[upbeat jazzy music]
[cheers and applause]
- Forget the casinos,
the best action tonight in Vegas is right here,
as we start night two of the National Finals
on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us.
I'm Matt Iseman.
- And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, can you feel it?
It is getting hot out here.
And it's not because of the Vegas heat.
It's because we are getting closer to that million dollars.
- Absolutely, big man.
Tonight, we're gonna move over to stage two.
But first, we've got to wrap up the action
right here on stage one.
Let's go down to the third member of our team, Zuri Hall.
- Thanks, guys.
Our first runner's motto is "living wide,"
and he has done that all season.
Christopher Harding Jones has been
unstoppable, hitting buzzers in qualifying and semifinals.
- This is so surreal. Let's go!
- You can feel his passion and see there on his shirt,
the motto his father coined after doctors
told him he only had a few months to live.
He encouraged people to live life to the fullest
and to pursue their dreams while they still could.
And Christopher has taken the message to heart,
achieving all his ninja dreams while spreading
his dad's powerful message.
[cheers and applause]
- He's going to have his mom, sister, and other family
and friends on the sideline, plus lots of friends
watching back in Georgia.
[cheers and applause]
[countdown clock beeping]
Eight obstacles on stage one,
with a 2 minute, 50 second time limit.
And you can see, he is running with an urgency,
running with a purpose.
Ready for this new obstacle, Three Ring Circus.
- Well, Matt, so far he's been outstanding.
- Just levitates there.
- All right, control that body. Control it.
Make sure you go in the right direction.
Good.
[cheers and applause]
- You can hear the "living wide" chants
as he steps up to Giant Roller Coaster.
- Well, Matt, with that hair flying all around the place
on a hot, windy night here in Vegas,
you just hope his hair doesn't get in his way.
Nice.
- Good transfer there.
- Nice.
- Just got to find the landing pad.
And he does.
[cheers and applause]
Now, it's the Jumping Spider.
- 5'11", got those long limbs.
Needs a good jump. Just lock it in.
- Get in there. - Got it!
- Nice. - What a journey it's been
for this 18-year-old.
He was struggling in school.
But it all changed when his dad
built him a ninja course in the backyard.
- And ninja really changed his life.
He went from a C student
to a straight-A student. [cheering]
- Watch the hair.
It might be blocking his vision.
A problem you and I don't have. - [chuckles]
All right, Topher, let's go.
- Facing Tetherball, another new one here on stage one.
Just very calm.
You can see him not breathing hard,
not letting the moment get to him.
- Topher so focused, and this is what I love about him.
This is what we saw in the qualifying, the semifinals.
- The only rookie to hit both buzzers this season.
- When he's locked in, there is no stopping this kid.
Now, very important for him to start to make his way down
on the rope, just like that.
- Great control.
- Ah! - Oh, needs an extra push.
Watch those long legs. - Come on, come on.
- That rope's getting closer to the water.
- Ooh, nice. - Great job.
Way to stay calm under duress. [cheering]
- Little over a minute left for these final three obstacles.
Winding up here on the Warped Wall.
- All right, just reach up.
Oh. - No problem.
And he's reached Split Decision.
High Road, Fly Hooks.
And he's not even hitting the High Road.
- Not even thinking about it.
- Trying to keep his perfect season intact.
- You've gotta go! - Keep your chest forward!
- Go, go, go. Dip with it, dip with it.
Nice! - 40 seconds to hit a buzzer
and extend his magical "living wide" season.
- The Fly Hooks here--you can see that hook right there.
That means that ring's got to go up before you go out.
- Yeah, Matt, the hair is in his face.
He's trying to wiggle his head and get it out.
Oh!
- And this is what we were talking about,
having trouble with that move.
You've got to keep it up. You've got to keep--
- Oh, boy.
Uh-oh, we've got a problem here in Vegas.
- Oh, no. - You can do it.
- Nice! - There it is.
[cheers and applause] - Whoa! Okay!
- Got to pace up because that cargo net's
gonna sap the time.
Go for it, Christopher.
Go for it, buddy.
Oh, no!
[countdown clock buzzing] A low throw on the net.
- Come on, man, keep going.
You're so close.
- What a run. - But he's gonna time out.
It was the extra swings on the Fly Hooks.
[buzzer blares]
[all groaning]
[applause]
Well, a lot of moments to look back on that run.
But hold your head up high--
two buzzers in his rookie campaign.
Christopher Harding Jones was definitely living wide.
- And hopefully we'll see him back here next year.
[cheers and applause]
Up next, another ninja who's had an outstanding season.
This is 17-year-old music producer Ethan Bartnicki.
- Whoa! - He's flipping out.
And so are we listening to some of his music.
- I'm liking it. This goes hard.
This--I like this one. - Let's go, Ethan!
- This kid's talented in music and ninja.
And he gives a lot of credit to his parents.
* *
- Guys, come on, we're gonna have dinner.
Oh, great, thank you.
- I'm one of three kids.
There you go. Ah, looks good.
Thanks, brother.
Me and my oldest brother were adopted.
And my middle brother was biologically born
in our family.
- Can you give everybody a cup?
My three boys definitely have special bonds with each other.
We let everybody pursue their own interests.
It helped them feel confident
and gave them their sense of worth.
- It's been nice to see the three of them
stick together, support each other.
- They always feel like there's--
somebody's got their back.
- It's a little unfair, Luke.
You're like a foot taller than Ethan.
- Growing up, they were very competitive.
And Ethan, who is the smallest--
I call them Small, Medium, and Large--
he always tried to keep up with his older brothers.
He found ninja, and lo and behold,
he is better than any of my other boys.
- [groans]
- They're very proud of him,
but grumbled a little bit as well.
- A little jealous. [both chuckling]
- There's definitely some competition
between the brothers. [chuckles]
- Let's go.
My brothers have definitely been an inspiration to me.
- Oh! He gets it over him! - Take it.
They just look out for me.
And they support me in both ninja and music.
It's definitely helped pave a path for where I want to go.
* *
[cheers and applause]
- And those brothers have his back tonight.
- Hey, good luck, Ethan. - Large, that's Luke...
- Let's go. - And Medium, Adam...
- Yeah, let's get it. - Will be cheering
from back East. - You got this kiddo,
you got it! [countdown clock beeping]
- It's really amazing what this kid can do
when he's only 5'4" and 114 pounds.
- Good start right there.
- All right, he's gotta fly on this one, though--
Three Ring Circus.
- Makes that blind grab.
Came out here as a rookie and got a buzzer in qualifying
and made it to the 9th obstacle in semifinals.
- There you go. - There you go.
This little kid fly.
- Wow, good power out there. - Just so much confidence.
- Should have fun going for a ride
here on the Roller Coaster.
- Yeah, what kid doesn't like going to the amusement park
and getting on a roller coaster?
This is that ninja Roller Coaster.
Okay.
- And got it in the cradle-- Bartnicki's smooth.
[all cheering]
- But with his size, gonna need a big leap
to land in the Jumping Spider.
- Get in that chute! Nice!
- Really launched it.
He's going to college this fall to study music producing,
but he's already making money selling some of his beats.
His music career and his ninja career, taking off.
[cheers and applause]
- Whoo! [claps]
- His big brothers are loving it.
- Good job, bro. - And now to Tetherball.
- Believe it or not,
this came from our Obstacle Design Challenge
submitted not by a kid,
but a 50-year-old, New Mexico's Stacie Harris,
who loved tetherball growing up.
It's so unique, we've made it this year's winner of
the Obstacle Design Challenge.
- Hey, and congrats to Stacie.
- If you've got an idea, go to anwobstacledesignchallenge.com.
We could see your creation on the course next year.
- Tetherball's knocked out a lot of good ninjas.
And Ethan Bartnicki's struggling right now.
- Kind of out of position, though, Matt.
- Oh, no. - And Little Dolla's
in trouble. - Stay calm, say calm.
- He may need to pull up. - That rope's getting down.
- Right there--nice! - Good job.
Got through it.
[cheers and applause]
- And because of the good pace, still has a minute left here,
but that took a lot out of him.
No problem on the Warped Wall.
Will he go High Road?
Hit the button, but he's not gonna chase it.
- Gotta be careful. - It's okay, it's okay.
- Nice, nice, nice.
- No problem for Bartnicki.
Now, he's gotta go with the Fly Hooks
with the clock ticking, gotta get that ring up and over.
- This is difficult, especially for a rookie, Matt.
It's easy to eat up a lot of time.
- Bartnicki lands the first one.
- 30 seconds left.
- Now, here's the key, he needs to throw himself
high up on the cargo net to give himself a chance.
He's got 22 seconds, plenty of time.
- Well, let the beat drop.
He may be the smallest in the family,
but Ethan Bartnicki just came up big on stage one.
- Let's go! Let's go! [buzzer blares]
[cheers and applause] Let's go!
[upbeat music]
* *
- Yo, let's go.
- Whoo! Let's go! He did it!
- Ethan Bartnicki's going to stage two.
[cheers and applause]
It's night two of the National Finals.
* *
- Let's go! Let's go!
- We've got our final athletes on stage one,
including Gnarly Nate Hansen.
Then we'll move over to the even tougher stage two.
- * Let's go! * - Oh!
Who can keep their million-dollar dreams alive?
[buzzer blares] - No, he didn't!
- Yes!
It's gonna be another unpredictable night
in Vegas...
- Yeah, baby!
- On "American Ninja Warrior."
- * Mic drop *
- While we were away,
Vance Walker took on stage one,
looking to bounce back
from what's been a disappointing season for him.
[cheers and applause]
Last year, the two-time Ninja Junior champion
made it all the way to stage three and hit four buzzers,
but this season, hasn't hit one yet.
- So much pressure he put on himself
after having an amazing rookie campaign.
- The 5'5" teenager had no trouble on stage one
last year, but tonight was a different story.
- All right, you've got to stick it.
both: Oh!
- And his season was shockingly over
on just the fourth obstacle.
- Wow.
- Then, one of the Iowa boys, Levi Enright,
got his shot at redemption.
Last week, he fell on the Dipping Birds
and had to use the Safety Pass he earned back in semifinals.
- Guess we're going back at it.
- Tonight, the 22-year-old who won 10 grand on the Mega Wall
and had the fastest time in his semifinals
looked confident in his second chance on stage one.
- Nice. He made that look easy.
- But when he got to the Dipping Birds...
- No! - Oh, no!
- History repeated itself,
ending a breakout season for the Iowan.
* *
There are horses for courses,
and the Stallion, Mike Silenzi,
had the ponies running wild
at the start line and the sidelines.
- Oh, this is amazing. Mike Silenzi.
- The eight-time ninja veteran from Chicago
is having another stellar season.
- All right, here we go. Hold your horses. Nice.
- And he galloped all the way to the Dipping Birds
before a slight stumble.
- Whoa! Giddy up, horse.
And he got up.
- The 35-year-old swung his way
to his third buzzer of the season.
We'll see him later on stage two.
[cheers and applause]
Then it was the Stallion's buddy,
the Swan, Ethan Swanson, who had his own flock of fans.
- Come on, Swan!
- The 31-year-old has never fallen on stage one
in his three previous attempts.
- Yeah, and he's flying through this course.
Look at the time.
- And the nine-time veteran showed
he's still got some moves.
- Great execution there by Ethan Swanson.
- Even though he had plenty of time on the clock,
he still went for the High Road.
- He wants the easy ride in.
Yeah! [cheers and applause]
- Go, Swan!
- Which helped him fly
to the fastest finish on stage one so far.
- [yells]
- And we've got another run under way.
This is the final woman to take on stage one,
Abby Clark.
We haven't had any woman hit a stage one buzzer this year.
Can Abby be the one to break through?
- Way to really throw her body into it.
Now to carry the bar over.
Oh, man, handled that impact well.
[cheers and applause]
- And she's got it.
Abby's dad and her boyfriend Joe Capo
are cheering her on tonight,
as well as fellow Jersey girl
training partner, Rachel Degutz.
Now facing the Jumping Spider.
And at 5'3", this could be a challenge.
- 5'3", Matt, it can be pretty challenging,
but it is doable.
Dear Abby's gonna write about this one.
Write it, write it.
Nice. - Oh, my!
- She had to lean forward,
but had the core strength to control herself.
I see you, Abby!
- Almost flipped right through it.
But she's hanging on,
having a little trouble getting traction.
- But she wants it badly.
She wants it badly.
[cheers and applause]
- And she's getting closer to the Warped Wall,
which has been her Achilles heel the last couple of years,
after clearing it back in Season 10.
And unable to get up the wall the previous three times
she's faced it, but right now, facing Tetherball.
Only got a minute left,
she would really have to hustle to have a shot
at finishing the course.
But you know Abby wants that Warped Wall.
She gets emotional just talking about.
- I know I can do it.
And I've seen myself doing it.
I visualize myself doing it.
And I just--I just wanna get to that wall.
[chuckles]
- And you can see, using that lower body,
trying to control the momentum.
Make sure your oval will take you to that landing platform.
- Get on it right there. Get on it.
- Good job. - Nice.
[cheers and applause]
Probably not enough time to finish.
But if she can get up the wall, that would be a huge victory.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- It's a shorter run up to the wall in Vegas.
She's gonna make sure she's ready.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Come on, girl. Go, go, go, go, go, go!
both: Oh!
- The Warped Wall nightmare continues for Abby Clark.
[countdown clock buzzing] - Come on.
- She's got time for one more shot.
[cheers and applause]
And she did it!
- That's a victory!
I like it, Matt!
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music]
- Ran out of time, but never ran out of courage.
Abby Clark kept fighting the whole way.
- Abby Clark has got a lot to be proud of.
- Finally!
- At just 5'3", the former gymnast
stuck the landing on the Jumping Spider.
And then at the last second, she got what she wanted.
She conquered the Warped Wall.
Didn't get a buzzer,
but a great run for Abby Clark.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, our final runner on stage one
is also looking for redemption.
It's crowd favorite, Gnarly Nate Hansen.
He's pointing to the patch on his shorts
where his Safety Pass used to be.
He had to use it when he fell last week.
He's 5'2", so he needed a perfect bounce
to stick his landing in the Jumping Spider.
- Oh, no! - And it didn't happen.
But his Safety Pass gives him another run tonight.
Nate earned that Safety Pass by beating his roommate,
Austin Gray, on the Power Tower.
Austin's on the sideline, along with Nate's family.
all: Gnarly Nate! Gnarly Nate!
- And you can hear the Gnarly Nate chant.
This 5'2" underdog wins over more fans with every run.
[countdown clock beeping]
And it's actually two years in a row he's fallen
on the Jumping Spider.
That's gotta be in his head.
Let's see if he can get back there and get that revenge.
- Well, he is having maybe the best
season of any ninja this year.
Had the fastest finish in qualifying,
the second-fastest in the semifinals,
and then won his race on the Power Tower.
- I don't know that anybody
has been working harder than Nate Hansen.
This guy is so gnarly in his preparation.
- Well, Matt, I think we do know one thing about this kid.
He is very resilient.
At 21 years old, 5'2", 135 pounds,
the Gnarly Ninja has overcome so much.
Now let's see if
he can finally get through the Jumping Spider.
- Just needs that dismount.
And here we go, a chance for revenge.
Bitten by this twice.
- Matt, you go ahead and do it. I'm not a gambling man.
But I'm putting my money on betting on Gnarly Nate.
- Needs a big jump here-- just 5'2."
- Get it, dog, get it. - Yes.
- Put my money on him.
I put my money on him!
- And his confidence just skyrocketed.
- I like it!
[cheers and applause]
- That Safety Pass was so worth it.
But now you've gotta finish it.
- Yes! - He's pumped.
- Okay, Nate! Okay, Nate dog!
- Do not relax.
Don't take your foot off the accelerator.
- Now he's gotta go.
[cheers and applause] - Go, Nate!
- Let's go! - Come on, Nate!
- This new obstacle Tetherball has ended the seasons
of many good ninjas here on stage one,
most notably Nate's training partner Austin Gray,
who's hoping his friend doesn't make the same mistake he did.
- Here we go. - Get that dismount.
- I see the location. Drop-off right here!
Oh! Come on!
- Oh, extra swing.
- All right, here we go. Come on.
Drop it like it's a package. - Oh, no.
- Oh, my goodness.
Oh, boy.
- And Austin Gray's got to be just shaking his head.
There we go! [cheers and applause]
- Okay, he's got enough time, but he's gotta hustle.
Get outta there!
- Gotta get going.
He's gonna need the High Road, Akbar.
There's no two ways about it.
- Oh, he's wasting too much time.
He's gotta go.
[cheers and applause]
He skipped it.
He skipped the High Road.
- He's putting so much pressure on himself.
At 5'2", he may be worried about the Dipping Birds.
- Oh! - Okay, he's gotta go.
[cheers and applause]
- Gotta be perfect. - He's gotta fly!
Matt, it's one swing and go.
And get out of there.
Oh, no.
- And this is a nightmare for Nate Hansen.
Nice.
He's got to get on that net in about 14 seconds.
- Get up! Launch up high!
It's gonna be a race! [cheers and applause]
- He's gotta race up there! - Oh, my goodness!
- I'm not sure! [countdown clock beeping]
- Never doubted him for a second!
[countdown clock buzzing] Come on! I bet on you!
- Nate does it with two seconds left!
- Yes! [cheers and applause]
- Three left, baby!
- Three buzzers to go!
- Oh, boy!
[upbeat dramatic music]
* *
all: Gnarly Nate! Gnarly Nate! Gnarly Nate! Gnarly Nate!
Gnarly Nate! - Let's go!
- Man, I'm sorry I doubted him.
[upbeat music]
Gnarly Nate. And that could've been
a million-dollar Safety Pass
right there. - Wow.
[buzzer blares] [cheers and applause]
- So let's look at all those moving on to stage two,
including those ninjas whose runs
we weren't able to show you.
There were three rookies in the top five,
including the 16-year-old James Sannella.
- Yeah!
- And 18-year-old Jeramiah Boyd.
- Wow, okay.
- Jay Lewis, who still has his Safety Pass,
rounded out the top ten.
A collection of rookies and veterans in the top 15,
like Lucas Reale, Cam Baumgartner,
and former ninja Junior Champ, Jackson Erdos.
- Let's go!
- Others heading to stage two include
Massachusetts' 21-year-old Matt D'Amico.
- Rookie year, and he's going to stage two.
- And Jackson Twait's last-second buzzer
rounds out the group of 25.
So that wraps it up for stage one.
Now it's time to head over there for stage two.
- It's one step closer to the million dollars,
but the course is even tougher.
- And we'll see it next on "American Ninja Warrior."
[cheers and applause] - Welcome back.
We've now moved over to the stage two course,
which has fewer obstacles than stage one,
but it is much more difficult
with mostly upper-body challenges.
- Matt, only 25 ninjas are left.
They've still got a shot at a million dollar prize.
- For a preview of stage two, let's go down to Zuri.
- Guys, stage two is so tough,
some our best ninjas have never gotten past it.
Take a look at what they're up against.
It starts with the Striding Steps.
Ninjas will swing right in to the Double Salmon Ladder.
Then, it's one of the toughest obstacles from qualifying,
Piston Plunge.
Ninjas will have to survive the big swings
on Hammer Drop at number four.
Hornet's Nest is an even meaner version of the Beehive.
Ninjas will have to lache across
and grip inside the honeycomb.
The course ends with the Falling Shelves
and the blind grab that took out so many ninjas last year.
- No! [air horn blares]
- They'll have four minutes to complete the course.
All right, guys, let's get it going on stage two.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, we're gonna kick it off
with the Flamingo Kid, Owen Dyer,
wearing his trademark flamingo hat.
This teenager is having an amazing year.
He's got three buzzers already.
He comes from Bentonville, Arkansas,
a town famous for one thing-- well, now maybe two.
- Welcome to Bentonville, home of Walmart and me.
[upbeat music]
It's kind of a split between farm town,
and there's also a lot of the city.
The original Walmart is actually on the main street.
That's where it was started by Sam Walton.
So it brings people from all over the world,
but it's still a small town.
- Get up that wall!
- There he goes. - Owen Dyer.
[buzzer blares] - [yells]
After my rookie year, I think I got everybody's attention.
- What a moment for this kid
and the folks back in Arkansas.
Hey, tell me, what's making you so emotional?
- [shakily] This is a dream come true.
[sobs]
- As a father, it's been a lot of fun watching the community
celebrating your child.
[cheers and applause]
People are coming up
and getting pictures and autographs.
And when you see their dreams coming true,
I mean, it's--it's amazing.
- People are like, what in the world?
We have a kid that's
gonna be on "American Ninja Warrior"?
So just before I came to Vegas, my local news crew came out
and did a piece on me.
- Here's a familiar face.
We've got Owen Dyer back with us.
Man, it's so great to see you.
- Hey, it's so great to see you guys, too.
Never even expected to have so much support.
My town's starting to really get behind me.
- 17 years old. What a great kid he is.
- Still don't even believe it's real.
I mean, I've pinched myself multiple times a day
thinking this is a dream.
[buzzer blares]
- Dreams come true for Owen Dyer. Wow.
- People have said,
"You're a great role model for my kids."
Hopefully we'll see a lot more young ninjas
coming up and trying it out.
* *
[applause]
- He's got a bunch of folks watching back in Bentonville,
including his family.
- Let's go, Owen!
- And his dad's on the sideline
with some of the other teenage competitors.
- Come on, Owen.
- I can do this.
- You heard that. He says he can do this.
I love that attitude. As a man thinketh, so is he.
- A four-minute time limit on stage two.
- You got it, dude. [countdown clock beeping]
- Come on, Owen!
- First up, the Striding Steps,
the only balance obstacle on stage two.
- Nice.
- Rolls right into the Double Salmon Ladder.
Gotta hop it up, then jump to the other side.
- Be careful. That's opened at the top.
- And just locked in. Very effortless at Owen Dyer.
- Yeah, come on, Owen.
- Up next is Piston Plunge,
a very tough obstacle back in qualifying.
- That's right, took out 60% of the ninjas who tried it.
- Gotta lache here.
- It's all about hand placement here as well.
Nice. [cheers and applause]
- Each piston moves in tandem and drops when you grab it.
- The stage one was all about the agility,
stage two, upper body.
- And another one here onto the steering wheel,
a drop on the bungee.
- Ooh. - You got it, Owen.
- It's all you, Owen. - It's all you, Owen, all you.
- And he's through. [cheers and applause]
- You got it, dude. - Come on, Owen.
- Now heads over to take on Hammer Drop.
Got to jump on the big cylinder
and hang on with arms and legs.
- You have four points of contact,
all points of contact.
- This is the scary one right here.
- Dad says this is the scary one.
And he's right.
They don't sell this at Walmart.
- But he's not home free.
Now has to work his way around,
climb his way to the top of the cylinder.
He'll get a couple extra swings here,
try to figure out how to get on top of the hammer.
- And, Matt, you can feed the advantage of being 5'10"
and having the long arm reach.
He's got his arms all the way around,
being able to get both handles.
- And he's celebrating a little bit,
and I think he's glad that's over with.
- Oh, yeah.
- But now comes another part of this obstacle--
has to stand up and then jump out to catch the rope.
- You've got it. - All you got.
- Two feet and jump. - Come on, Owen.
- Good jump. - 140 pounds.
- When he tries to jump,
it's gonna move that hammer.
But he got it.
Does a great job of getting on the high part of that rope.
- We only had four ninjas
make it through stage two last year,
but Owen Dyer is now just two obstacles away
and he is showing how it's done.
- Let's go. - Whoo!
- They're starting to get excited back in Bentonville.
- And there it is. Look at the smile.
- That was a little bit of a nervous smile, though.
Oh, boy.
- Well, that's because this next one is intimidating.
It's the Hornet's Nest, a super-sized version
of the Beehive obstacle we had a few years ago.
- This Hornet's Nest will sting you.
- Has to swing over and land inside the honeycombs.
- Ooh! - Nice move.
- Hanged into it. Good catch.
Has to climb up and reach over to the third one.
- And he said it at the start. I can do it.
If you think you can, you will.
- You've got it.
- You have to understand, at 140 pounds,
throwing too much force into it can throw you off.
- And using that long frame. - Control.
Nice. - Wow!
- He could have caught that with his teeth. [chuckles]
- He's getting close.
One more honeycomb to go.
- I love the airtime that he had,
giving himself the time to find that grab.
Perfect. [cheers and applause]
- Just needs to get off this final one.
But you can see it in his face. He is struggling.
- Get out of there, Owen!
- Let's go. - There you go.
- Oh, no! [air horn blares]
[all groan] - Whoa.
- Not the ending he wanted,
but Owen Dyer can head back to Bentonville
with his flamingo head held high.
- Hey, great season, son! - Let's go, Owen.
[cheers and applause]
- He was looking good till he got to the last honeycomb.
As he wound up for that big dismount,
his left hand just slipped right off,
and he does a big spin right into the water.
[cheers and applause]
- I cannot believe I made it this far.
I'm so proud of how my season went.
A major improvement from last,
and I pray I can come back and do it again next season.
[dramatic music]
- Welcome back to night two of the National Finals.
We've got one of Vegas's legendary acts,
the Blue Man Group,
keeping the party going on stage two.
- It's a blue-tiful night here in Vegas.
- Moments ago, the Classy ninja, Donovan Metoyer
took the stage dressed for success
and ready for redemption.
Last year on stage two, the seven-time veteran
who always wears a suit when he runs
went out on the very first obstacle.
- Oh!
He missed the rope.
- Tonight, the rope on the Striding Steps
wasn't a problem.
- Got it. Nice.
- Yes, yes!
- And he went on to clear the second obstacle,
the third, and part of the fourth.
- Nice.
- But once again, he was done in by a rope.
- Get up high on that rope.
Oh!
- This time on the Hammer Drop.
- Oh.
[cheers and applause]
- Our next athlete's story is brought to you by NerdWallet,
the smartest decision for all your financial decisions.
This is Tyler Yamauchi.
He's our oldest athlete
to make it to stage two this year.
He actually turned 37 last night.
And the former gymnast showing he's still got it.
Only 5'1", but his nickname is Muscle Ball.
That's what it says in Japanese on his shirt.
Tyler's Japanese American.
There are his parents on the sideline.
And in the last few years, this father of three
has really started embracing his roots.
[flute music]
- As a kid, I grew up in Houston, Texas.
And at that time, there was really no Japanese culture.
* *
I always knew that I wanted my kids
to have a little more culture.
In Chicago, because there's more Japanese people,
we have plenty of Japanese gardens.
Original teahouse, 1910.
Pretty cool, huh?
We go to festivals.
We even do the Shishimai, which is a cultural lion dance.
[dramatic music]
* *
The Shishimai I do originates from Okinawa, Japan.
And it's used to, like, scare off demons.
[dramatic percussive music]
- [speaking Japanese]
- My kids love the Shishimai.
They love anything that's Japanese.
And my daughters can speak Japanese.
So how do you say "within the mountain"?
- [speaking Japanese]
[all speaking Japanese]
- So it basically took me to be a grown family man
for me to go back to my roots.
This'll be my third year at stage two.
Never beaten it.
Hopefully at the end, my kids will be saying,
"Yatta!"
Which means, "Yay, you did it."
[gong rings]
[koto plays arpeggio]
- And there, his wife and kids watching
back in the Chicago area.
[countdown clock beeping]
- He was right here on stage two last year
and fell on Hammer Drop.
That's gonna be another tough one for him tonight.
- So strong and powerful for his size.
Four-time All-American in gymnastics
at the University of Illinois.
- Nice. [cheers and applause]
- Gets through Salmon Ladder quickly,
and moves on to Piston Plunge.
[cheers and applause]
- I'll tell you what's so impressive about Yamauchi.
He's a father of three and a physical therapist.
Doesn't get to train as much as some of these younger guys,
yet, he's right here on stage two.
Boom. [cheers and applause]
- Well, moving really efficiently.
Yamauchi seems to have a new lease on life.
- Yeah! One more, one more, one more!
- Nice and easy.
- Watch it here on this handle.
A little drop with the bungee cord.
- You've gotta anticipate that drop.
Nice. - Great job.
And he gets through.
[cheers and applause]
And now, it's the rematch.
Back to Hammer Drop, where he fell last season.
- Matt, he's got to bear hug the heck out of Hammer Drop,
squeeze with not only his arms,
but his legs as well.
- Go, Tyler!
- Here we go, the moment of truth for Tyler Yamauchi.
- Stick on like Velcro! Velcro!
- Oh, my!
- And you can see that left hand isn't even on a handle.
- It's not.
- And he's really relying on the right one.
- I don't even know how he did that.
How did he do that? - That's amazing.
- What?
- That's some Velcro in there,
some old-school stickum.
Watch the leap to the rope here.
- Nice.
- Timed it well.
Really was riding that hammer well.
I like it.
That's the advantage of age.
Work smarter, not harder.
Yamauchi doing just that.
- Well, yeah, look at that grab again.
He completely missed the handle with his left hand.
He was just squeezing it.
And he was totally relying on his right hand.
I don't know how this brother held on.
- But he's the shortest athlete to ever take on stage two,
and he's getting closer to a buzzer.
Just two obstacles left, but this one,
Hornet's Nest, just looks so difficult.
- Parallel throw here. - Nice.
- Has to climb up and across to the third one.
Once you're on this obstacle, those forearms get no rest.
Very efficient, though, really moving well.
- Yeah, now you've gotta throw yourself into it--nice.
- Locked in, getting those honeycombs moved.
He's really controlling with that lower body.
- Yeah. Breathe through the pump,
because you know at this point...
- Wow! - He's feeling the pump.
- Just needs one more big swing for the dismount.
Yes! [cheers and applause]
- [squeals]
- His kid's gotta be saying, "Yatta!"right now.
That's Japanese for "you did it."
But now he's the first to face the Falling Shelves.
And it's that blind grab that ended the run of so many
on that fourth and final X.
Ten ninjas reached this point last year.
Only four survived. - He can taste it, Matt.
So close. - Wow. And I love it.
This is the gymnast, really able to fly.
Can he get the blind grab?
- There's that blind grab, means you gotta
take your hands and take 'em into reverse.
Reverse! Oh! - No!
[groaning]
- Just couldn't get the purchase.
The Muscle Ball foiled on the Falling Shelves.
- The gymnast looked perfect on the early shelves,
was landing softly, but for that last one,
had to reach his hand to the backside of the shelf
and just couldn't hang on with that right hand.
Was so close.
- Up next, ninja favorite Flip Rodriguez has already
had a remarkable season.
[cheers and applause]
- Let's go!
- Now he'll try to do something
he's never done before,
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back. Minutes ago, Tyler Yamauchi
made it to the last obstacle
on stage two, only to see his run end
on the final move of the Falling Shelves.
- No!
- That's giving us déjà vu because the Falling Shelves
were also the final obstacle last year.
[percussive music]
- Blind grab, blind grab!
both: Oh!
- Top ninjas fell, one after the other...
- Oh!
- All of them at the same spot.
- Reverse--oh!
- In all, six of the ten ninjas
who got there fell there.
This is the move right here.
[audience exclaims]
Will the Falling Shelves
be the roadblock again tonight?
both: Ohh!
[air horn blares]
- Oh, so close!
[cheers and applause]
- This crowd knows who's up next.
He is one of ninja's biggest stars.
But despite all of his success,
Flip Rodriguez has never hit a stage two buzzer.
It's a big gap in an otherwise stellar ninja career.
This season, he brought back his signature mask
to the start line, and it seemed to change his luck.
So maybe this is the year to end the stage two curse.
[light tense music]
- I've been competing for 12 years.
I've been in National Finals eight times.
I've got to stage two six times,
but never been able to get to stage three.
- Oh! - Flip is out!
- I've always just come short,
and it drives me insane.
- No!
- The last time I was there, I timed out.
[buzzer blares] - And time runs out
just feet away from the buzzer.
- I don't know how much closer I can get without
actually clearing this course.
No.
But this year is gonna be different.
[upbeat music]
My mental game has shifted
for this season dramatically.
Bringing back the mask struck a big confidence boost in me.
* *
I've put in the hard work.
- * Now you can try to shake me *
- Ah! - Oh, had it!
- * But words never break me *
- I've been going to Orlando every week to train with R.J.
[grunts]
I'm R.J. now.
- Who can't teach a old dog new tricks?
- Ah, okay, buddy, listen, 33 is not old.
He's been pushing me really hard,
and so far, paying off.
- Flip is going back to Vegas!
- Let's go!
- * I've got a lot of fight left in me *
- Let's go!
- It's been three years since you've made it
back to stage two.
Did you have any doubt that you were
hitting this buzzer tonight?
- No, sir. No room for doubt in here.
* *
When you fail, and you fail, and you fail again,
you've just gotta keep wanting it.
You never fail until you quit.
And I have not quit yet.
[buzzer blares] - * I've got a lot of fight *
* Left in me *
[cheers and applause]
- Flip's taking off the mask.
But he's hit two straight buzzers
since he started wearing it to the start line again.
[cheering]
He's got a big group on the sideline,
including R.J. Roman, who he's been training with a lot
these past few years.
Some other friends watching from home,
including Jody Avila, who timed out last week.
- Stay focused, focused, focused. Let's go.
- Telling Flip, stay strong mentally.
- And that's the key for Flip.
He's got the physical tools,
just has to lock it down mentally.
- Let's go, let's go!
[countdown clock beeping]
- Top stuntman in Hollywood, a ninja, author, inspiration.
33 years old, his seventh time on stage two.
And he told us after he hit that stage one buzzer,
he said, this is the year I break that curse.
- Yeah, I truly believe it. I want this so badly.
Matt, personally, I want this for Flip Rodriguez.
- And you saw him take a look at his hand there
May have hurt it on the Double Salmon Ladder.
- You got this, you got this. - But you know what?
Flip Rodriguez has fought through a lot of pain.
- Well, he's a stunt man, so you know he's tough.
His body takes a beating.
But stage two is not a good place to have a hand injury
with all these upper-body challenges.
- And you don't wanna spend a lot of time hanging there.
- And a little awkward here on Piston Plunge,
but locking it in.
- On the single-hand transfer, you see him coming
up and over, just like that.
That's exactly right.
Now anticipate the drop--good.
- Yes, let's go.
- And he's through. [cheers and applause]
- There's Jordan Carr, one of the ninjas Flip has coached.
She and the others on that sideline
so want to see Flip get through this.
[cheers and applause]
- He's taking a long look at that hand.
That might be a blister.
- That could be a problem here on Hammer Drop.
- Jump right into it. Yeah.
Look at that-- going for a ride.
You can smell it in the air.
- 170 pounds, he's the heaviest
we've seen so far out here.
- Let's go!
- Looks so lean, but that's a lot of mass
to carry through stage two.
- He's only 33,
but he's one of the older guys on stage two.
Only a few older than 30.
- And grabbing this rope could be difficult
with an injured hand.
- Get that leap.
Remember, this hammer's gonna push away from you.
[cheering] - Hold on.
Yes, got it.
[cheers and applause]
- And now that's where that hand's gonna be tested.
Not sure what's going on. Looked like that right hand.
- Let's go! - He's checking it again.
- Let's go! - You're good! You're moving!
- Not a time to have hand issues.
Looks like a blister.
- He's biting that thing off. - Oh, yeah.
[chuckling] [CLAPPING]
- Yeah! - He's come too far
to not go all the way here on stage two.
- You're good! Let's go You're good! Let's go!
- He's gonna need his hands to fit into the honeycombs
here on Hornet's Nest.
- But with the clock ticking, has to keep it moving.
- Let's go. - Come on!
- Let's go!
- And he's talked about overcoming adversity--
wrote a book about it.
This is nothing compared to what
Flip's dealt with in his life.
- Dude is an overcomer, and I suspect
he is not about to get stung by this obstacle.
- Well, it looked like it was in the palm,
so hopefully the fingertips-- this is gonna be
the big test here, this 10-foot lache.
- Well, I'm sure there's no pain greater than hanging
up here on the Hornet's Nest. - 170 pounds--oh, that's
a lot of mass to catch. - That's a lot of weight.
He's gotta have some hang time here to give himself
enough time because that's a lot of force coming into it.
- Okay, Flip! - Come on, Flip!
[cheers and applause]
Man, he's got everyone here rooting for him.
- You got it. - Come on, get out of there.
- Get out of there! - Yes!
- Nice! Flip that thing around.
Flip it around! [cheering]
- Can he land the dismount?
Oh, just barely [cheers and applause]
- Heck yeah! Let's go!
- Checking the hand.
His sideline yelling their support.
Jordan Carr, R.J. Roman--they want him to get through this.
And Flip says, "I got this."
- Listen to R.J. Listen to R.J.
- He's checking the clock. He knows it.
- I want this for you badly. Let's go, Flip!
- Calming himself down. This is it.
He's under 30 seconds here. - He's got it, he's got it.
He's got this.
Come on, Flip. - Nice.
- Okay. - All right.
Watch that right hand. Nice.
- This is it, the blind grab, the big test
for Flip Rodriguez.
- Breathe, baby, rock with it.
Rock with it, baby! - Yes!
- Nice! - Under ten seconds. Get off!
- Get out of there! - Get out of there, Flip!
- Yes, go get your buzzer!
Yes! Yes! [buzzer blares]
[cheers and applause] - Flip Rodriguez
gets his first stage two buzzer.
[hopeful music]
* *
- Matt, I've got chills, man!
I've got chills. - Flip Rodriguez saying,
"I ain't done yet, young guns."
- He had an injured hand, but nothing was gonna stop
Flip Rodriguez tonight.
He pushed through the pain, made the big moves,
and got that buzzer that eluded him for 12 years.
And his training partner, R.J. Roman, and the others
couldn't wait to share the joy.
Wow, that's what it's all about right there.
- Flip, congratulations, man.
That was incredible.
What was different this year?
What made it happen?
- I changed my environment.
I changed the things that I consume on a daily basis.
And R.J. is a fantastic person to train with.
He won't let me outdo him.
When you have people like that around you,
it's hard to fail, you know. - Yeah.
And you are living proof of that, man.
You are not failing. You are flipping lives
into positivity.
We love to see it. Congratulations.
We'll see you on stage three.
Awesome job.
Guys, back to you.
- Well, we just watched his buddy Flip deliver.
Now, Orlando musician R.J. Roman
gets his shot on stage two,
next, on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Las Vegas and our National Finals.
We are now on stage two, and this course is a killer.
Pennsylvania's Jackson Erdos is the youngest competitor
to ever make it to stage two.
- Just to give you a little perspective,
three years ago, he was in elementary.
- The former ninja Junior Champion got into
the National Finals as an alternate.
And he made the most of it, hitting a buzzer on stage one.
But tonight...
both: No!
- His season ended at Piston Plunge.
Another alternate who took advantage of his opportunity
was 16-year-old James Sannella.
- Let it go. Let it flow. - The New Jersey teenager
had the third-fastest finish on stage one.
And he made some big moves on Double Salmon Ladder.
- Wow! - James Sannella,
killing it on the Double Salmon Ladder.
- But he, too, ran into trouble at Piston Plunge.
- No! - Oh!
- Sannella has got to be sick right there.
- The Country Boy Ninja, Josiah Singleton,
still had a Safety Pass,
since he didn't have to use it on stage one.
[all shouting] With his Lynchburg Loonies
screaming on the sideline,
the 25-year-old grad student came out strong.
- Yeah!
- If there was a time to be country strong,
it's on stage two.
- But once again,
Piston Plunge proved to be a roadblock.
- Ooh! - Oof!
- But thanks to his Safety Pass,
he'll get another shot at the course.
- It's okay...
'cause I'm coming back.
- Well, up next is a rock-and-roller
who's been on a roll.
It's Orlando musician, R.J. Roman.
He's hit all the high notes this year
with three straight buzzers,
and he credits his musical background for his success.
[percussive music]
R.J. Roman has spent the off-season
building near-perfect replicas
of the obstacles used at our National Finals.
Using those obstacles, the five-time veteran
and his training partner, Flip Rodriguez,
have spent hundreds of hours
creating circuits of the grueling courses
they'll face here in Vegas.
- Whoa! [laughs] - Oh!
- R.J. says the key is that his training
is just like making music.
- There's a certain structure to writing a song.
And there's a certain structure to each course.
So I've been able to figure out the structure,
train it, and replicate it.
I'm one step ahead of you guys, at least.
- Let's go, R.J..
- Well, the training's already paid off for Flip.
He got a buzzer minutes ago.
Now, it's R.J.'s turn,
with many others ready to watch R.J. shred stage two.
[countdown clock beeping]
- We love to watch R.J. Roman.
He runs like his hair's on fire.
This dude is going all out.
- Gets a little hung up on the rope but throws it aside.
This is one of the obstacles he's practiced in the gym.
- To now, big move. Whoo!
Wasted no time on the Double Salmon Ladder, Matt.
- Just looking efficient, looking calm.
This rock star is ready for the spotlight here in Vegas.
- Yeah, and Piston Plunge is right
where you start to feel the buildup of that lactic acid.
You want to be efficient.
Don't rush through here,
especially on this one right here.
- Flip's coaching him up.
He got through this minutes ago.
- Pull. You got it.
Pull...bring it up.
[yelling encouragement]
- He's got to see that angle.
Nice.
- And R.J.'s through.
- Yes!
- Now sizing up the fourth obstacle, Hammer Drop.
R.J.'s 5'6".
- Whoo, almost lost it there on Hammer Drop.
- Wasn't sure he had that lower body on, but he's alive.
- Yeah, four-point contact so crucial on Hammer Drop.
Now turned around, wrestling.
Got his hat on backwards still, too.
Nice ninja swag.
All right, now you've got to fly.
I know it's a little windy here, too.
Nice.
- R.J. Roman continues to progress,
looking to get that return to stage three.
- And there's been a lot of buzz
about R.J. Roman becoming the next "American Ninja Warrior."
- Absolutely. Well, he and Flip
really did take their training
to the next level this year.
And that got Flip to stage three for the first time ever.
Let's see how far it takes R.J.
- This guy has such power, can really fly here.
- Nice.
Well, he just jumped that third one
instead of climbing up to it.
That's the first time we've seen that.
- This five-time veteran is having his best season ever.
Launch it up here to that fourth one.
- Whoo! Boy, he almost hit his head
on that one, though. - Look at how quickly
he regrouped his momentum.
- Yeah, you gotta see-- him making the eye--
great eye discipline there.
Turn it around, and now just got to make the dismount.
- R.J. Roman continues to shred here in Vegas.
[cheers and applause]
Plenty of time on the clock,
and only Falling Shelves to go.
- Yeah, you see that? He says, I only got one.
Just one more obstacle to go.
- The crowd sensing something special.
He built the replica of the Falling Shelves in his gym.
He's ready. - Go get it.
- Here we go, R.J. Roman.
[crowd shouting]
- And he said, could be the one to win it all this year.
Just got to survive this race.
- One more move, the blind grab.
- Blind grab--here we go.
- You own this. Swing.
- See those eyes locked in.
Nice! And you saw him slow it down.
Didn't want to over-shoot it.
R.J. Roman shreds stage two,
one step closer to the million dollars.
- Oh, no--yes.
- R.J. Roman reigns supreme.
[rock music]
- It was just like he trained for at the gym.
He was ready for the Shrinking Steps,
for that Double Salmon Ladder,
and especially that Blind Grab on the Falling Shelves.
He knew he had it, then was rock-star cool
as he hit the buzzer.
- So both R.J. and Flip are moving on,
showing that hard work has paid off.
Coming up, we've got the savvy veterans
and the talented teenagers.
Who's going to stay alive for the million-dollar jackpot?
It's Vegas, baby, on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Las Vegas.
While we were away, two more ninjas
tried conquering stage two.
One of the biggest surprises of the National Finals
has been 23-year-old rookie Grant Nguyen.
He was in a bike accident a few weeks ago
and wasn't sure if he'd even compete.
But last week on stage one, Nguyen
had one of the most exciting runs, taking the High Road,
and getting a buzzer with seconds to spare.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Tonight, with the scars from the accident
still on his face, the college student moved quickly
through the early obstacles--
- Okay, I see you.
- --and made his way to the Hammer Drop.
- So he's going to have to throw his whole body into it
and hold on tight.
- Nguyen, who has a climbing background,
was able to scratch his way to the top
but couldn't handle the rope.
- Oh, rope burn!
[air horn blares]
It is over.
- Ninja veteran Lucas Reale
has been on stage two twice before.
[cheers and applause]
With a big group of his students
watching from back in Massachusetts,
the five-time veteran quickly made it to the Hammer Drop.
- Ooh, uh-oh, great save.
- Not only did he make a great save
at the start of the obstacle,
he had another close call at the end.
- Whoo, you know his upper body's on fire.
- And all that wear and tear seemed to catch up
with him on Hornet's Nest.
- Now you've got to throw yourself into it.
Oh! [air horn blares]
- He's the second ninja tonight
taken down by the obstacle.
[clapping]
Well, our next athlete's about to start his senior year
of high school.
This is 17-year-old Evan Andrews.
And he seems pretty impressed by his highlights
from this season playing on the screen.
- Well, we're pretty impressed by them, too.
- Well, this Montana kid came out of nowhere this season.
And now, he's on stage two with the sports elites.
- Excitement--yeah.
When people think about huge ninja communities,
you know, Texas--
- Go get 'em, go get 'em, go get 'em.
- Yes.
- --Colorado--
[metallic clanking]
--Florida--
- Oh, yeah.
Oh.
- --Montana hasn't made that list ever.
But I don't need a huge facility
to train in "Ninja Warrior."
I don't need training partners.
I don't really need coaches.
You can replace those resources with dedication.
* *
And you can make an impact because of it.
This one's for Montana.
- Wow, he made that look easy.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Let's go!
- Evan Andrews, our only finisher of the night.
[cheers and applause]
- After semifinals, kids in Montana were blown away.
[dings]
People reached out to me, wanted to train with me.
A few years from now, they'll be talking
about the Montana ninjas.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Yes!
Textbook.
What I want people to take away from my season
is no matter how little resources you have...
you can do great things.
- And you know all of Montana will be watching Evan tonight
and his parents who cheered him on
from down on the sideline.
[countdown clock beeping]
- And I loved what he said after stage one.
It ain't about where you train.
It's about the discipline.
And this kid has put the work in.
- You can see that nice soft landing.
- Wow, flying through that Salmon Ladder.
His semifinals night was loaded with top ninjas.
But he was the only one to finish the course.
- But lost his Power Tower race, so no Safety Pass.
If he falls, it's over.
- We told you his story.
He had ninja dreams but no ninja gyms near him.
So he and his family built one in their garage.
- But think about how many times
he must have imagined his garage was Las Vegas.
And here he is.
He is just annihilating the early part of this course,
but doing it in such an effortless way.
[cheers and applause]
- 5'7." Has the wingspan.
Got to lock it in on Hammer Drop, avoid the mistake.
- Ooh, didn't get the legs in.
- Oh, uh-oh, come on now.
Come on.
Ooh, he is putting a lot of pressure on that upper body.
- And he survived. - Ooh, hold on.
- But he's hanging up again.
Oh, my.
Ooh, he's got to make sure he doesn't get dropped.
- Hammer Drop has been a nightmare for Evan Andrews.
And he looks shocked.
Regroup.
- Yeah, stay calm.
- But look at that smile.
The teenager's having a blast out here.
- But he's got to be exhausted after that.
- Can he make the leap to the rope?
Yes--able to hang on.
- Still alive-- Evan Andrews bought himself
room for a mistake, you can see there.
- Yeah, he's going to have to shake it off,
like Taylor Swift.
- Oh, his parents are feeling it.
Evan Andrews--this is the first time
we've seen him shaken.
That took a lot out of him.
- You got it, bud.
You got it, Evan.
- Mom shouting encouragement, and it's working.
He seems back into it.
- Now he's feeling it.
- Yeah, shaking it up.
Shake it off.
Get the crowd involved.
- What does he have left for Hornet's Nest?
I'm so impressed with the ability of these ninjas
to handle the adversity, these young athletes.
- Nice. - 17 years old,
and his ninja life flashed before his eyes
there on Hammer Drop.
- Yeah, he's put in a lot of work to get to this point.
All those hours of training in his garage,
it's for this--being able to push through on stage two.
- Having a little trouble here getting rotated around.
- He said he's focused on being productive
instead of busy.
- After just a flawless first three obstacles--
- Nice.
- --he's really struggled on the second half here.
- I'm concerned about this next transfer, Matt.
Four to five. Oh.
- No! [air horn blares]
Well, it started on the Hammer Drop,
and it ended there on the Hornet's Nest.
But what a season for Evan Andrews.
- Yes, it was, Matt.
He started strong, but on Hammer Drop,
he had to save himself not once but twice,
using only his hands.
And that caught up to him on Hornet's Nest.
You can see that hand slipping off right there
as he swung for that last honeycomb.
- Coming up, they gave us a nail-biter on the Power Tower.
[buzzer blares]
- Oh, my God, and Jay Lewis wins it.
That was so close.
- And now, Jay "Lache" Lewis has a Safety Pass.
He and Josiah Pippel take on stage two,
next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Las Vegas, where
we've had two thrilling finishes here on stage two.
How many more will we get tonight?
Moments ago, stuntman Kyle Soderman
tried to finish for the second year in a row.
- Ooh, nice high on the rope.
- Last season, the 27-year-old was one of only four ninjas
to hit a buzzer on stage two.
With his fiancée Megan Johnson watching,
he came out strong again tonight.
- All right, send it, Soderman.
- At 180 pounds, Soderman's one of the heaviest of the
elite ninjas.
And the upper-body obstacles seemed to take a toll.
- That's just more weight and more taxing on his forearms.
- But he kept fighting and made his way
to the final honeycomb--
- This one's making me a little nervous.
- Knocked down!
- --before his season came to an end.
- We've got another one underway.
- Nice.
- It's Jay "Lache" Lewis.
- A lot of people think this 18-year-old could win it all.
He's looked so solid on stage two so far.
- Gives a little thumbs up. I think he heard you, Akbar.
And his parents and East Coast ninjas on the sidelines.
He's got a Safety Pass on his shorts.
So if he falls, he'll get another chance.
Jay starts college in a few weeks at Syracuse.
And he's got the school mascot, Otto the Orange,
cheering him on.
Right now, he's going to give it the old college try
here on Hornet's Nest.
- Confidence--let's go.
- Well, you can see, once he gets gone,
he really is efficient. Ooh.
- Ooh.
- And you could see his direction wasn't great.
That was a good save with the hand placement.
- Well, Matt, when you're that light,
sometimes you lose control of the body.
So he has to have enough air time.
This is where on this big one, this 10-foot lache,
he's got to have some hang time so he can adjust the box.
- Perfect. - Nice.
- And watch it, this side-to-side,
this was the one he had a little
trouble with we just saw.
- Nice.
Throw himself into it--good.
- Good correction--learning in the middle of the course.
- This is his bread and butter.
This is what he eats at lunchtime.
Nice.
[cheers and applause]
- And Otto's cheering like it's March Madness.
Under a minute, here we go.
Do those forearms have anything left
here on the Falling Shelves?
- Nice. Good throws.
- And this one will continue to spin.
- Ooh! Nice.
- This is it, the blind grab--
- Come on!
Yes! - Wow.
And look at the smile on Jay "Lache."
[cheers and applause]
He's going to stage three.
Look at that, didn't even need the Safety Pass.
- Yeah!
- Oh, they're dancing in Syracuse.
And look at that.
Here comes the family to celebrate.
What a beautiful moment.
Jay "Lache" lived up to his name on these final obstacles.
And he was smiling when he got to that last shelf.
He's our third finisher tonight,
and he's down with Zuri.
- Okay, Lache.
You're headed to stage three, and you're headed to college.
How excited are you about the future right now?
- The future's looking pretty bright right now,
so I'm pretty excited. [chuckles]
- Well, we're excited to watch it.
Congratulations on everything.
Can't wait to see you kill it on stage three.
Give it up for Jay, y'all.
Awesome job. Guys, take it away.
- Well, up next is the ninja Jay "Lache" beat
to earn that Safety Pass.
It's 16-year-old
New Jersey high school student Josiah Pippel.
With no Safety Pass, a fall tonight will end his season.
And he's got history here on stage two.
- Not only is he explosive, he's making it look easy.
- Stage two last year,
I made it all the way to the last move,
the undergrab on Falling Shelves.
- This is the big move--
blind grab, blind grab.
- Oh! - Oh!
[air horn blares]
- I knew that if I get back there,
I don't want to fail this.
I need to train this as hard as I can.
[whirring]
Pretty much as soon as I got back from Vegas last year,
I built Falling Shelves.
I've done it every way possible.
And I even did it blindfolded.
- Whoo!
- Yeah.
- I'm going to get back there.
I'm going to get it, and I'm moving on to stage three.
- Josiah's mom and siblings will be
watching back in New Jersey.
And his dad down on the sidelines,
along with some of the ninjas he trains with.
[countdown clock beeping]
We've talked about what a Renaissance man he is--
collects reptiles, loves Formula One racing,
even taught himself how to play piano.
- He's a man of many talents.
But his best talent is ninja.
This kid could go all the way.
- He's had an amazing season already--
three buzzers and won 10 grand on the Mega Wall.
- Well, Matt, that $10,000 on the Mega Wall,
he'll never have to ask for lunch money again.
- Cannot say it enough how these young ninjas,
the poise they have out here, and the maturity,
the plan of attack that they're executing.
- Yeah, you can see it's a little windy out here.
So the Piston Plunge are going to be swaying back and forth.
You can see Josiah's Afro blowing in the wind.
- 6 feet tall, got those long arms.
- And the nice hair, too, long hair.
I like that 'fro.
I used to have one when I was a kid.
Well, take a look at my baby picture
if you don't believe me.
- You were looking good back then.
And Josiah Pippel looking good so far on stage two.
But now it gets tough. On now to the Hammer Drop.
Should lock it in here with those big arms.
Make sure you get the legs in.
- Ooh, get your legs in--nice.
Cradle, hug it, love it--nice.
- Good job getting four points of contact, trying to be
as efficient as possible.
- Yeah, that four point of contact
a lot easier when you're that long.
- He's still an elite athlete.
He's got to get it pumping again.
All right. - But once again,
you've got to get the momentum going
because when you push on that hammer,
it will pull away from you.
Isaac Newton explained it.
- Nice. - Whoo!
- High on the rope.
Didn't have to climb up that much.
- Josiah Pippel--we saw him on "Ninja Junior,"
and, my, how he has grown.
- He comes back next year, could be 6'4."
- Let's go, Josiah.
- And he's given himself a good amount of time,
2 minutes, 20 seconds, to get through this
and the Falling Shelves.
- Yeah, Hornet's Nest is one of those ones
you've got to really map out, one of the two.
So you have to realize, you know,
with the different distance,
that's an 8-foot lache right there.
- Good throw.
Having a little trouble with the hand placement there.
- Well, he should have it right here because
he's 6 feet tall, long reach--
nice.
And here's the thing, you have no time
to rest on the Hornet's Nest.
- Now, here's the big one-- 10 feet.
- Whoo!
Did you see how high up he got?
Nice.
- Arms getting fully extended.
- And, Matt, too, when you get that high up,
it gives you a little room to make the correction.
- Perfect.
Well, here it is, lining up for his rematch
with Falling Shelves.
He was one of the many who fell on that final shelf.
The blind grab.
- Nice! - Getting a chance
to avenge it.
[cheers and applause]
- Matt, did you see that?
As soon as he laid it, he was mad-dogging
the Falling Shelves, like, what?
This is a moment he's been waiting for.
- Well, what a sense of déjà vu it has to be.
I can't imagine the number of times
he's replayed the Falling Shelves since last year.
He can literally do it blindfolded now.
Just looking effortless so far.
Here it is, though.
- He's flying through the course,
his Afro flying through the course.
- Got it!
And there he is, nodding.
He's nodding, yeah. - Pippel knows it!
- He knows what's up.
[buzzer blares]
- He's going to stage three.
[cheers and applause]
- Whoo!
* *
- And the teens continue to destroy this course.
* *
Gets his revenge on the Falling Shelves.
And he's our fourth finisher on stage two.
That's as many as we had last season,
and we're barely halfway through the field.
Coming up, he may be a little older,
but the Swan can still fly.
- He's flying through this course.
Look at the time.
- Ethan Swanson put up the fastest time on stage one.
Now, he'll take on stage two,
next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Las Vegas,
where a couple of Windy City ninjas
got their shot on stage two minutes ago.
When the Stallion Mike Silenzi galloped to the start line,
there was the usual stampede on the sidelines.
- Yee-haw! Okay!
- The 35-year-old has had a career resurgence,
with six buzzers in the past two years.
- Giddyup, cowboy.
- He made it to the final obstacle on stage two
last season but got hung up on the third one tonight.
- He's spending way too much time on Piston Plunge.
He needed a little bit more horsepower!
Danggum!
- Then another Chicago ninja,
Cam "The Bomb" Baumgartner,
tried to blow through the course.
- Yeah! [cheers and applause]
But he was also slowed down at Piston Plunge.
- Uh-oh, that's a long time to be hanging.
Go for it, Cam.
Oh.
- Come on!
- But after that, the gymnastics coach exploded--
- Ooh, I know it's burning.
- --flying through the back half of the course
and he made his way to the Falling Shelves.
- You've worked hard for this. - Come on, Cam.
- First time. Yes!
- And got his first stage two buzzer,
becoming our fifth finisher tonight.
- He almost went off the platform!
Oh, man, that's a big moment.
- Flying to the start line next
is another from that Chicago crew
doing his signature move--
flapping the wings and getting the crowd going.
It's the Swan, Ethan Swanson.
This veteran had the fastest time on stage one.
But this will be his first time back on stage two
in a few years.
And the competition has gotten a lot younger.
- He's flying through this course.
Look at the time.
- I had the fastest time on stage one by 8/10 of a second.
[buzzer blares] - With the fastest time
of the night!
- It's good to know I can still hang.
- His fourth stage one buzzer in a row.
- It's been a couple years since I've been in Vegas.
And there's a whole different level
of competition here,
these young kids that are monsters now.
[buzzer blares]
I think they're going to surpass the mark
that they set from last year.
- Next up, 24-year-old Ethan Swanson.
- But I've been here before.
This is my ninth season.
I know what it takes.
I've been to stage two a bunch of times.
I know what to expect. I know how to prepare.
- You got it.
Yeah!
- Stage two is so tough. You're up super high.
You're doing these crazy moves.
- You've got to make sure you don't get too dizzy.
- There's so many risks.
- Nice!
- But before I was even
doing Ninja, I was a daredevil.
I was a stuntman.
I feel like I'll make some of those decisions
and some of those moves that maybe
some other athletes won't.
This old guy's still got a couple of veteran tricks
up his sleeve.
- Everybody's gonna be flapping their wings,
including all his Chicago Ninja buddies.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Come on, Ethan!
- They say it's a young man's game.
But Ethan Swanson trying to show
you better respect your elders.
- Well, he crushed stage one.
But stage two is a completely different animal.
These courses keep getting more difficult.
- Nice.
He knows... exactly what to do.
- Let's go. Last one.
Come on. - Come on, Ethan.
- Come on, Swan.
- Well, loves to fly, is a daredevil,
is a guy who's done some insane high-flying stunts,
an acro-dunker for the Bulls.
He used to create YouTube videos
where he would hang off skyscrapers
all across Chicago-- kind of the same thing
he's doing here on Piston Plunge.
- And you know what I love about daredevils?
They have no fear.
- Got to be efficient here.
- Nice transfer, nice and easy.
And you can usually tell by the transfer
how much gas these ninjas have left.
And Ethan Swanson looks like
he's got plenty of energy left.
[cheers and applause]
- Well, now it's Hammer Drop.
Time for the 5'9" Swanson to show off that wingspan.
- He has got to bear hug the heck out of Hammer Drop.
He's got to throw his body and squeeze tight,
squeeze with not only his arms but his legs as well.
- Good job getting four points of contact,
trying to be as efficient as possible.
Oh, and a little slip there,
having trouble getting on top of it.
- Breathe!
- Come on, get power.
- This is where it gets a little scary here,
even for the Swan.
Spread those wings.
- Fly, fly!
- Ooh. - Ooh-hoo.
- Well, we've had five finishers so far.
Flip Rodriguez is the only one over 30.
Ethan Swanson at 32 trying to join Flip
and represent for the old guys.
Two obstacles between him
and his second date on stage three.
And he's having a good time out here.
- Yeah, he's having fun. He's having a lot of fun.
- He's still entertaining the crowd,
but what does he have left in those arms
for the Hornet's Nest?
- Matt, I can guarantee you, his arms
are about to start stinging, if they aren't already.
- All right, right here. All good.
- His body's all over the place.
- Whoa!
[cheers and applause]
- Keep moving. Keep moving.
- Well, Matt, on this next transfer from three to four,
he'd better make sure that he doesn't have
that same type of throw on that first lache.
- And just looking real awkward there
on that third honeycomb.
- He needs more body control.
Body control--get up so you can control.
Nice. - Ah, just hanging on.
- Ooh, barely made it.
- Does he have anything left?
- Look at his face, Matt. He's fighting it.
Come on, you got this!
- Launching--
- No!
- Ethan Swanson looked so good on stage one.
Had the fastest time.
But stage two is an upper-body killer.
- This course will wear you out.
The Swan used up a lot of strength
on these early obstacles, so at Hornet's Nest,
didn't have enough left to grab that last honeycomb.
- These kids are so strong. They make it look so easy.
For me, it's not.
- Coming up, 12 months ago,
he was the last ninja standing,
the only one to conquer stage three.
Can he do it again?
Kaden Lebsack runs next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to night two
of the National Finals.
While we were away,
a couple of recent high school graduates
took on stage two.
Minnesota's Jeramiah Boyd
was the captain of his school's track team.
And he came out of the blocks quickly tonight.
- Hurry, but don't rush--that's the key.
- With his mom cheering him on,
the 18-year-old had a hiccup on the Salmon Ladder.
- Uh-oh, uh-oh, come on, now.
- But he quickly recovered.
- Ooh, nice!
- This rookie has had an impressive campaign,
with two buzzers and a Mega Wall.
But his season ended tonight on Piston Plunge.
- No!
[air horn blares]
That's a tough one, Matt.
- Max Feinberg was in his school's marching band.
And he hit all the right notes in his run.
- Be clean, be solid, and be confident.
- He quickly made it to Hammer Drop,
which ended his season last year.
- All right, I'm sure he wants that revenge.
- But this time, he was able to hang on
and swing his way through.
- Got it! Got the revenge!
[whooping]
- The incoming freshman at the University of Denver
made the Hornet's Nest look easy--
- Boy, this kid is just flying.
He is a-Maxing!
- And survived the blind grab on Falling Shelves--
- Nice! - Allowing him to hit
a buzzer and become
the sixth finisher on stage two tonight.
- Let's go!
- Well done.
- Yeah! - Yeah!
- Already on the course is Max's good friend.
He's a pretty good ninja, too.
The defending last ninja standing,
16-year-old Kaden Lebsack.
- He's Special K!
- His parents and friends, including Max Feinberg,
are over on the sideline.
Watch it here on the Hammer Drop.
- You better hug this like a prom date, just like that.
- Ooh, oh, boy.
- Right to the face.
- Yeah, and he is going for it.
- He's the reigning king of ninja,
went farther than everyone last season.
Got to $100,000 last year.
Like to move that decimal point over.
- Ooh-hoo!
And this is going to come down to technique, Matt,
and a little bit of science.
I'm sure he's doing well in science class.
- Understand that hammer's going to push away.
There we go. - Nice.
[cheers and applause]
- His mom's always so nervous,
even though Kaden's never fallen in the water.
You've got to wonder, will the pressure ever get to him?
[crowd shouting encouragement]
- I gotta know the secret of how this kid
stays so calm under so much pressure.
And the pressure of the Hornet's Nest--
this is a wicked obstacle.
- This guy knows.
He has what it takes to get that $1 million.
16 years old, and just handles everything
this course throws at him.
- And he's throwing himself into this obstacle.
Nice.
- And you can see how efficiently
he's moving the honeycombs, rotating them around--
great use of that lower body.
- Yeah, you can see great control,
great mastery of the body and spatial awareness.
I think that's what he does well--
spatial awareness, great adjustment.
- What I love here, too, the ease with which
he floats into it.
Makes those grabs so easy for himself.
- Just needs the dismount.
Got it!
- Mom says, one obstacle to go.
- And he's got a real shot at the fastest time.
- This is all you, Kaden.
- Going for his fourth buzzer of the season.
[overlapping encouragement]
- Now the Falling Shelves.
He's one of the few who survived
this obstacle last year.
- Nice.
Three more moves.
This is what the new gen of ninjas look like--
it's Kaden Lebsack!
- Here comes that blind grab.
- Come on, Kaden. Come on, Kaden.
- All right, here we go. See it.
Nice! - Got it!
There is a smile.
Yes!
[buzzer blares]
Kaden Lebsack's going back to stage three.
And he's got the fastest time of the night.
[cheers and applause]
* *
- Well, he went face first into the Hammer Drop--ooh.
But that wasn't going to stop Kaden Lebsack.
He sailed through stage two for the second year in a row.
He even cracked a smile at the end 'cause you know what?
He's going to stage three. [buzzer blares]
- So Kaden Lebsack
keeps his perfect sophomore season going.
He may be climbing for $1 million once again.
Up next, the last of the Iowa ninjas.
- Whoo!
Let's go!
- It's the fun-loving 24-year-old from Des Moines,
Jackson Twait.
He barely survived stage one,
had less than a second to spare.
So he's trying something new for stage two,
and it's going to be spicy.
- This is my first time on stage two,
and I'm going to make it count.
In the past, we've seen all the pyrotechnics on stage two.
And so I needed to get used to the heat.
So naturally, I thought, salsa.
[crunch] Mm.
I love salsa, put it on everything.
And it's a key component of my ninja training.
[upbeat music]
We start mild after the first obstacle...
* *
Then maybe bump it up a little bit.
By the end, we're doing ghost pepper.
Ooh, nope, oh, my God.
Mm-mm! Oh, so hot!
All this added kick I've been getting from the salsa
is gonna pay off here on stage two.
* *
[cheers and applause]
- There are the two other Iowa ninjas
who made it to the National Finals.
They went out on stage one, along with
a big cheering section for Team Twait.
- And after all that salsa,
you know this run's gonna be spicy.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Well, he's always entertaining.
And there're the flames he talked about.
- Oh! - Oh, holy guacamole.
[groans]
- That is a shock.
A strong season for Jackson Twait
ends on the first obstacle here on stage two.
- Jackson Twait thought he could
take the heat on stage two.
But look, as soon as the flames came up,
he started leaning right, and he could never recover.
Ooh, so much for that salsa diet.
- Well, I guess I need some spicier salsa.
I gotta get used to the heat a little more.
- He's got a master's degree from Harvard.
But he has yet to master stage two.
- Ooh! Ran outta grip strength.
- Now, Josh Levin is out to change his luck.
We'll see him next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Whoo!
- Here we come. Get out the way.
Get ready for the beat. Yeah, it's time to play.
- * Go get my good friends *
* 'Cause this party don't stop *
- An entire season comes down to one night.
- This is what it looks like to never give up.
* *
- Our National Finals conclude
as our remaining competitors take on stage three.
- He's got a shot at the million!
- And a record-breaking number of ninjas
climb stage four for $1 million.
Season 14--history is made.
- He might have a shot.
- It's going to be a night like no other,
on the season finale of "American Ninja Warrior."
Well, we're not done tonight.
Moments ago, two hotshot rookies tried
to keep their seasons alive.
Matt D'Amico came out looking confident.
- Okay. [cheers and applause]
- Let's go.
- The 21-year-old from Billerica, Massachusetts,
has had an outstanding season.
And with his girlfriend cheering him on,
the rookie went to work.
- And he is moving.
- D'Amico's motto, which he wears on his shirt,
is Every course is a speed course.
And he lived up to that tonight.
- Whoa.
[cheers and applause]
- Even after taking time to talk to us--
- Hey, what's up, man? You good?
- --D'Amico still had enough time to fly through
Falling Shelves and hit the buzzer with
the fastest finish so far.
[buzzer blares]
- Let's go!
- He's going to stage three in his very first season.
- Wow, look at that. - Mic drop.
- Then it was another rookie,
baby-faced teenager Ethan Bartnicki.
- All right, just bouncing through.
Look at that bounce.
- At only 114 pounds, he's the lightest athlete
still in the competition.
- Matt, he's so light, the Hammer Drop barely moved.
- The 17-year-old floated through the Hornet's Nest.
And the budding music producer got the crowd hyped up.
- I'm giving it up for Ethan Bartnicki.
- It all came down to the final Falling Shelf.
- This ain't a blind date.
It's a blind grab.
Come on. Whoa.
- And the Georgia teen got his second buzzer of the night.
[buzzer blares]
- Oh, my goodness, he is pumped.
- So he and D'Amico become just the seventh and eighth
rookies ever to reach stage three.
Our final runner of the night is 28-year-old engineer
Josh Levin.
When he debuted back in season eight,
this world-class rock climber was considered a threat
to win the $1 million as a rookie.
[buzzer blares] - Yeah.
- And he hit buzzers on the first three courses
he ever faced.
- A rookie with three buzzers? Get it!
- But his first season ended on stage two--
- 2-foot lache here.
Ooh, ran out of grip strength.
- --as did his second--
- Ooh, oh, no.
- --and his third.
- Ooh, stage two again?
- Knowing that this one stage has just
been my downfall every single year definitely eats at me
and is in the back of my mind.
This is almost like a mental block for me.
- Levin stepped away from Ninja for three years
to pursue a master's degree from Harvard,
and chased his dream of making the US Climbing Team
for the Olympics.
But he's got one more mountain to climb.
- Being able to be back on stage two
and have another chance at it, I'm so excited.
If I'm able to hit that buzzer,
it will mean so much to me.
[cheers and applause]
- And there are some of his fellow Harvard grad students
down on the sidelines, along with other ninjas
and his parents.
[countdown clock beeping]
Well, came out just short in his dream
of making it to the Olympics.
Could he realize his dream of winning $1 million?
- If there was a time for his rock-climbing experience
to help him out, it'd be on this upper-body-intensive
stage two course.
- He was a world-ranked speed climber.
So you know he just wants to get a shot on stage four
because I don't know that anybody could
keep up with him on a rope.
- I'm gonna tell you, you put Josh Levin on stage four,
oh, he's got it.
- Just needs to get through this course tonight
then take on stage three,
which should really play to his strengths.
- No mistakes.
Look at that.
Look at his rock-climbing technique.
Look how strong he is.
This dude can climb for days.
He's a speed climber, a rock climber, and a ninja.
- And just look at his core strength
as he moves through these pistons.
This dude is ripped! - Look at those muscles.
Is that what all the engineers who went to Harvard look like?
I don't know. I don't think so.
- He's got friends and supporters
all along the rails watching.
They know what finishing stage two would mean to Josh Levin.
And gets through Piston Plunge.
[cheers and applause]
But Hammer Drop is a wild card.
It's so hard to practice for this.
- 5'6", 150.
Ooh, - Using those arms and legs
like a vise grip.
Now needs to wrap around and get on top of the cylinder.
Well, with that engineering degree,
you know he understands the angles.
This dude always has a plan,
and he understands physics, believe me.
- He did not hesitate-- just stood up and jumped.
He's talked about being Josh 2.0--
more aggressive and taking chances.
And he is living up to it.
- And he's now two obstacles away from
that first stage two buzzer.
Up next, the Hornet's Nest, and this has been trouble.
Ended the seasons of five ninjas tonight.
Josh working through his moves.
- Let's go, Josh.
Let's go, Josh.
- Shaking it out because once you are up,
those forearms get no rest.
And wow, just crisply locking those honeycombs into place.
Trying to be our 10th finisher tonight on stage two.
- Nice.
In past seasons, this is about where he would fall,
on this fifth obstacle.
That's got to be in his mind right now.
- He wants to conquer stage two so badly.
- Watch this.
This is a great angle to see that 10-foot lache,
and sideways, too.
And they have to make the adjustment
and turn in mid-air.
Look at that! - Perfect.
- That's not easy. - Now watch those hips.
You want to make sure those hips go right parallel.
- This is a multidirectional obstacle,
twisting and turning. - Got it.
Just needs the dismount.
Can he hang on? His heart's gotta be pounding.
- Got it! Levitating in the air.
[cheers and applause]
One step closer to going to stage three.
But it is the Falling Shelves with the blind grab
that's ended the season of so many ninjas in the past.
- He's visualizing his move. He knows he's so close.
- Let's go, Josh. Let's go, Josh.
- Takes a deep breath.
Here we go-- clock ticking down.
- All right, watch this one.
And look at the efficiency here.
We got some Gs going to stage three.
And this is an OG.
- But this is it-- the blind grab.
- There's a lot of blind grabs in rock climbing,
so he's used to it. And look at him.
He's locked in, dialed in.
- Got it! 10 seconds.
- He's good.
- Josh Levin--he's done it!
He broke the buzzer!
And you can see the joy.
- He broke the buzzer and broke the streak.
He finally completed stage two.
- You did it, dog. You did it.
- Yes.
- And we have never seen Josh Levin this emotional.
- He just ran off the stage.
Oh, he's going nuts.
- Well, that run right there, that might've
just won him $1 million.
- Thank you, baby!
- Stage two was the one mountain this top climber
hadn't conquered.
But he made all the right moves,
including on Falling Shelves.
And he was so excited, he broke the buzzer.
- Oh, look at this, real emotion.
It meant so much to him.
And now he's going to be tough to beat for that $1 million.
Well, that does it for tonight.
Next week, we move on to our season finale.
- And, Matt, these ninjas look so strong.
I think one of them is going to take home
a million-dollar prize next week.
- You don't want to miss it.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you then on "American Ninja Warrior"!