The Greatest Female Players in Challenge History: #9- Jodi Weatherton
5 Seasons: Inferno 2, Gauntlet 2 (Win), The Duel (Win), All Stars 2, World Championship
Final Efficiency: 2/5 (40%)
Win Efficiency: 2/5 (40%)
23 Mission Wins, 2–3 Elimination Record
Individual Missions: 8/15 (53.3%)
Partner Missions: 5/19 (26.3%)
Combined: 13/34 (38.2%)
Average Times Voted In Per Season: .80
Seasons Making Final Going Into Minimum Amount of Elims: 2
If these rankings were about who was the best competitor at their peak, you could argue that Jodi should be in the top five. The first female individual winner and one of just seven women to win an individual flagship season along with Rachel, Laurel, Ashley, Camila, Cara Maria and Jenny, Jodi was the total package as a competitor.
Although she had a disappointing rookie season on Inferno II, getting flustered and falling to Veronica in the That’s a Wrap elimination, she was still one of the top competitors on the Good Guys team.
On Gauntlet 2 she was again one of the best girls on the Rookie team, helping them win nine out of 15 missions and never going into elimination.
Jodi’s best season was clearly her dominant run on The Duel.
Head and shoulders above the rest of the cast (to be fair it was a very weak field — her biggest competition was Diem, Svetlana and Kina), Jodi won seven missions throughout the season, including five on girls elimination days to guarantee herself safety. No other girl won more than three missions. In the final, she was able to defeat Svetlana to earn her second championship.
After nearly 15 years away from the show, Jodi returned on All Stars 2 and didn’t miss a beat. She won four missions (all in individual/partner formats) and beat Sophia in elimination. But her and Brad were pitted against Darrell/Janelle right before the final, ruining an otherwise excellent season.
She was cast on World Championship and had an uphill battle from the beginning. Being on a cast with many veterans she had never played with before and getting paired with the Argentinian Benji put her in a tough spot. They went in and beat Nia/Rodri in the second elimination, but lost later in the season to Kaycee/Troy.
Politically, Jodi didn’t really have to do anything on her first two seasons. The opposing team selected nominations on Inferno II (although Jodi was lambasted by the Bad Asses for switching the nomination to Veronica when she was selected), and on Gauntlet 2 she wasn’t called out by her Road Rules: X-Treme castmate Kina.
On The Duel she was in a strong alliance with Kina/Robin/Diem and Derrick/Brad/CT/Evan, but she stayed out of elimination by winning the missions and being too fearsome of a competitor to be called out.
On All Stars 3 she initially was working with Derrick, but after he left she joined up with Brad, Darrell, Janelle, Jonna and MJ to work against The Palace.
Jodi is a really tough one to judge. Her first two seasons she showed flashes of excellence, but it wasn’t until The Duel and All Stars 3 where she started proving herself as a dominant force.
And even those seasons can be quibbled with because the competition level wasn’t that great.
It’s a shame we didn’t see Jodi on more seasons to see if she squarely solidified herself in the GOAT tier of competitors, but there’s no doubt she’s one of the best the show has ever seen.
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