It was recently announced that the theme for next season of The Challenge would be released during the premiere of the new MTV series Winter Break. Considering the season hasn’t even finished casting yet, this a surprising but very welcome move. While minds all over the internet are racing thinking what it could be, I’ve come up with a few possibilities myself for what it could be and have shared them below. I won’t go into full detail explaining the season but will include any unique aspects of it.

Note: I’ve neglected including any direct sequels such as The Duel 3, Fresh Meat 3, Battle of the Exes 3, or Battle of the Bloodlines 2; because despite the strong likelihood the season comes from one of those formats I found it more interesting to discuss original content. Also, although Montana has already been rumored as the location for next season, other unique locations will be considered as well.

The Challenge: Love and War

We’ve had Rivals and we’ve had Exes, what happens if we combine them? This season would feature ten four-person teams made up of players who have strong feelings towards each other. They may have been exes, may be in a feud, or maybe even are the best of friends; but one thing is for certain: they have a strong opinion of each other. Missions would be formatted similarly to Battle of the Seasons (2012); however, eliminations would not. After each mission, the last place team would immediately be in the elimination while a team voted in by the house and a team selected by the winning team would be up for elimination as well. The elimination game’s theme would be selected by the winning team from options such as brawn, willpower, strategy, or physicality. At the elimination, the two teams voted into elimination would draw cards. If the card is a heart, that player can return to the house unscathed. However, if the card is a skull, that player is in elimination. There would be one female and one male in elimination total from the two teams voted in. The players in the elimination from the card draw would then be able to select a player from their gender of their choosing to go against in elimination, provided the team has more than one option to go in. Outside of the elimination format, anything else would simply follow the format of Battle of the Seasons (2012).

Example Teams:

John Devenanzio-Cara Maria Sorbello-Cory Wharton-Kailah Casillas

Jordan Wisely-Laurel Stucky-Wes Bergmann-Theresa Gonzalez

Brad Fiorenza-Ashley Kelsey-Zach Nichols-Britni Thornton

Nelson Thomas-Amanda Garcia-Tony Raines-Ashley Mitchell

Possible Location:

Milan, Italy

The Challenge: Money Moves

Back in the early days of the show, there were scoreboards used to track how a competitor was doing. What if those scoreboards returned, but they actually had a practical effect on the game? Each mission, a player would be awarded a certain ammount of Challenge dollars based on their performance in the mission. These dollars then could be used to bid on items or actions that could be useful. Feel like your team is at a disadvantage prior to a mission? Buy the ability to trade yourself to the other team and send back the weakest player to your previous team. Have someone you want to target for elimination? Bid on the ability to give them a hindrance before the next mission. The eliminations for this season would function similarly to the Troika and Inquisition on Vendettas, but still different in a lot of ways. The last place of each gender would immediately be sent to elimination, but their opponent would be chosen by a group known as the Board. The Board would be made up of a group of people which varies depending on the mission. The rest of the house not in the Board would vote on 2–4 people of each gender to be sent to the Board, who would then interrogate the people sent to them and select one of each gender for elimination. Anything else would follow a format similar to Dirty XXX.

Example Bidding Items:

Ability to place oneself on the Board.

Ability to decide teams.

Ability to give oneself advantage for the mission.

Ability to make a phone call home.

Possible Location:

Monte Carlo, Monaco.

The Challenge: Civil War

Over the years, The Challenge has developed many strong personalities emblematic of the series. What if we put those personalities against each other? Before the season, three males and three females of legendary status on the show would be team captains (ideally: Bananas, CT, and Wes for the guys, Cara Maria, Laurel/Emily, and Sarah for the ladies.) Each of the captains would draw cubes of different colors to determine who would be paired with whom (co-ed pairs) and then would compete in a mini final-esque mission to determine draft order. A draft would then be conducted (serpentine style) to determine teams for the season. Team Captains would be given benefits such as internet access and cell-phone access and a special room for each pair. Team Captains would not be exempt from elimination; however, they would get to break any ties in voting. If a Captain is eliminated, the remaining players from that team would vote on a new one from the same gender. Anything else would follow the format established by Cutthroat.

Note: An alternative to the season would be to entitle it Psychological Warfare and split the teams based on their attributes, similar to the Survivor season Cagayen. Bananas/Cara Maria would lead the Ego/Face/Beauty team, CT/Laurel or Emily would lead the Id/Heart/Brawn team, and Wes/Sarah would lead the Superego/Mind/Brains team.

Example Team (Psychological Warfare):

Team Id

Chris Tamburello

Laurel Stucky

Zach Nichols

Nicole Zanatta

Derrick Kosinski

Tori Deal

Nelson Thomas

Kam Williams

Hunter Barfield

Aneesa Ferriera

Darrell Taylor

Nia Moore

The Challenge: Battle Royale

Tired of people skating through the season through politics without lifting a finger? Want to see how a previous winner handles a hungry but reckless challenger? Welcome to Battle Royale, where stripes will be earned, and points will be proven. This season will begin with a previous champion of a season of The Challenge being paired with a random person yet to win a season. Each mission, the winning pair will select two matchups for the elimination. However, in order to advance to the next stage of the season, a pair MUST win an elimination. This would prevent pairs from skating bye unscathed and would force everyone to hop in the elimination in order to stay in the game. The season would be conducted in a March Madness Tournament style bracket, with missions leading to two eliminations up until only two remain, at which point the final would be conducted. Anything else would be handled similarly to a Fresh Meat season.

Example Bracket:

The Challenge: Fans’ Choice

Tired of boring missions or eliminations? Want all your fan favorites on a season? Then welcome to Fans’ Choice where the fans get to decide pretty much everything. Before the season on online poll would not only decide who was on the season (similar to Survivor Cambodia) but also everything from the missions, eliminations, and events of the final. There would be basically every option imaginable available, from events from The Gauntlet all the way up to original concepts. The players in elimination would be the bottom player and a player chosen by the winner. The season would be individual with one winner of each gender, and format of missions would be similar to Free Agents with team captains being chosen when needed. Anything else would follow the format of a Free Agents season.

Example Options:

Eliminations

Pole Wrestle

Balls In

Wrecking Wall

Hall Brawl

Ascender

Knock Your Block Off

Reverse Tug-Of-War

Knot So Fast

Shadowfighter

Spot On

The Challenge: War of the Worlds

The Challenge has a variety of worlds it pulls talent from. Want to see what happens if those worlds go at it? This season would include five different teams with each team representing a different demographic of The Challenge. There would be a Team Old School, with players who debuted on the show before Cutthroat; a Team UK with players from the Geordie Shore and Ex on the Beach (UK), a Team US with players from Big Brother and Survivor, a Team Real World, and a Team Are You The One?. The winning team of each mission would select a team for elimination, while the last place team would also be in elimination. The teams in elimination would then vote on one player of each gender to be sent in to elimination. Anything else would follow a similar format to that of Cutthroat.

Example Team:

Old School

John Devenanzio

Cara Maria Sorbello

Derrick Kosinski

Veronica Portillo

Brad Fiorenza

Coral Smith

Darrell Taylor

KellyAnne Judd