The Challenge 42 Episode 10 Recap: Adrienne and Tori Survive Rachel and Sarah

The Challenge: Cutthroat Season 42 Episode 10 does away with the normal daily challenge and puts the two people who have spent the season enjoying captain protection directly in danger. After weeks of controlling nominations and avoiding elimination themselves, Adrienne Naylor and Tori Deal learn that captaincy comes with one final test before either woman can claim a place in the final.

Trial by Combat turns that test into one of the season’s biggest events. UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko arrives to join TJ Lavin, two familiar Challenge legends return as mercenaries, and both captains are asked to survive classic physical games with their seasons on the line. Adrienne faces Rachel Robinson in Pole Wrestle, while Tori gets Sarah Rice in Balls In, bringing Sarah and Johnny Bananas face-to-face for the first time since Rivals III.

Also read: The Challenge 42 Episode 8 Recap: Why Josh, Nelson and Leo Left

Gray Tries to Find Purpose After Losing Chris

Episode 10 picks up after Chris Underwood’s elimination leaves the rebuilt Gray team entirely female. Adrienne, Cara Maria Sorbello, Cassidy Clark, Anna Leigh Wilson and Lete understand that their numbers may make them look vulnerable next to Orange, but the mood inside the group is less defeated than determined.

Adrienne gathers the women for a conversation about why each of them wants to reach the final. Anna Leigh talks about wanting to start a family with her husband and the financial cost they face after being diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Cassidy speaks about wanting financial security and helping her mother, while Adrienne becomes emotional discussing the loss of her own mother shortly before filming began.

Adrienne explains that her mother lived with multiple sclerosis and that losing her changed how she thinks about physical ability. For Adrienne, being able to move, compete and put her body through something difficult is no longer something she wants to take for granted. That motivation becomes much more important later when she finds herself one point away from going home.

TJ Cancels the Daily and Announces Trial by Combat

TJ arrives at the house with unexpected news: there will be no daily challenge. Instead, captains Adrienne and Tori must prove that they deserve the power they have held throughout Cutthroat by competing in a Trial by Combat.

The surprise grows when UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko enters. She joins TJ as a special cohost and gives both women advice about maintaining focus under pressure before they head to the Arena.

Once there, the captains learn exactly how much is at stake. Winning Trial by Combat guarantees a place in the final, makes that person captain for the remainder of the season and ends any possibility of another Mutiny removing them from power. UFC and Paramount+ also add $25,000 for the winning captain’s team, money that the team receives regardless of what happens in the final. The only problem is that Adrienne and Tori are not facing each other. TJ has brought in mercenaries.

Rachel Robinson Returns to Face Adrienne in Pole Wrestle

Adrienne draws Pole Wrestle and is immediately greeted by one of the most intimidating possible opponents. Rachel Robinson returns to the Arena boasting about her record and reminding everyone why she remains one of the most respected women in Challenge history.

The matchup initially appears to be going exactly as Gray fears. Rachel wins the opening point before Adrienne responds to make it 1-1. Rachel then takes the third round, putting Adrienne down 2-1 in a best-of-five game and leaving her one lost point away from elimination. That is where Adrienne’s performance changes.

Instead of trying to overpower Rachel as quickly as possible, Adrienne becomes increasingly effective at finding position, using her legs and core and surviving long exchanges. Valentina notices her gaining better control from the top, while Adrienne keeps reminding herself why she came to Thailand in the first place.

She takes the fourth point to force a 2-2 tie. In the deciding fifth round, Adrienne refuses to release the pole and eventually completes the comeback, defeating Rachel 3-2. The result earns Gray an additional $25,000 and sends Adrienne directly to the final as the team’s permanent captain.

Sarah Rice Returns After Nearly 10 Years Away

Tori’s mercenary produces an even bigger reaction from the cast. Sarah Rice walks into the Arena for her first Challenge appearance since Rivals III in 2016, where she and Johnny Bananas won the season together before Bananas chose to keep their entire $275,000 first-place prize.

Episode 10 does not ignore that history. TJ immediately jokes about the infamous money decision, while Bananas admits that this is the first time he has seen Sarah in person since taking the prize in Argentina.

For Bananas, the reunion looks like a moment he genuinely did not expect to happen. He jokes that Sarah has had 10 years to prepare for revenge, while Sarah appears far more interested in competing than reopening an argument from a decade earlier.

There is another layer to the moment because Cutthroat has already revealed that its winning captain can decide how the final prize is divided. Tori even jokes that she could potentially take money from Bananas if Orange wins and somehow return it to Sarah. Sarah has heard promises involving Challenge money before, and she understandably does not put much faith in that plan.

Tori Beats Sarah in Balls In

Tori and Sarah play Balls In, another classic Challenge elimination that requires one player to score while the other defends inside a circular arena. The best-of-five format favors physical power, control and the ability to quickly switch between offense and defense.

Sarah enters with years of Challenge experience and the reputation of a two-time champion, but Tori quickly establishes control. By the closing rounds, even Bananas acknowledges how strongly Tori is performing against someone he considers one of the franchise’s best competitors.

Tori wins the elimination and secures exactly what Adrienne earned earlier. She receives $25,000 for Orange, two UFC tickets, a guaranteed place in the final and permanent control of the captain role.

Sarah leaves impressed rather than bitter. She acknowledges that Tori was simply stronger on the night and tells viewers that Tori clearly wants the championship badly.

Tori and Adrienne Are Officially Going to the Final

Episode 10 ends without removing a current Season 42 contestant. Both mercenaries lose, leaving Gray and Orange with exactly the same rosters they had when they entered the Arena. What changes is the power structure.

Adrienne and Tori can no longer be removed as captains. Mutinies are finished, both women are officially qualified for the final and each team has banked an additional $25,000 that is protected regardless of the final result.

That does not mean the rest of their teammates are safe. TJ immediately warns everyone that another challenge is coming, prompting confusion from players who expected the final to begin next.

Episode 10 therefore gives Adrienne and Tori certainty while making almost everyone around them less secure. The captains have their tickets, but the rest of Cutthroat still has work to do before Thailand’s final truly begins.