- Hello everyone, and thanks for joining us once again.
I'm Matt Iseman. - And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, it's our third night of the semifinals.
Last week, we only one finisher,
but we've got a lot of strong ninjas tonight.
- And we're gonna jump right into a run with one of them,
one of my favorite stories from the past few years.
- This guy's an under-the- radar superstar, Matt.
- Absolutely, big man.
We're talking about the Stallion, Mike Silenzi.
At 35, the nine-time veteran has turned back the clock,
and he's now a run everyone looks forward to.
- And the Stallion's gonna give us
our first look at this brand-new obstacle,
Over-Under.
- You can go over like the Stallion just did.
Now has to do it one more time on the second run.
- Boom. That's the quick way.
We'll see some take the slower under approach later.
- But the Stallion's galloping through the second obstacle.
[cheers and applause]
And it's always a stampede on his sidelines.
Those are his friends and fellow ninjas
from the Chicago area.
Silenzi's gonna keep it rolling,
jumping up to our third obstacle, Clockwork.
Stallion generating some good power.
This guy loves Ninja.
He's had a great career as a physical therapist
but gave it all up, opened a gym, be a manager,
and really pursue Ninja full-time.
Talk about following your passion.
- Look out, ladies--
the Stallion is looking for a filly.
- Yeah, he is one of Ninja's most eligible bachelors.
- Girls, if you're listening,
it's the full package right here.
We can go on my boat... [all cheering]
You know, I can put, like, ten people on it.
It is so much fun.
Also, I love water skiing
and I got a trampoline in the living room.
You got to be cool with that.
Now we're trying to break the trampoline!
And if you are, slide into those DMs.
- Whew!
His DMs are gonna be on fire tonight.
- Giddy-up! Let's see if he can handle Diamond Dash.
- Come on, Mike.
[cheers and applause] - [chuckling] Ooh!
- He's going to roll
right into the fifth obstacle, Hopscotch.
Got to jump between those numbered boxes
with small ledges to grab onto.
- Oh, look at that-- the nickname the Stallion
is short for the Italian Stallion, like Rocky.
- Well, Silenzi means silence in Italian,
but this guy's been making a lot of noise
the past two seasons.
He started in Ninja ten years ago.
That's him in the box.
But he's had his best success the past two seasons.
Last year, hit three buzzers
and made it to stage two.
- He is getting better with age!
- And he's on to the Warped Wall.
- Yeah, he's gotta love all the support.
His boys are ride or die.
[cheers and applause]
- Gotta giddy up that wall! Giddy up that wall!
- Giddy up that wall.
That's what they're saying on the sidelines.
- The Stallion's gonna run right
up this wall just like that.
[cheers and applause]
Yee-haw!
- Nice.
- This dude's a ton of fun, and you can see why
his students love training with him.
Got a big group of them watching back in Chicago.
- They're genuine--look. They're riding the ponies.
- Well, he's got the crowd fired up.
They'll be going nuts if he hits a buzzer.
Four obstacles away. First up, Salmon Ladder.
It is a taxing course.
- And you know, Silenzi's got a little bit
of a narrow grip there.
That's an interesting approach.
You know, maybe perhaps using a little bit more back muscle,
trying to save the forearms.
- He'll definitely need a little extra for Box Office.
This ended a lot of runs last week.
- Yeah.
- These boxes are attached to bungee cords.
Great job absorbing it.
- Yeah, he had his chin over the box.
Now this is the 14-inch box here with a blind hold.
Nice, nice. - Got it.
Mike Silenzi really getting this night
started with a bang.
Going deep on this very difficult semifinals course.
Getting a little spun around.
- Yeah, this one looks scary, Matt.
- Wow! - But he's got it.
- Yeah, Stallion! Get 'em!
- Uh-oh.
Get out of there, get out of there.
His hand's starting to slip.
Oh, wow. [cheers and applause]
- Wow! Well, the Italian Stallion
always delivers at the Box Office.
[cheers and applause]
Another great ride for the Stallion.
- Hold up, did he just do a point to the ladies out there?
- Well, this guy's riding high,
but now facing Split Decision.
Diving boards are back.
One of the most treacherous balance obstacles we've had,
and the other choice is a brand-new one, Flipped Around.
- He's looking at it. Oh, I don't know.
This is a hard one, Matt.
- The safe play, probably Flipped Around.
But he may have to go Diving Board.
- I'm telling you, Matt.
I think the easiest path here is going Diving Board.
You got to just trust yourself.
- Well, let's face it, there's no easy way out,
there's no shortcut home.
And he thinks he has enough left in those arms.
He's going with Flipped Around.
Got to climb up these boards
and flip them before you can make the leap.
Well, you can tell his heart's on fire,
burning desire to get through this.
But we've never had our first athlete
complete a semifinals course.
This would be a first.
- Matt, he is blazing a trail
for all the other athletes tonight.
- Got to flip this final board.
What does he have left? [overlapping chatter]
This crowd behind him.
- My goodness, he is hanging on for dear life.
He's literally hugging and loving Flipped Around.
- He's giving it everything he's got
to finish this obstacle.
- Come on, come on. Get out of there!
- Can he survive the drop? - Hang on!
- Yes! [cheers and applause]
- Oh, boy.
He's got to throw himself.
I don't know if he has enough grip strength
to hold on to the bars, Matt.
- Is he going to throw in the towel?
[cheers and applause]
- No, don't throw in the towel!
- Are you kidding me? - Let's go!
- 35 feet away from another buzzer for the Stallion!
- I told you you don't want to miss a run by the Stallion!
[cheers and applause]
- Just needs to climb the 35 feet up the Spider Trap
to hit that buzzer.
Only had one ninja hit a semifinals buzzer last week.
Now Mike Silenzi's about to do it
in our very first run.
[cheers and applause]
- And this is so hard.
Some ninjas never hit a semifinals buzzer
in their career.
- But he is hurting right now.
Two more sets of doors.
- Let's go.
- Watch the traction in that lower body, locking it in.
Here we go, almost safe.
- Oh yeah, get that in!
Put the buzz on it!
Nice! - Yo, Stallion, you did it!
[cheers and applause]
- Wow.
[buzzer blares]
- The Stallion delivers a knockout blow
on this semifinals course!
- Whoo!
- Amazing for our first run of the night.
Stallion, I've got to say, man,
with every passing year, you seem to get stronger.
This course looked brutal.
How did you survive, my friend?
- Oh man, I'm like a fine wine, you know?
- Oh. - [laughs]
- Get better with time, huh?
- On top of the world.
Well, Stallion, hit that buzzer one more time.
[buzzer blares]
[cheers and applause]
Everybody's riding the Stallion, galloping to Vegas.
- Oh, he's gonna have a lot of folks sliding up
in the DMs tonight.
- And what a way to get things started.
And that's just a preview of what
we're going to see tonight at Universal Studios, Hollywood.
- I will say I'm excited for tonight's feature
because it's in 3-D. - Ooh.
- We're going to have doctors, dogs,
and some dudes that you don't want to miss.
Like the wild and crazy ninjas
from Iowa, Chris Behrends...
- Noggin!
- Levi Enright...
- Protein shake!
- And the Cat Daddy, Jackson Twait.
- Meow!
- And that's just for starters.
We're also going to see the rock and roll
speed demon from Orlando, RJ Roman.
Fastest time of the night!
Along with the reigning Women's Champion,
Jesse "Flex" Labreck.
- One of the best who's ever done it!
- And the ninja that went farther
than anyone last season, 16-year-old Kaden Lebsack.
- Just made history!
- And at the end of the night,
our top two ninjas race up there on the Power Tower.
It's been redesigned this year with some brand-new elements,
and we've already seen some amazing finishes.
[buzzer blares]
The winner takes a Safety Pass to Vegas,
so get your popcorn ready for a big night.
- Oh! - Whoo!
- We're swinging for the fences
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Universal Studios.
Minutes ago,
Connecticut teenager Devan Alexander hit the course
with his mom, Pow, leading the cheers.
- Come on, Devan!
- You can hear her from anywhere, Matt.
- The 17-year-old was impressive last year,
making it to Vegas as a rookie.
And he came out hot tonight,
blazing through the early obstacles.
- Matt, this kid is on a mission.
- But then he hit Diamond Dash.
- Oh, my God! Oh, my goodness!
- A shocking exit for one of last year's top teens.
- You tried your best. I'm so proud of you.
- Colorado's Brandon Varner dresses to impress.
Whoa!
He hit the course in a onesie he made himself,
along with custom made shoes and shin guards.
- The ostentatious attire gives him superpowers.
- And the colorful outfits seemed to work...
There you go, nice.
As the 41-year-old dad had the best run of his career,
rolling through the first five obstacles.
- He didn't stick the landing, but that's all right.
- But his special shoes were no help on the Warped Wall...
Oh!
- He needs some new shoes.
Oh, my goodness.
- As he failed on all three attempts.
- Oh, that has got to be devastating!
- Bouncing to the start line next
is the bundle of energy known as Megan Rowe.
She had a breakout season last year
when she was known as the Axe-Throwing Ninja
from Wisconsin, but now she's on a Rocky Mountain high.
[twangy music]
- I'm still the Axe-Throwing Ninja.
[laughs]
But we got a lot going on this year.
I recently moved all the way from Green Bay, Wisconsin,
with my boyfriend Dalton, and now we are in Colorado.
* *
It's just--oh my gosh, it's so gorgeous.
We love to be outdoors, we love to rock climb,
we love to disc golf.
[cheers and applause] - Let's go!
- I just don't like to fish,
but, like, I'll sit there while you fish, so--
[laughs]
* *
Colorado is just a hub for ninjas,
so I have lots of ninja friends around here.
[overlapping chatter]
Not bad, not bad.
So we're constantly pushing each other and growing.
And training with them has definitely
boosted my confidence to go out there
and just dominate the course tonight.
- I don't care what happens,
you know she's going to have fun out there.
- Let's go, Megan! [cheers and applause]
- Boyfriend and fellow ninja Dalton Knapp
is on the sideline with family members.
Her mom and brother watching back in the Midwest.
- Let's go, Megan!
[countdown clock beeping]
- She's become one of the elite women.
Made it to the National Finals last year,
and was in the Final Four of our women's championship
earlier this year.
[cheers and applause]
Ready for Over-Under.
The axe thrower, she can generate some power.
- And don't underestimate this obstacle.
- Well, at 5'3", may have trouble getting up.
- Oh, whoa. - Going under.
- And when you have to go the under route,
it takes more time, and it eats up more energy.
- 5'3", grew up as a gymnast.
Used to swinging on bars,
but this is more work than she wanted.
Now she's got to do it all over again on the second,
trying to go up and over.
- But if she stays calm, stays within her game,
trusts the process, she'll do it.
Whoa. - Once again goes under.
She may get through this,
but she's using up a lot of energy on the second obstacle.
- And that could catch up to her, Matt.
You can see her grip strength starting to peel off.
- Made it to the eighth obstacle
in last year's semifinals.
We know she can go far.
Has shown such strength and such resilience.
- Matt, she spent almost a minute on this obstacle.
At this point, she just wants to get off.
- And she does it with a flourish.
And you can tell she's frustrated
she spent so much time on that obstacle.
[cheers and applause] - Breathe, breathe, breathe.
- You got it, you got it!
- The next one, Clockwork, can also wear you down.
She's got that upper-body strength.
It's this first throw, this is the make-or-break right here.
It's such a challenge.
You can just see it-- hard to find a rhythm.
Megan Rowe is struggling. - She's got to make it now.
Oh! - Oh, what a save!
- Wow! - Unbelievable.
- She threw her whole body up there
to get that second handle.
- Can she make the grab on the third gear?
- Nice.
- She's had to fight for it,
but Megan Rowe is going to get through once again.
It has not been pretty, but she survived.
- Come on, let's go!
- Now her arms will get a break on Diamond Dash.
There it is.
- She keeps going. She's rolling through.
- It's been an adventure,
but the Axe-Throwing Ninja is still in the game.
- Okay, Megan Rowe, I see you.
all: Megan! Megan!
- This crowd chanting her name.
They appreciate this never-say-die run.
all: Megan! Megan!
- Well, wielding those axes--
has the strength in her forearms.
It'll be tested here on Hopscotch.
- You can see her kind of sizing up two and three here.
Nice. Great.
- Testing the wingspan.
- It's the single one here on four.
Nice.
- And this double blind grab at 5'3".
- All right, get those hips up.
- Grab it, feel it.
This is it, you got to make the move now.
Oh, she missed it with her left hand!
- What a battle,
fought her way to the fifth obstacle.
We'll have to wait to see if that gets her to Vegas.
- She had some close calls and big falls,
but she survived until Hopscotch,
where she just missed with that left hand.
- Coming up, we're gonna let the dogs out...
- [shouts]
- When the Canine Ninja Roo Yori hits the course.
Plus, this superhero's toughest battle.
- Our chance of it happening actually was like 2%.
- Jamie Rahn and his wife Kim
share their emotional efforts to start a family
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- While we were away,
Huntsville, Alabama's Lindsay Eskildson
had her biggest fans on the sideline:
her husband and two young kids.
- Oh, look at Houston and Ava. Aw!
- Even with two young kids, the 40-year-old mom
has made it to the semifinals the past two seasons.
- Lindsay can go. She's a beast, Matt.
- The four-time Ninja veteran had to work overtime
to get through Over-Under.
- Come on, mama. You got this.
- And that may have caught up to her,
as she struggled on Clockwork.
- Uh-oh, she's starting to doubt herself.
Come on mama, you got this.
- And ended her run by falling back onto the platform.
Oh!
Though disappointed,
it still earned her some big hugs from the family.
- Aw! - Mommy!
- Then it was high-octane teenager
Enzo DeFerrari Wilson.
- Hey, this kid can go. [cheers and applause]
- Electric Enzo turned it on early,
driving through the first half of the course
and giving his legion of fans plenty to cheer about.
[cheers and applause]
The 16-year-old made it to stage two last year...
- So focused, dialed in. Nice.
- And he was cruising as he made his way to the back half.
- All right. Come on, DeFerrari.
Oh! [air horn blares]
- Now he'll have to wait and see if his run
keeps him in the top 15.
[cheers and applause]
On the course right now
and just flying through it, army medic Drew Nester.
- Matt, I love this guy's energy.
He is so happy to be here.
- And he's headed to the Warped Wall.
And he is pumped.
There are his parents. They're as excited as he is.
He's from Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
in the Army National Guard.
There's some of his fellow soldiers
leading the "beat that wall" chant.
all: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
[cheers and applause]
- Gets up that Warped Wall.
- Okay! Check your pulse.
Check your pulse. You good?
All right.
- Checking the carotid pulse up there.
[cheers and applause]
- Come on, look at that.
You doing flips on the semifinals course?
- His army buddies like that.
Made it to the fifth obstacle in qualifying,
but this back half, all new to him.
- Well, Matt, he just checked his pulse,
now he just got to make sure he's got the beat on this one.
There's a beat to it, nice.
- You can see him, though.
The emotion is stacking, Akbar.
He's been breathing heavily.
- Matt, what we saw last week
based on the way he did that Salmon Ladder,
the Box Office could be a little struggle.
Well, army movies tend to do well at the box office.
Let's see how he does.
- Yeah, he better GI Joe this Box Office.
- Will he be calling for a medic?
- Oh, no. It's more like "Call of Duty."
- This rookie continues to impress.
It's early, but if he can survive Box Office,
he'll have a good shot at Vegas.
Now go going to that 8-inch box there,
getting a little spun around.
[overlapping chatter]
- Hang on, hang on! What?
- What a save. - Wow.
- It is a battlefield out there,
but he is staying alive.
[cheers and applause]
And he's through! [cheers and applause]
What a moment for him.
He was selected last year, but couldn't compete
because he was in the Middle East serving his country.
So to be at the ninth obstacle,
gotta be a dream come true.
- Are you kidding me now?
[cheers and applause]
- Now has to make the choice at Split Decision.
Flipped Around or Diving Boards?
- He's looking at it. Oh, I don't know.
This is a hard one, Matt.
- It looks like he's gonna try the Diving Boards.
He'll be the first tonight.
- You got it! - Let's go!
- You can do this, man! - You got it, you got it!
- Looking it over, trying to see where to step.
You land precisely, or it's over.
Almost impossible.
Only four people got through it last season.
- Well he just made it through Diamond Dash.
Oh!
[air horn blares]
- Doesn't survive, but what a run by the army medic!
- Take a look.
He came really close to making it through.
He got one hand on top of the pad
and couldn't hang on.
But he's likely going to Vegas.
- Up next from Madison, Wisconsin,
24-year-old Nathan Green.
And he's carrying the Best Twin trophy
he earned back in qualifying when he went further
than his twin brother, Marquez,
who's bowing down on the sidelines.
These two are incredibly close, even for twins.
[upbeat music]
Nathan and Marquez have been inseparable
since losing their mother to cancer when they were 14.
- We spend so much time together.
We live together, we train together every day.
We'll compete together.
- Nice!
The twins even placed bets
on who will perform better on the course.
- Oh, Nathan lost the bet!
[clippers buzzing] Time for a haircut.
[laughter] - Oh, my God.
- This year, only Nathan made it to the semis,
but it's Marquez who's feeling the pressure.
- I'm going to be cheering him on so loud.
I'm going to be super nervous.
I get more nervous watching him than when I'm competing.
- [chuckles]
Getting to share this experience with Marquez
means absolutely, like, the world to me.
So I'm really, really, really hoping to make Marquez proud.
- Look at that, he's more than nervous.
You can see the emotion.
These twins have a special bond.
- Marquez on the sideline with some of the Iowa ninjas
the twins have been training with.
[countdown clock beeping] - Let's go, Nathan!
- Nathan's never made it past the fifth obstacle
but has been training hard before these semifinals.
- Come on, Nathan, come on.
- I've got twins of my own at home,
and I can tell you there's a special bond.
You can't break that. That's for real.
- Can he generate the power to go over?
- Yep, look at this. Nice.
- Well done. - Ooh!
- Both brothers graduated
from the University of Wisconsin last year.
- Go Badgers!
- Caught it again.
Got good power, and that makes it more efficient too.
Saving some extra moves there.
Onto Clockwork. [cheers and applause]
150 pounds.
Not a lot of weight, but hopefully enough
to get all three gears moving.
- Bigger kicks! Bigger thrusts when you go!
- There it is, there it is! Right there!
- Here we go!
- Yes! [cheers and applause]
- And he's got it.
Okay, Nathan. - Did a good job.
Wasn't bending at the arms, was driving with the hips.
Doing it again, you can see getting that power.
Comes from the lower body.
That work with the Iowa ninjas clearly paying off.
Nathan Green looking strong.
[cheers and applause]
And showing some love to that cheering section.
- Man, those Iowa boys
can make some noise, now, can't they?
- Let's go, let's go. Come on, come on, Nathan!
- The former track athlete
needs to sprint across Diamond Dash.
- Nice. - Perfect.
- Great athleticism. All right.
[cheers and applause]
- And he's reached the fifth obstacle, Hopscotch.
In his three seasons, never made it past the fifth.
This really is a test of the grip strength
and hand placement, and it's a challenge.
As you start having to split the hands,
you can only focus on one.
- Nice. Ooh, okay.
- Nathan Green having the run of his life,
trying to make it into the top 15, earn a trip to Vegas.
[cheers and applause]
That's real challenging, a double outside grip.
Blind grabs, you can't see what your hands are going.
- Use peripheral vision.
[cheers and applause]
- And his brother, Marquez, is in tears watching this.
- Well, here we go, another one for the free spinner.
- Locked in.
Get out of there, get out of there, Nathan.
- And he's done it!
What a great moment for the Green brothers.
- You can see Marquez is just overcome
watching his brother succeed.
It's a victory for both of them.
Now this is the first time
Nathan has faced the Warped Wall.
And he's got it.
[cheers and applause] - I've never got past five.
- Yeah! - I know, I know!
- Well, it means as much to Marquez as Nathan.
They've gone through some tough times together.
You can see just how connected they are.
[cheers and applause]
Some other family members watching
back in Wisconsin as well.
- This will be Nathan's first time in competition
on the Salmon Ladder.
All right.
Come on, get your popcorn ready.
Let's go.
Pop.
Pop--that's slow--that's slow popcorn right there.
- Slow pace.
- You got it! Here we go!
- You got it! One more! Come on! Get it!
- Come on, put some butter on that.
Nice.
- Well, he gets through,
but looks like he is starting to strain.
What does he have left for Box Office?
- Come on. Nice.
Ooh, hold on, hold on.
All right, you got to move to this next one here, Matt.
- The lead hand is a blind grab.
[cheers and applause] - Nathan, let's go!
- 14-inch box on this one.
Oh!
- I am so proud.
- The grip just gave out.
His best performance,
but not enough to take down the Box Office.
- Good job, Nathan!
- Well, only one was on the course,
but this was a gut-wrenching run for both Green brothers.
Nathan finally made it past the fifth obstacle,
and with his brother in tears,
he made it all the way to the eighth obstacle
before running out of gas.
- Oh, my goodness. I know.
Oh! [cheers and applause]
- I love the brotherly love.
What's going on, you two?
Marquez, you were tearing up at the start line,
you're tearing up now.
What are you feeling?
- I've just been a nervous wreck, like,
just waiting for him to run.
I know how hard it is for us not to be together.
We do everything together, and to not compete with him,
I was like, he's doing it for the both of us.
And he absolutely killed it, got further than I have.
[chuckles]
I'm just so proud of him.
- Well I can't wait to see what's next for both of you.
Good job out there tonight.
Guys, take it away. Back to you.
- Still to come, Jesse "Flex" Labreck
goes for another semifinals buzzer
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Moments ago, two ninjas with Chicago roots
tried to rip through this semifinals course.
The Deaf Ninja, Kyle Schulze,
got one of the biggest receptions of the night,
with fans signing their support
for the hearing-impaired ninja veteran.
- You can see the audience waving their hands.
- And the crowd had plenty to cheer about
as Schulze worked his way through the early obstacles.
- Oh, oh, come on, come on. Nice.
- The grad student has had success,
but in six seasons, he's never hit a buzzer.
[cheers and applause]
- No I didn't, I didn't. [laughs]
- The 32-year-old made it to Box Office...
- Nice.
- Before running out of gas.
[air horn blares] - Oh!
- But it's one of his best runs in years.
Another ninja from the Windy City, Joe Brown,
came in with high hopes.
- That dude's got way too much boosties.
- Last year, he showed off his impressive skills
by jumping over Zuri. - Wow!
- And in qualifying, he jumped over Akbar, who's 6'6".
[cheers and applause]
Earlier tonight,
he tried to vault over three ninjas at once...
- Ooh!
- But didn't quite clear fellow ninja Derrick Pavoni.
- Oh, boom!
- Still, the leasing agent came into tonight
with a lot of confidence
after hitting a buzzer in qualifying,
but he couldn't make the leap on the second obstacle.
- Whoa!
Did he just break?
- No!
I do this all the time, bro.
- And another Chicago-area ninja,
the guy who just got bonked in the head,
Derrick Pavoni, is on the course right now.
- Nice! [cheers and applause]
- Got his fiancée
and all of those Windy City ninjas on the sideline.
Pavoni's known as the Pizza Ninja.
His family owns a pizza joint back in Illinois,
and he brought us a pie.
- Oh yes, we got Pavoni and cheese.
[laughter] - Eat it! Eat!
- Hey, this is for you, homie.
- Up on Hopscotch.
Again, the handles on one, two, and three.
3/4 of an inch and squared.
Now down to half an inch around and difficulty goes up.
- There we go.
Derrick Pavoni trying to get to Las Vegas, Matt,
and win that cheese.
Here we go.
- Oh, almost missed it with the left hand.
Good save.
We saw a bunch of top ninjas fall on this one last week.
- Come on.
[cheers and applause]
But Pavoni continues the run. [cheers and applause]
- Yeah, baby, yeah!
- I've waited so long for this.
- Four seasons of "Ninja Warrior,"
his first time at the Warped Wall.
They're watching back at the family pizza restaurant
and loving this run.
- This is big.
Every ninja remembers their first Warped Wall.
- And he's got it! A great moment for Pavoni.
It's up there! You got it!
- Come on, man, come on!
- Okay, okay!
- Love this guy.
Always positive, despite a tough year.
His gym in Chicago burned to the ground in February,
a huge loss for him and the kids he coaches.
And there are some of those students.
- You can tell he is running for them this season.
- Well, getting his first buzzer would be
a great end to that story, but he's got a ways to go.
[cheers and applause]
First time on the Salmon Ladder.
- Ooh.
All right, come on now.
- Gets through the Salmon Ladder.
The Pizza Ninja's still rolling.
- Box Office, get your popcorn ready.
[cheers and applause]
While you might have popcorn at home,
I've got pizza right here in the host tower.
- This is the front and back, that front grab blind.
Locks it in.
Pavoni making the most of this semifinals run.
- Matt, this is a nice movie right now.
I'm enjoying myself.
- Well, this pizza has everything.
[cheers and applause] Oh, my!
- Come on, come on.
- Are you kidding me?
- Let's go, baby.
- Derrick Pavoni never made it past the fifth obstacle.
Here he is in Split Decision.
- Tell me you're not entertained.
Tell me you're not entertained
by that performance on Box Office.
[cheers and applause]
- He can barely believe it himself,
but he's reached the ninth obstacle.
Has to make the choice at Split Decision.
[cheers and applause]
Will he try Diving Boards
or the upper-body test of Flipped Around?
- I feel it.
- He says his arms are spent,
so maybe he'll try Diving Board.
- Come on! - Breathe!
- Feel it out! - Do it?
Let's freaking do it.
[cheers and applause]
- No, he's going to Flipped Around.
Diving Boards just looks too risky.
Even with tired arms, gonna try the upper-body obstacle.
- There you go!
- Now you got to get it completely inverted,
go up to the top, grab that handle.
- And you see him wrapping his legs
around towards the bottom.
Now he's got to grab the bar on top.
- Well, it's like you've got to start with the crust.
Pull the handle,
lock--oh! - Oh!
[air horn blares]
- Ironically taken out by a pizza-shaped obstacle,
but still the best run of Pavoni's career.
- He's going to remember this one.
Got up his first Warped Wall
and made it to the ninth obstacle.
But with those tired arms,
couldn't grab the handle on Flipped Around.
- It's early, but that run may have earned Derrick Pavoni
his first trip to Vegas.
[cheers and applause]
[dog barking] The dogs are barking
because our next athlete is the K9 Ninja, Roo Yori.
- The 45-year-old from Rochester, Minnesota,
has competed seven seasons,
spreading the message you can see on his shirt:
dog adoption.
Roo started a foundation that rescues dogs.
He even bought a van
to transport unwanted dogs from all over the Midwest
to Minnesota to find forever homes.
Roo's got rescue dogs of his own at home,
and he's got a special guest on the sideline with Zuri.
- I'm here with Amy of Angel City Pitbulls,
and we have the cutest little thing
here to help us cheer on Roo.
Who is this?
- This is Weasel. He's about ten weeks old.
He's getting ready for adoption.
- Okay.
Are you ready to cheer on Roo?
I think he is.
Okay, let's go.
all: Roo, Roo, Roo, Roo, Roo, Roo, Roo, Roo!
- Roo invited Weasel as an example
of the great dogs you can adopt at your local shelter.
And Roo looks cat-like going across the steps.
There's Roo's wife, Clara, watching back in Minnesota
with their dogs, Johnny and JuJu.
- Roo's the old dog out here.
At 45, he's the night's oldest competitor.
- But he's still been getting it done on the Ninja course.
Hit a buzzer in qualifying a few weeks ago.
Continues to compete because he wants
to keep the spotlight on dogs like Weasel
who are looking for a new home.
He's making short work of Over-Under.
[cheers and applause]
all: Roo! Roo! Roo! Roo! Roo!
- Points over at Weasel.
How can you not love that face?
- [chuckles] Oh, man.
All right, jump into this one, Clockwork.
- 5'8", 155.
Should be able to generate that power.
When Roo is not saving dogs,
he's working at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota
helping to save humans.
- Throw yourself up. - There you go.
[air horn blares] - Oh, no.
- Ruh-roh.
- Oh man, this has got to be rough, rough for Roo Yori.
Clockwork is a tough one to figure out.
He got both hands on the bar but couldn't hold on.
No trip to Vegas for Roo Yori.
- But Roo got to spread his message,
so get out there and adopt a dog like Weasel.
He went further than anyone last season at just 15.
[buzzer blares] - Yeah!
Kaden Lebsack tries to punch his ticket back to Vegas
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to "American Ninja Warrior"
at Universal Studios Hollywood,
where you can soar over Hogwarts Castle,
journey into Jurassic World,
or let loose on Illumination's
The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash.
- And let's not forget the world-famous studio tour
where you'll go behind the scenes
on your favorite film sets.
Make it your best day in LA.
- Teenager Max Feinberg went to Universal today,
and he was still wearing his souvenir sweatshirt when
he hit the course minutes ago.
- Boy, he's going to need that Hogwarts magic tonight, Matt,
because the semifinals, it is brutal.
- The 17-year-old wears a pink ribbon on his shirt
to raise awareness for breast cancer.
But despite the serious message,
he was having fun on the course.
- How sweet is that?
- Feinberg rolled to the back half...
looking confident as he swung through Box Office.
- Whoa!
Oh, wow.
- Box Office will likely be the cutoff for the top 15,
so Feinberg will have to wait and see
if that gets him to Vegas.
Well, Max's trip to Universal was with our next competitor,
his good friend, Kaden Lebsack,
who, oh yeah, went further than anyone last season.
He and Max had a wager on last year's competition,
and today, Kaden paid it off.
[both cheer]
- A couple of years ago, me and Max made a bet.
- I would buy him a smoothie,
he would buy me a ticket to Universal
if he won "American Ninja Warrior."
And Kaden won.
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah!
- Kaden Lebsack is the Last Ninja Standing!
At 15, he's just made history!
[dramatic music]
- I've been wanting to go to Universal Studios
for a super long time.
[doorbell chimes]
And it was just amazing with all its sets,
all its cool food.
- Max was definitely a tourist at Universal.
He bought a whole bunch of stuff, took a lot of pictures,
and I think we went on every single ride.
- Me and Kaden may be an odd couple,
but when we're together, we're just having a ton of fun.
- Both me and Max hit buzzers in semifinals last year,
so hopefully we can keep hitting buzzers together.
[upbeat music]
- Come on, Kaden! Let's go!
- Max is on the sidelines with a bunch of other ninjas.
Kaden's parents also over there.
Mom's always nervous,
even though he's never fallen in the water.
[countdown clock beeping]
Five buzzers last year, already got one this year.
The goal, of course, is six, total victory.
- 16 years old and has a really good shot
at hitting all six buzzers.
- Kid has a lot of power,
can really fly through the air.
Trains up to eight hours a day, and it shows.
Right through Over-Under.
[cheers and applause]
Clockwork.
Don't think he'll be tardy here.
- He gets it. Early's on time. On time is late.
Wow. Great timing.
- Just launched himself there.
Good kick with those hips.
- He's a great student in school,
great student of Ninja.
This kid does nothing but study the game.
[cheers and applause]
- Ol' balance obstacle, Diamond Dash.
And flies through it.
Mom's relieved he got past the balance obstacle
as Lebsack glides right into Hopscotch.
- Kaden Lebsack makes it look so effortless.
Trust me, these courses are not easy,
but this kid is in a class by himself.
One of the best ninjas ever, and he's only 16.
Nice.
- And he's handled the expectations
and pressure of being the defending Last Ninja Standing.
- You can see how calm he looks.
Like, that right there is the strength of a ninja.
Look at that, nice adjustment.
- I think that's what's impressed us
so much about these young athletes
and Kaden in particular
is that they have measured up to the moment.
[cheers and applause]
- On now to the back half of the course.
Only the Stallion, Mike Silenzi,
has finished so far.
Could Kaden be the second buzzer tonight?
- Hey, don't bet against Kaden Lebsack,
because he's about to get it done.
- Not even stopping to take a rest,
going right up to Salmon Ladder.
- Come on, Kaden. - Let's go, let's go!
[loud clacking]
[cheers and applause]
- Did you hear that? Just listen.
That right there tells you
he's got enough to make it through Box Office.
[cheers and applause]
- You can see that front hand is going to be a blind grab.
- Nice. Ooh!
Yeah, he saw that, caught the corner,
made the adjustment on the go.
[cheers and applause] - And another good transfer.
- Mama is sweating through every move out there.
- Come on! [indistinct]
- And he is through. - Yeah!
And he looks like he's taking a casual stroll
as he walks to Split Decision.
Does this kid ever get tired?
- And didn't even look at the Diving Boards.
Going for Flipped Around.
Mike Silenzi got through it earlier,
but this will test tired arms.
- Come on, buddy. - Let's go, man! Come on!
- Come on. Catch high.
- Balancing here, you have to ascend your way up top,
try to get that board locked in.
- Good! [applause]
- Oh, look--look at. Oh, Mom can't watch.
[cheers and applause]
- Now it's locked in, gotta lache.
- Nice.
- And repeat the process.
- Oh, rinse and repeat.
- Lache to another one.
- Nice.
- You could just see the challenge
locking onto this moving board.
- Well, he's bear hugging it,
and he's using his legs for point of contact.
- My goodness. - Absorbed the drop, nice.
- He's making it look easy.
[cheers and applause]
And right on the catwalk.
Kaden Lebsack,
35 feet away from being our second finisher.
[cheers and applause]
Here we go, the Spider Trap.
Has to get through three sets of trap doors.
100 pounds, 50 on one side, 50 on the other,
and 35 feet straight up after an exhausting gauntlet
of nine obstacles, still looking strong!
[cheers and applause]
- Yes he is, look at this.
- Well, there is no sophomore slump for Kaden Lebsack.
- Get it.
- 16 years old!
[buzzer blares]
[cheers and applause]
- And he's standing atop a semifinals course once again.
[upbeat music]
* *
Kaden Lebsack! - What's up?
- our Last Ninja Standing from last year.
You haven't missed a beat.
How'd it feel? - I'm so tired.
- I didn't think you get tired.
Let me ask you straight up.
You getting six buzzers this year?
- That's the goal. - That's the goal.
- Kaden, man, so proud of you.
You ready to go back to Vegas?
- Oh, yeah.
- Hit that buzzer one more time, my friend.
[buzzer blares] [cheers and applause]
* *
Here they come.
The high-flying veteran Ethan Swanson,
the defending women's champion,
Jesse "Flex" Labreck,
the rock and roller from Orlando, RJ Roman,
and Captain NBC, Jamie Rahn.
All ready to battle our course
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back to Universal Studios Hollywood.
It's night three of the semifinals
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- And it's been another night of surprises.
Florida's Jason Kotzin is an avid surfer,
and he was riding the wave in his first semifinals.
- Great balance.
- That two-time Ninja veteran from Orlando
had never been past the fifth obstacle until tonight.
Little pump as he's up at the Warped Wall.
- The dreadlocked 24-year-old was hanging loose.
He even stopped for a moment of zen.
[gong rings]
- Talk about being LA.
Meditating on a course.
- And it seemed to work
as Kotzin bounced his way through Box Office...
- Fitting in right in Hollywood.
- And made it to Split Decision,
where he went with the upper- body test, Flipped Around,
and made it to the very end.
- The grip is giving out, digging for it, fighting.
No!
- Oh, my God! I can't take it!
[all groaning]
But it's his best run ever.
He's almost assured of moving on to Vegas.
[cheers and applause]
The Swan, Ethan Swanson,
flew through the first part of the course
and had everybody flapping their wings.
- The Swan is about to take flight!
- The nine-time veteran was looking
to get back to the National Finals
after missing out the past two years.
- And he just cut the Box Office down to size.
- When he reached Split Decision,
he took the opposite approach from Kotzin
and tried the balance obstacle, Diving Board.
- Oh, my goodness!
- But he, too, is likely to make it to Vegas.
- I thought I could get it. I was a little wrong, you know?
- There's a two-legged cat at the start line,
and that can only mean one thing.
- Oh, boy.
- It's time for the cat-loving ninja from Iowa,
Jackson Twait.
Though he's only 24,
he's the elder statesman among that crazy Iowa crew.
[twangy country music]
- Iowa has definitely been expanding as a Ninja hotbed.
I might even say theNinja hotbed.
- Wow, big kick.
- These ninjas from Iowa have dominated tonight.
- And this year I'm back in semifinals,
competing with my best friends,
the Ninja Teens Chris and Levi.
- Yeah, he wants that Mega Wall.
- Yeah!
- He's pumped up, he's pumped up!
- San Antonio went pretty good for the bros.
- Jackson Twait, full speed ahead.
- We crushed it.
You can't get much better. - Can't get better. Yeah.
- Double noggin buzzer! - Oh, oh, oh, go!
[buzzer blares]
- The Iowa boys are definitely ones to look out for.
- [yelping comedically]
- It's 'cause we're corn-fed.
[all grunt]
But we've never actually made it to Vegas,
so we've been putting in the work, training hard,
and we're going to be hitting buzzers all day.
Noggin! - Noggin!
- Well, you know the Iowa boys are going to make some noise
on the sideline.
They're over with the Green brothers and Jackson's mom.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Jackson Twait is too good to have never been to Vegas.
I think that's going to change tonight.
- Jackson Twait has shown flashes of brilliance.
He got the Mega Wall last year
and is almost always among the fastest in qualifying.
- Let's go, Jackson!
- Ooh! - Ooh, went under.
- He can climb below or fly across the eight feet,
and that's what he does.
- Nice little glide, lands on his feet again.
More of those Iowa ninjas watching back in Cedar Falls.
[cheers and applause]
As well as he's done in qualifying,
he's had some early falls on the longer courses.
- Yeah, that's right, Matt.
And we've seen some inconsistency
with Jackson Twait over the years,
but Matt, he's a legitimate ninja, Matt.
He can go now.
- Got great speed, but we'll see what endurance he has,
'cause this course is taxing.
[cheers and applause]
- Could this be the year for Jackson Twait?
- He got onto the Power Tower back
when we had it in qualifying in the six-obstacle course,
would love to get there tonight.
That Safety Pass,
can't be overstated how valuable that is in Vegas.
- Yeah, he's got a lot of swinging there.
- Oh, almost slips with that right hand,
but he recovers.
- Nice. - Good control.
- Great. I love the way he came into that.
He came in pretty tight, now he's trying to kick the board.
Don't waste that.
- Fidgety cat. - Nice.
[cheers and applause]
- See if he can claw his way up the Warped Wall.
- He's not taking any breaks.
Going straight up the Warped Wall.
- And no problem.
both: Meow.
- Did we just do that at the same time?
- Meow. We did. - Yeah, we did.
- Team Twait eliciting dual meows from Matt and Akbar.
- Jinx.
- Beautiful job. Come on, Jackson.
- Four more obstacles to go,
starting with the Salmon Ladder.
- Jumps right into it with the switch grip.
Nice.
Yep, right up.
All right, I think he's got enough left in the tank
to get through Box Office.
- Well, if he can survive this,
he'll be in good position
to move on to the National Finals,
which start two weeks from tonight in Las Vegas.
- Here we go. Right here. Come on, Jackson.
[cheers and applause]
- Just barely hanging on.
Jackson Twait spending a lot of time spinning around here.
Let's see if the Cat Daddy of here can right the ship.
Spinning around, he's using up some of his nine lives.
- Uh-oh. Yes, he is.
- Meow, meow, meow, meow.
- Let's go!
- Cat Daddy avoiding the litter box.
- Uh-oh, uh-oh.
- And he gets through.
[cheers and applause]
Headed for Split Decision.
And don't look now, but he's got a fast time going.
He could be thinking about the Power Tower.
- And he's going straight to Diving Boards,
which is quicker, but a lot more dangerous.
- Well, cats do not like getting wet.
What's going to happen here?
- Matt, he can't pussyfoot through this.
Oh! - But he's still on!
- Oh, my goodness! He's got nine lives!
- What a save!
- He's got nine lives on the ninth obstacle!
What? What?
- He's riding the horse.
What a save! - Come on.
That's a lucky cat right there.
- He just used eight of his lives right there.
[cheers and applause]
The first to get through Diving Boards,
and now he's got more than a minute left
to get the fastest time.
- That's crazy. What a lucky cat.
- Making the most of those nine lives,
Cat Daddy 35 feet away
from his first extended course buzzer.
- Are you kidding me? I'm going to go adopt a cat.
- Well, sometimes you need a little bit of luck.
[cheers and applause]
But don't take the Spider Trap for granted.
He fell on this obstacle two years ago.
- Matt, I'm not going to lie.
This has been a purrfect run.
[cheers and applause]
- And look, here it is.
Jackson Twait's going to do it with the fastest
time of the night.
- Come on! Nice!
- Are you kidding me?
- Okay, he wants the Power Tower.
[buzzer blares]
[cheers and applause] - Let's go!
- It's the year of the Cat Daddy!
Jackson Twait, a miraculous save.
Makes the most of it. - Yes!
- I don't know how he survived Diving Boards.
He tried to two-step the second board,
but his right foot missed completely,
landed right on that last board,
and held on for dear life, and he was able to save it.
Even he couldn't believe it.
All right, Jackson, did you think
you were going in that water?
- 100%, yeah.
- Jackson, you used up eight of your lives.
You stayed alive, though.
Right now, you've got the fastest time
and you're in line to go to the Power Tower.
[cheers and applause]
RJ Roman's rocking out.
Soon, he'll be doing the same thing on the course.
The Orlando musician is coming up.
And you know he wants to end up on that Power Tower.
Our two fastest will be there at the end of the night.
It's all coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Universal Studios,
where a couple of Chicago-area ninjas just got their shot.
Pediatrician Dr. Steven Bachta hit the course
with his wife and two daughters watching,
plus his coach, Mike Silenzi.
Doctah Bachta made it to the semifinals
as a 40-year-old rookie.
- Oh, he goes under.
That's the hard way.
Oh!
[air horn blares]
- But tonight, the Doctah didn't survive Over-Under.
- Girls, it's time for bed. Love you guys.
- 17-year-old Maggie Owen was making her first appearance
in the semifinals, and her coach,
Jesse "Flex" Labreck, was leading the cheers.
- Let's go, Maggie!
- Though only 5 feet tall and 105 pounds,
Owen quickly powered her way through the early obstacles.
- Oh, look at this.
- But Clockwork turned into a struggle.
- Everything you've got here, Maggie.
Oh! [air horn blares]
- Good job, Mags!
- Up next is another teenager.
16-year-old high school student Karen Potts.
And she's calling her shot, Akbar.
She's a star athlete on the softball field,
and now, she's bringing her talents to "Ninja."
[organ music playing]
* *
[cheers and applause]
- I started playing softball when I was nine years old.
It's so much fun.
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat music]
* *
I like to play shortstop
'cause a lot of the time, I'm involved in the action.
[cheers and applause]
I got it, I got it.
- Way to work!
- Karen is one of the most athletic kids,
really, in the county.
She is naturally gifted,
just a college-level athlete...
Playing in a high school.
- "American Ninja Warrior" is a lot different from softball.
But the two sports really translate
well into each other.
- Karen's Ninja training has really paid off
with her softball and improved her game.
She throws harder,
and she hits for power that she didn't used to hit for.
- Last season, I hit about .500,
and I'm batting about .700 this year.
[cheers and applause]
- I'm really proud of what she's accomplished
in all of her endeavors.
School, softball, Ninja.
Whatever it is, she attacks it with gusto.
- Really athletic. Look at her go, Matt.
- Coach gave her the steal signal.
She can run.
- It would mean so much to me to advance
to the National Finals in Vegas.
I would prove to myself that I can compete with the pros,
so I'm ready to swing for the fences on this course.
[cheers and applause]
- Karen's mom will be on the sidelines...
- Let's go, Karen!
- While her Dad and her uncle watching back in Maryland,
along with some of her softball teammates.
[countdown clock beeping]
5'11", tallest female competitor running tonight.
In addition to softball, also a top soccer player.
[cheers and applause]
See if she can generate the power here on Over-Under.
Take that bar up and over.
- Nice. - Just got it.
- All right, okay.
Using a long reach. If you got it, use it.
- Well, look at her generating a lot of power
with those hips.
- Ooh! Okay.
- A batter's power comes from those hips.
[cheers and applause]
Now onto Clockwork.
We saw Maggie Owen fall here moments ago.
You can really struggle here if you can't generate swing.
Seems to be getting these gears moving.
That's been a challenge tonight.
- Yeah.
- Especially for the lighter competitors.
Has a lot of length.
both: Oh! - Okay, she swung for it.
I like it.
- She relies on those long arms.
- It was a little on the short.
She said, "You know what?
I'm just going to swing for it."
Nice! - Got it. Wow.
And she gets through.
That's going to give the rookie some confidence.
Now facing Diamond Dash.
- She's a base-stealer, Matt.
She can go.
- Nice. - Oh!
- And right through Diamond Dash.
Of course the softball player comfortable on the Diamond.
- Of course. - Now it's Hopscotch.
- I see you, I see you.
Yeah!
- There it is.
- Knock this one out the park.
- She's got her initials, KJP, on her shirt,
but she's going for MVP right now, taking on Hopscotch.
Megan Rowe is the only other woman
to reach this point tonight.
- KJP is the boss.
Three, nice.
- Now for the double wide blind grab.
- KJP is not messing around.
- Oh, how did she save that?
- Okay.
- Had the left hand, got the right hand.
Into the free spin. - Nice!
- Oh, my goodness!
- Okay, KJP.
- Only one woman bested it last week.
KJP at 16 beats Hopscotch.
It is child's play for her.
Now her first attempt at the Warped Wall.
This is like the Green Monster in Fenway.
Can she go yard?
- Nice! Okay! - Yes, she can.
[cheers and applause]
- KJP, call your shot!
[cheers and applause]
- She's already getting recruited by college coaches,
and you can see why.
She is a natural athlete.
Let's see what she does on the Salmon Ladder.
- Go, Karen!
- What a run.
- We lowered the age limit last year,
and she's now the second teenage girl
to reach the back half of the semifinals course.
Isabella Wakeham was the first to do it last year.
- Come on. Nice.
- It's like pots and pans banging away,
those arms getting extended.
- Ooh, okay. - What does she have left?
- She's cooking up something. Come on!
Nice! - Well, let's see it.
[cheers and applause]
Got it!
- She's doing a great job.
- Well, let's see if she can be the natural
at the Box Office.
- Oh! - Splashes down.
But that's the best run by a woman tonight.
Makes it to the eighth obstacle as a rookie!
- Matt, that was great. Look at this.
The softball player showed off a strong arm on Clockwork,
was safe running across Diamond Dash,
and displayed power going up Salmon Ladder.
Her only error was at the end.
She got her right hand hung up on the bar,
and that caused an awkward fall.
And this 16-year-old is going to the National Finals.
KJP may be in the running for Rookie of the Year.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, Captain NBC's ready to fly,
and Jamie Rahn's got some big news to share.
His run is coming up next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to "American Ninja Warrior,"
where it has been non-stop action.
- Yeah, check out what just happened.
- Cam "The Baum" Baumgartner was looking
for his second straight finish in the semifinals.
- He wants that buzzer, Matt.
- The 24-year-old gymnastics coach from the Chicago area
is one of the sport's top talents,
and he had no problem on the front half of the course.
- Go get what's yours. Go get it.
All right, Cam "The Baum" has got to be explosive.
- At Split Decision, he went with Flipped Around
and had to wrestle his way through.
- Uh-oh, oh, oh! No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Okay.
- But he survived, and the four-time veteran
is going back to Vegas.
Our fourth finisher of the night.
[buzzer blares]
- Let's go!
- 15-year-old Ethan Gardulski was one of the great
stories from qualifying.
Though he suffers from anxiety,
the Michigan teenager motored his way through the course
and got a buzzer on his very first run.
[buzzer blares] - Yeah!
- Tonight, though he only weighs 100 pounds,
Gardulski was able to power his way
past the early obstacles.
- This dude can go.
- And he was looking strong as he swung through Clockwork.
- Sha-ba-ba-ba! - No!
- But just couldn't hang on. - So close!
[cheers and applause]
- Pro handball player Gary Hines
brought his impressive physique all the way
from Germany to compete.
- You can see everything, oblique muscles.
He's putting on a show.
- The muscled-up 38-year-old
nicknamed Hangtime was impressive.
- Okay, Hangtime Hines.
- Yeah!
- And the handball player showed
good hands on Hopscotch with a two-finger save.
- Come on, man.
I'm telling you right now, my index and middle finger
can't do that.
- Hines got a buzzer in qualifying
and had another strong run tonight.
- Oh!
- Before he was bounced on Box Office.
We'll have to wait and see if that gets him to Vegas.
Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Captain America
have all filmed scenes right here on New York Street,
but up next is Ninja's favorite superhero,
Captain NBC, Jamie Rahn.
First competed 12 years ago.
We've seen this man grow up,
and now, he's working on an origin story.
[soft dramatic music]
- We have been trying to, you know,
have a kid for three years now.
So we got testing done
and found out that our chances of it happening naturally
was like 2%.
And so we decided to try IVF.
- Going through so many shots and procedures
and everything else to hopefully become pregnant
and find out that you're not, it was very hard.
- * And run with me, run with me, run *
* Jump with me, jump with me, jump *
* *
- [voice breaking] But I have him.
And I have lots of family and lots of friends.
They were just there to hug me
or just let me sit there and cry.
- * The world ain't got nothing on us *
- After two years of trying IVF, you know,
we decided to take a little break.
And then, that's actually when we got lucky.
- I was getting ready for the winter, closing up the pool,
and dropped an umbrella weight on my foot.
Knowing that I needed to get an X-ray done,
they made me take a pregnancy test.
In addition to a broken toe, I was also pregnant.
Look at that cute, little button nose.
- Yeah.
- So we're having a boy. Couldn't be more excited.
Right above where his head is going to be.
- Yeah.
- Jamie has just been standing right beside me.
- Hey.
- He's been bringing me apples and ice cream,
holding my hand, telling me he loves me,
telling me I'm pretty.
You know, our whole lives are about to change.
We're ready for it, though.
- Kim's been amazing through this process.
I'd love to hit a buzzer for her
with little baby Jay on the sideline.
It just means the world to me.
- * Run with me, run *
[cheers and applause]
- And Jamie's got Kim on his sideline
wearing the green wig.
She's due very soon.
- Let's go, babe! Look at your baby!
- Oh, buzzer for baby!
- Buzzers for baby. That's great.
But also wearing the green wigs are Jamie's parents
and other family members.
They never miss one of his runs.
[countdown clock beeping] - Boop, boop, boop, boop!
Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, hey!
- Did he make his own sound?
This superhero doing his own sound effects!
- Come on, Jamie! - You got it, Jamie!
- Come on, Jamie!
- You know this guy can generate power,
great at laches.
- Well, yeah, of course, he's a superhero.
Of course he can generate power.
Oh, what's your power? - There you go.
You can see, no capes, though.
- Real superheroes don't need capes.
[cheers and applause]
- 5'10", 170, should have no problem
moving the gears here on Clockwork.
[cheers and applause]
What a journey it's been for him.
When we first saw him back in season two,
he was a kind of nerdy cosplay kid from New Jersey.
But he worked at it and became one of the very best ninjas.
Now this guy's married, having a baby,
runs a successful gym in St. Louis.
And there's some of his students
watching back in Missouri.
Now the Diamond Dash.
- All right. Come on.
Nice. - Great footwork.
[cheers and applause]
- He's going to be doing a lot of this with his baby.
[chuckles] Playing hopscotch.
- There's a good look at his left thumb.
He cut part of it off with a table saw
a couple of years ago.
His grip had been a little impacted.
So anytime you're on something like this,
this may be his vulnerability.
Hasn't slowed him down much, though.
Made it past semifinals the past two years.
[cheers and applause]
And he's through five obstacles tonight.
Looking over at Kim.
- You're doing awesome, babe!
all: [chanting] Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Taking a breath before the Warped Wall.
- There he goes. Nice.
- Now, and his son is someday going to be
able to watch this video.
Jamie will say, "You were there, kid."
- Nice. There you go.
Just rolling around here like a little roly poly.
- [laughs] Why not have fun?
- And with a baby on the way, that's a lot of expenses.
He'd love to win that million dollars in Vegas.
- Been to the National Finals seven times in his career.
If he wants to guarantee another trip,
they'll need to get past Box Office.
- The way he did that, Matt,
I think he's going to make it through Box Office.
- Box Office could be a challenge.
Although superhero movies traditionally
do well at the Box Office.
- You got it!
- Really got to get that grip locked in.
- Nice. - He did it.
- And you saw the way he came in, compact,
so he could absorb the drop.
- And the blind grab here with that lead hand blind grab.
Got it! [cheers and applause]
That's impressive.
- Well, it's not a blind grab for Captain NBC.
He can see right through it.
- I believe X-ray vision is one of his powers.
Now, the smaller cube here--
- All right, keep the film rolling!
Keep it rolling. Nice! - Wow!
A boffo Box Office move.
And it means he's going back to Vegas.
Now has to tackle Split Decision,
and he's got a dilemma.
Last season in the semifinals,
was taken out by the Diving Boards.
Will he try them again?
- How's everything feeling?
- But it's fun. - Yeah.
- Well, you heard him.
Talked it over with his wife,
and he's going to go with the fun option, Flipped Around.
Though I don't think it's going to be fun.
- Well, Matt, Flipped Around is a beast,
especially after the eight other obstacles.
- You can see him sliding. - Oh, he's sliding.
He's sliding.
He's got to find his foot placing.
He's using a lot of grip strength there, Matt.
- Oh, the arms are fatigued.
You can see he's wrapping his legs
to take some pressure off.
- Oh, boy. He's struggling to get up top.
- Well, this is just a grip gone--
- Oh, wow! [air horn blares]
- Well, a strong run by the father-to-be,
but just didn't have anything left on Flipped Around.
- I don't know.
This looked more fun than the Diving Board,
so I had to give it a go.
- The superhero came through once again,
earned a trip back to Vegas.
But on the ninth obstacle, his arms were dead,
and he couldn't hang on as he got flipped around.
- And Zuri's with Jamie
for the NerdWallet post-run interview.
- How we doing?
- Wetter than I'd like to be, but I'm all right.
- Understandable.
And of course, you've got your beautiful wife, Kim,
we've got a bun in the oven.
How special is it for you to have them cheering you on
on the sidelines tonight?
- I don't know if he can hear it yet,
but I'm excited they're here.
- Wait, wait, wait, hold on. I just realized.
We've got a little onesie for him ready to go.
- That was for the buzzer, but we didn't get there.
- Well, I've got some good news.
Redemption is near, okay?
We've got buzzers in Vegas, and that's where you're headed.
We will see you in the National Finals.
Congratulations, Jamie. - Thank you.
- And congratulations to you guys.
Take it away, Matt and Akbar. [chuckles]
- This post-run interview brought to you by NerdWallet,
the smartest decision for all your financial decisions.
- She's the reigning queen of "American Ninja Warrior"...
- She will not give up!
- With more buzzers than any other woman.
- Again? For a third time?
- Jesse "Flex" Labreck runs next
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to night three of semifinals
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Minutes ago, 40-year-old Nebraska mom
Maggie Thorn hit the start line
in her trademark pink bow.
- "Moms make the best ninjas."
- With her three kids watching from home
and friend Jessie Graff on the sideline,
the former track star sprinted through the first obstacle.
- All right, here we go. Oh!
- The seven-time veteran bounced back from injuries
and had a strong run to qualify for semifinals.
- Got to put some power.
Put some--oh no! - Oh.
But she couldn't make the grab tonight on Over-Under.
Heavy metal musician Josh Wagg
came out, as usual, ready to rock.
- Whoo!
- That is a very intense look, Matt.
- The Orlando metalhead loves to wear scary face paint
during his runs.
And he had a scary moment early.
- Oh!
Oh, wow. - Yeah!
- Yeah, John!
- With his training partner RJ Roman cheering him on,
the two-time veteran kept rocking and rolling.
- Oh, boy.
Hold on for dear life, like you're holding onto a guitar!
Hold onto your guitar!
Nice.
- What a save!
[cheers and applause]
- Ah!
- He made it to the back half for the first time ever
before his run ended on Box Office.
both: No! [air horn blares]
- Pretty freaking impressive, bro.
Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
And Wagg's training partner,
RJ Roman, has just started his run.
25-year-old musician has quickly made
his way to the fifth obstacle.
- All right, Matt. I think he's going for speed.
In qualifying, he had the fastest time.
Last year in qualifying, he had the fastest time,
so we know he can go.
5'6, 145. He does. He absolutely shreds.
- He got a big jump here.
- And there it is.
Got a big group of friends on the sidelines,
including Flip Rodriguez.
Warped Wall should be no problem.
And up and on to the back half of the course.
- Matt, he's not stopping to talk.
No stopping to rest.
He wants to get to that Power Tower.
- That Safety Pass is so valuable.
- Yeah. Critical.
- And right now, he's got a chance
to beat Jackson Twait for the fastest time.
- Come on, RJ! Finish strong!
- A lot of people think RJ Roman can win it all.
If he has a Safety Pass in Vegas,
that would improve his chances exponentially.
- Makes quick work of the Salmon Ladder.
Now on to Box Office.
- This is the one that can slow you down here,
so you got to be very, very intentional too.
Knowing the timing here, get that timing,
get enough up to give yourself the time to make that grab.
Just like that.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, RJ Roman's going to have a big decision to make
if he gets off Box Office.
- Well, Matt, he is a Box Office hit right now,
because he is running this course, I mean, perfectly.
- And looks like he's going to survive Box Office,
and he does.
On now to Split Decision.
So last year in a similar position,
he chose Diving Boards, and he fell.
- He ain't going back that way.
- He could get through Flipped Around,
but he's going to think about it,
looking to the sidelines for advice.
- You got it, you got it.
- Yeah, you heard that he just said he's kinda pumped,
so maybe he'll go Diving Boards.
Still got a shot at the top time.
- Nope, took one look,
and he's going back to Flipped Around,
even if the arms are tired.
Oh, here we go.
- Nice. All right.
- This will definitely take more time
than if he'd gone with the Diving Boards.
Locked it in.
[cheers and applause]
RJ Roman making good progress here.
- All right, here we go.
- We've had four finishers so far.
- Oh, he's got to fly now.
Uh-oh. - Shaking out those forearms.
Said his arms were tired.
Can they hold out a little longer?
Get that power and trying to lock it in.
Almost there.
But as we've seen, this dismount is no gimmie.
Makes the grab.
RJ Roman looks like he's getting through.
- Oh, boy! Uh-oh! We got something here!
We got action!
[cheers and applause]
- Well, he's not going to beat Jackson Twait
for the fastest time,
but he can move ahead of Kaden Lebsack for second.
That would still put him on the Power Tower.
all: RJ! RJ! RJ! RJ!
- Flashes the rock and roll horns
as the crowd chants his name.
all: RJ! RJ! RJ!
- This is like being on stage at a rock concert.
- He's got to hustle, he's got to hustle.
It's going to be close.
Oh, boy. Here we go.
- Got about 20 seconds left to beat Lebsack.
Through the second set of doors.
Just needs a final push.
- Oh, he's gonna do it, Matt!
- He'll be our fifth finisher tonight.
[buzzer blares] RJ Roman has done it!
Moves ahead of Lebsack.
Now he's in line for the Power Tower
with only a few runners left.
A great performance by RJ Roman,
shredding that course.
- RJ, RJ, boy, I know you spent, man.
You left everything out there on the court.
- But you got that buzzer,
and right now, you're in line to go to the Power Tower.
- Yeah! [cheers and applause]
[rock music]
[buzzer blares]
- After just one finisher last week,
we've got five already tonight.
And one of the best ever is up next.
Zuri, get her going.
- Guys, it is time to flex,
because the baddest woman in Ninja
is headed to the start line.
It's the reigning women's champ, Jessie "Flex" Labreck.
She's got ten career buzzers,
more than any woman in Ninja history.
That includes three finishes
on the ten-obstacle extended course.
No other woman has done it more than once.
- Can she do it again tonight?
She's breaking her own record every time.
- Yeah, Jesse!
- Fiancé Chris DiGangi.
He'll be running in just a few minutes.
[countdown clock beeping]
Made it to stage two in Vegas last year,
only the third woman ever to get to stage two.
- It's not been a good night for the women.
If Flex can reach the fourth obstacle,
she'll guarantee a return to Vegas.
- Though she is one of the most consistent ninjas
we've ever had.
Was the only woman to finish
the difficult semifinals course last year.
- Nice. - And such good power.
5'7", 145, just taking charge on Over-Under.
- She wants that buzzer, Matt.
- Hall of Fame heptathlete at the University of Maine.
Should be able to handle Clockwork.
These three gears, get them moving,
got to generate power.
Flex, never a shortage of power.
- She's a boss. Come on.
- Come on, come on! - Come on!
- All right.
Will need a major kick up here.
No! - Oh, no!
- No, no, no! - Oh, my goodness.
A shocking early exit.
[soft dramatic music]
Flex Labreck taken out by Clockwork.
- No, no, no, no. That didn't just happen.
- We love you, Jesse! - Jesse!
- Just goes to remind you
any ninja, any obstacle, any time,
even the great Flex Labreck.
- She didn't look comfortable on this first gear,
couldn't generate a good swing,
but just decided to go for it anyway
and only got one hand on the bar.
And she will not be in Vegas
for the first time in her career.
- Just so silly.
It's all right.
- Wow, it is gonna be weird not having her in Vegas.
- [sighing] Oh. Bummer.
That sucks.
- We're down to the final runners
in tonight's semifinals.
While we were away, it was Chris DiGangi,
who had to shake off the shocking fall of his fiancée,
Flex Labreck, minutes ago.
- You got this, babe!
- Unlike Flex,
Chris was able to figure out the timing on Clockwork.
- He said, "It's easy. I'm Chris DiGangi."
- The ten-time veteran was gunning for his third
semifinals buzzer and looked under control
as he took on Hopscotch.
- Oh, oh! [air horn blares]
- Oh, no!
- Meaning he and Flex will both miss the National Finals.
- Are you kidding me?
- Then it was one of the crazy Iowa ninjas, Chris Behrends,
who was cheered on by his Iowa bros,
Levi Enright and Jackson Twait.
Behrends had the night's fastest time
back in qualifying,
and he was running wild again tonight.
- Oh! Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- The college student was trying to earn his first trip
to the National Finals.
- Nice!
I think he's going for the Power Tower.
- And raced to the eighth obstacle, Box Office, quickly.
- Ooh. [air horn blares]
- And it was fast enough for Zuri to share some good news.
- Congratulations.
We'll see you at the National Finals.
[all cheering]
- So right now, this is our Power Tower matchup.
The speedster from Orlando, RJ Roman,
would be racing against Iowa's Cat Daddy Jackson Twait,
who has the night's fastest finish.
But there's one more athlete to run,
and he's headed to the start line.
It's Levi Enright,
who's coming up with his Iowa bro, Chris Behrends,
who we just saw run.
They're normally drinking protein shakes,
but not tonight.
- They brought some Iowa corn!
What in Sam Hill is going on out here?
- They're having a race.
Who can eat their corn on the cob the fastest.
Looks like Levi has a big lead.
Oh, an easy win over Chris.
- Matt, he's going in for seconds.
Eating the other one too.
- Well, not a traditional pre-game meal,
but these guys are anything but traditional.
Iowa has been well-represented tonight.
- Whoo!
- That group watching back in Cedar Falls
has had plenty to cheer about.
- Let's go! [cheers and applause]
- Let's go, Levi! - Come on, Levi!
- Levi's fiancée down on the sideline.
She's the cousin of Chris Behrends.
This is a very tight-knit group from the Hawkeye State.
[countdown clock beeping]
Can Levi continue the stellar performances
out of Iowa tonight?
We'll see if this is his field of dreams.
- We know we're going to have one Iowan
on the Power Tower, Jackson Twait.
Levi Enright would love to be right there with him.
- Well, these guys are goofy off the course,
but they deliver on it.
Levi got a buzzer and Mega Wall back in qualifying.
[cheers and applause]
- He's got some serious upper-body strength, Matt.
Levi tried to break the 24-hour pull-up world record.
He did almost 7,000 pull-ups.
They had to take him to the hospital for exhaustion.
Could you imagine doing 7,000 pull-ups?
- That's a lot.
- You got this! - Yes!
- Come on, Levi!
- We know he's got that back strength,
got that grip strength,
and he's moving it here on Clockwork.
- Nice.
[cheers and applause]
- Trying to earn his first trip to the National Finals.
- Whoa! - Oh!
- Whoa! Okay.
[cheers and applause]
- It's only the second season for Levi Enright
and Chris Behrends, and it has been
a breakout year for both of them.
- They've put Iowa on the Ninja map.
- Jackson Twait's the elder statesman of the group.
It's his fourth season.
He will be on the Power Tower.
Levi Enright trying to join him there.
Oh, and he is looking locked in here.
These dudes have fun, but they are serious ninjas.
They have worked for it.
They put in so many hours at their Ninja gym
back in Cedar Falls.
- Nice. [cheers and applause]
- I like it.
- I got my bro-tein, Matt. I got my bro-tein.
- Where's my bro-tein shake?
- Hey, I got it right here! I got the bro-tein!
Mmm, mmm, mmm! - [laughs]
Oh, there we go.
Well, Levi's got no time for a bro-tein shake tonight.
He's laser-focused on getting to that Power Tower.
[cheers and applause]
Got a shot to beat Jackson Twait for fastest time
but still some tough obstacles to go.
Gets through the Salmon Ladder,
but this is the obstacle that's taken out more than
any other tonight, Box Office.
[cheers and applause]
- "Field of Dreams" was a box office smash.
How will this kid from Iowa do?
Blind grab with that lead hand.
- Here we go.
Nice. Nice. - Great job.
You can see with that bungee, that box twisting around.
Got to really fight to control your momentum.
- Nice. And he just got-- I told you, Matt.
He's not going to go out on an upper-body obstacle
when you can do over 6,700 pull-ups in 20 hours?
That's impressive.
[cheers and applause]
- Now guaranteed a spot in the top 15.
He's moving on.
But will he do at Split Decision?
He's marching straight to the Diving Boards.
- What? What?
- We talked about his upper-body strength,
and he's got plenty of time,
but he's going to risk it all on Diving Boards.
- What are you doing?
[cheers and applause] Oh, pardon me!
- A risky move, but it paid off.
Now he's got over a minute to beat Jackson Twait's time.
- Are you serious?
- He showed us his strength in qualifying, got the Mega Wall,
now 25 feet away from his first semifinals buzzer
and a trip to the Power Tower.
- Matt, this dude looks like Hulk Bro-gan.
Rocky Bal-bro-a.
All right, here we go. Bro, bro, bro your boat.
- I love what we're seeing out of Levi Enright.
Bro-digious strength.
What a breakout year this is for Levi Enright.
- Matt, I know this is corny, but I cannot believe it.
It's going to be corn versus corn on the Power Tower.
- Jackson Twait will be battling this man,
the new fastest time of the night!
- The Professor, the Ninja Professor.
- Noggin! [buzzer blares]
both: Noggin!
- Whoo! [cheers and applause]
Let's go!
[upbeat music]
- Come on, Matt, we got to do a noggin!
- [laughs] - Noggin!
- Whoo!
- He took a huge risk by choosing the Diving Boards.
He barely paused and then stumbled across.
But that saved him a ton of time,
allowing him to cruise to the fastest finish
and earn a spot on the Power Tower.
- Levi, let me ask you.
Your bro, the Cat Daddy, Jackson Twait,
nearly lost his life there on the Diving Boards,
yet you choose to do it again.
What was your thought process there, man?
- I mean, I just wanted to see an Iowa boy showdown
on that Power Tower.
And I knew going there would be the fastest way through.
- Well, it worked.
You're going to be racing your boy Jackson Twait.
- Yo! Come on!
- Noggin! - Whoo!
Noggin! [buzzer blares]
[cheers and applause] Let's go! Come on!
- Well, you better get down from there
'cause you've got to head over to the Power Tower.
It'll be the battle for Iowa,
Enright versus Twait,
and we'll see it next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- We're going to end our night at the end of the course,
40 feet in the air on the Power Tower.
And in a field with elite ninjas like Kaden Lebsack
and RJ Roman, our match-up features
two friends from Iowa,
Jackson Twait and Levi Enright.
- What is this?
Are they putting flowers in each other's hair?
- You'd think they might be serious right now,
but not these guys.
- Well, take a look.
They're very similar in age, weight, and height,
and they train together almost every day.
But no matter who wins,
it's already a big night in Iowa.
[cheers and applause]
- Power Tower, bigger than anything
I've ever seen in Iowa.
[dramatic music]
- And Twait's slightly ahead!
Look at this! - Oh, my God!
- Incredible climbing ability out of this rookie!
- I've been on the Power Tower before.
- Ooh, ooh! - No!
- But this one's even bigger and scarier.
- Jackson, he's a really great friend.
We've been training together for a long time.
I know his strengths and I know his weaknesses,
and there's not a lot of those.
- Wow. Good power.
- A little scary going up against Levi.
He's hungry for buzzers, Mega Wall.
- Yes! He's going to noggin it!
- Semifinals buzzer. - Noggin!
- So this is the ultimate Iowa battle.
- But there's only one corn-fed Iowan
that's walking out of here with a Safety Pass tonight.
- Iowa is really delivering here in Hollywood.
- We gotta put that friendship aside.
I want to be the one to win this thing.
[cheers and applause]
- The entire state of Iowa will be watching,
and their allegiances are split.
Back in Cedar Falls, they're wearing blue shirts for Levi
and yellow for Jackson.
- On the sidelines, that's Levi's fiancée
and Jackson's mom.
And even they're cheering for both.
That's how close this Iowa Ninja community is.
- This one's going to be good.
- This is their field of dreams, our Power Tower.
Two boys from Iowa battling for a Safety Pass.
[countdown clock beeping]
[cheers and applause]
- Ooh, look at them pushing that wall,
like they running through a cornfield.
Whoa, nice. - Very ably started.
- Oh, this looks like it can be a difference-maker, Matt.
Cat Daddy with the cat-like reflexes.
- And he takes the lead as they jump to the rope.
- Oh, look at that. You got to be a high--
- Wow.
- High and tight and efficient here on the rope swing.
- And you can see just a slight edge for Jackson Twait.
- But Levi's got great upper-body strength.
He can make up some ground as they climb the column.
- Jackson with a small lead as they start the Cliffhanger.
But this is getting tight. Both moving quickly.
It is so close!
Oh, Jackson stumbles a little, and here comes Levi!
Now they're neck and neck!
It's going to come down to the Dropping Shelves, big man!
- Who can lache faster?
Oh, boy, here we go!
- The Iowans are dead even!
Oh, what a finish!
- Look at this! - And down to the buzzer!
[air horn blares]
Levi Enright keeps the perfect season going!
[cheers and applause]
- Yeah! - Whoo!
[all cheering]
- He edged out the Cat Daddy by a whisker.
- Oh, man.
- Another unbelievable finish on the Power Tower!
I love this thing!
- Jackson Twait had a decent lead
as he jumped off on the rope swing,
but Levi Enright used his upper body strength
to climb quicker.
He didn't even use his legs.
And when Jackson stumbled coming off Cliffhanger,
that allowed Levi to pull even.
And it was a side-by-side duel down the stretch,
with Levi's hand just barely hitting the buzzer first.
[air horn blares]
[cheers and applause]
- Two Iowa boys making a go, both going to Vegas,
but Levi Enright going to have that coveted Safety Pass
in his back pocket.
Other finishers moving on include RJ Roman,
and our defending Last Ninja Standing,
Kaden Lebsack, who'll be going back for another shot
at the million dollars.
Non-finishers moving on
include veterans Ethan Swanson and Jamie Rahn.
The Pizza Ninja, Derrick Pavoni
will be making his first trip to Vegas.
And teenagers Enzo DeFerrari Wilson and Max Feinberg
just made it into the top 15.
The top three women were led by another teenager,
16-year-old Karen Potts.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music]
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