The Challenge: Rivals III is a stand-alone production.
The Challenge : Rivals III is the 28th season of the MTV reality game show , The Challenge . Being the third in the Rivals series , Rivals III marks the show 's third trilogy ( following the Inferno and Gauntlet series ) , continuing on from the original Rivals and Rivals II . Unlike the previous two installments of the Rivals series , which featured same-gender pairs , Rivals III saw a change in format , with male/female pairs that had bitter feuds , fights , or strained relationships in previous seasons of Real World , The Challenge , and Are You the One ? Unlike the other Rivals seasons , only the winning team from each week 's challenge was allowed to decide which team would face the last-place team in the elimination round .