MTV RR/RW Challenge Rivals Final Review

Another season of Real World/Road Rules Challenge comes to a close.  Each season tries to top the previous, so the monkey wrench thrown at the cast members this time was that they’d be paired with one of their worst enemies from previous challenges.

The two highest profile pairings were between Wes/Kenny and CT/Adam.  CT went out of his way to prove to Adam that he was sorry for their brawl, and by the end it seemed Adam had warmed up to him.  Wes and Kenny, on the other hand, continued to bicker all the way to the final challenge.

The teams that made it to the final were Wes/Kenny, Johnny/Tyler, Mike/Leroy on the Men’s side.  Female’s side were Evelyn/Paula, Cara Maria/Laurel, and Mandi/Jenn.

Anyone who has watched a Challenge knows that the final is a mix of physical and mental tests that have to be overcome. The contestants had to carry a ball and chain, solve puzzles, rebuild a tent from memory, and consume large amounts of food. The funniest part to me during the final challenge is always seeing the cocky loud mouth be broken down.  In this case it was Wes.  Wes talked a big game, belittling Cara Maria and even his own teammate Kenny.  Then in the final he had to be LITERALLY carried by Wes at times. Then he complained about a knot forming in his right thigh.  I joked that it looked like Wes was going to give birth by the way he was laying on the ground.  He sounded like a whiny little baby.  And this brought a sly smile to my face.

A Challenge first was thrown at the contestants and us by the reveal that they would have to spend the night camped outdoors. Each team made it except for Mandi/Jenn, who couldn’t failed to perfectly recreate a tent campsite from memory. The rules for spending the night were that while one team member slept, the other had to balance themselves on a rock.  If the person on the rock tipped over, they had to wake their sleeping teammate up and switch places.  This was a BRILLIANT curveball.  MTV knows how to keep increasing the drama in these challenges.  I do miss the days where we got to see the contestants go out and party at whatever location they are at.  There was a lot more drinking, which lead to more fights.  Now all the drinking occurs at the house.  Ahhh the good ol’ days.

Once the sun rises we find out the last part of the challenge:  climbing a mountain to retrieve homing devices, which will then be used to find a key to unlock and seal their victory.  The order of takeoff will be the order that the teams arrived at the campsite.  Mike doesn’t have enough left in the tank, so he and Leroy quit.  Normally TJ Lavin, the host, despises quitters. But since they are rookies Leroy and Mike are commended on a valiant showing.  Only in the world of reality TV are rookies looked on as being not worthy to compete against other drunkards and partiers.

In the end, the teams of Tyler/Johnny and Evelyn/Paula were crowned the champions.  It should also be noted that these “Rivals” pairs did not participate in any infighting that took place in some of the other teams.  And if they did have disagreements, they worked them out amongst themselves.  Paula and Evelyn didn’t agree on the order of who should go first in a challenge, but it wasn’t something that they couldn’t overcome.  The key was putting differences aside for the greater goal of winning.  The flip side of that was Wes and Kenny, who immediately got into a bitching contest once they had lost.  Both wanted to blame the other for not winning.  I must say I’m glad not every rivalry was erased.  These challenges would get pretty boring if there were no fights or hatred amongst competitors.

Make sure to drop us a line in the Comments section to let us know what your thoughts were on the Rivals finale.

#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE