Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge

Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge
Genre	Competition, Reality television
Created by	Stone Cold Steve Austin
Presented by	Stone Cold Steve Austin
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Original release
Network	Country Music Television
Release	July 6, 2014 (2014-07-06)
Related
Redneck Island

Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge is an American reality television competition show that premiered on July 6, 2014, on Country Music Television. It is created and hosted by former professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Series overview

Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge brings a group of eight contestants, either all men or all women, to the Broken Skull Ranch to compete in a series of physical challenges. The contestants are eliminated in a series of competitions with the last one standing facing a tough obstacle course known as the Skullbuster, and possibly win a $10,000 cash prize and a chance to win even more.

Elimination challenges

In each episode, the eight contestants face off in head-to-head competitions in a single-elimination bracket format. The first bracket match-ups are chosen at random. Some of the competitions featured include the following:

• Trench Warfare - a trench (45 feet long and 3 1/2 feet deep) is filled with water and has a bell hanging from a post at each end. The contestants both start at opposite ends of the trench, then jump into the trench and must use any means necessary to get past the opponent and ring a bell at the opposite end of the trench. The first one to ring the bell wins.
• The Pulverizer - a 120-foot long course covered in sand is laid out with a series of three sets of two weight sacks (three equal sets of two 50-pound sacks for male contestants, and two 10-pound sacks, two 15-pound sacks, and two 20-pound sacks respectively for female contestants) over the course, a rope at one end of the course, and a metal sled at the other. Two contestants must first run the rope to the sled and attach it. They then run back and pull the sled completely to each series of weights. They then run to the weights, load them into the sled, then run back to the rope pull area. This is repeated for all three series of weights. The first one to pull the fully-loaded sled across a line wins.
• Possession - a 60-foot long by 20-foot wide field covered in sand has a 20-inch wide circle of rope in the middle of the course. Two contestants grab the rope and attempt to force the rope out of the opponent's hands by way of yanking, pulling, twisting, throwing, or otherwise ripping the rope out. The one who obtains sole possession of the rope wins. This event is very similar to the Whiplash event of American Gladiators.
• Loaded - a 120-foot long dirt course which is on a hill has a 35-pound yoke with hooks on it at the beginning and three sets of weights (each set is 40 pounds total for male contestants; 14 pounds total for female contestants) along the course. Two contestants must shoulder the yoke then carry it to each set of weights, stopping to attach the weights to the yoke. They then carry the weighted yoke onward to the next set of weights. The one who carries the fully-loaded yoke across the finish line first wins.
• Snatch - a 60-foot long by 20-foot wide field covered in sand has a 15-pound sandbag in the middle and a bell hung on a post at each end. Two contestants rush from the ends to grab the sandbag and then use any means necessary to carry the sandbag to the opponent's bell and ring it. The first one to ring the bell with possession of the sandbag wins.
• Stacked - a 120-foot long field covered in sand has three large tractor trailer tires (150, 170, and 185 pounds respectively for male contestants; 80, 100, and 115 pounds respectively for female contestants) staggered across it, with a 5-foot tall pole past a line and a bell hung from a post just past the pole. Two contestants must run to the first tire and flip it end over end until it fully crosses the line at the end. The process is then repeated for the remaining two tires. Once all three tires are across the line, the contestant must then lift and stack them in any order onto the pole, then ring the bell when completed. The first one who rings the bell wins.

The final two contestants face off in a two-part challenge. The first part is not an elimination challenge; it is designed to wear down the contestants. Once the first part is completed, both contestants proceed immediately into the Pit to determine a winner. These competitions have included the following:

• The Junkyard - a 120-foot long course covered in sand is laid out with two barriers in the middle, and a large amount of various scrap objects at the beginning, such as rolled chain-link fencing, small girders, and gas cylinders. Male contestants have approximately 600 pounds of total junk, while female contestants have approximately 300 pounds. The two contestants must first move each individual piece of junk over or under the barriers and to the opposite end of the course.
• Grip and Rip - a 120-foot long course covered in sand has three bags of weights along it (30, 35, and 40 pounds respectively for male contestants; 10, 20, and 30 pounds respectively for female contestants) and a rope along the middle to aid with the players' grips. The two contestants are first harnessed to a large tractor trailer tire (246 pounds for male players. 150 pounds for female contestants). They use the rope to drag and pull the tire along to the weights, where they must stop and throw the weights into the tire. They continue to add weights and drag the tire until the tire fully crosses a finish line.
• Chained Up - a 100-foot long course with a 40 degree incline has a post with two padlocks holding a large chain (200 pounds for men, 135 pounds for women) at the bottom of the hill, and a post with two keys at the top. The two contestants race up the hill, grab one of the keys, run down the hill, and unlock one of the padlocks. This process is repeated. Once the chain is fully unlocked, it must be completely dragged across a finish line.

The Pit is always featured as the final individual challenge to determine the episode's overall winner. It is also always immediately preceded by one of the previous challenges as described earlier, with no rest period except for the player who completed the previous challenge first. The Pit is a circular dirt ring resembling an amateur wrestling circle or a sumo wrestling ring, measuring 15 feet wide. Once both players have entered the Pit, a signal is given, and the two contestants wrestle each other. The first person able to force their opponent out of the ring is declared the winner. Takedowns may occur but they do not apply toward the final outcome. The style of the Pit is very similar to the Conquer portion of the Breakthrough & Conquer event of American Gladiators.

The Skullbuster

After a day's rest, the winner of the elimination challenges moves on to face the Skullbuster, a 1/2-mile long obstacle course with a series of ten obstacles over the course. The course was designed with elements of CrossFit, Spartan Racers, Tough Mudder, mixed martial arts (MMA), and pro wrestling. The obstacles of the course are as follows:

• Backbreaker - carry a 30-pound log down 1/4 mile of road
• Shredder - crawl under 30 feet of barbed wire
• Mudbath - cross a rope swing over a pit of mud onto a landing area. If the contestant falls in the mud, they must restart this obstacle
• Spiderweb - climb over a 60-foot section of cargo net suspended between two containers
• Nutcracker - negootiate a series of a 4-inch wide balance beam, a balance post, a teeter-totter, and three more posts all over a sand pit. If the contestant falls into the sand at any point along this series, they must restart this obstacle.
• Commando Crawl - climb across a 24-foot long suspended rope crawl which is 12 feet off the ground. If the contestant falls off the rope at any time, they must restart this obstacle.
• Wallbusters - clinb over three military-style wall climbs (6, 8, and 10 feet respectively for male contestants, 4, 6, and 8 feet respectively for female contestants)
• Deep Freeze - climb through a pit with water at 35 degrees Fahrenheit and two beams in the middle, going over the first beam and under the second
• Heartbreak Hill - climb a 100-foot hill with a 40 degree incline, circle around a post at the top, and run or slide back down
• Ropeburn - climb a 17-foot vertical rope climb up to a bell and ring it, thus ending the course

The first contestant in the series to successfully complete all elements of the Skullbuster wins $10,000. sets the time to beat for all future contestants, and is declared champion. Any future contestant must complete the Skullbuster in less time in order to win the $10,000, thus becoming the new champion and setting the new time to beat. Male contestants have a male champion and female contestants have a separate female champion. If a future contestant fails to beat the champion's time or does not complete the course, the previous champion wins another $10,000 for every unsuccessful effort. In the beginning of the series, if a contestant did not complete the Skullbuster and there was no set time to beat, no one won any prize.

External Links

• Official website
• Steve Austin, Broken Skull Ranch