Things got physical on the Oct. 23 episode of The Challenge: Final Reckoning, when Cory Wharton slammed Tony Raines to the ground after a night out. Fans were flabbergasted at what set Cory off — Tony throwing his pasta out the window — and mocked him for making a $1 million mistake (Cory and his partner, Devin Walker, were sent home after the incident) by freaking out over food. So, Cory took to Instagram Live after the show to explain more about what happened, and he revealed that it wasn’t JUST the loss of his pasta that made him so angry.
“I kept being poked at, being made fun of, like it was a joke,” Cory explained. “But I didn’t take it as a joke. So, when Tony comes up to me and is still being a smartass, and wraps his arm around me, I’m not taking that as a joke.” He later added, “All I wanted was some space. Devin was trying to calm me down and [Tony] wouldn’t even let that happen, so that’s when I started to be upset. If Tony put his arm around me and just said, ‘I was kidding, I’m osrry,’I would’ve been like *[deep breath]*. But he came over and was still kind of being a smart ass and that’s what triggered me. It was me being disrespected and made fun of. If they just continue to dig and dig — I’m not in that mindset. I have a quick fuse.” And, yes, he confirmed there was “lots of drinking” involved.
Still, Cory recognized that he made a mistake, and was apologetic for that. “What I did was wrong and there’s no other way to look at it,” he said. “Back in the day, not that I would’ve been proud, but I just liked that. I was a very physical person. Me, now, when I see it…that’s not the person I want to be. So for me to watch it, it’s definitely tough. Once again, apologies go out to Tony, his two little girls, everybody in Tony’s family. I didn’t mean to hurt him and I didn’t want to hurt him.”
First there was Pizzagate, and now there's Pastagate 🍝 Don't miss an all new episode of #TheChallenge32 TONIGHT at 9/8c! pic.twitter.com/QQ2ZZJ5Nq2
— challengemtv (@ChallengeMTV) October 23, 2018
Fans still started coming after Cory, taunting him about what his daughter, Ryder, will think of him. However, he’s not worried about having to explain his bad behavior to his little girl one day. “Ryder, your dad makes mistakes,” he admitted in the video. “I’m not perfect. That was a bad decision, don’t make the same mistake I made. It’s that simple. She doesn’t expect me to be perfect. I don’t expect myself to be perfect. I wish I could take it back.”
Most of all, Cory felt bad for his partner, Devin, but gave an update about where the two of them stand today. “I lost my chance at a million, I’m cool with that, but what messed me up is that Devin lost his chance at a million dollars, too,” Cory said. “We’ve talked, he’s forgiven me and I give him all the credit in the world, because it’s tough. Me and him are definitely friends now. It definitely made us closer, and money can’t buy that.”