The Challenge: Battle of the Exes - Johnny Devenanzio

intlove;298751 wrote:
The point I'm making is it's an accent, your english can be impeccable, you can have great vocabulary, grammar and whatnot and have an accent, doesn't make you speak broken english. CT has an accent, so does Camila, but at the end of the day, they speak english, not broken. Just english.

Yes but Camila does not speak English impeccably. It is not her first language. She speaks it fairly well, but there are still moments where she does speak broken English.

Hey, you would be surprised how much bonding can go on over an xbox game. Espeically if you do it on the regular for some months. I built at least two best freindships up that way back in the day haha.

molds13;298755 wrote:
Yes but Camila does not speak English impeccably. It is not her first language. She speaks it fairly well, but there are still moments where she does speak broken English.

Many times, the lack of full English-speaking skills does make it difficult for both parties to easily understand what is being discussed. Coming from a huge extended family where my generation grew up listening to and deciphering broken English, teasing someone about their English is never seen as offensive nor rude. It's all done and appreciated with love and humor. There is teasing and there is being hateful, and from what we've seen neither Johnny nor any of the cast have said anything regarding Camilla's English that is hurtful or hateful. Anyway, isn't this the same sweetheart who called Brandon some not-so-nice names? (And probably in broken English.)

JL81790;298752 wrote:
"Why he's pissed at me?" "You do not understand Camila." Just to point out a few examples. Johnny isn't the only one to have commented on it. Seems like the guy could cure cancer and you'd have a problem with him.

I first thought she did. Because on Rivals she never spoke so I thought she barely spoke any english at all but now with this season I hear her talk more often and generally speaking it is not broken. Sometimes yeh and you seem to have picked the time she was drunk as I don't know what, which obviously doesn't help your speech, whether you are a native or not.

molds13;298755 wrote:
Yes but Camila does not speak English impeccably. It is not her first language. She speaks it fairly well, but there are still moments where she does speak broken English.

Fine by me, but the cast doesn't speak impeccable English in general, but he makes it seem like she barely speaks it. Anyway, it was a remark he made. I thought it was offensive, because it was kind of demeaning to her. I'd also find it offensive if he'd told her to be pretty and shut the hell up, it kind of came close to that. Fair enough, she was annoying but hey..so is he, all of the time. Can't stand him On a side note, I heard on afterbuzz tv, where Tyler was a guesthost, that Johnny lives for these challenges as he has no actual job and such, so for him it's a matter of paying bills and whatnot. Which makes my statement earlier on in this thread correct. He really only has the challenge going for him and therefore, he wins because all he does is scheme and stuff to make his money.

On a side note, I heard on afterbuzz tv, where Tyler was a guesthost, that Johnny lives for these challenges as he has no actual job and such, so for him it's a matter of paying bills and whatnot. Which makes my statement earlier on in this thread correct. He really only has the challenge going for him and therefore, he wins because all he does is scheme and stuff to make his money.

You just described about 90% of the people on these Challenges, so I'm not really seeing your point. Johnny wins because he physically and strategically prepares for the season, which all cast members have the same opportunity to do. Since he's been winning enough and making a good enough living from his Johnny Bananas/Challenge gig, he hasn't needed or felt the need to find other work. Fair enough. Putting up excuses that it's only because he has no job or life, while understandable, is not supported by facts. How do you explain all of those other cast members who have just as many or close to Challenge appearances who do not have the same successful track record? Regardless of how one may feel about him personally, he's a terrific player in the Challenges, period. That's why he wins or gets far. He's always been one of the players with a higher level of intelligence and critical thinking skills, which is where I believe he truly dominates more so than the physical or social aspect.

Matty;299476 wrote:
You just described about 90% of the people on these Challenges, so I'm not really seeing your point. Johnny wins because he physically and strategically prepares for the season, which all cast members have the same opportunity to do. Since he's been winning enough and making a good enough living from his Johnny Bananas/Challenge gig, he hasn't needed or felt the need to find other work. Fair enough. Putting up excuses that it's only because he has no job or life, while understandable, is not supported by facts. How do you explain all of those other cast members who have just as many or close to Challenge appearances who do not have the same successful track record? Regardless of how one may feel about him personally, he's a terrific player in the Challenges, period. That's why he wins or gets far. He's always been one of the players with a higher level of intelligence and critical thinking skills, which is where I believe he truly dominates more so than the physical or social aspect.

I agree...Johnny has learned to play this game not only politically but has mastered much of it physically. Others may not agree with me...but there were a couple of challenges that I felt he and Camille could have won but let someone he trusted become the power couple so he would not get such a big target on his back. Just MHO.:victory: Besides, if we could make a living working just a few weeks a year...How many of us wouldn't do it? As with a lot of the cast of the challenges, he does appearances and I'm sure he makes a good living at that since he is one of the more popular or controversial people on the challenges. You either love him or hate him. I wasn't a big fan of his in the beginning but I think he is one of the most intelligent and articulate competitors on the challenges now. You have to admit that he has matured in a lot of ways.

If by mastered the game you mean have tons of people kissing his *** like sheep because they know that he always has big alliances and will screw you over if you don't tend to his every will then yes, I agree.

Nightwolf;299486 wrote:
If by mastered the game you mean have tons of people kissing his *** like sheep because they know that he always has big alliances and will screw you over if you don't tend to his every will then yes, I agree.

I guess that would be considered a form of mastering the game. I'm sure there will come a time when some of the newer people will grow a backbone and group together to show veterans what they are made of, if the challenges last much longer. In fact, it may be a refreshing move. But, unless they can dominate physically too, I don't see that happening any time soon. Still would love to see CT win one first, though.

CASTOFF;299485 wrote:
I agree...Johnny has learned to play this game not only politically but has mastered much of it physically. Others may not agree with me...but there were a couple of challenges that I felt he and Camille could have won but let someone he trusted become the power couple so he would not get such a big target on his back. Just MHO.:victory: Besides, if we could make a living working just a few weeks a year...How many of us wouldn't do it? As with a lot of the cast of the challenges, he does appearances and I'm sure he makes a good living at that since he is one of the more popular or controversial people on the challenges. You either love him or hate him. I wasn't a big fan of his in the beginning but I think he is one of the most intelligent and articulate competitors on the challenges now. You have to admit that he has matured in a lot of ways.

Totally true, I'm not a Bananas fan but I give him credit because the guy has learned how to play the game after all these years, his game has always being political, he has learned how to control the house (even if he is alone not with Evan or Kenny), and that's something that guys like CT don't have (physically the guy is a beast and is better than Bananas, but he is not political and he never had that control in the house). And about the missions I agree with you, if Johnny has an alliance with Mark, CT and Paula I think that they agree who is going to win, who is not, and which of the other teams are a threat.

Why people clown people for coming on these shows boggles. IF they enjoy it and get paid, what's the problem. Why do they have to live a life that fits your expectations? He's happy, he does well, and he benefits. Sounds like he's figured it out if you ask me. This is his job and its something he loves.

Calinks;299510 wrote:
Why people clown people for coming on these shows boggles. IF they enjoy it and get paid, what's the problem. Why do they have to live a life that fits your expectations? He's happy, he does well, and he benefits. Sounds like he's figured it out if you ask me. This is his job and its something he loves.

Everyone has different definitions of doing well....

salt&vinegar;299512 wrote:
Everyone has different definitions of doing well....

Very true, and for the most part, one view has little respect for another. I'm sure a pedophile thinks he is doing well when he feels sated.

salt&vinegar;299512 wrote:
Everyone has different definitions of doing well....

True. What I mean to get at is, as long as you are happy and aren't hurting yourself or anyone else: it shouldn't matter what others definitions are.

Nightwolf;299486 wrote:
If by mastered the game you mean have tons of people kissing his *** like sheep because they know that he always has big alliances and will screw you over if you don't tend to his every will then yes, I agree.

Exactly. That's the ONLY reason he ever really does good in these things. Put him on a season of the challenge where he doesn't have all his friends there and NOBODY that will bend over for him and/or kiss his ***. THEN and ONLY then will I give him credit as this good player.....Provided he makes it to the end and win or gets very far on his gameplay alone but doesn't win.

Debut Album;299638 wrote:
Exactly. That's the ONLY reason he ever really does good in these things. Put him on a season of the challenge where he doesn't have all his friends there and NOBODY that will bend over for him and/or kiss his ***. THEN and ONLY then will I give him credit as this good player.....Provided he makes it to the end and win or gets very far on his gameplay alone but doesn't win.

Oddly enough I think you're giving him too much credit here...especially on this challenge. On the Ruins and Rivals and even Cutthroat it was one thing but on Exes he's only had one team (Mark) that looks to be willing to go to bat for him. CT and Paula are "in" his alliance but both are clearly very willing to go the "assassinate Caesar" route according to last episode. I don't think it was Johnny's call to throw in Ty and Emily any time because he's friendly with both of them...Paula wanted Emily gone and Mark was going to give Rachel the benefit of the doubt and not vote her in*. The only vote he clearly influenced was Sarah/Vinny throwing Wes in and Vinny probably would've gone that route regardless. No other team has worked with him besides his direct alliance and he's gotten lucky that all the people who would actively work against him either got sent home (Dustin/Heather), got beaten (Tyrie/Jasmine) or else he won and was able to send them in and send them home (Rachel and Wes). I think Johnny's played the game PERFECTLY this challenge and its probably been his best all-around performance. *This is why I think it's unfair to say that Mark has been "kissing his ***". If Mark was blindly following Johnny he would've thrown Rachel in since she was making waves. I'm not sure how "willing to work with his friend" = "kissing his ***".

I don't think Johnny really had an alliance this game... Sure he had friends he wouldn't toss in but it wasn't some big conspiracy. And of course you're not going to toss your friends in, until the very end when you have to. Everyone wants money for themselves, and if not them their friends - not people they're not close with, so Johnny's game is pretty fair-on.

Why do people think Johnny is over rated? He was the clear cut best team in this one with 3 wins and 2 other power couple finals, he also had the most wins on Rivals with tyler. Also on Inferno 3 he won more life-shields than freaking Alton (2-1 specifically) He has only lost eliminations to Tyler and Evan (two of the better competitors) and he won clutch eliminations against Dunbar, and CT/Adam (in which he was the first to complete it). He knows how to win and plays the game well physically and mentally. The guy just wins. I actually was a little irked that he was on this one , SOLEY because this is not a real ex pairing (in pure show sense, they may have managed a hook up away from cameras, which everyone eludes to). But as a competitor and for sound bites Johnny is PURE GOLD, and it would be odd for him not to be on one. I think he could beat Mark, he beat Dunbar ( a worse competitor but still) on a similar elimination in the ruins.

I don't think there's anything overrated about him. He has been one of the most dastardly players in the game and now he is adept at the physical portion as well. Guy is a major threat. His biggest weakness is his obnoxious mouth. I'm just amazed it hasn't screwed him over more often. People need to pull the same thing they pull with Wes and gang up on him. That's the only way he's going home early in the game because he has any voting system/player choice situation down pat.

Johnny is solidifying his place amongst the greats!

RWRRULES;300110 wrote:
Why do people think Johnny is over rated? He was the clear cut best team in this one with 3 wins and 2 other power couple finals, he also had the most wins on Rivals with tyler. Also on Inferno 3 he won more life-shields than freaking Alton (2-1 specifically) He has only lost eliminations to Tyler and Evan (two of the better competitors) and he won clutch eliminations against Dunbar, and CT/Adam (in which he was the first to complete it). He knows how to win and plays the game well physically and mentally. The guy just wins. I actually was a little irked that he was on this one , SOLEY because this is not a real ex pairing (in pure show sense, they may have managed a hook up away from cameras, which everyone eludes to). But as a competitor and for sound bites Johnny is PURE GOLD, and it would be odd for him not to be on one. I think he could beat Mark, he beat Dunbar ( a worse competitor but still) on a similar elimination in the ruins.

Nope, he didnt. It was CT. But I fully agree with you about the rest you wrote. I think people thinks Johnny is overraded because of his luck with the actual challenge set-up and his support of his friends. The Island: Kennys political game saved his *** twice The Ruins: The Rise of JEK Empire, where his was clearly the workhorse but still the challenger team wasnt very good Rivals: He and Tyler were friends and not rivals and because of the bandwaggon vote, they intiminated everybody. BOTE: People say his original partner was Casey but she refused and he got Camila who a lot didnt even know that they were exes. And the main reason... He got squashed by CT on Cutthroat bad, really bad!!!! This was clearly one of the best elimination rounds yet on a challenge (Not bc of the challenge itself but just the editing was perfect), so his poor performance on this one will always be remembered. He can do what he wants. I think bc of that people cant admit that Johnny is overall one of the top 3 guys as of right now( on this new challenges!). Hes smart, has the power and endurance and does very good at the daily challenges. Hes at his prime right now!

I agree that bad elimination on Cutthroat is definitely not a bright spot in his challenge legacy, but one elimination round should not define his challenge abilities, he is not a bruiser or a top 3 guy pure strength wise, but with ALL factors, and success rate considered he is one of the best to play in these competitions.

He's total package of a competitor, same as Darrell, Darrell is little better in my eyes.

Kripsters1;300758 wrote:
He's total package of a competitor , same as Darell , Darell is little better in my eyes.

I can't understand why everyone is so obsessed with Darrell. Can I ask why you think he is that good? Just because of nice number of winnings? I don't get it. I understand why people think Landon, Derrick or Miz is the best competitor ever, but why Darrell? He didn't do anything that impressive.

mizwood;300760 wrote:
I can't understand why everyone is so obsessed with Darrell. Can I ask why you think he is that good? Just because of nice number of winnings? I don't get it. I understand why people think Landon, Derrick or Miz is the best competitor ever, but why Darrell? He didn't do anything that impressive.

Showed his strenght in Human OX Pull and Target Training(and against Brad :P ) and has got an amazing endurance. Kenny said in Derricks Podcast that he was the total package and alot of times as challengers get interviewed they pick Darell in their Dream Team + I never saw him really struggle. But youre right he never really did something that impressive.

That's the whole point. People adorable Darrell because he is champion and won 4 challenges but if you look better he didn't do something that immpresive. Same with Johnny. He won some Challenges but he did that because he had good teammates. On the Island even without Johnny they would've won. Same in the Ruins. On The Rivals he had Tyler. I'm not saying he isn't good competitor, I just don't think he deserved that much respect. He pretty sucked on 1x1 eliminations (not talking about whole Mark thing because there was some rumors that he gave up). Who cares how many times those guys won (Darrell, Johnny)? In my opinion, they will never look better than Landon or Miz, who has less winnings. I really wish Johnny will do the Duel 3 and then we will see how 'great' he actualy is.

At the end of the day it's about winning. I don't think Darrell is the best player there was but he was pretty darn good. Had no glaring weaknesses and he had a working political game. Johnny I feel has become to total package challenge wise. He's like a B+ is every category or higher. That makes him one of the best. I think that when we judge a challenger's ranking, we need to look at everything they do that is conducive to winning. It isn't all about great feats or physical ability. It's about putting yourself in position to win and getting those wins.

Oh come on. Do you think Derrick is stronger than Wes just because he won The Ruins? Or Paula is better than Laurel because she won Rivals? I dont think Paula is good at all. Same with Johnny. I don't think he deseerved to win island, ruins or rivals. Winning is not everything.

mizwood;300790 wrote:
Winning is not everything.

Its the only thing...

mizwood;300790 wrote:
Oh come on. Do you think Derrick is stronger than Wes just because he won The Ruins? Or Paula is better than Laurel because she won Rivals? I dont think Paula is good at all. Same with Johnny. I don't think he deseerved to win island, ruins or rivals. Winning is not everything.

Winning is everything. They go to win. The only people who say otherwise either a) Don't care or b) have won enough times that they're just there to have fun...but they all say it's only about winning. JEK, Derrick, CT, Wes, Jenn, Paula, Abram, Laurel, Landon, all they ever say is "I want to win". And how did Johnny not deserve any of his wins? He was an ******* on the Island but he still went into two face-offs and won one of them. Besides Evelyn, who was only ONE of the other seven people in the final who was more deserving? Kenny (flawless political game aside), Jenn, and Robin got their keys by losing, Paula convinced her competitors to throw it, and Ryan beat two girls. Everyone else on the Island either lost a faceoff or quit...so who should've won over Johnny? On the Ruins he was the only guy on the final team to have gone in the Ruins and he was never a weak link on the missions. Was he a little slimy in that business with Syrus and mean to Susie? Sure...but that doesn't mean he shouldn't have won. The whole point about Tyler being Johnny's friend is bogus. They may have gotten along the BEST but that doesn't mean everyone else hated each other. They're all adults. Leroy and Mike need no explanation, Davis and Tyrie were friends, Kenny and Wes do their **** for the camera, and Adam and CT made up on the first day. "Rival" does not mean enemy. Johnny and Tyler have a competitor's rivalry and I'd say that's a more legitimate rivalry that Mike/Leroy, Adam/Leroy, Davis/Tyrie, Brandon/Ty, and Evan/Nehemiah. Aside from that they won three challenges, two of which he was an equal contributor and one of which he was the reason they won. Dislike Johnny if you want. He's an ******* and he needs to learn the time and place to run his mouth. But it's getting ridiculous at this point when he's won three and can potentially win a fourth to say he shouldn't be winning or he sucks or whatever.

I do agree that wins are overrated when they are in team format. Wins on partner/solo competitions are probably undervalued though. Johnny is one of 6 guys to win a partner challenge or a solo challenge. The 6 guys to do this are Johnny, Tyler, Landon, Evan, Wes, and Darrell. That is elite company no matter how you look at it and he has the chance to be the only person to ever win a partner/solo challenge twice.