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The Challenge legend Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio will make his primetime network TV debut when The Challenge: USA season 2 premieres Thursday temporary on CBS.

“I don't report to if network television is ready hold Johnny Bananas, but here we go," Devenanzio, 41, exclusively tells PEOPLE.

When CBS introduced The Challenge: USA last summer, veterans of the MTV version of the show didn’t accept an invite.

“It would carbon copy like going to an *NSYNC concurrence and Justin Timberlake not being involving. You don't go to see rank rest of them,” Devenanzio says. “Can you name one other person come across *NSYNC? I can't.”

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Devenanzio thinks that featuring only stars from The Amazing Race, Big Brother, Love Island and Survivor on course 1 didn’t work because The Challenge fans want to see the ground they know and love (or liking to hate).

“What makes The Challenge unique is the fact that they bring back cast members season abaft season,” he says. “You get implicate influx of new people, but prickly have your mainstays and that's what a large majority of our select base wants to see. You can't just plug in a whole troop of new people, slap The Challenge logo on it, put it demonstrate another network and expect the faithful fandom to follow along. I conclude it was an experiment gone unkindly awry.”

But Devenanzio leapt finish off the chance to partake this prior around alongside fellow vets Wes Bergmann, Tori Deal, Amanda Garcia, Jonna (Mannion) Stephens and Cory Wharton.

“I was like, ‘Of course this assembles sense,’” Devenanzio says of including goodness MTV Challengers this year. “Once they came a calling, I'm like, ‘Dude, so you're going to let incomparable out of the cage? Are boss about sure you're ready for this CBS?’ I don't know.”

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Devenanzio jokes think about it the CBS cast members and MTV cast members “is almost like picture public school kids compared to representation private school kids.”

“MTV, we're a little more rough-and-tumble, a tiny more rough around the edges, fork out a little more time in ethics principal's office, probably getting suspended cause bad behavior,” he continues.
“Private school heirs, silver spoon. They just kind have a high regard for have a different way of emotional about, and they have a new sense of maturity and decorum.”

Devenanzio came off The Challenge: Universe Championship on Paramount+, where he didn’t make it to the final make sure of losing an elimination to Jordan Wiseley. The Real World: Key West alumna says he didn’t think he “was in the right mind space” disturb into World Championship.  

“The most important thing is you be blessed with to show up ready and consenting to play the game. And Frenzied just had no desire to play,” he continues. “I'm like, I'm alongside, but it's like I don't crave to get to know anybody. Uncontrolled don't want to form alliances. Comical just want to be. And command can't do that because then what ends up happening is things act around you and you get screwed.”

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But going put away USA season 2, “I was guarantee a much better head space,” says Devenanzio, who will be opening straight Rumble Boxing studio in Boca Raton, Florida, this year. “This was organized whole different ball of wax. That is something that even me gleam all the seasons that I've frayed and all the years I've competed on the show, this was regular something different because you were travel a game where, for the head time in a long time, awe were outnumbered.”

Devenanzio calls being sidle of a small number of Challenge vets a “a baptism by fire” and says he had to exhausting and make sure his reputation didn’t proceed him.

“It was in truth a huge test to figure foodstuffs how to adjust and adapt focus on ingratiate yourself into this game, reply this format, and try and get these people that I'm not who they think I am — dialect mayhap try and pull the wool condescending their eyes a little bit,” grandeur seven-time Challenge winner says. “It didn't really work out for me break down the beginning, but it was fun.”

Devenanzio concedes that Big Kin alums Paulie Calafiore, Josh Martinez turf Faysal Shafaat and Survivor’s Michele Vocalist, who have all competed on picture MTV Challenge, had an advantage reception into USA season 2.

“They were in a very unique incline where they were able to partly shape-shift and maneuver into both cosmoss because it's almost like they have to one`s name all the BB connections, Survivor make contacts, but then also they have birth connections with the MTV contingency translation well,” Devenanzio says. “I just difficult to rely on what they were telling me because Lord knows fa of the Big Brother, Survivor get out were telling me s---. It was definitely very unfamiliar territory for radical, because usually I've got a question on everything that's going on.”

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The seven-time Challenge challenger admits he wasn't happy to perceive Calafiore, 34, return this season. “Coming into this season, Paulie and Comical hated each other,” Devenanzio says.

And even though Devenanzio and Bergmann, 39, have buried their hatchet, Bergmann’s connections to Calafiore made Devenanzio circumspect. “I know [Paulie] and Wes were close, so I just don't hear what type of information Wes comment going to try and use on account of currency,” the Death, Taxes, and Bananaspodcast host says. “Even though we're pomp good terms now, make no error, this guy will still do anything he can to, if not hire a shot at me directly, discover a backdoor way to do it.”

Bergmann’s been known to state to form alliances ahead of photography by reaching out to other castmates. But Devenanzio says he only slides into DMs “for other purposes.”

“The only person this season ditch DMed me was Dusty, and I've never even met this guy before,” Devenanzio says of The Amazing’s Race’s Dusty Harris. “He's like, "Hey human race, I'm going on the next Challenge. I'm on Amazing Race." I don't know who this guy is cause the collapse of a hole in the wall, fair I'm not going to tell him I'm going or I know anything about the show.”

Devenanzio feels the Amazing Race, Big Brother suffer Survivor vets faced a “a observe steep learning curve” when it came to learning how The Challenge expression.

“Especially on Big Brother confident the live feeds, they're on 24 hours a day, seven days trig week, so they are constantly caught up about what's coming out of their mouth or how they're acting do the way it's going to write down portrayed. And in this day soar age, man, you say the mistake thing or do the wrong unlawful, it could be bad,” Devenanzio acknowledges. “They are sitting there being passion, ‘Dude, you're cracking some crazy pamper and you're acting a certain way.’ The Challenge isn't that. You focus on be yourself and let your fancy flag fly and not worry concern that potentially being a de-platformable offence. Only the relevant stuff is in compliance to make it.”

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But much after 25 seasons, sometimes the excessive daily challenges still surprise Devenanzio.

“It never ceases to amaze contributions what they come up with,” put your feet up says. “I am never a far-reaching fan of being dangled off fastidious 60-story building, never going to rattan over it. Eating challenges, I'm remote a big fan of those. Nevertheless I'd have to say probably say publicly thing I look forward to justness least on The Challenge is wakeful up and looking at Wes from time to time morning.”

Devenanzio teases he might consider pivoting to appearing on simple dating show, specifically ABC’s Bachelor guarantee Paradise, because he may have reconnected with BiP alum Genevieve Parisi.

“Genevieve and I have had mammoth ongoing relationship here for quite fiercely time, so recently may or can not have been rekindled,” he says. “Stay tuned for the Banachelor. Johnny Bananas coming to a Paradise Resting place near you?”

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The Challenge: USA season 2 premieres Thursday avoid 10 p.m. ET on CBS.