Although there are individual players who have proved themselves to be some of the best in the history of MTV's The Challenge, nearly every recent season of the series has demonstrated that who each person is partnered with matters more than almost anything else.
The Challenge has tried many different formats and configurations over the years, and one of their most common team-up styles is matching a male competitor with a female competitor. But, out of all of the male-female teams throughout the show, who was the most badass?
Joss Mooney & Sylvia Elsrode - Final Reckoning
Unfortunately for Joss and Sylvia, they are one of the best teams of all time, and if they had simply not trusted Paulie and Natalie at their word, they'd both be half a million dollars richer right now.
Although Joss and Sylvia didn't completely dominate Final Reckoning, they won dailies when it counted and made it all the way to the end. They also happened to win the final, except the grenade that Natalie and Paulie threw at them took them from first place to second.
Paulie Calafiore & Natalie "Ninja" Duran - War of the Worlds
While a few of Ninja's fellow teammates in War of the Worlds 2 continually complained that she wasn't much of a team player, her partnership with Paulie showed just what she's capable of when she's matched with the right person. Both she and Paulie absolutely killed it.
These two were a ferocious duo in the first War of the Worlds, and it's genuinely difficult to imagine a significantly stronger team in the current era of The Challenge.
Coral Smith & Evan Starkman - Fresh Meat
Coral and Evan's hot run in the original Fresh Meat just goes to show how brutally an injury or two can stop a strong competitor in their tracks. Ultimately they were both medically disqualified shortly before the end of the season, but they were a near-lock to win at that point.
They had won a staggering 5 out of the 10 challenges so far in the game, and it's hard to imagine any other team being able to surpass them.
Wes Bergmann & Casey Cooper - Fresh Meat
The Real World: Austin's cast was clearly intended to be the sacrificial lambs during the Fresh Meat season, and for the most part they were. But Wes and Casey were the little engines that could, as they just kept on coming back no matter how many times they were thrown into elimination. And, they were thrown into elimination a lot.
Although they wound up coming in third overall, their 5-0 Exile wins is still one of the best elimination records in Challenge history. And of course, Wes Bergmann became a Challenge legend in his own right.
CT Tamburello & Diem Brown - Battle of the Exes I & II
Despite the fact that CT Tamburello is one of the best players in the history of the game, it took quite a while for him to actually win a Challenge. But he came impressively close with partner Diem Brown in Battle of the Exes 1.
They both came to compete on Battle of the Exes 2 as well, but unfortunately, Diem was medically disqualified and had to be evacuated a few episodes into the season. They'll still go down as one of the best teams of all time though.
Kenny Santucci & Laurel Stucky - Fresh Meat II
If Kenny and Laurel had actually won Fresh Meat 2, they would unequivocally be the best male-female team in the history of the series.
They won more than half of the daily Challenges on that season which is honestly astounding, and had they not been squaring off against Challenge legend Landon in the final, it's a near certainty that they would have come out victorious. Despite being on the wrong side of the house alliances for half of the game, they played nearly flawlessly.
Ashley Mitchell & Hunter Barfield - Final Reckoning
Unfortunately for everyone on Final Reckoning outside of Ashley "Millionaire" Mitchell, Hunter and Ash were an incredibly strong team. Hunter is an incredible physical player and Ashley's brain and willingness to do whatever it takes to win carried them to the end of the competition.
After their great run in the final, Ashley earned her nickname and Final Reckoning lived up to its title when Ashley was given the opportunity to take the entire million-dollar prize for herself and she happily accepted.
Jordan Wiseley & Sarah Rice - Battle of the Exes II
Sometimes a certain Challenge season seems to be stacked in a certain team's favor, while in other instances there are a lot of strong contenders who could potentially win. Battle of the Exes 2 is a latter sort of Challenge, which makes Jordan and Sarah's victory all the more impressive.
It shouldn't come as much of a shock given that Jordan is one of the strongest guys and Sarah is one of the strongest girls of all time, but they had to demolish some very tough competition in order to claim the gold medal.
Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio & Camila Nakagawa - Battle of the Exes
Bananas and the Camilinator are ferocious contestants on their own, but together they're downright deadly. The first Battle of the Exes was no cakewalk either, and beating a team like CT and Diem is no easy feat.
But they managed to make it to the final, and when CT got overly exhausted by the freezing cold weather, this team took the opportunity to snag the lead and ultimately become the champions of Battle of the Exes 1.
Sarah Rice & Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio - Rivals III
Perhaps some of the best male and female duos of The Challenge are a little cursed as well, since this is the second team that killed an entire season and then won a final only for one of the team members to steal the entire cash prize from the other.
Sarah was understandably devastated when Johnny took all the money in Rivals 3, but she can at least take some small comfort in the fact that she had one of the best runs in Challenge history, even if it was alongside someone who became an even bigger rival.