Claim: The Challenge was later abridged to its current name.

The Challenge -LRB- originally known as Road Rules : All Stars , followed by Real World/Road Rules Challenge -RRB- is a reality game show on MTV that is spun off from the network 's two reality shows , Real World and Road Rules . It features alumni from these two shows , in addition to first-time cast members called ` Fresh Meat ' , alumni from Are You the One ? , and relatives of these cast members called ` Bloodlines ' , competing against one another for a cash prize . The Challenge is currently hosted by T. J. Lavin .  The series premiered on June 1 , 1998 . The title of the show was originally Road Rules : All Stars before it was renamed Real World/Road Rules Challenge by the show 's 2nd season , then later abridged to simply The Challenge by the show 's 19th season . The series initially used no hosts but instead a former cast member who had been kicked off his or her season , providing assignments as `` Mr. '' or `` Ms. Big '' -LRB- David `` Puck '' Rainey , David Edwards , and Gladys Sanabria served this role -RRB- . Later on , however , the series began using hosts : Eric Nies and Mark Long co-hosted a season , and Jonny Moseley and Dave Mirra hosted various seasons before T. J. Lavin became the show 's regular host by the 11th season .   Since the 4th season , each season has supplied the show with a unique subtitle , such as Rivals . Each season consists of a format and theme whereby the subtitle is derived . Of each season 's format and theme , 8 have been repeated or revamped through sequel seasons with shared subtitles . In chronological order , these include : Battle of the Sexes -LRB- tied to Battle of the Sexes II , the show 's first sequel season -RRB- ; The Inferno -LRB- tied to The Inferno II and The Inferno III , the show 's first trilogy -RRB- ; The Gauntlet -LRB- tied to The Gauntlet II and The Gauntlet III -RRB- ; The Duel -LRB- tied to The Duel II -RRB- ; Fresh Meat -LRB- tied to Fresh Meat II -RRB- , Battle of the Seasons -LRB- tied to the second Battle of the Seasons -RRB- ; Rivals -LRB- tied to Rivals II and Rivals III -RRB- ; and Battle of the Exes -LRB- tied to Battle of the Exes II -RRB- .   The current 29th season , entitled Invasion of the Champions , premiered on February 7 , 2017 and concluded on May 16 , 2017 .