The Challenge: Rivals is the 21st season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge. Rivals takes place in Costa Rica, Argentina, and Patagonia. The season featured cast members from The Real World and The Challenge. Rivals marked the first season of The Challenge not to include any cast members from Road Rules.
The season featured a format in which players were teamed with their arch enemies from past seasons of The Real World and The Challenge. The format similar to one suggested the year prior by a reader to the Bill Simmons mailbag on ESPN.com. The season premiered on June 22, 2011, and concluded with the "S#!% They Should Have Shown" special on September 7, 2011.
This is the first edition of the Rivals series, with Rivals II, Rivals III, and The Challenge All Stars: Rivals following in 2013, 2016, and 2025, respectively.
Format
This season of The Challenge featured a brand new format, consisting of 14 same-gender teams — seven male and seven female. Each team will consist of players who will be paired with their "worst enemies," whom they have engaged in bitter feuds, fights and rivalries with in previous Real World and/or Challenge seasons. This format was inspired by ESPN columnist Bill Simmons in a mailbag email by someone known as "B.J. from Brooklyn" (where it was dubbed "Mortal Enemies" but maintained the premise) Simmons and Dave Jacoby further discussed this idea on the B.S. Report, Simmons' podcast.
Each team participates in numerous challenges (sometimes called "missions"), which are followed by an elimination round called "The Jungle." Each challenge is alternatively designated as either a male or a female challenge day. The winning team of the gender not designated for the Jungle is awarded $2,000. The winning team whose gender is designated for elimination wins immunity from the Jungle, while the team that finishes last is automatically sent to the Jungle. An open deliberation and vote then held among the players to determine which team of the same gender will face the last-place finisher in the Jungle. The team who wins the elimination round returns to the game and has a shot at a $300,000 prize, while the losing team is eliminated from the game.
At the end of the season, six teams compete in the final challenge. The first-place male and female teams win $100,000 apiece, second-place wins $50,000 and the third-place finishers go home empty-handed.
Contestants Male ContestantsOriginal seasonFinishThe Real World: Key WestWinnerThe Real World: Key WestWinnerReal World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh MeatRunner-upThe Real World: AustinRunner-upThe Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Third placeThe Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Third placeThe Real World: ParisEpisode 8/9The Real World: ParisEpisode 8/9Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh MeatEpisode 6The Real World: AustinEpisode 6The Challenge: Fresh Meat IIEpisode 4The Real World: D.C.Episode 4The Real World: DenverEpisode 2The Real World: DenverEpisode 2The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Episode 1 Female contestantsOriginal seasonFinishReal World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh MeatWinnerThe Real World: Key WestWinnerThe Challenge: Fresh Meat IIRunner-upThe Challenge: Fresh Meat IIRunner-upThe Real World: DenverThird placeThe Challenge: Fresh Meat IIThird placeThe Real World: CancunEpisode 7The Real World: CancunEpisode 7The Real World: BrooklynEpisode 5The Real World: BrooklynEpisode 5Spring Break ChallengeEpisode 3The Challenge: Fresh Meat IIEpisode 3The Real World: ChicagoEpisode 1The Real World: San Diego (2004)Episode 1
Teams Team Partner 1 Partner 2 Adam K. & CTAdam KingChris "CT" Tamburello Aneesa & RobinAneesa FerreiraRobin Hibbard Brandon & TyBrandon NelsonTy Ruff Camila & TheresaCamila NakagawaTheresa Gonzalez Cara Maria & LaurelCara Maria SorbelloLaurel Stucky Davis & TyrieDavis MalloryTyrie Ballard Evan & NehemiahEvan StarkmanNehemiah Clark Evelyn & PaulaEvelyn SmithPaula Meronek Jasmine & JonnaJasmine ReynaudJonna Mannion Jenn & MandiJenn GrijalvaMandi Moyer Johnny & TylerJohnny DevenanzioTyler Duckworth Katelynn & SarahKatelynn CusanelliSarah Rice Kenny & WesKenny SantucciWes Bergmann Leroy & MichaelLeroy GarrettMichael Ross
Pre-season rivalry backgrounds Rivals combines individuals who have had acrimonious or at least strained relations or interactions prior to the season. The following lists all the teams on Rivals, and explains why they've been paired and dubbed as "rivals." Each of the teams' history of animosity and/or open expressions of hostility are detailed.
Male teams Adam K. & CT: The bad blood between the two dates back to The Real World: Paris, with CT becoming confrontational toward Adam numerous times. During the most infamous occasion, CT pushed Adam around in the Parisian streets, telling him "don't pretend like you got my back dog...I'll fucking work you." On The Gauntlet III, Adam believed that CT's playful nature with Rookie Frank Roessler was getting out of hand and tried to break it up. This led to CT telling Adam he was doing the same thing he did in Paris, and poured a beer on his head. The years of tension between the two finally came to a head on The Duel II, when they engaged in a brawl that got them both removed from the show before any challenges took place. Adam R. & Leroy: The tension between Adam & Leroy developed during their original season on The Real World: Las Vegas, when Leroy became disgusted by Adam's obnoxious behavior within their Hard Rock Hotel and Casino suite and the accompanying Vanity nightclub. Adam became even more disorderly when he got drunk, and Leroy made his feelings clear to the rest of the roommates, with Adam taking great offense to that. Leroy & Michael: Leroy and Michael actually formed a good friendship on The Real World: Las Vegas, their partnership simply resulted from Adam Royer's disqualification. Brandon & Ty: The two engaged in a heated squabble during Cutthroat and they later faced off in a Gulag, in which Brandon won by default after an exhausted Ty failed to get up. Davis & Tyrie: During The Real World: Denver, the two engaged in a heated verbal scuffle, which included Davis drunkenly using a racial epithet toward Tyrie and producers having to separate the two in order to keep the fight from escalating. The two won the Best Fight award at the Real World Awards Bash in 2008. Evan & Nehemiah: The animosity between the two began on The Duel II, after Nehemiah stated that he does not like how Evan plays the game. Nehemiah made his distaste towards Evan known to fellow cast member Brad Fiorenza after his friend Davis Mallory was eliminated by Evan. Nehemiah then called out Evan for a Duel in the following episode, which an enraged Evan subsequently won, sending Nehemiah home. Johnny & Tyler: Their feud dates back to the first episode of The Duel, after Tyler called out his own Real World: Key West roommate Johnny to the first male Duel, sending him home. Johnny would then exact revenge during The Gauntlet III by sending Tyler in a Gauntlet against Frank Roessler, where Tyler was eliminated. The two were set to face against each other in a Gulag elimination during Cutthroat, but a twist made them both face CT instead, and Johnny was ultimately eliminated. On the Cutthroat reunion, when asked if CT was not involved, Johnny denied that the results would have been the same, to which Tyler immediately became angry and said if he could hold CT off for 40 minutes, he could have easily tossed Johnny around. Kenny & Wes: The two were friends on Fresh Meat and The Duel. The conflict between the two started after Kenny became involved in a relationship with Johanna Botta on The Island, who was Wes' roommate and romantic interest on The Real World: Austin. Their rivalry culminated in The Ruins, when the two became teammates on the Champions team. Wes admitted that the "love pentagon" situation was one of the main reasons he came out of Challenge retirement. Kenny, along with his allies Evan and Johnny, did everything in his power to remove Wes from the team, which he ultimately did after sending Wes into The Ruins three times. Their hatred re-kindled during their next challenge, (Fresh Meat II), and although they appeared to extinguish their animosity toward each other during The Ruins reunion, which was filmed after the filming of Fresh Meat II, it returned during the Fresh Meat II reunion, which was filmed after both seasons had aired and all had the opportunity to view what transpired. Their rivalry was the driving force behind almost all of the season's drama.
Female teams Aneesa & Robin: During The Duel, a drunk Robin made several offensive remarks regarding Aneesa's sexual orientation, race and origins, which drew Aneesa's wrath. Aneesa stated that this was not the first time Robin had made remarks about Aneesa's life, and Aneesa later chose Robin to go into the Duel and sent her home. Camila & Theresa: Camila was excoriated by Theresa in Cutthroat, after Theresa claimed that Camila had stole Ty's sweatpants and Jenn's hat, causing Camila to break down. Cara Maria & Laurel: Tension between the two began on Fresh Meat II when Laurel voted Cara Maria into Exile in the first week, which Cara Maria lost. Later on Cutthroat, Laurel accused Cara Maria of not being a worthy team member. Laurel continued to harbor hatred towards her, stating that she did not want to share any prize money with her and insinuated that Cara Maria got a "free ride" to the end because she had been romantically involved with Abram Boise. Evelyn & Paula: Tension between the two occurred on The Island, when Evelyn was constantly ridiculed by Paula's alliance members, Johnny and Kenny. Paula was then double crossed by Evelyn after she won the final face-off and made a deal with Johnny and Kenny that she would not take their keys (and consequently eliminate them from the game) in a bid to join their boat and win the final challenge. In turn, Paula was then shafted by her own friends and left behind by the group, who would go on to win the final challenge without her. Evelyn and Paula next met up on Fresh Meat II. Upon entering the house Paula expressed that she did not want Evelyn there, as she is a top competitor. The two girls then became the right hand women to the two house alliance leaders: Kenny and Wes. The two would again face each other in an Exile elimination which would tip the balance of power in the house based on the outcome. Evelyn was again victorious and Paula was eliminated. Jasmine & Jonna: The two were involved in a love triangle during their original season of The Real World: Cancun, when Jonna cheated on her boyfriend from home and became close to Jasmine's love interest, drawing jealousy from Jasmine. Jenn & Mandi: The two were involved in a scuffle during Fresh Meat II, after Mandi questioned Jenn's voting strategy. The two women got into a huge argument which led to Mandi calling Jenn a "dumb bitch". Jenn reacted by shoving Mandi off a table, throwing a drink at her, and almost punching her, only to have a barrage of insults follow the attack. Katelynn & Sarah: The two were friends on The Real World: Brooklyn, but their friendship soured during Fresh Meat II, when Katelynn voted Sarah for the Exile, after vowing not to. Sarah confronted Katelynn over this and revealed that her own mother warned her not to trust Katelynn. Sarah and Vinny would then be eliminated in the Exile by Kenny and Laurel.
Gameplay Challenge games High Dive: Players run and jump off a platform that is suspended 150 feet above a waterfall. Players have to hold their partner's hands, then run together, and jump off the platform before a white line and clear as many hash marks as possible. A team is disqualified if one or both players step on the white line that is located inches from the end of the platform. The team that clears the most hash marks in the shortest amount of time wins. Winners: Adam R. & Leroy and Jasmine & Jonna