As the old saying goes, a team is only as strong as its weakest link. But, what happens when there are no weak links in a team?
MTV's reality competition The Challenge loves to team up different competitors who have to run their entire seasons together. And while sometimes the pairings they come up with are total flops, some duos are absolutely deadly. There have been many intimidating male partnerships throughout the course of the series, but who stands out as the best of the best?
Zach Nichols & Trey Weatherholtz - Rivals II
On paper, Trey and Zach are undeniably a force to be reckoned with. However, they never really lived up to their potential on Rivals 2.
This duo was on their way to becoming at least be one of the major contenders to win the entire season, but they wound up accidentally disqualifying themselves in an elimination fairly early on. It would have been interesting to see them get further in the game though, as they were already proving their abilities from the start of the game.
Nelson Thomas & Shane Landrum - Final Reckoning
Although Nelson and Shane are a bit of an odd couple, something about this pairing just really works.
They were forced to work together in Final Reckoning after not getting along in prior seasons, but they quickly ran ahead of the pack and showed that they were one of the strongest pairs there. They were on track to at the very least make the final had they not been purged out and then shut out of the Apocalypse competitions.
Leroy Garrett & Mike Ross - Rivals
While every Challenge fan loves a format where two players who can't stand each other are forced to work together, Mike and Leroy's fantastic rookie run demonstrates just how much easier the game can be when contestants play with the people they love instead.
Adam Royer was kicked off of Rivals very early on, and Leroy's Real World: Las Vegas bestie Mike was his replacement. Despite never competing in the game before, these newbies made it all the way to the final.
Cory Wharton & Mitch Reid - Battle of the Bloodlines
Although Battle of the Bloodlines will never be one of the most popular or beloved iterations of The Challenge, a few superstar players and teams did emerge from the tepid season.
Cory Wharton and Mitch Reid were one such standout partnership, as these cousins proved that they had the perfect combination of brains and brawn to become a serious threat to win the gold. Although they fell just short, they had a great run, one of the best in Cory's long Challenge history.
CT Tamburello & Adam King - Rivals
While any team that Challenge GOAT CT Tamburello is on is going to be hard to defeat, Adam King was actually a pretty solid competitor in his own right. These two were really the focal point of Rivals 1, as the majority alliance was obsessed with sending them home.
However, Adam and CT performed so well that they were quite difficult to send into the Jungle. And, if Adam hadn't gotten confused during the last elimination, these two very likely would have won the season.
Kenny Santucci & Wes Bergmann - Rivals
Calling Kenny and Wes one of the strongest male teams of all time might be a bit controversial given that Kenny couldn't stop DQing during the regular season and then Wes had to be carried up a mountain by his partner.
But regardless, these two are some of the toughest players in the history of the game, and that strength at least got them to the final. Plus, if the massive lead they had on day 1 of said final wasn't cut down to mere minutes in day 2, they would have definitely won.
Jordon Wiseley & Marlon Williams - Rivals II
Rivals 2 had one of the most competitive fields in any Challenge season, especially when it came to the male partnerships. Thus, the fact that rookies Jordan and Marlon even fought their way to the final is impressive.
They performed well throughout, winning a daily challenge and two Jungles. And while they were both understandably disappointed to be third in the final, the teams that beat them are some of the greatest of all time.
Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio & Tyler Duckworth - Rivals
Johnny and Tyler stood out among their fellow Rivals 1 competitors for a few reasons. Of course, the obvious is that they were simply very good at the game. But secondly, they also worked together nearly flawlessly.
Not only did they become champions of the season, but they actually managed to beat CT (along with Adam) in a physical elimination, and Tyler emerged victorious despite the fact that he started the final with a horrible case of food poisoning.
Frank Sweeney & Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio - Rivals II
Were it not for the staggeringly talented partner pool in this season, most knowledgeable Challenge fans would see a duo like Frank and Johnny and assume that, barring any bizarre fluke of bad luck, they were nearly guaranteed to win the game.
So then, it comes as no great shock that they made it all the way to the end and barely wound up in second place after an incredibly tight race against CT and Wes.
Wes Bergmann & CT Tamburello - Rivals II
As soon as TJ announced that CT and Wes were going to be partners for Rivals 2, the entire competition was essentially theirs to lose.
Yes, CT hadn't actually won a season yet at this point, but every other player was terrified of him because he was such a threat. And then there is Wes, who is one of the most well-rounded players in Challenge history. This is the kind of partnership that many Challenge viewers dream of seeing, and they truly lived up to their potential.