FORT WORTH, Texas – This past weekend, we saw the debut of the PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, with the New York Mavericks taking on the Florida Freedom inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, and it brought the fireworks.

In the first PBR Camping World Team Series action since the championship was awarded in October, the two rival squads duked it out for bragging rights and a shiny new championship belt. Despite the Freedom being one of the highest-scoring squads in 2024 and the presence of 2024 MVP John Crimber, the underdog Mavericks used rides from Mason Taylor and Mauricio Moreira to take the win and remain perfect on home dirt.

As they say, that’s bull riding!

In case you missed it, all but two regular-season UTB events in 2025 will feature a PBR Teams rivalry game baked into Round 1. For those 15 weekends, the final 12 outs of the opening round will be a 6-on-6 game, with all outs counting both towards the UTB event and the game results.

The head-to-head rivalry games are: Arizona vs. Oklahoma; Austin vs. Texas; Carolina vs. Nashville; Florida vs. New York; and Kansas City vs. Missouri.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World

Up next on the docket is the Smoky Mountain Showdown. This weekend at the PBR Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois, the Carolina Cowboys take on the Nashville Stampede in an intriguing duel.

CAROLINA COWBOYS IN 2024

Regular-Season Record: 18-9-1, No. 2
Riding Percentage: 66-for-140 (47.1%)
Teams Championship Rank: No. 2

Ah, the season that was – and the season that could’ve been – for the Carolina Cowboys. Consistently a juggernaut on paper, the Cowboys had yet to string together any real dominance until the 2024 season. They began the year with an 11-game unbeaten streak, rising to 10-0-1 and a huge lead atop the standings. They maintained that lead all season long… that is, until the Kansas City Outlaws usurped them in the very last game of the regular season. The Cowboys then headed to Las Vegas for the PBR Teams Championship, where they again fell just short, losing to the Austin Gamblers in a slugfest of a championship game.

Despite the disappointments of 2024, the season was a huge success for the boys in Tarheel blue, and it’s hard to pinpoint any weaknesses other than the ability to finish what they started. With Daylon Swearingen, a newly resurgent Derek Kolbaba, and young gun Adriano Salgado leading the Cowboys into Chicago, they’re still one of the more formidable foes on the docket.

NASHVILLE STAMPEDE IN 2024

Regular-Season Record: 12-16, No. 7
Riding Percentage: 45-for-140 (32.1%)
Teams Championship Rank: No. 7

The 2022 PBR Teams Champions are always a head-scratcher. With an incredibly deep roster on paper, the Nashville Stampede have never been able to turn in a strong regular-season campaign. Their 12-16 record in 2024 was their best yet, improving on 11-17 in 2023 and a dismal 7-20 in 2022 – yes, the year they won the championship. In 2024, they dealt with an avalanche of injuries and lost several top riders to the expansion draft and trades.

But Kaiden Loud emerged as a superstar for the Stampede, and the squad chipped in three rides to win the Ride-In Round in Las Vegas and earn a spot at the PBR Teams Championship. Despite going 0-2 in T-Mobile Arena, they were a devastating 0.04 seconds away from winning the Last-Chance Game and living to fight another day. If there’s one thing you can expect from the Stampede, it’s pulling out big wins when they need them the most.

RELATED: Monster Energy Team Challenge presented by Camping World set to shake up 2025 UTB slate

A RIVALRY RENEWED

2024 Record: 2-1, Carolina

The teams faced off three times during the 2024 regular season. Cowboys dealt the Stampede a 175.75-86.75 loss in Kansas City, and that was the only game that didn’t come with any bad blood. The Cowboys’ other win came at the Stampede’s home event in Nashville when they cruised to a 263.25-0 shutout win. And the Stampede were finally victorious at the Cowboys’ home event in Greensboro, North Carolina, when they earned an 86.25-0 shutout win of their own. So much for home dirt advantage!

However, the most intriguing part of this matchup is the riders who are not competing. Carolina heavyweight and seven-time PRCA bull riding world champion Sage Kimzey is now an Austin Gambler, and the Cowboys also won’t get the contributions of 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, who’s retired from the Unleash The Beast and only competes during the PBR Teams season. The Stampede, meanwhile, are missing their unquestioned MVP, three-time World Champion Silvano Alves, who retired in October.

The Cowboys still have a roster capable of making noise, but what does this team look like without Kimzey and David? The Stampede will look to someone new to step into a leadership role in 2025, but can anyone fill Alves’s shoes? There are a whole lot of question marks surrounding this matchup, and absolutely anything could happen.

Don’t miss any of the action! The METC will conclude Round 1 in Chicago, which begins Friday, Jan. 10, at 9 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV, the PBR’s YouTube channel and X account, and the PBR app. The METC airs Saturday, Jan. 11, at noon ET on CBS.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media