‘The Challenge’s Jordan Wiseley on ‘War of the World 2’s Teams & Proposing on the Show
Q&A
Ready for a second season of The Challenge: War of the Worlds?
This time, however, it’s the U.S. team vs. the U.K. team, which makes it extremely difficult for some of the veteran players who have grudges from past seasons, Jordan Wiseley told TV Insider. And they also have to keep in mind the twists host T.J. Lavin is more than happy to drop at any moment.
“I’m always ready for a twist because no season is ever as it seems,” Jordan said. “I believe nothing that comes out of [T.J.’s] mouth.”
Here, Jordan previews the competition and players of The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2. Plus, find out why he proposed to girlfriend and fellow Challenger Tori Deal on the show.
The last time you were on The Challenge, not counting your appearance as a mercenary, you won Dirty 30. Did that change your approach to preparing for this season?
Jordan Wiseley: I had taken three seasons off before [Dirty 30], and I prepped the same way. I was worried for that one, [that they’d] treat me as a rookie, and they didn’t. I was able to come in and play my game and not have to make too many deals. I did the same thing with this one. I always work out like a madman and really prep for these things. There’s no reason I should ever get beat physically, but the game is so mental and it does require a little bit of luck to get through some of these things.
As far as alliances go, you just come in, and my game has always been to just compete and hope people side with that and let my performances do the talking.
(MTV)
Speaking of the mental aspect of the game, it must be different playing in the two-team format because you’re on a team with people you’re used to competing against. What are the biggest challenges?
Everyone likes to point the finger, and it’s so easy to do so. The hardest thing about working with a team is keeping your frustrations in check and also being able to hear everyone out. There’s a lot of times people just need to be heard, whether you use their ideas or not, and it can be hard to do that. T.J. explains the challenges and then we have limited time to strategize and then do it.
You said it exactly right. You’re normally competing against a lot of these people, so sometimes you’ll have a grudge against somebody. There was a lot of history that the Americans had to get over as we were working through this Challenge just because there were so many times that people backstabbed [each other].
Who from your team do you trust the most, other than Tori?
Zach Nichols and I did my very first Challenge together, his second Challenge, Rivals II. We butted heads, but we became really close, like brothers, and from then on, we’ve always had each other’s backs. We’ve even gone into elimination against each other, on Exes II, but I really believe I could trust that dude in The Challenge.
And who do you trust the least?
Probably Paulie. This is my first time playing with that guy, and just seeing how he plays and hearing about his past seasons, I’m like, “He’s kind of like a Wes and a Johnny put together.” That’s a very scary duo.
(MTV)
What do you think your team’s weaknesses are, other than having that history?
It comes down to physical shape sometimes and getting people to realize, “Hey, you’ve really got to push your body if you want to win.” There’s a difference in being a good Challenger and being someone who can win multiple times. People can slip up and fall into a win, but to do it multiple times, if you look at history and who’s actually done it, it shows that your body — your shape, your conditioning — has to be there.
The show has gotten harder and harder over the years. Some of these old Challengers don’t want to believe that. They think that they can just come in and just kind of be there. No, if you want to win, you gotta come in here a certain way. Getting some people to work out is very difficult.
And the strengths, other than knowing the game because most of you have played multiple seasons?
Strategy. These games, they’re not just so straightforward physically. We can look at what is out there and say, ‘Hey, we need to do it a very specific way to be faster.’ You don’t get any run-throughs. It’s first time who can do it the fastest or the best.
As someone who hasn’t competed against the U.K. players, what did you think of them and the alliance they formed last season?
Even if they had history, even if they had slept together and someone had cheated and it was a terrible breakup, they would still ride for each other in the game. I knew they were going to be very loyal, and I knew that that was going to be very hard to get over.
You proposed to Tori on the show. Can you talk about how you decided that was the perfect place and what you wanted to make sure was part of the special moment? I imagine that planning it must’ve been crazy.
Absolutely. I was actually very scared to do it on the show because I know a proposal is very big in a woman’s life. They want it to happen a certain way. We hadn’t really talked about it, but in my mind, I was like, ‘We met on the show. We’re out here. The show has forced us to be in this uncomfortable setting, and we’ve literally flourished.’
Before we left, I [thought], “this might happen.” As the show went on, I just knew, “I want to spend forever with this girl.” Lucky me, she was accepting of how it happened and luckily she said yes.
The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2, Season Premiere, Wednesday, August 28, 9/8c, MTV
