To succeed on The Challenge a competitor must be smart, strong, politically savvy, or at the very least, lucky. Most competitors are average talents, and an unfortunate few perform poorly enough to earn a dubious honor (enter the Hall of Shame). But these competitors, the Hall of Fame class, have conquered The Challenge in one form or another, and they all share the most important quality: they know how to win.
I’m somewhat surprised by Rachel Robinson’s Challenge resume, because on paper her dominance isn’t well documented. She has a 1-2 elimination record (counting a three-way “face-off” on The Island), and she found herself voted off early in both Battle of the Sexes seasons. Most competitors had an easier time winning on earlier seasons that featured teams. Rachel, meanwhile, seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to go solo and win it all herself.
Before moving onto her best season, Rachel became infamous for her relationship with Veronica Portilla, her best buddy and threesome partner. The two formed a strong bond, so it’s no surprise they won The Gauntlet together and made it to The Inferno II final. I wouldn’t say Rachel ever had the best political skills, but befriending someone like Veronica – a friend you can trust wholeheartedly – is a somewhat rare feat on The Challenge.
Forget about that Gauntlet win though. Rachel earns her place in the Hall of Fame based on The Duel II alone. Landon Lueck’s performance on The Duel II is often referenced, but people seem to forget Rachel’s superiority during the same season. Rachel and Mark “The Godfather” Long earned first or second place in almost all of the daily challenges, and no one dared to call Rachel out to battle in an elimination. Unlike other competitors who were carried by their male partners, Rachel was arguably a stronger partner than The Godfather. Not only did she win first place amongst her female competition during the final challenge, she beat every male competitor. No one expected that to happen.
Rachel didn’t come close to the final on her last season, Battle of the Exes, but with a partner like Aneesa Ferreira, you can’t expect too much. It’s unfortunate that Rachel didn’t compete in another solo season, because I would have liked to see her in a physical elimination against a top tier competitor like Laurel Stucky or Evelyn Smith. Even after seven seasons we didn’t get enough footage of Rachel showing us exactly why phrases like “send the girls home early ‘cause they’ll hold us back in the final” are complete bullshit.
A.A. Villagomez 