas jokes with Kyra in the preview clip.
She then adjusts the incline of the climb, making it even more challenging for the seven-time Challenge champ as he tries to scall the wall.
Once again, one has to think these sorts of things will be something The Challenge producers will take note of for future installments of their show, although some of these components look quite familiar to various elimination events.
Bananas last appeared on MTV’s The Challenge: Total Madness season, which he won, giving him his seventh championship. He’s now on a hiatus as he hosts the 1st Look and Celebrity Sleepover shows on NBC. The latter will make its return this fall, and it seems Wes Bergmann could be Bananas’ first guest, based on some behind-the-scenes footage they shared online.
For those who want to check out Johnny Bananas’ Murderball and Free Falling attempts, 1st Look officially arrives on NBC on Saturday night right after Saturday Night Live concludes, typically around 1 a.m. Eastern Time or shortly thereafter.
The Challenge Season 37 premiere date is TBA for 2021 on MTV.