Tony on Averey Fight, Claim He Wanted to Go Home

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the Wednesday, August 28 episode of “Challenge 40: Battle of the Ages.”

If there’s one thing the “Challenge” crew — and viewers — know, it’s that TJ Lavin is no joke. He proved that all too well during the final episode. After Era 3 won the daily challenge, captains Tony and Avery were forced to choose which other team captains would face the losers, Jody and Darryl, in elimination. However, they couldn’t agree.

While Tony wanted to send Derek and Aviv to the scene, since that's who Daryl had asked for, Avery was too close to Derek and refused to turn on them, instead wanting to target Casey and Keland.

They knew that if they couldn't agree on who to send to the sand, TJ would. they They competed. And when neither of them would budge, that's exactly what happened. A very angry Avery claimed that Tony didn't want to be there, and eventually took out her anger by beating Jody in a very strategic puzzle. Tony wasn't so lucky, as Daryl defeated him and sent him home.

Below, Tony says, diverse On how he feels now about his choice, Avery claims he didn't want to be there and explains what he ate during the daily challenge.

We haven't seen you on the flagship series since “Final Reckoning.” Why was this the right time to return?

Well, any time is a good time for Tony Time. Sorry, I had to. I took a break from “The Challenge” and almost every season since “Final Reckoning,” I’ve gotten that phone call. Turning it down was one of the hardest things I could have done. I’ve missed the show so much. With this being my 40th season and me being off “All Stars,” this can’t be my last mark on the game.

I was very lucky to get a phone call at the age of 40 and I couldn't miss it. After returning to this mix of feelings and energy, I got a fever again. I hope I will be lucky enough to get another call. I will definitely accept because I missed it terribly.

What was it like to be back with all these people again? It's a lot of physical work, but a lot of this game is mental.

It was like riding a bike. I was back to normal. It felt so natural when I walked into that house. It was like this was where I was supposed to be.

Okay, let's get this episode started. Everyone knows you're a master of eating challenges, but which of these disgusting dishes did you eat? And how fast did you eat them?

I think I ate two bowls of the dishes. I know I ate the Thai chili worms and I remember it specifically because I only took the bowl. [gulped it down]I got some Thai chili sauce in my eye, so I'll never forget that incident. My eye was badly burned. I can't remember what the other thing was, but whatever it was, I saved it. This is not a challenge for me. I'm from the South. If you've seen some of the things we eat here, you'll understand.

But the worms were alive.

It's better to eat these things alive because that way you get all the nutrients. You don't want to cook the nutrients and vitamins. Let me tell you this, they didn't come out alive!

Okay, that's gross! Moving on to the next topic. You and Avery were team captains, so when Era 3 won, you had to decide who would go in the elimination match against Daryl and Jody, but you couldn't agree. When you headed to the ring, did you feel ready to go in or were you just pretending to be scared, thinking she would back out?

I remember saying to her, “If we can’t come to an agreement, we have to be prepared to go down there, because I’m not backing down.” I said it so confidently, and I made myself believe it, and I had to do it so that she would get the idea that I wasn’t going to play. Did I want to go down there? No, but I had to believe my decision, and what I was doing was best for me. I knew she would stand her ground with Derek because she plays with so much emotion. She plays with so much heart. And you could see that this connection that they had, this bond that wouldn’t break. I was thinking maybe if I said I was going to give Daryl who he wanted and we went down there and we were at a dead end, maybe Derek would say, “Avery, don’t worry about it. Does he want to be an asshole? I’m going down there.” Then we’d be safe. I was thinking, I have a contingency plan. I thought, there’s no way Derek would let Avery go down there. There’s no way. He didn’t say a word.

Can you explain why? I won't Budge – Why would you rather put yourself in this situation than someone Daryl doesn't want?

In “Vendettas,” I did what was best for me in the game. That was a turning point for me in “The Challenge.” Someone gave me great advice: Step away from the game and look at it from above like a chessboard. What’s your best move in the next game? When I started thinking that way, I started getting better at the game. That was the beginning of “Tony Time.” I was looking at it like I was in our era, the lowest guy on the roster. No one was watching me except Devin. So I had to step outside of our era and try to find some loyalty. Daryl is someone I’ve known for a very long time. We have a good relationship. We respect each other. So I thought, if you do this, you have to do something good for me in the future. This is best for me in the game. I was looking at Avery, like, what’s best for you in the game, to keep Derek here? Why? So you can tell him? Do you think this is best for the game, and why? I know a lot of our conversations and my reasons may not have been expressed, but that was the gist of it.

It seemed like most of the house was rooting for you, telling you to give up. Is that true?

Everyone except Daryl. Look, pride comes before a fall. And the shame in this situation, it seems like pride got the better of me. It seems like it probably did. I tried not to think too much about it because I know I came home early, I made this decision, I came home, I had to see the disappointment on my family’s face—even though they were happy to see me, it was great—but for the way I went out, it was hard. At the time, I made my decision. I told myself I wasn’t going to give up. But again, I imagined it would move. I imagined Derek would throw himself into this situation.

Avery claimed you didn't want to be there. Was that true, that you wanted to go home?

I remember her saying that at home, and then I told TJ that I didn't want to be there and I got checked out. It was like, how can you say that after the conversations we had, the reason I told you why I'm here, fighting for my family? I'm here to make as much money as I can. Well, if I don't make the million and I make it to week 12 or whatever, that's extra money in my pocket. It's not like we go out there and go home with nothing. Every week we go out after a certain amount of time, we get extra checks. I've already sacrificed three weeks of my life up to this point. I'm trying to make it all. Even if I make it to the finals, I'm going home with a nice cushion and savings for my family.

I talked to her. We had a great relationship. She was probably the girl I talked to the most, and that conversation won't air, which is unfortunate. We talked a lot on All Stars. She talked to me. Did I tell her that I missed my family, that I would cry when I FaceTimed them? Yes, because I love my family, and that's normal. But did I say that I was upset when I was having the time of my life? I wasn't upset, but was I frustrated? Yes, I was frustrated when it got to that point. I could tell that her mood and attitude toward me changed because of what I wanted to do. It was bad. As for her not wanting to be with me, that's not something that should be said. Honestly, I feel kind of insulted.

That makes sense! Well, when it comes to elimination, how heavy are those pieces?

We were trying to estimate her weight. We estimated her to be 35-45 pounds. It felt like I was carrying a 45 pound plate in the gym. We were so shocked to find out that the girls and boys were the same weight.

Was there anyone encouraging or helping you?

I heard Devin and Jordan a little bit. The Era 1 guys were screaming at the top of their lungs to help Daryl, and they were really loud. They were also trying to confuse me. With everything that was going on, I was getting shot at. I was doomed from the start. Then I moved on to the girls round, and my team was really supportive of Avery, which was good for me, but where was the support for me? Why was everyone so quiet when Avery was trying to figure this out? It was kind of weird.

After being eliminated, you were able to give others extra points, which will help them in some way in the future. Can you share the people you helped?

I can't remember literally, but I can tell you that I'm a Derek Kosinski fan 100 percent. I love that guy. Devin was my number one guy. I was also a fan of Avery. We had a great relationship before all of this happened. You can see that she has a lot of fighting spirit. She has an underdog spirit, which I love a lot, because I had a lot of that early in my career on The Challenge.