[bright tones]
- We're back at Universal Studios Hollywood,
ready for our closeup on the second night of qualifying
of "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and welcome. I'm Matt Iseman.
- And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
We kicked off the season last week
with a double dose of "Ninja," and we're
about to do it again.
- Absolutely, big man.
Tonight, we'll again see two groups of ninjas
on two different courses.
For a preview of the first one our ninjas will face,
let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Here we go, guys.
We kick things off here, on our qualifying course,
where we have some new twists tonight.
One of our fan favorite obstacles,
Ring Chaser, is back.
- Got it!
- Ninjas try to catch the rolling ring any way they can.
- What? He caught that with his foot!
- And use it or the smaller ring to reach safety.
[upbeat music]
Another fan favorite--
- Whoa!
- Spinning Bridge, returns as the balance obstacle
in the number-three position.
- No!
- Then it's a brand-new one, Heavy Metal,
where Ninjas jump the heavy bar forward, spin around,
and jump it backwards.
- Nice!
- That's followed by the Cubes.
Hit the buzzer in 1 minute 20 seconds,
and you'll earn a shot at the 18 1/2 foot Mega Wall.
Conquer that and you'll take home $20,000
from the Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit Card.
Let's fire it up, guys.
- Our first competitor tonight is coming in
like a wrecking ball.
- Let's go!
- 26-year-old Tommy Rutter is a demolition
foreman in Des Moines.
- Come on!
- Oh, you can't tell me he's not hyped.
[all chanting] Tommy, Tommy, Tommy!
- His crew on the sideline is definitely excited,
led by his wife Paige.
Tommy wears a hard hat, but he's also got a soft side.
[upbeat rock music]
* *
I'm just a big kid, and my job
is a giant playground.
* *
Make way!
We're breaking concrete.
We're cutting up steel.
* *
The power of the tools is immense.
* *
And, I mean, who doesn't want to swing a sledge hammer
and get paid for it?
* *
Ahh!
* *
Do you remember the last time we were on this bridge?
It was so peaceful.
- Yeah.
- Paige is the number-one inspiration in my life,
and has been since I've met her.
[soft music]
- When I was 16, I was diagnosed
with acute myeloid leukemia.
It was a really rough time, but when I met Thomas,
he taught me a whole new world of love,
and compassion, and adventure, and freedom, I guess.
So it really helped my heart heal
in a lot of different ways.
* *
- Whoo!
- To be standing at the start line
and to have Paige cheering me on means everything to me.
* *
Paige is definitely the real Ninja Warrior,
and I wouldn't have been here without her.
* *
[cheering]
- You can tell he's got a heart of gold.
And there's Paige on his sideline,
along with his buddies from Des Moines.
- Ey, ey!
[all chanting] Tommy, Tommy!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Demolition man's gonna get us going on Pole Vault.
Climb up, then kick those legs out.
- Nice! - Perfect!
- Come on, you got it!
- 6'4", 195 pounds, good size for demolition.
Pretty big for ninja.
Should be able to use that reach here on Ring Chaser.
He's gotta monkey bar down and catch the ring.
Oh, nice!
But still has to swing over to the next hook.
Little showoff, look at that,
getting the crowd into it!
Can he launch this ring?
Got it! - Nice!
[cheering]
But now he's spinning in circles, hanging by one arm!
What is he doing?
Not how you want to do this obstacle,
but he's hanging in there.
- It can be very hard to land it when you've
got that diagonal swing, Matt.
- Says he learned about overcoming
obstacles from his wife, Paige,
and her fight with leukemia.
And finally gets through!
- Let's go!
[cheering]
- And he is pumped up!
That gave him a dose of adrenaline!
- Let's go!
[cheering]
- But now it's tonight's balance obstacle,
Spinning Bridge.
- Let's go!
- Needs to sprint across these spinning balls.
Watch the footwork here.
- Whoa!
[cheering]
- Let's go!
- Man, he is stumbling and fumbling through this course,
but somehow he's found himself on the fourth obstacle!
- Brand-new obstacle, Heavy Metal.
- Ooh, this one is awkward.
You've got a 10-pound bar with ring handles on it.
You've gotta lache 5 feet across.
Oh, that is Heavy Metal!
OK!
- Well, he is rocking out and rotating it.
Now a reverse lache.
- Look looks like he belongs on Heavy Metal!
- Oh! [air horn blares]
[dramatic music]
Can't hold on, and I guess we could say
that run was a smash.
- Yes, it was!
Tommy Rutter brought the noise, and he
bulldozed his way through the first half of the course.
The demo man couldn't handle Heavy Metal,
but he had a blast!
- I love you. - I love you too.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- Up next is 16-year-old Colorado high
school student Emily Keener.
She might look like your typical teenager,
but she sees things a little differently.
[soft music]
- So I have something called synesthesia,
which is basically when two or more of your senses
mix together.
* *
When I hear a song, instead of just hearing it,
I see a bunch of colors floating around the room
in, like, patterns and stuff.
* *
For the longest time, I thought that everybody
saw colors when they read and when they heard stuff.
I started painting what I see.
For names or a certain sound, it correlates to a color.
And then, the louder the sound is,
the more, like, vibrant it is.
- Her brain just works a little bit differently
than most people's.
- It's just really neat when you
see your kid communicate something that they've never
been able to share before.
- Hey, guys. I've painted your names.
- Wow!
- I definitely see synesthesia as a gift
because I see some things that nobody
else will ever be able to see.
The red is for the A's.
It's time to show my true colors.
* *
Emily wanted to help us understand her condition,
so she painted what our names look like to her.
- And I love it. - This is "Matt."
Yeah! - Yeah, and this is me.
When she sees the letter A, red comes up.
- Double T's get green.
I love the look of this. - This is pretty cool.
- Emily's gonna be cheered on by her mom
and a bunch of the Colorado ninjas she trains with,
who are down on the sideline.
[countdown clock beeping]
[cheering]
- Well, last season, Emily Keener made it
to the semifinals, was the top woman in her qualifying round.
- Now she's making her way to Ring Chaser.
You know, when she hears that rumbling ring,
I wonder what color that creates for her.
She catches it, no problem.
Now ready for a little height.
Nice!
- She's been training hard with Austin Gray, Nate Hanson,
and of course, one of the top women around,
Taylor Greene, and all of them say
Emily has tremendous skills.
Now facing Spinning Bridge.
Great balance. - Nice.
- Her senses are attuned to this course.
On now to Heavy Metal.
10-pound bar, heaviest bar we've ever had
in "Ninja Warrior," and you can see,
a little more challenging to get up with that big bar.
- Gotta generate the power in this reverse lache.
- There's the blind one.
She's just gotta trust her senses.
- Launch it in! - Oh!
- Try to control the bar there.
That awkward shape and that heavy metal
is making it extremely difficult.
- Big lache here.
That hook drops down.
Nice break.
I like this run out of Emily Keener.
She's the first tonight to conquer Heavy Metal.
Taylor Greene, over there on the sideline,
was the only woman to hit a buzzer
in qualifying last year.
Emily Keener trying to do it this season,
but will have to get past the Cubes.
Last year, went out on the fifth obstacle.
Here's a chance for revenge, and possibly
her first-ever buzzer.
- Gotta spin this first one vertically.
- Yeah, and it's so hard, because you're holding
your body weight with one arm.
You can see, she's trying to get it down.
- 115 pounds, struggling to find the purchase.
Gets it around. - Nice!
- Now you can launch.
Well, this is where the grip strength is taxed.
We'll see what Emily has in reserve.
- Nice. - Makes it to the second cube.
There you've gotta rotate it 180 degrees.
- Yeah, starting to fish around, trying to find it.
Now gotta really try to turn that thing around.
- And Keener fighting,
use that lower body to kick it around.
And good job locking it in!
Well, her senses are keen.
Going to the final cube!
Anticipate the moves here.
- Well, she's throwing--
- Oh!
- Oh, boy!
- She was closing in on her first buzzer,
but Emily Kenner comes up just short on the Cubes.
- Good job, Em!
- Only the top four women from this group
will move on to the semifinals.
There's a good chance Keener will be one of them
with that run.
- Tonight, it's another "Ninja" double feature,
with two different courses and two groups of fan favorites,
including our newly crowned Women's Champion Addy Herman.
She's worked so hard for this moment!
- And it's the swan song for the Phoenix.
"Ninja" great Najee Richardson is retiring.
This might be his last time on the course.
Plus, the Green brothers have been through a lot
over the years, but they've always got each other's back.
- We both want to make it to semis and finals together.
- All that and more--
- Let's go!
- Coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- We're off to a good, clean start
here in our second night of qualifying,
and that's due in part to ninja Tim Gallenbeck,
who's a window washer back in Iowa, and minutes ago,
was ready to clean up on the course.
- OK! I see you!
- The 43-year-old father of four stayed out of the water
on Pole Vault.
- Watch yourself, watch yourself.
- But the window washer got
a little messy on Ring Chaser.
- Oh, he lost it.
- Oh, he hit it with his elbow!
- With both rings in the water, he was hung out to dry.
- Oh!
[air horn blares]
- But at least he cleaned up after himself.
Greenwood, Indiana's 17-year-old Jess Wombles just
earned her pilot's license,
and she's known as the Sky Ninja.
- All right, Jess Wombles ready for takeoff!
- The teenage aviator soared through Pole Vault.
- Ooh, she got some air time.
Nice.
- And aced the catch on Ring Chaser.
- Fasten your seatbelt for this one.
Nice!
- She was cruising,
until she reached the balance obstacle.
- Ground game! Ground game!
Keep your feet hot!
No!
- And it ended up as a water landing.
[upbeat music]
19-year-old Anabella Heinrichs has a hobby too.
- Anabella and I share a passion of scuba diving.
She got her advanced scuba certification.
- Things were going swimmingly for the second-year ninja vet.
- OK!
- And she had no problem with the early obstacles--
- Keep it running! Keep it running!
Nice!
- Until she reached Heavy Metal,
which was a big headache.
- Oh!
- She hit her head on the backward throw,
and the scuba diver ended up in the water.
Get ready for twice the fun because up next
is Wisconsin's Nathan Green.
He's the twin brother of Marquez Green, who we'll
see run in just a few minutes.
These two are incredibly close,
and they love to try and best each other on the course.
- We started off the twin rivalry back in 2019,
on our first season.
It went well for me.
I hit a buzzer.
- Marquez!
Yes!
- Not so much for me.
I ended up falling on obstacle two.
- Oh! Oh, my goodness!
- Me and Nathan are both super competitive,
and we both want to be better than the other person.
- With twins, there's that natural thing
where people compare you two, so,
like, it's always competition.
But it's friendly.
- Got you!
- I'll get it next time, though.
- Our mom has always been a big motivator in our lives.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer
when we were four years old.
I think her passing really brought us closer.
- You can see the emotion.
These twins have a special bond.
- This is our fourth season now,
and we both want to make it to semis and finals together.
- Season 16 is more so buzzers over bros,
or winning before twinning.
- Oh, I like that one.
I like that one more, winning over twinning.
- Yeah.
- Come on, Nathan! You got it!
Let's go!
- These two always get emotional watching
each other run.
- Marquez leading a big group of ninja friends
the brothers train with.
[countdown clock beeping]
They wear different colors, so we can tell them apart.
Nathan's wearing red, and Marquez is in blue.
They've been back and forth in their competition,
but Marquez is the only one who's ever hit a buzzer.
- Come on, Nathan! Come on!
- Both of the brothers were track athletes growing up.
Started Ninja five years ago.
- Nice!
Good job getting that ring.
[cheering]
- Both of the Greens are Badgers.
They graduated from the University of Wisconsin
a couple of years ago.
And he is through!
[cheering]
- He can use his track skills here on Spinning Bridge.
Da, da, da, da, got it!
- And Nathan Green rolling along,
making a strong case to be the top twin this season!
[cheering]
Now the upper body test resumes
right here with Heavy Metal.
This 10-pound bar with the ring
handles just so different than anything
we've had on "Ninja Warrior."
- Ooh, you've gotta get up and out, up and out.
Ooh!
- Well, this one right here, that blind lache,
can be very difficult.
Trust yourself.
Feel the space, and that's about a 5-foot lache.
There it is!
Just muscled it in there.
Good job kipping it.
- Well, this next one's got greater distance.
This is about 6 feet right here.
- And there's a drop.
That hook drops down.
- So you've gotta anticipate that drop,
get a little bit more energy to get that 6 feet.
Nice!
- Gotta get this dismount.
- Got it! - Wow!
It is the Cubes standing between him
and his first buzzer.
- Get your first buzzer!
Come on! Let's go!
- Here we go.
Everyone chanting his name.
- Now this one right here, you've gotta
grow up real quick.
You've gotta man up on this one.
- Right to the top. Yup.
Now pull it down, with your left.
Yeah. Yeah.
- And Marquez is walking him through it.
- You can see him anticipating.
The one-handed hold is what makes it so hard.
- He's trying to minimize the amount of time
that he's spent on one hand.
- Holding his whole body up.
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- Rotate it!
- Here we go.
- Good power!
- That looked fun.
I'm not even gonna lie.
As difficult as it is, Nathan Green made that look fun.
I want to try that! - Now watch that right side.
It moves down. - Yes, it does.
- Great job anticipating it!
- Oh, my!
- Getting so close to that first buzzer.
- Fight for it. You came this far.
You might as well go get that buzzer.
Go get it. Go get it!
Stop playing. Dig deep!
Dig deep.
You only-- - Can he get the dismount?
- Man, you better give it everything you got.
Everything you got! - Yes!
[cheering]
- Nathan Green--
- 14 1/2 feet away from his first buzzer!
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!
He had to fight for that one!
- And Nathan Green delivers a money performance!
[upbeat music]
And he's our first finisher of the night!
* *
- He just hit his first buzzer!
Let's go!
- Oh, my God!
- Nathan, how did that feel, touching
it for the first time?
- I'm at a loss for words.
I train with such good competitors
that sometimes I start to doubt myself,
but, tonight, I came really confident,
and I just knew I could do this.
- Congrats, man.
- Nathan, it was a family affair.
Go celebrate with your family, buddy!
Well, a great moment for Nathan Green.
Beating your brother is nice, but getting
that buzzer is so sweet.
* *
Coming up, he's had us eat some of the gnarliest insects
on the planet.
- Ah!
- Now Bug Ninja Eric Middleton serving up a new dish.
- Oh, that looks disgusting!
- When "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Everything you've got!
- Minutes ago, Wisconsin's Nathan Green
got his first career buzzer.
And while we were away, his twin brother Marquez
got his shot at the course.
With his bro leading a big cheering section,
the four-time "Ninja" veteran raced through the first four
obstacles, and looked like he might get a buzzer of his own.
- Yeah, he's trying to be a rockstar ninja himself.
- He was feeling so confident, he even did burpees
before the fifth obstacle.
- Burpees?
You're wasting your energy, homie!
- And that may not have been smart because,
seconds later--
[air horn blares]
But it may have been far enough, fast enough--
- We could see both brothers in the semifinals.
Christopher Kadima, originally from France,
is a personal trainer to the stars,
working with celebrities like Gwen Stefani,
along with pro athletes and models.
- Oh, there he's got his model friends!
- At 6'4", he's one of our tallest athletes tonight,
and used his long arms on the first two obstacles.
- I see you, big lanky!
- Despite playing professionally
in French basketball leagues--
- Oh! Au revoir, monsieur!
- He couldn't drive the lane on Spinning Bridge.
- C'est la vie, Christopher!
Joliet, Illinois' Mike Maher was making his "Ninja"
debut at 58 years old.
- He said, don't call him an old guy, Matt!
- The oldest competitor of the night
showed his age was no obstacle on Pole Vault.
- Oh, watch yourself!
- Despite missing the big ring,
the construction company owner
still nailed the jump to the hook.
- Oh!
OK!
- But then he couldn't figure out how to dismount.
- Ooh!
He came out here with just great grit.
What a great run!
- I'm still a winner!
- Good job, old man!
- Next up, out of Franktown, Colorado, 16-year-old high
school student Seth Lambert.
The back of his shirt says, "I wear purple for Caleb,"
a tribute to his brother, who faces
his own obstacles, as he battles
an extreme form of epilepsy.
[soft music]
- Caleb is my older brother.
His epilepsy is very severe.
He was born with a brain malformation.
- * Say whatever you feel *
- There are times where he stops breathing.
There's a fear that, because of a seizure,
something could happen that might take his life.
* *
- * Be whoever you are *
- There's very little that Caleb
is able to do on his own.
Seth is a big help.
He jumps in there anytime something needs to be done.
- Watch the ball.
Nice catch!
Caleb and I love to play basketball, frisbee,
disk golf, and we like to ride our bikes
up and down the street.
He usually likes to race.
A little further, Caleb.
We're almost there.
- * Never be left behind *
- As a mom, when I see Seth and Caleb playing together,
it's such a delight to see the two of them.
- Caleb cheering me on, that's gonna
give me everything I need to go out there
and hit the buzzer.
* *
Caleb, this is for you.
* *
[cheering]
- Caleb's on the sideline, along with a big group
of family and friends.
He's also got a lot of supporters
watching back in Colorado.
[countdown clock beeping]
Seth says he's running as much for Caleb
as he is for himself.
- This is so cool. I love this.
At 16 years old, having that ability
to use his talent to bring awareness to epilepsy.
- This family has been through the ringer.
Nice to be out here enjoying this.
Great catch! - Ooh, he caught the ring!
Lambert!
- Nice! - Real smooth!
- Oh, boy!
You can tell he's running with a purpose!
Seth Lambert!
- Started rock climbing to improve his ninja training.
- Nice! Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Nice!
- He started training four years ago,
and this is his debut.
He looks ready for the big stage!
- Ooh!
Putting Franktown on the map!
- But this is a blind throw, a new obstacle
with that hanging bar.
- Oh, no!
- And it just ends so quickly!
Seth Lambert couldn't handle Heavy Metal!
Seth looked good on the first three obstacles,
but that backward move on Heavy Metal is a tough one.
He landed the bar, but just couldn't hang on.
I bet you, Caleb loved every bit of that one.
He'll now have to wait and see if that's good enough
to move on to the semifinals.
Well, Akbar and I have been dreading our next athlete.
It's the Bug Ninja, 31-year-old
entomologist Eric Middleton.
Over the years, he's brought us
lots of creepy, crawly insects to eat,
and he's gonna make us squirm again tonight.
Middleton says bugs are the future of food,
and he's been trying to convince
us of this for a few years, without much success.
We tried spider sushi--
- What kind of Spider is this?
- Scorpions--
- Ah!
Oh!
- Cricket cookies--
- You should try some! - Yeah?
- Hornworms, and Akbar's favorite,
fried tarantula.
- Ah! Ah!
Oh, my goodness!
- It's actually pretty good!
- What do you mean it's good?
It's a daggone spider!
- But he says, tonight, he's brought his chef's kiss.
Zuri, what has he sent along for us?
- Oh, boy. What is this?
- So we've got a very appetizing few bugs for you.
For every obstacle that Eric gets through,
y'all need to eat another bug.
- Whoa, hold on a second.
Now, he's a pretty good ninja.
He's gonna have to get through a couple of obstacles
before we even think about that!
What is that?
- Oh, no, no, no, each obstacle is a new bug.
Bon appetit, buddy!
- What is that?
- We're getting informed it is a South American palm weevil.
Eric, we love you, buddy, but if you fall,
we ain't gonna be crying!
[laughter]
[all chanting] Eric, Eric, Eric, Eric!
[countdown clock beeping]
- I hope he falls right away.
[laughter]
- Unfortunately for us, Eric's a very good ninja.
He's been to national finals four times,
and he's already got one obstacle down.
- OK, you try the first one.
- Oh, God. - Oh, boy!
You try the first one.
- Eat it!
Eat it!
Oh, the crunch!
How does it taste?
- Oh, man, this is a hard one here, Ring Chaser.
- It's delicious!
- Oh, my goodness!
- Ooh, it's spicy!
- Akbar--
- Oh, we're gonna switch off, OK?
We're warming up.
We're warming up, OK?
- He can fall off the hook, and then I'm off the hook
for eating this, right?
- There you go you.
- And another one down!
- Another obstacle!
- Get in there, big man!
- I've gotta say my grace.
Lord, please protect me and bless this food.
Amen. - Amen!
- Eric is enjoying himself, even if we're not.
- Nice light feet.
- Maybe he'll fall on Spinning Bridge.
No!
- Oh, come on!
- Weevils wobble, but they don't go down easy.
- Ooh, it's got an aftertaste.
- Oh, my God!
- I ain't trying to throw no shade,
but this might be a good place
for him to fall, here on Heavy Metal!
- I'm hearing a lot of crunch on both sides here, guys.
- I can't even call his run right now.
This is so uncomfortable!
- Well, let me help you with it.
He's making his way through Heavy Metal, and as soon as he
lands this dismount--
- No, heck no!
- It's another bug for you, buddy!
- Come on, Eric!
This is Akbar!
Yeah, buddy! Way to go!
- No!
No, you've gotta hit that buzzer
before I take another bite!
- Have another South American palm weevil,
courtesy of the Bug Doc!
- I need some water.
- Eric Middleton, dung beetle strong!
This guy is so powerful!
- Yeah, he's powerful because he's eating all this crap!
- Well, it's been a few years since he's
hit a buzzer on "Ninja Warrior,"
and he is getting closer.
- Ah!
[laughter]
- You don't want to touch it!
Well, we're eating it.
Zuri doesn't want to touch it.
And right now, Eric Middleton is stuck
on this second cube, Matt.
- Fighting to find his grip.
- Yeah, you can see, he's really
trying to get that horizontal spin, using his upper body.
He really had to wrestle with that one.
- And no thanks to us, he's closing in on his seventh
career buzzer.
- Squeeze hard!
- Oh! [air horn blares]
He's down!
What do we do with the final two palm weevils?
- I think you just eat them for good measure.
- Hey, hey, why don't you eat one, bro?
- I got one right--
- Then all of us will have eaten one except for Zuri.
- And on this note, goodbye!
Incredible run, Eric!
I'll see you down on the sidelines!
- So, guys, remember, hold the head, eat the body.
- Oh, I ate the whole thing last time!
- Now you tell us!
Let's get some protein, big man!
- One, two, three.
- Ugh.
Thanks, buddy!
- Thank you, guys!
- Coming up, she's a nurse, she's a mom,
she's a "Ninja" favorite.
Utah's Mady Howard is up next
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Universal Studios Hollywood!
Minutes ago, the flag dropped for Colorado's
Elizabeth Leslie, who comes from a drag racing family.
Though she's one of our smallest competitors
tonight, at just 5 feet, Leslie scaled
the Pole Vault with ease.
- She did that with authority!
- She then made a slick backhanded grab of the ring--
- Nice grab!
- But then slid right off the track.
- Oh!
- She peeled off and took the ring with her!
Then it was one of the night's smallest male
competitors, nine-time "Ninja" veteran Tyler Yamauchi.
With his three kids watching from home in the Chicago area,
the 38-year-old former gymnast was sticking the landing
on the early obstacles.
- Yamauchi!
- The ninja known as the Muscle Ball looked
like he was rolling towards his eighth career buzzer.
- Nice, nice, nice!
- But then came Heavy Metal.
- No!
- He hit his head on the backwards move,
and that seemed to throw him off.
- Yamauchi, not so Gucci!
- Another Windy City veteran, Cam "The Bomb" Baumgartner,
blasted through one obstacle after another.
- Here he goes! Big bridge!
- In his five previous seasons on "American Ninja Warrior,"
the gymnastics coach has never failed to finish
a qualifying course--
- He's in mid-season form!
- And he kept that streak alive tonight.
[buzzer blares]
- You are the bomb, man!
- Up next is "Ninja's" favorite nurse, Mady Howard.
- Whoo!
- The former gymnast from Utah is back for her fifth season
of "Ninja."
Mady hit a buzzer back in season 12--
- That's what I'm talking about!
- But then took some time off for the birth of her
son, Beckham.
Since she returned, she's been close to another buzzer--
- And that one scared baby Beckham!
- But her runs have ended on the fifth obstacle.
- Oh!
[all chanting] Mady! Mady!
- Last year, she actually got her feet
on the landing pad,
but fell backwards.
- Oh, no!
- If she can finish the course tonight,
she'd be just the second mom ever to hit a buzzer.
Sandy Zimmerman the only one to do it so far.
Her son Beckham is home in bed,
but her husband Tyler
is on the sideline, and she's got a big group watching
back in St. George, Utah.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Oh, missed the pole with her hands
there, but she stays calm, climbs up, gets through it.
- Mady, a high-level gymnast through college.
Used to dealing with pressure.
Was an ICU nurse for many years.
Race out.
- Nice, get out in front! Get out in front!
Grab it!
- Nice hands!
Mady Howard exploded onto the scene back in season 11,
and has established herself as one of the top women.
- Well, a five-time veteran.
This ain't her first rodeo!
[cheering]
- Well, this is a rematch.
Back in the semifinals of season 14,
she fell on Spinning Bridge.
And believe me, no one's more aware of that than Mady.
- All right, here we go. Keep your feet hot.
Fast!
Fast, fast, fast.
Whoo!
- A dose of adrenaline for the nurse!
Shoots right through it!
- Heavy Metal, it literally is heavy.
And this is such an awkwardly shaped bar here,
with Heavy Metal, so you've gotta be very careful,
but also, too, get great placement.
You don't want it to get uneven.
- And you can see right there, it is very difficult to keep
that fulcrum in the center.
- Yeah, and you can see, it's right there in the corner.
She wants to land it right in the middle!
Oh, she almost got caught up!
- And she is just muscling this!
You can see it, really favoring the left side there!
- Nice! - That's impressive!
Mady Howard muscling her way through it!
And she has reached the fifth obstacle once again!
[cheering]
- I see you, Mady Howard!
- She is staring it down.
She wants this badly.
- You got this, Mady!
- Well, she's put herself in very good position
to go back to the semis, but this
is a tough fifth obstacle.
Can she survive Cubes?
- Matt, she's going for that buzzer.
- Would be her first buzzer as a mom.
It was Sandy Zimmerman breaking that barrier.
- We've had many moms run the course since then.
None have hit a buzzer, so it would mean
a lot if Mady can do it here.
- There you go.
You can see her abs right there, her obliques.
- That was impressive!
- Nice core strength!
- Now gotta rotate around.
A little awkward with the hands there.
Does she have it left, any grip strength left?
- Oh, you can see that left hand!
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- Mady Howard comes up just short on
the fifth obstacle once again.
- She looked strong on the first four obstacles,
but as she went to that last cube, Mady got both hands
on it, but couldn't hang on as it rotated.
But the good news, that assures her a spot in the semifinals.
She's moving on.
In earlier runs tonight, Chicago pastor
David Womelsdorf was trying to get to the semifinals
for the third time in his "Ninja" career.
With his wife and five kids watching at home,
the 38-year-old made it to the fourth obstacle.
- Nice!
- Oh!
- Utah's Rysann Clark is a cadet at the Air Force
Academy, and the 19-year-old was
flying through the course, until she
reached the Spinning Bridge.
- No!
- An artist and contortionist,
Briana Fitzpatrick tied herself
into knots at the start line.
- Twisting and moving like a Twizzler!
- But the 21-year-old was not ready for Pole Vault.
- That's not good.
That's not good, Matt.
[air horn blares]
- Coming up--
- [screaming]
- They're two of "Ninja's" biggest characters,
but both were knocked out by the same obstacle.
- To the people that invented Dipping Birds,
I don't enjoy that obstacle.
- It's haunting me.
- Relive their "Ninja" nightmare when "American
Ninja Warrior" returns.
[ominous laughter]
- Last season, Scott and Ben Behrends became
the first father-son duo to qualify
for the national finals.
And minutes ago, 17-year-old Ben
tried to get the family off to a good start this season.
- He's the hype guy.
He's got his hype crowd!
- Though one of the smallest ninjas,
at just 5'1", the high-schooler had no
problem handling the course.
- He might be little, but he's Big Ben tonight!
- Behrends made it all the way to stage two last season,
but he had never hit a buzzer until tonight.
- Yes! - No problem!
[cheering]
The hype guy is living up to the hype!
- Let's go!
Yeah!
- Then his dad, Scott Behrends,
tried to match him.
- They've got the hype crew over there!
- And despite being 25 years older--
- Nice! Get it, get it, get it.
Nice!
- The Iowa father of three got through the Cubes even faster
than his teenage son.
- Use that oblique muscle. Use the hips.
Nice!
- It looked like he was headed for
his third qualifying buzzer.
- No!
- Despite coming up short, his fast pace means he's joining
his son in the semifinals.
College student Max Feinberg has never
failed to finish a qualifying course,
and he didn't let a small stumble slow him down tonight.
- Whoa!
- The 19-year-old wears a pink ribbon on his shirt to raise
awareness for breast cancer.
His mom's a breast cancer survivor.
- You can hear them. Let's go, Max!
- There were plenty of pink, proud fans cheering him on,
as he kept his perfect streak alive in qualifying,
and got to spread his message about breast cancer.
- To be on TV, doing this in front of a whole crowd,
I'm gonna be out here doing this until we can beat it.
[cheering]
Then it was Max's good friend,
Kaden Lebsack, who's also never failed
to finish a qualifying course.
- Look at that!
I mean, that's as good as we've seen anyone!
- The 18-year-old from Colorado
was the last ninja standing
in seasons 13 and 14, but shockingly
fell on stage two last year.
- He's got something to prove here!
- Tonight, Lebsack was moving like a man on a mission,
and he had a chance to beat the 1 minute 20 second clock
for the Mega Wall.
- Yeah, he's gonna have to go real quick.
- Oh, it's gonna be close! - He's got three seconds!
Two! One!
- Oh, my goodness!
- He hit his 14th buzzer, but even Super K wasn't fast
enough for a shot at the 20K from the Mega Wall, coming up
just 3/10 of a second short.
- I can't wait to see you go racing in the semis, man.
Congratulations. - Thanks.
Me too.
- Next up are two of the craziest ninjas
to take the course.
But, tonight, Levi Enright and Chris Behrends
have some serious business.
They've got a score to settle with the Dipping Birds.
- Oh, yeah, look.
There you go.
They're not trying to have a repeat.
- They really don't like these things.
In fact, they're throwing their birds into the water,
and there's good reason for it.
[upbeat music]
- Season 14, we made it to Vegas.
There was a certain balance obstacle
that shall not be named.
- It's the Dipping Birds.
And I fell on it once.
- Keep your feet hot! Keep your feet hot!
- Oh, no!
- No!
- At least I got to try it twice.
- On to the Dipping Birds.
- No! - No!
- But he does have that Safety Pass!
- Guess we're going back at it!
- A little spooked.
He said, I'm not going out this time!
- Oh, no!
- Levi Enright overthunk and got dunked!
- It's been a struggle, in Iowa, with all the farms,
seeing all the birds, and chickens, and stuff like that.
It really it gives us flashbacks.
- It's haunting us, yeah.
[ominous gobbling]
[dramatic music]
There's been a lot of late nights doing
balance training, agility training, stuff to try
and mock up Dipping Birds.
- Yeah, any sort of bird product, we've
just been throwing in there, just
to make sure that we're ready for any sort of dipping,
or flipping, whatever type of birds there are,
just so we're ready for it this year.
- Ca-caw!
Ca-caw! Ca-caw!
- To the people that invented Dipping Birds,
I don't enjoy that obstacle.
- It's haunting me.
- You made our lives tough.
* *
- You know it's gonna be fun with these guys,
and Levi will have plenty of support back in Iowa.
That's his fiancée Bailey in the pink.
She's Chris' first cousin.
Chris is also cousins with Scott and Ben Behrends.
All four of our ninjas tonight are gonna be related.
Levi Enright marrying into the Behrends family.
- He and Chris hit the buzzer with their head.
They call them "noggin buzzers."
He did it when he got the Mega Wall two years ago.
- I bet he's going for another Mega Wall tonight!
- Let's go!
Come on!
- If he wants a shot, he has to hit
that buzzer faster than 1:20.
- There you go.
Get out in front. Get out in front.
Wait for it. Yeah, nice.
- Oh! Dropped it!
- Fumble!
- Had the ring and dropped it.
Not using his noggin there.
- Don't rush this.
Nice!
- That cost some time.
Now if he wants the Mega Wall,
he's gonna have to turn up on the turn up.
- And he runs right onto the next obstacle.
Survives Spinning Bridge, going right into it
on Heavy Metal.
- And he just put his pedal to the metal!
- As you can see, he just loves that bar!
- He's trying to make up for time,
but make sure, in the process of trying
to make up for some lost time, do not make a mistake!
- And right through, on now to Cubes, with a fast pace
to this point.
- Oh, yeah, he is going for it.
He's competitive.
You can tell, Levi Enright is competitive.
He wants to trash talk!
- The Cubes just absorbs a lot of time,
and will test what grip strength you have left.
Great power by Levi!
- Boy, he was twirling like the tie dye on his shirt!
- And gets to the last cube.
- He's still got a great opportunity, Matt!
- And landed!
- He's got an opportunity for the Mega Wall!
- Looking to get another noggin buzzer!
Boom!
[cheering]
- Let's go!
- Hey!
- You like that?
- Yeah, you like that?
I like that!
- You just got the fastest time of the night!
You get another shot at that Mega Wall!
- Let's go, baby!
- Well, go on down and get ready to take your shot.
Two years ago, he made it up the wall, won 10 grand,
and bought himself a new car.
But the Mega Wall is now 6 inches taller,
and this year, the payout's up to 20 grand.
- Matt, he's about to get married.
I'm sure his fiancée would love 20 grand
to put towards the wedding.
- Caleb Bergstrom got the Mega Wall last week.
Can Levi be the second?
- He's all tied up.
- Oh!
Can't cash in on the 20K!
But as always, he had fun, and we'll see
him racing in the semifinals.
When we come back, we're off to the races.
It's the Runoffs, side by side for the final spots
in the semifinals, and it's next
on "American Ninja Warrior."
[dramatic music]
- Minutes ago, Utah software developer
Mark Farrell put on one of the best
performances of the night.
- Ooh, look at that!
Well, he can barely move in those tight jorts!
- Despite being 41, and almost 200 pounds,
the former competitive dancer, had all the right moves
for Pole Vault. Sort of.
He made the grab on Ring Chaser...
- That's fly right there.
- But that's where it ended.
- No! [air horn blares]
- To honor his Filipino heritage,
Glenn Albright calls himself the Carabao Ninja,
the water buffalo that is the national animal
of the Philippines.
- Well, you gotta carabao getting it right there. Nice!
- And the five-time "Ninja" veteran
was stampeding through the course.
- Well, they don't have this one in Manila,
but this one is a thriller and a killer!
Nice!
[together] Let's go Glenn!
- He made the big moves on Heavy Metal.
- OK, get it!
- But The Carabao Ninja couldn't figure out The Cubes.
- Ooh! [air horn blares]
- Despite the fall, it was far enough,
fast enough to move on.
Then it was the last of the Iowa ninjas, Chris Behrends.
- That's a corn-fed Ninja right there!
- With a rowdy bunch on the sideline,
including his buddy Levi Enright,
the three-time "Ninja" veteran came out hot.
- He said, "I can be corn-fed, but I'm still fast!"
- He wasn't quite as fast as his buddy Levi,
but he still put up one of the top times of the night,
and of course, capped it off with a noggin buzzer.
[buzzer blares] - Noggin!
- Let's go!
- So Chris joins his buddy Levi Enright
and cousin Ben Behrends to make it
three Iowa ninjas in the top four,
and dad Scott Behrends makes it four
from that family who will be racing in the semifinal.
For the Green twins, both Nathan, who finished,
and his brother Marquez, who landed in 11th,
will be moving on.
But our 12th and 13th placed men
will now compete for the final spot in semis
in the head-to-head races we call the Runoffs.
It'll be Colorado teenager Seth Lambert,
who's raising awareness for epilepsy,
taking on a nine-time veteran,
the Muscle Ball, Tyler Yamauchi, who's in 13th.
- Yeah, some big differences for these two.
Seth is 22 years younger and 8 inches taller
than Tyler, who's 5'1".
The Muscle Ball is gonna have to rely
on his Ninja experience.
- Tyler's wife and kids will be watching
back in the Chicago area, and Seth's family,
including his brother Caleb, is on the sideline.
And the Muscle Ball better get rolling,
because we saw, Seth has speed.
[countdown clock beeping]
First up is Home Run.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
- Good footwork from Lambert!
And right into Flying Shelf Grab.
Yamauchi should have some power--Lambert!
- And I think Lambert knows that he's a gymnast,
so he wants to make sure that he gets out in front.
- And Yamauchi closing the gap,
but Lambert first off! - Now we go Wing Nuts.
Yamauchi's gotta catch up, and now Yamauchi is out ahead!
- Well, Yamauchi has some experience on the Wing Nuts.
- Oh! The veteran!
- And he's on to the final obstacle, Sideways.
- He's starting to get faster as he's
getting further on the course!
Oh, no, Matt! Look at this!
- Here's Seth Lambert! Gotta show out!
- It was the rope-a-dope by Yamauchi!
- Oh, it's a race! - Oh, oh, my goodness!
- One of the closest finishes we have seen in a Runoff!
Tyler Yamauchi narrows him out
by 2/10 of a second! - Wow!
- What a race. - Wow.
Oh, my goodness!
You can see Tyler Yamauchi looking back
to see where Lambert is.
He says, "I gotta get out of there."
And it's a dead sprint to the buzzer!
Oh, my goodness! Tyler Yamauchi!
You can tell he is relieved!
- They don't get much closer than that!
Credit to Seth Lambert.
Gave the Muscle Ball all he could handle!
But Tyler Yamauchi is heading back to the semis!
Our top three women in this group are set,
Emily Keener, Mady Howard, and Anabella Heinrichs
are moving on.
So in our second Runoff,
it'll be our fourth and fifth-place women
racing for the final spot.
It features a couple of good friends
from Utah who are playing rock paper.
It's Rysann Clark, an Air Force cadet,
going against another Utah teen,
Violet Kepo'o whose debut run last season
was a real tear jerker.
At just 95 pounds, Kepo'o is one of
our lightest competitors ever, and she memorably
got emotional her first time on the course last season.
- Oh, and she's crying!
- Sometimes having all the pressure
can be a little hard for me.
- Kepo'o, let's go!
- Doing "Ninja Warrior" has really helped
build my confidence. - Nice!
You can cry if you want to! - Got it!
- It's your party!
- When I get on that course, I'm a monster.
- Oh! - Wow!
- Oh, shoot!
I thought she was done!
- Rysann Clark was a student body president,
commander of her high school's ROTC unit,
and is now a cadet at the Air Force Academy.
She's hoping to add "Ninja" semifinalist to her résumé.
- The Air Force Academy has taught me a lot about
how to become a better ninja.
It puts you out of your comfort zone,
and it builds character.
I can't wait to start my career
as an Air Force pilot.
Tonight, though, I am just focusing
on flying to that buzzer.
[cheering]
- Well, the Clark family and the Kepo'os
know each other from local competitions.
- Yeah, last year, we saw Violet
had tears in her eyes on the start line,
but she looks a lot more confident tonight.
Let's go racing, then!
- Who will be the hero of the Beehive State?
- Nice! Ooh, Kepo'o!
Uh-oh! Look at that!
- Bounding right out to it,
putting the pressure on Rysann Clark.
- Yeah, and the secret here is to get out in front,
put the pressure on the person behind.
- Oh, there goes Rysann!
Oh, this is a good matchup!
Rysann, the Air Force cadet,
is first off the Flying Shelf Grab.
Can she earn her wings on Wing Nuts?
- This right here is air-to-air combat!
Good, generating big power.
You generate enough power, it gives you enough time
to react and respond.
- Violet and Rysann both flying through the air!
And Rysann is off first,
so Violet must finish Sideways.
- This is a testament to their training here,
especially when you're racing.
And you see Kepo'o looking right towards Rysann,
seeing the competition.
Look now! Look now!
Violet is catching up! - Kepo'o!
Oh, and Rysann Clark is down,
but it's not over yet.
Since she completed the previous obstacle first,
Kepo'o has to make it through.
But this is a beast, Sideways!
Two more moves.
- And this is where the arms start to get tired.
Get it there!
- And Kepo'o makes it to the buzzer!
- I see you, Kepo'o! I see you!
- Ultra Violet delivers!
She said she's a monster when she gets on the course,
and she proved that tonight.
Well, don't go anywhere.
We're gonna change up the course
and bring out a whole new group of ninjas.
- And take a look at who's coming up.
- We've got our new Women's champion,
Massachusetts teenager Addy Herman.
Plus, he's one heck of a salesman.
- I'm Ben Kooper, AKA the Sharp Ninja.
- But can he slice his way through the "Ninja" course?
- Oh, yeah!
- And "Ninja" great Najee Richardson is retiring.
This could be the last run ever
for the Phoenix.
- That's coming up on our second hour
of "American Ninja Warrior!"
- Welcome back to our second hour of qualifying
on "American Ninja Warrior."
We've got a new group of ninjas lined up,
ready to start their season.
- But the course they'll face is different than the one
we just saw. - That's right.
For the details, let's go down to Zuri.
- Yeah, guys, our crew got busy.
They changed out some obstacles.
Take a look at this revamped course.
- Reel to Reel is now in the number-two position.
Ninjas need to slide down using one reel
and swing to the second. - Nice!
- Ooh!
- And the fifth obstacle is now Jawbreakers.
They'll have And throw the bar into three metal jaws.
- Yes! - Guys.
- Thanks, Zuri.
Well, just like the earlier group,
only the top 12 men
and top four women will move on.
And leading off this second group
is the night's best-dressed athlete.
This is Ace Goodson, heading to the start line
in a three-piece suit.
- But it's sleeveless.
I bet he couldn't fit those arms inside his sleeves.
- [screams]
- Oh, no, it's coming off!
- Well, if it's anything like his last run,
this entrance may go viral.
- Yeah, season 14, I came out huge.
- Oh, look, OK!
- Dude is shredded!
- My flex went viral.
I'm seeing it in memes.
I'm seeing it on social media.
And it's funny, because people always critique me
a little bit for flexing too much,
and now my flex is the biggest GIF
all over the world, so I can't be mad at that.
So after I got finished flexing,
I got to Domino Effect.
I blink, and I'm underwater.
- Nice! Nice! Stay on top! Stay on top!
Oh, my goodness!
- And it's like, "Oh, man," my pick is floating,
and I've gotta go get that.
- Uh-oh. And there's the pick.
Hey, Matt, get that pick. I need that pick.
- But this year, I gotta take it up a notch.
The expectations are even higher,
so my run has to be even better.
[upbeat music]
- Ah, check it out!
The pick is back!
- Well, this year, he's going to try
not to lose it.
And Ace will have his wife and kids
watching from back home.
[countdown clock beeping]
He may look like a bodybuilder,
but he actually has an office job,
working for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
in Washington, DC. - Uh-oh! Uh-oh! Uh-oh!
- Keep that foot up. - Yeah.
[cheering]
- Ace lives to fight another obstacle.
Gonna head up to take on Reel to Reel.
- Well, Matt, Reel to Reel got folks
thinking like an action hero. He looks like an action hero.
Let's see if he's got some action to it.
- [laughs] Oh!
- You flex mania.
He's going flex mania on us!
- The crowd loves it!
But he's doing the sign of the cross,
looking for a little help from above on Reel to Reel.
[people chanting] Let's go Ace!
- 39 nine years old.
Can he muscle his way across?
Oh! - No! Oh, my goodness!
Oh, my goodness! - Wow!
- That's a Hollywood ending right there!
- That looked like special effects!
- Can we please see this again?
He got both hands on that second reel,
but his right one started to peel off,
and he just barely made it to the landing pad.
He had to use his ab muscles to stay out of the water.
But look closely. His pick came out again!
- But his run is still alive,
and now facing Spinning Bridge.
Went out on a balance obstacle
in season 14. - Oh, oh, oh.
Oh, Matt, he is having so much fun!
This is what "Ninja" is all about, right here!
Hot feet! Hot feet! Hot feet! Hot feet!
- Oh, no! - Ooh!
He fell right on his abs!
[air horn blares]
- And a balance obstacle takes Ace out once again.
- Somebody find this man's pick.
- Again!
- He just stumbled over that third ball on Spinning Bridge
and landed right on them abs.
Ooh, his muscles couldn't save him that time.
- It never goes too far away.
Let's do this. Let's go.
- Our next athlete would love to carve up the course
because he is one of the most energetic knife salesmen
you'll ever meet.
This is 23-year-old Ben Kooper.
He calls himself the Sharp Ninja,
and he knows how to close a deal.
- Are your meals feeling a little dull?
Time to sharpen things up, with my professional-grade,
cutting-edge kitchen knives.
Hi, I'm Ben Kooper, AKA the Sharp Ninja,
and over the last five years, I've sold over $1 million
of these high-carbon stainless steel blades,
so I know the key to cutlery
is staying sharper than the competition.
Look at this!
One chop, and the fun don't stop!
We've got it all, paring knives,
chopping knives, and our one-of-a-kind
spatula spreader.
Oh, yeah!
It's time to slice and dice!
- Well, I'm sold.
- He's got his parents on the sideline,
and that's his boss back behind them.
- You know, you gotta be a good salesman
when your boss shows up!
[countdown clock beeping]
- 5'8", 144 pounds.
- Ooh! - Gotta get up!
- Wow!
That was a sharp response!
Living on the knife's edge there.
- All right!
- All right, here we go. Reel to Reel.
He better cut up on this one!
Nice! Ooh!
- The jagged edge.
And he's able to slice his way through it.
- Yeah! - Yeah! Come on, Ben!
- But Spinning Bridge has cut down
many runs over the years.
- Matt, he's gotta hone his skills on this one.
This is like running through a serrated knife.
Nice!
[cheering]
- Now it's Heavy Metal.
Tempered steel, just like his knives.
He sold more than $1 million of them
in just five years, paid his way
through college with it. Good power out of Kooper!
He's a marathoner, runs 40 miles a week
for training, trying to go the distance tonight.
Good job there on that reverse throw.
Yeah, he cuts pennies as a part of his sales pitch,
and he's cutting down this course as well.
All right, let's get real.
Ben Kooper is making his move.
Uh-oh!
- Watching, making sure that bar didn't want to roll.
Did not want to snag that!
And his heart is pounding!
[cheering]
He'll give us our first look tonight at Jawbreakers.
- He's gotta slice and dice here.
- Slams the bar into the jaws.
Now has to do it two more times.
- So close to being able to get
his very first "Ninja" buzzer.
- This next set of jaws is at a 45-degree angle.
Needs to really get up here. - Coop!
- Cut down on Jawbreakers! - Oh!
Coop got duped by that second jawbreaker!
- He cut it close on Heavy Metal,
just barely got through, but he couldn't close the deal
on that second jawbreaker.
He'll have to wait and see, but that may
get him into the semifinals.
- Coming up, our second hour at Universal Studios
has got action... - No!
- Adventure... - Whoa!
- And "Ninja" favorites, including Najee Richardson,
who's had a legendary career.
- Oh!
- The Phoenix can fly! - Oh, my goodness!
- But this is the final season for the Phoenix,
so there's a lot riding on tonight's run.
We'll see him next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- We're on the backlot at Universal Studios,
and our film-themed obstacle, Reel to Reel,
has been a blockbuster.
Minutes ago, Pennsylvania's Melia Ochsner,
who likes to do fantasy cosplay,
came out ready to work some magic.
- Oh, man, she looking like a movie character.
- But the healthcare worker didn't release
her first time down on Reel to Reel...
- Oh! Uh-oh! Ooh!
- And her quest ended early.
- That was a bad cut!
- California's Maverick McMurtry
has a name that sounds like a movie star,
and he's also a member of the U.S. National Handball Team.
- Let's go Maverick! Whoo!
- With lots of fans screaming his name,
the 6'2" athlete looked good on the first obstacle,
but this Maverick was shot down on the second.
- No!
He didn't have the hand-eye coordination!
Parker Hewes is known as
the Backcountry Ninja, since he lives
in the mountains of Wyoming.
- My man looking like Bear Grylls out here!
[cheering]
- The chiropractor flexed his muscles
and made it to the second reel,
but his story did not have a happy ending.
- Ooh, and the chiropractor couldn't make the adjustment!
[soft country music]
[cheering]
- Up next, it's one of the top women competitors.
This is Massachusetts' Casey Rothschild,
carrying the rainbow flag.
She's a proud LGBTQ advocate,
started the group Queer Ninjas Unite.
Casey's hit buzzers twice in qualifying,
and has appeared in two of our women's championships.
- She was a college track athlete.
She likes to move fast.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Did the long jump at Wesleyan University.
And has no problem with Pole Vault.
- Let's go, Casey! - Let's go, Casey!
- Got some of her Northeast ninja friends on the sideline.
- Yeah, she's going right into Reel to Reel!
There it is.
- 5'8", one of the taller women.
Can generate swing with those long limbs.
And she is through!
No hesitation as she takes off across Spinning Bridge.
Rothschild rolling right into Heavy Metal!
The top four women in this group
will move on to the semifinals.
With this speed, Casey Rothschild
may be one of them.
- All right, this backwards throw
is a tough one here on Heavy Metal,
- Ooh, no!
She came out fast, but Casey Rothschild
can't conquer Heavy Metal.
- She looked strong on the early obstacles,
but just couldn't hold on to the bar
when she went backwards, but with that fast pace,
she's got a good chance of moving on.
- Najee Richardson has given us a lot of great memories
in the past nine years, but the Phoenix says
this season will be his last.
So depending on how he does tonight,
this might be his final "Ninja" run,
and he's taking it all in at the start line.
What a career he's had.
[cheering]
- This is Philadelphia native Najee Richardson!
- Yeah!
- Ninja has become such a huge part of my life.
- Oh!
This guy's going crazy!
- But after a decade in this sport,
I've decided to transition from athlete to fan.
There's a lot of plans after Ninja.
Right now, it's acting.
I love being able to read a script
and bring a character to life off of the page.
It's something that I've become
very, very passionate about.
So hopefully this will not be the last time
that you guys see me on television.
- Oh! - The Phoenix can fly!
- Oh, my goodness! He flew up there!
- It's cool just to look back at your career,
and just be happy and be satisfied,
and that's where I'm at. I'm satisfied.
[soft dramatic music]
* *
[cheering]
- He's always been a fan favorite,
and many of his Ninja friends are on the sideline
here to celebrate his career,
along with Najee's wife McKenzie.
- You got it!
- And his parents watching back in Philly.
- They've been a big part of his "Ninja" journey.
- Love you!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Last year, in Vegas, we saw Najee have
a bad asthma attack on stage one.
He didn't want to go out with that as his final run.
- Now he's gonna devote more time to his acting career,
so he should love Reel to Reel.
This dude is a star!
He's a movie star, a "Ninja" star!
- He can fly!
- I see you, baby! He's a star!
- He wants a shot at the Mega Wall!
- Yes, he does.
- He'll have to finish in under 1:20
if he wants to take a run at it.
- Taking home that 20 grand would be a great ending
to his final qualifying run.
- Well, let's see.
He's gotta get through Heavy Metal first.
- Power generated from the hips. Nice!
He's a former gymnast. He knows what's up.
- Najee Richardson is flying!
- This is it. You have nothing to lose.
- Well, whether he gets the Mega Wall or not,
by reaching the fifth obstacle
this quickly, he's put himself in good position
to move on, so we should get to see him
at least one more time in the semifinals.
The Phoenix seems to be at the height of his powers.
He says, though, his body is feeling it.
Really, two athletic careers, gymnastics, then Ninja.
- Yeah, 32 years old, it's a great age.
- He wants to get into entertainment.
It's gotta be nice being here at Universal Studios,
and he is putting on a show.
- This is vintage Najee Richardson!
Nice!
- Go for that Mega Wall! Come on, buddy!
Five seconds! - Got it!
Come on! You got it! Go! Sprint!
Sprint! Sprint!
- Oh, my goodness!
- Ah, he was rushing!
But you know he'll get the Warped Wall this time.
- That's all right. That's OK.
- But that miss could affect his seeding in the semifinals.
And the Phoenix back where he belongs!
[buzzer blares]
[cheering]
- Najee Richardson is not done yet.
- You did it, though, man! You got that buzzer!
I know you wanted that Mega, didn't you?
- I did. - You came so close, man!
- Najee, this is the final go around for you.
What's it like getting another buzzer?
- Just to hit this, it feels great.
This is the last one, last qualifier,
so it feels good. - Well, look here, man.
You've had an amazing career.
I can't wait to see what you do in the semifinals.
Congratulations, man. Yeah.
[cheering]
- Najee, The Phoenix!
* *
Coming up, born in an orphanage in Guatemala,
this ninja is giving back.
- Every single dollar goes down to the orphanage.
- Jacob Arnstein's story is up next
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- We've had lots of drama here at Universal Studios
in the last few minutes.
Daniella Blanchard had the entrance to die for.
- Oh, my. Is that Wednesday Addams?
- The 22-year-old from Sleepy Hollow, New York
works at a funeral home.
But, unfortunately, her rookie run
was dead on arrival. - Ooh!
That first obstacle could be the death of any ninja!
- Connecticut's Devan Alexander
made it to the national finals as a rookie three years ago.
- He made that look easy!
- And he came out fast tonight,
aiming for his second straight qualifying buzzer,
until he reached Spinning Bridge.
- No! No!
That was not what you're supposed to do!
- His early exit was one of the night's biggest surprises.
- Body slammed into the water!
- The Godfather, David Campbell,
is the only athlete to compete on every season
of "American Ninja Warrior."
- He's the one that everybody remembers.
They grew up watching him.
- Though now 46 years old, he was rocking
and rolling on Heavy Metal.
Campbell's finished five out of the last six
qualifying courses, but he didn't do it tonight.
- Oh!
- His shocking fall on Jawbreakers
means he'll have to wait and see if he went far enough,
fast enough to move on.
- Wow.
[cheering]
- Let's go!
- Our next ninja is waving
the national flag of Guatemala.
Jacob Arnstein was adopted from an orphanage there,
and though he lives in Massachusetts now,
he never forgets where he came from.
- [speaking Spanish]
- I was born in Guatemala,
and I was adopted at 15 months old.
That's adorable.
My first-ever home was the Luz de Maria Orphanage.
I went back to Guatemala when I was 12 years old.
[bright acoustic music]
I got to visit the orphanage,
and I thought it was really cool
seeing where I was from.
* *
But I could tell that they were struggling financially,
so I got the idea to start a fundraiser.
Big thanks to everybody who donated.
It's all going to a great cause,
Luz de Maria fundraiser.
So, yeah, let's get started, do some Ninja.
Whoo!
[soft dramatic music]
The fundraiser was a Ninja-style course,
and I ended up judging the course,
and then I was actually the final person
to run it at the end, so that was pretty fun.
* *
In addition to running the fundraiser,
we also sell these t-shirts.
* *
The t-shirts cost $25 each, and every single dollar
goes down to the orphanage.
We almost raised $10,000,
and I was really proud of myself
that I could do something like that.
Thank you guys for all the support.
And it just made me realize
that I can also do so much more.
* *
My goal for this year's competition
is to make it as far as possible
and to raise a lot of money and awareness
for the orphanage.
* *
[cheering]
- And the kids are gonna be watching
back in Guatemala.
He's raised over $10,000 for this orphanage.
- You got this! Let's go!
- His parents are on the sideline,
along with his brother Sam, who is also adopted.
- A little prayer right there before the run.
All right! Amen! Let's go!
Oh, boom, he just flipped a switch.
All right, he's fired up!
[countdown clock beeping]
- He's on the small side, just 5'3" and 120 pounds,
but gets a big bounce for Pole Vault.
Love the competitive fire.
Made it to Vegas in his first season,
season 14. - All right, here we go.
Let's go. Nice!
Ooh, making big movies!
- Well, he's got a story that's made for the movies.
On to Spinning Bridge.
He needs big strides here.
Takes a tumble, but pops right up.
And goes right up onto Heavy Metal.
Jacob's a junior at Blue Hills Technical High School,
and he's showing a quick study of these obstacles.
- Reverse throw here. Blind throw.
- Oh, explosive move! - Make it happen!
I see you!
- The kid has power. - He has power, yeah.
He prayed about it, and here it is!
It's happening!
- Showing amazing strength for only being 120 pounds.
And he gets through.
- How will he handle Jawbreakers?
- Oh! Oh! - Good power.
- Boy, it's like he's literally trying
to break somebody's jaw!
- And you can see, you transfer three bars,
lock them into the cradles, get them in those jaws.
- Nice! And it's that movement.
It's, like, that little hesi move
in the air that you've gotta make.
Watch this.
It's a little hesi move. You go up, up and under.
- Pop it up. - Boom! Nice!
- That is impressive!
- He's not gonna be fast enough for the Mega Wall,
but a very strong run for Jacob Arnstein.
And he gets the buzzer!
- Let's go! Let's go!
Let's go!
[cheering]
Let's go!
- Yeah! - Oh, I love you guys!
- Jacob, what a boost of confidence
that has to be for you, but what do you think
it's like for those kids back at the orphanage,
who knew you started there, and to see how far you've come?
What message do you want to share to them?
- That, even if you start out rough,
you can always make it count at the end.
- Well done, man. Well done. Well done.
- Jacob, go celebrate, bud!
We'll see him racing in the semifinals,
and he joins a growing list of finishers.
In earlier runs, New Jersey waiter
Brandon Singletary
got his first-ever buzzer, and celebrated
with a happy dance. - Do your dance, baby!
Do your dance, baby! Yeah!
- Stuntman Ramcis Valdez, from the Bronx
in New York City also got his first finish.
Syracuse college student Jay Lewis
finished with the fastest time of the night so far.
- We expect nothing but a buzzer from Jay Lache.
- His tenth career buzzer earned him a shot
at the Mega Wall, but he came up short.
And we've got more to come,
including the Papal Ninja, Sean Bryan,
and our Women's Champ, Addy Herman.
The Paris Olympics start July 26th on NBC and Peacock,
and while we were away, Elly Hart,
a physician assistant who works with Olympians
got a shoutout from two legendary gymnasts
who are former patients, Chellsie Memmel...
- Go crush the course.
- And Amanda Borden.
- I know you're gonna do great, because you've got heart.
- Hart, a former gymnast herself,
was able to vault her way across Reel to Reel.
But the 35-year-old went belly up
on Spinning Bridge. - Oh!
[air horn blares]
- Guang Cui works on Wall Street,
but he's also a rapper who goes by the name of "Gueezy."
- * From the East to LA *
* I cross them up with the ball *
* And go coast to coast *
* Catch me at the top of the wall *
- The rapper then got it rolling on the course.
- Oh, boy!
He almost ate it!
- Though he had some stumbles along the way,
he made it to the fifth obstacle.
- I see you, baby! I see you!
- The three-time "Ninja" veteran was closing in
on his first-ever buzzer.
- Gotta go up, and then tuck it in.
Oh!
- Now we'll have to wait and see if that's good enough
to get into the semifinal.
Noah Meunier made it all the way
to stage four as a rookie last season,
and he started out hot this year.
- Oh, yeah, he's not messing around.
- With his dad his girlfriend Addy Herman on the sideline,
the Massachusetts teenager kept up his fast pace
all through the course. - Oh!
Boy, he is focused, dialed in!
- And he put up the best time of the night to that point.
- Let's go!
- That earned him a chance to grab
20 grand on the Mega Wall.
- If you ever wanted to see a man fly, here it is.
Let it fly! Let it fly!
- Comes up short, but he's going to semis.
And if Meunier seemed like a blur,
Matt Bradley came out even faster.
- Oh, he's going for that Mega Wall!
He is not messing around!
- Bradley likes to have his friends wear
silly hats on the sidelines
to ease his anxiety during runs,
but he didn't need any help tonight.
- Look how fast he's moving!
Oh, he's going for that time!
- The three-time "Ninja" veteran beat Meunier's time
by more than four seconds...
[cheering]
So he too got a shot at the Mega Wall.
- Ooh!
- Though he missed, he'll be a top seed
in the semifinals.
Well, next up, one of the most recognized
athletes in the sport.
It's the Papal Ninja, Sean Bryan.
The Catholic Church worker from the Bay Area
is 39, one of the older elite ninjas,
and he's done something only a few ninjas
have ever accomplished,
hit eight straight qualifying buzzers.
Sean Bryan always has a huge fan following,
and, tonight, Zuri's down with his dad and his father.
- Do you get nervous watching him?
- Of course, every time. Every time.
- But he always gets the job done.
- Let's hope he does it again.
[countdown clock beeping]
- 5'10", 165. High-level gymnast.
- Look at the precision on that!
To be able to balance himself on Pole Vault?
I couldn't do that if I tried 100 times!
- In the name of the Father,
can he get through Reel to Reel?
He's got the Holy Spirit now!
He may be pushing 40, but he's showing
he can keep pace with these teenagers.
Goes right across Spinning Bridge!
- I'm not quite sure how much heavy metal...
- Wow.
- He listens to, but you can hear the Heavy Metal
click clacking here on these hooks!
- And he is just making such precise moves, every rotation,
locking it into place.
On now to Jawbreakers.
Sean Bryan is flying.
He's gonna have a shot at that top time.
- Still has almost 40 seconds left to earn
a shot at the Mega Wall.
He's attempted the big wall three times in the past,
but never conquered it.
- Nice! - Looking real strong!
One more jawbreaker, and that's it!
- Oh, he made that look easy!
- It's gonna be close!
Sean Bryan, a little regrouping.
And he is gonna get a shot at the Mega Wall!
- Oh!
[cheering]
- Did I do it? - Yeah, you did it!
Hit a buzzer in a minute, seven seconds,
earned a shot at the Mega Wall.
- Go get it! Right now.
[people chanting] Mega Wall! Mega Wall!
- Sean Bryan, 18 1/2 feet.
As we mentioned, he's tried it
three previous times, came up empty each time.
Will this finally be the year?
- Oh.
[people chanting] Mega Wall! Mega Wall!
Mega Wall! Mega Wall!
- Here we go. Watch what happens.
Oh!
- Doesn't get it, but still a great run by Sean Bryan,
and we'll see him in the semifinals.
The 39-year-old ends up fourth in this group.
We had nine finishers overall, including Najee Richardson.
The top 11 are guaranteed to move on.
Our 12th and 13th-place men
will race in the Runoff for that final spot
in just a few minutes.
But we've still got more women to run,
including the reigning queen of "Ninja,"
Massachusetts teenager Addy Herman.
She's been one of the top female athletes
the past few years.
Now she's got the hardware to prove it.
[soft dramatic music]
- This year, I competed in the Women's Championship...
[cheering]
And I actually ended up winning the whole thing.
- Addy Herman does it!
[cheering]
Our new Women's Champion!
- I won $50,000.
With the prize money, I'm gonna take
a huge cross-country trip.
I'll be going to places like New York City,
North Carolina, Colorado,
where I get to train, do internships,
and, honestly, just adventure.
Knowing how it felt to be the one looking up to legends
like Jessie Graff,
Jesse Labreck, Barclay Stockett,
it makes me really realize the importance
of the role model that I am now
to little girls looking up to me,
and I'm forever grateful for that.
Winning the Women's Championship
definitely gives me confidence coming into this season.
I have high expectations for myself,
and I really want to leave it all out there on the course.
* *
[cheering]
- Addy's got her family on the sideline,
along with boyfriend Noah Muenier,
who hit a buzzer minutes ago.
[countdown clock beeping]
She was so impressive in that Women's Championship,
and gives a lot of credit to training with Noah,
says he really pushes her.
[cheering]
- It's so cool, too, when you have a partner like that
that you guys can work together,
sharpen each other's Ninja skills.
- Addy is just looking slick! I like it.
Very efficient movements. - Yeah, that's what's up.
[cheering]
- Coming up to Spinning Bridge.
- Here it is. Nice, nice.
Hot feet! Hot feet! Nice!
It's so scary.
I don't care how many times you've done it
or you've practiced it.
You just never know how each one of those
are gonna respond.
- And here she is on Heavy Metal.
That bar, 10 pounds, and you can see,
it sits on the fulcrum, very easy
to get that bar slanted one way or the other.
- Addy Herman looks like she's been in the weight room.
- Oh! - Oh, no!
- Just didn't generate enough height!
Heavy Metal takes out Addy Herman.
- That backwards throw is tough.
Watch her adjust her head.
That caused her to come up short with the bar,
but we should still see Addy in the semifinals.
- When we come back, we're heading
back to the race course.
It's The Runoffs, our side-by-side sprints
for the final spots in the semifinals,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Experience the new Minion Land
on Illumination Avenue,
now open at Universal Orlando Resort.
Dine at Illumination's Minion Cafe,
meet your favorite characters,
and blast your way to supervillain stardom
on the new Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast.
- It's so much fun, it's a crime!
- Our final women competitors hit the qualifying course
minutes ago, and "Ninja" veteran
Rachel Degutz let out her signature scream
at the start line. - Whoo!
- Come on, Rachel!
- The middle school science teacher
is one of the top female competitors,
and is the only woman who's made it
to the national finals each of the past three years,
so her run tonight was a shock...
- Oh! [air horn blares]
- As she failed to get past the qualifying round
for the first time ever.
- Oops! That wasn't supposed to happen!
- The night's shortest competitor,
4'11" Taylor Johnson,
did make the big leap on Reel to Reel.
- Man, she is doing it big!
- Teej, as she's known, earned her first trip
to Vegas last year, and she was pumped
to be back on the course.
- Let's go! Let's go!
- The financial analyst from the Boston area
reached the fourth obstacle in a fast time.
- No!
- Though she didn't finish,
Zuri had some good news for her.
- Second-fastest woman of the night.
Congratulations.
We will see you in the semifinals.
- Thank you so much! Let's go!
[cheering]
- So Taylor Johnson joins Casey Rothschild
and Addy Herrmann in the women's top three.
They're moving on to the semifinals.
The final spot was determined by a Runoff race
between our fourth and fifth-place women,
35-year-old physical therapist Elly Hart
and a 16-year-old rookie JoJo Grubesic.
Hart, the former gymnast who now works with Olympians,
jumped out to an early lead, but Grubesic caught up.
- JoJo showing up now! She's catching her groove!
Ooh!
- Hart's fall meant Grubesic just had to finish,
which she did, and this teenager
is going to the semifinals!
So now it's time for the men's Runoff,
between the rapper who works on Wall Street,
Guang Cui, and knife salesman Ben Kooper.
- Rip 'em out the plastic. They ready to go.
They're almost identical, Matt.
23 years old, 5'8", both about 150 pounds.
- Guang's on Wall Street,
and Ben Kooper's the super salesman.
Ben has his parents on the sideline.
Guang has his dad and some training partners.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Here we go! - Wow!
Gueezy!
I love this kid!
Here comes Coop!
Guang's gonna have to write some new bars!
- Nice!
- Oh, this is a great race!
- I mean, there's still opportunity for Ben Kooper
to catch up here.
Guang Cui a little hesitant.
- It's easy to make a mistake on the Wing Nuts.
- Oh, this is such a good race!
- Oh, nice!
- Just about in sync here!
- They're racing to get to the semis!
- Guang's got a little better rhythm,
but Coop is matching it!
Guang's first off! That's huge!
- That means, if they both fall,
Guang would win. On now to Sideways.
- What do they have left?
- And you can see Guang Cui
looking at Ben Kooper sideways!
Gotta run your race!
- You could cut the tension with a knife!
- Ooh! Uh-oh!
Oh! What a one-handed save by Ben Coop!
- Incredible race!
- They are pushing themselves!
- Ben Kooper looking for his first shot at the semis,
but Guang ahead!
- Ben looking a little fatigued!
- Oh! Kooper is down!
- It was so close!
- It's the Guang Show going on to the semis!
And finishes a great race with a buzzer!
- Oh, my goodness!
Are you not entertained?
- Go party with your folks, man!
[cheering]
- That's gonna wrap up another action-packed
night of qualifying.
- For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall,
I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."