Original subtitles

- We've got long shots and heavy favorites

tonight in Vegas.

It's the National Finals of "American Ninja Warrior."

Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us.

I'm Matt Iseman. - And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.

Matt, we've gone to an all-racing format

in the finals, and it has been a thrill ride.

Last week, we had more dramatic falls...

- No!

- And fast finishes.

- Kai with the fastest time of the night.

- We saw our second woman reach the final 32.

- Isabella Folsom with a buzzer.

- And a shocking upset.

- Rachel Degutz has done it.

- That saved Joe Moravsky's season.

- Joe Moravsky is out of retirement!

Tonight, we'll take another step closer

to crowning this year's champion.

For the details, let's go down to Zuri Hall.

- Guys, these ninjas will be running

to keep their season alive.

Here's what they can expect.

First, our final three groups

will compete round-robin style.

Like the last two weeks, each ninja will race three times.

The two from each group with the most wins will move on.

Then the competition kicks into another gear.

Our remaining 32 ninjas

are seeded and placed in a bracket

and the races become sudden death.

Win and you move on. [buzzer blares]

Lose and your season is over. [air horn blares]

Let's go racing. Guys?

- And we'll start our round robin races with group 10.

Our first match-up features

a couple of fun-loving teenagers.

15-year-old high school student Kaden Forsha,

the youngest ninja in the finals,

but he's the 10th seed, the highest in this group.

And he'll be facing 19-year-old college student Colton Skuster,

who's the 51 seed.

Both these guys can make some noise.

[upbeat music]

- Hey!

- "Ninja Warrior," baby!

- There's the boys!

- What's up? Let's go!

- Let's go, baby!

It's the Battle of the Bigmouths.

- Colton Skuster is fired up.

- Yeah!

With me and Kaden on the course,

this could be the loudest race of the night.

- Kaden Forsha.

This dude is a bundle of energy.

- [screams] Let's go!

I'm the Chatterbox Ninja.

I run my mouth a lot, but I like running the course more.

* *

Let's go!

Yeah, baby!

I'm nervous about racing Colton.

[buzzer blares]

- Yeah! Let's go!

[screaming]

- He's got that frat boy confidence.

- I got this whole crew of guys on my back.

Let's go! Let's go!

[cheers and applause]

Everyone's bringing the energy.

I'm going to be having the crowd chanting "Skuster!"

[all chanting]

[all cheering]

* *

- I may talk a lot, but I back it up.

[buzzer blares] Let's go! Let's go!

Let's go racing, Skust.

- Yeah, let's go, boys!

- Colton's got his frat brothers watching

back at the University of Utah.

And Kaden's got a big sideline group as well,

including his grandparents, in their 70s,

but they still rock climb with him.

- We know these two can talk the talk,

but can they walk the walk-- or, heck, run the run?

We're going to find out.

[countdown clock beeping]

Matt, I expect these ninjas to make some noise.

- Oh, look at this. Good start.

- Big up. Nice.

- Real even.

Who can link their poise? - Oh, boy.

Look at Skuster.

And you could see Forsha was looking at the dismount,

but wanted to stay safe.

What a match-up. - Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

- Skuster down low. - Skuster's 6'2".

He's got to get up high, Matt.

He's losing purchase.

- That's when you think about 40 extra pounds, Akbar.

Forsha pulled away.

- Yikes.

Oh, yikes.

- Skuster barely stays alive.

Forsha through the Salmon Ladder.

Here comes Skuster. He's selling out.

- Skuster can come from behind.

He's not messing around.

Uh-oh, Forsha fumbled a little bit there.

- Oh, it's close, Akbar.

Well, this is what happens.

He knows he's got to sell out to keep up with Kaden Forsha.

[cheers and applause]

Forsha, first up on Piston Plunge.

That's huge. - And watch out.

Because those pistons, they do move,

and they can be a little slick.

- Great obstacle here.

- Uh-oh, but here comes Skuster.

Kaden Forsha-- gonna get that dismount.

[buzzer blares] - Let's go!

Let's go! Yeah!

[cheers and applause]

- Oh! - Skuster goes down.

- Let's go!

- Kaden Forsha delivers.

- Hey, good stuff, brother.

You crushed it, my guy.

- This was close until Pole Grasper,

but Skuster started sliding down

and struggled to stay out of the water.

Forsha jumped out to a lead and Skuster never caught up.

Now the pressure will be on in his next two races.

- Kaden Forsha goes to 1-0. He continues to impress.

He's got a perfect rookie season so far.

Now we move on to the other two in this group,

college student Max Feinberg and stuntman Kyle Soderman.

It's the fifth time in the National Finals

for both these guys.

And as always, Max Feinberg is dedicating

his run to his mom, Debbie, who's a breast cancer survivor.

* *

- My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer

in October of 2020.

- That's for you, Mom. That's for you.

- "That's for you, Mom." What a beautiful moment.

- I now raise awareness and draw attention to this issue.

I'm now a junior at the University of Denver learning

marketing and advertising skills and applying that

into multiple fundraisers for breast cancer.

Now we've just raised more and more money.

- Amaxing once again. [buzzer blares]

- Hitting another buzzer tonight

would mean the world to me

because we're trying to save lives.

- Max is a proud mama's boy.

And mom will be on the sideline

along with his dad and good friend, Kaden Lebsack.

They're wearing Max's trademark glasses.

Kyle's got his wife, Megan,

cheering him on from their home in Austin.

And mom, Laurie, who's watching from Minnesota.

Soderman's ten years older and 35 pounds heavier,

but he can move.

He is a World Chase Tag champion,

an underdog in this race, though.

He's the 40 seed and Max is the 21.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Ooh, explosive start for Soderman.

- Soderman trying to get it in.

- And watch who finishes the obstacle first.

Because in the event of a fall,

it comes down to who finished the previous one first.

- Here they are. - Oh, it's close.

- Side by side. Look at that.

Looks like they're going synchro-ninja.

- Onto the Pole Grasper.

- And you can see Soderman going up higher.

- Max is staying low and going hand over hand.

Feinberg flying!

- Yeah, you could say that.

It's easy when you're 145 to navigate through Pole Grasper.

- Max is first to Salmon Ladder.

Four rungs up and then straight into the Floating Monkey Bars.

And Feinberg about a half obstacle ahead,

but here comes Soderman.

- And you can see Max Feinberg being

very methodical with the placement.

- You can see, though, how easy it is for that bar to slip out.

But Feinberg through.

- Especially on the back swing, just like that with Soderman.

- And that extra weight seems to be

taking its toll on Soderman.

As Feinberg getting through Piston Plunge.

But it's not over. Here comes Soderman.

- And Soderman is right there. Now he's on to Piston Plunge.

- And he's selling out.

- Uh-oh. He can come back.

- Here he comes.

- Oh, my goodness!

- Feinberg, got to get that dismount

because here comes Soderman.

- Oh! [buzzer blares]

- Feinberg gets it.

- Oh, man.

- Soderman sells out.

What a race!

- Feinberg was amaxing.

A tough loss for Soderman, though, who falls to 0 and 1.

- The separation came on Pole Grasper.

Soderman went high, and Feinberg went low.

And he was able to jump out to a lead.

Soderman closed the gap at the end,

but missed the final grab, while Max gets the buzzer.

[buzzer blares]

- Max moves to 1 and 0 and gets to celebrate

another win with his mom.

Tonight, more of our top competitors race

to survive the group stage.

Then we shift into another gear

and our races become sudden death.

The remaining 32 ninjas, including two women,

will be seeded and square off in do-or-die matches.

- Oh! [air horn blares]

- Only the best will survive

and move on with a chance to be our new champion.

Plus, we're down to the top 10

in our memorable moments countdown.

We'll reveal five more tonight.

It's all coming up on the National Finals

of "American Ninja Warrior."

- Minutes ago, we started round one races

for group 14 over on course two.

Leading it off was the highest seed in this group,

New Jersey teenager Josiah Pippel,

taking on Massachusetts college student Tate Becker.

- It's the battle of the northeast ninjas.

- Pippel is a top contender to win it all.

And he used his speed to jump out to an early lead.

- Oh, my goodness! That was a big flight.

- The five-time veteran was more than an obstacle ahead

when he hit the buzzer. [buzzer blares]

Becker made it to the Floating Monkey Bars,

but slipped off.

He falls to 0 and 1.

Then the other two in this group faced off

with gym owner Matt D'Amico

racing New York's Luke Lowell-Liszanckie,

known as Triple L.

- Here goes D'Amico going for speed.

- D'Amico is a three-time Ninja veteran

and he jumped out to a comfortable lead

over the rookie, Lowell-Liszanckie.

- Triple L might end up getting his first L.

Oh!

- The dockworker hit the water on Floating Monkey Bars

and D'Amico could coast to the buzzer.

He's now 1 and 0. [buzzer blares]

So it's Pippel and D'Amico

at the top of the leaderboard for this group.

Then it was the round one races for group 11.

One of the older finalists, 40-year-old Deren Perez,

a Coast Guard officer from Guam,

had to start off against the group's highest seed,

teenager Noah Meunier.

Meunier has a current streak of 90 obstacles

without falling.

- There's another one.

- Perez stayed with his younger opponent through

the second obstacle and was close behind on the third.

- Oh!

- But his foot hit the water and he was done.

So Meunier had the win.

And he just kept knocking down obstacles.

He made it to the buzzer to keep his streak alive.

[buzzer blares]

The other match-up in this group

also had a significant age difference,

as 37-year-old Iowa gym owner Spencer Johnson

faced 24-year-old Vermont baker Amir Malik.

Both of them got hung up on Ring Jump,

where they spent a lot of time and effort

before getting through.

- That will sap your energy there.

- Malik got off first and jumped out to a lead,

while Johnson never seemed to recover.

- He's feeling it right now, Matt.

- He went out on Floating Monkey Bars.

- Oh!

- And Malik could take his time

and make his way to the buzzer.

- OK, Amir. [buzzer blares]

- Yeah!

- Well, don't break it.

- So it's the younger ninjas in control

of this group after the first round of races.

Now it's time to begin round two races.

And we'll start with group 10 and a clash

of college students.

On one side from the University of Utah,

it's Colton Skuster.

He'll be facing Max Feinberg,

who attends the University of Denver.

Max'll have his parents and Colorado training partners

on his sideline.

- Hey!

- And Colton will once again have his frat brothers

from Beta Theta Pi cheering for him.

[all cheering]

- [shouts]

- Colton lost his first race, so he desperately needs a win.

Doesn't want to go to 0 and 2.

Max won his first race.

If he gets a win here, he'll be in great position to move on.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Go from chug, chug, chug it up to run, run, run it up.

Nice.

- Oh, it's got to be so hard when

they're right in your peripheral vision.

- Here we go. - Wow!

- Big move. - Feinberg.

Oh, Max Feinberg is maxing out.

- But Skuster matching him.

And he sells out on the Pole Grasper.

- Uh-oh, but he's struggling there, Matt.

He's starting to slide.

Watch his feet. - Look at that!

Arm over arm!

- Oh, come on, inches away from the water for Skuster.

- Skuster shockingly pulled ahead.

- Matt, I thought he was going to take the water.

- Well, he made an aggressive move there, Akbar.

Will it catch up to him on these Floating Monkey Bars?

- Matt, this back-and-forth is enough to make

you want to take Dramamine.

- Oh, my.

And Skuster remains ahead.

- Nice.

- He's riding the Piston Plunge.

- And then here comes Feinberg.

He's got to max out.

- And the Amaxing Feinberg selling out.

Skuster. - Nice.

both: No!

- Feinberg's got to close it out.

- He knows it.

- Oh, and he does it!

Max Feinberg gets the win.

[cheers and applause]

Oh, my. Heartbreak for Skuster.

- He was just one move away from the buzzer,

but couldn't make the final grab.

- Skuster was going for broke on Pole Grasper.

Came flying in and just barely

kept his feet out of the water.

He took the lead there and it looked like he had the win,

but his hands peeled off on the final grab.

Max did make the grab and he gets the win.

- So Feinberg goes to 2 and 0 and almost guaranteed

to move on, but Skuster's now 0 and 2.

He'll need a very fast finish in his final race

to have any chance of keeping his season alive.

Our memorable moments countdown takes us

to season 6 and the Venice Semifinals.

That night, a new obstacle

called Cannonball Alley was wreaking havoc.

- Oh! [air horn blares]

- It was the eighth obstacle on the extended course.

And of the first 14 to reach it,

none could figure it out.

[air horn blaring] A 100% knockout rate.

- I don't know if anyone's going

to get through it tonight.

[air horn blares]

- The 15th athlete to try it was Kevin Bull,

a walk-on rookie from Scotts Valley, California.

And he turned the Ninja world upside down.

Oh, look at this. Is he going to go inverted?

Look at this!

- Oh. - He's hanging upside down.

I love it.

- Oh!

- He's going to go for the dismount upside down.

He did it!

Wow!

- That's what I'm talking about!

- The first man to complete the Cannonball Alley, Kevin Bull.

- Oh, man. Are you kidding me?

- Wow! The crowd erupts. - Are you kidding me?

[cheers and applause] [buzzer blares]

- Bull went on to finish the course that night.

And his creativity on Cannonball Alley

is still talked about today.

And it's number 10 on our memorable moments countdown.

Coming up, it's going to be a duel between the dads.

From Guam, it's 40-year-old father of two, Deren Perez.

And from Iowa, 37-year-old father of three,

Spencer Johnson.

Their race is next on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Minutes ago, it was our second

round two races from group 10.

This one pitted rookie Kaden Forsha

against Ninja veteran Kyle Soderman.

Forsha was impressive in winning his first race,

while Soderman lost his round one match-up.

And for the second straight race,

he got hung up on Pole Grasper.

- Kyle is going to have to make a big move

if he's going to catch up.

- After that, he could never close the gap on Forsha.

The Colorado teen looked impressive

in capturing his fourth straight buzzer.

Soderman also finished, but he falls to 0 and 2.

So Forsha and Max Feinberg are assured

of moving on from this group.

While Soderman and Colton Skuster's only hope

is to earn the third place wildcard in their next race.

We also had the round two races for group 11.

And the first contest featured top competitor

Noah Meunier chasing history.

The Massachusetts electrician

was trying to outrun Iowa gym owner Spencer Johnson,

but he was also trying to keep his streak going.

Meunier hasn't fallen on an obstacle

since he started his Ninja career in season 15.

He was closing in on the all-time record

for consecutive obstacles without falling of 99,

set by Kaden Lebsack.

Meunier tied that record after Ring Jump

and then broke it when he completed the Salmon Ladder.

- 100 straight obstacles.

A pretty cool feat for him to get

at such a young age, 19 years old.

- He finished it off with a buzzer,

his 102nd consecutive obstacle.

And it secures his spot in the next round.

Spencer Johnson made it to Floating Monkey Bars.

- Oh!

- He drops to 0 and 2.

The other two from group 11 then hit the course,

with Coast Guard officer Deren Perez

facing Vermont baker Amir Malik.

Perez once again got caught up on Ring Jump and fell behind.

Then fell for good on Salmon Ladder.

- Oh!

- So Malik got the win and could cruise

to his fourth buzzer this season.

An impressive return after

he took three years away from competition.

The young guys in this group, Noah Meunier and Amir Malik,

have now secured their spot in the next round.

The other two are winless.

But now those two wily veterans are going to face each other,

so one of them will earn a win.

They're the two oldest remaining competitors.

And it looks like Spencer Johnson has

already thrown his back out.

- But Deren Perez is going to help him out.

There you go, old fella. All better.

- The senior citizens of "Ninja Warrior" getting loose.

Both these guys are dads

who had impressive seasons,

especially for their age.

No one has traveled further

to compete than Deren Perez.

He's stationed at

a Coast Guard base in Guam.

He's 25 years older than

our youngest competitor.

Back in qualifying,

he got his first buzzer

in his fifth season competing.

Spencer Johnson competed

way back in season nine,

but had been away

for seven years.

And now he's racing

in the finals.

Not a bad comeback for

a 37-year-old father of three.

Spencer Johnson's family is watching from back in Iowa.

And he's got his fellow Iowa ninjas,

the Behrends family, cheering him on from the sideline.

Deren's family is watching from 6,000 miles away in Guam.

[cheering]

This is the first time all season we've had dads

race each other.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Go, daddy, go!

Spencer Johnson opening up there on the Shrinking Steps.

- Spencer is 22 pounds heavier.

We've seen that weight catches up.

- Yeah, it catches up for real,

especially as you're going up and then down Devil Steps.

Deren Perez ain't no punk too.

He'll go at you.

He's 40 years old.

And he knows-- - Wow!

It's neck and neck.

- Oh, but now it's neck and back problems.

This time it's Deren who needs his back cracked.

A little returning of the favor.

For those of you who need closed captions or big glasses

like some of us, I'm sure you're probably

in need of a back cracking as well.

And it can be hard to hold that ring to manipulate it.

You can see Johnson struggling.

- But Matt, Spencer Johnson is used

to competing at a high level.

He was an elite gymnast for 17 years.

It wasn't that long ago that he stepped away from gymnastics.

He was ranked top 30 in the country.

- But it's Perez who's off first.

Spencer Johnson not far behind.

And now everyone's cracking their back.

And, Akbar, you know my lower back has

been a little tight lately.

[groans] All right. OK.

[cracking noise] [laughs]

You can barely get me up.

And, oh, by the way, there's still a race going on.

These guys are working their way

through Floating Monkey Bars.

- Hold up, what the-- what is Spencer doing?

- Spencer, he's going to launch it.

Oh! Oh, my goodness.

Spencer Johnson goes down hard.

So Deren Perez wins the Battle of the Dads.

Now he's going to try and get a buzzer.

- Matt, going back to Spencer,

I think he was running out of gas.

So he tried to go for a long dismount.

Then he just smacked his arm on the last cradle

and came up well short of the landing.

- But Deren Perez, at 40 years old, is still going.

His third time running this course tonight.

And he's about to get his second career buzzer.

[buzzer blares]

He's not moving on, but a good way for the Coast Guard officer

to end his season.

Deren Perez!

You get your back cracked,

and then you get your second-ever buzzer.

Congratulations, buddy. - I appreciate it.

- How's it feel being a relative senior citizen

out here amongst these teenage ninjas?

- My goal today was basically

to show that with dedication and determination,

you can do anything.

So all the younger ones out here, you guys can do it.

- Well, I got to say, Deren,

the Coast Guard's got to be proud to have you.

Man, that was great.

Hit that buzzer one more time, pal.

[buzzer blares] - Well done.

Staying safe on the high seas.

[cheers and applause]

- And now it's time for the final race

for the young guys in this group.

Zuri is going to get them started.

- Guys, Noah Meunier has a perfect record

on "Ninja Warrior."

He's never hit the water, but he will be pushed in this race.

He's facing another competitor who's 2 and 0 tonight,

Amir Malik, whose nickname is Sonic.

Both of these guys will be trying

to go fast to improve their seeding in the next round.

And Noah wants to keep that streak of his alive.

- I like it. A little bow between the two.

Mutual respect between these guys.

- Amir's girlfriend and mom are here on the sidelines.

And Noah's girlfriend, Addy Herman,

is leading the cheers for him.

- Matt, the question is,

how long can Noah keep his streak going?

102 obstacles without falling.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Every obstacle he completes just adds to his record.

- Boom, that's 103.

- Well, these guys both starting off,

shot out of a cannon.

Watch the descent.

Malik real efficient here in the previous races.

- Yeah, Malik is on the pull.

And this is the first time we've seen Meunier fall behind.

- And Meunier, a misfire.

Wow! Big moves, though.

Oh, my goodness.

- I think Malik wants to prove he's going to the next stage.

And he's got that speed.

- But look at that.

Meunier closed it on Ring Jump

and launching up the Salmon Ladder.

- But Amir's hung up. Starting to fall behind.

And Meunier steadily progressing.

Not getting tripped up on the Floating Monkey Bars.

- What a come from behind.

- And right into it, Akbar. - Oh, he's not messing around.

- His best race was 1:12 set in his last race.

He can beat that if he gets through Piston Plunge.

Just needs the dismount-- and keeps his streak alive.

[buzzer blares]

He did just what he wanted to do, finish with a faster time.

So he improved his seeding in the next round.

Amir Malik is going to improve his time as well.

That'll make his seeding in the next round better too.

Well, both of them get their best times.

- Wow!

- They're the two moving on from this group.

And Noah Meunier will try to keep his streak

going in the next round.

- Now, I don't think anyone wants to race Noah Meunier.

- Coming up.

They know how to put the pedal to the metal.

Speedsters Josiah Pippel and Matt D'Amico race

head to head when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.

- Welcome back to the National Finals.

Moments ago, it was the round two races for group 14.

New Jersey's Josiah Pippel won his first race

in impressive fashion.

And trying to keep up with him was Triple L,

New York's Luke Lowell-Liszanckie.

- All right, here we go on Devil Steps.

Triple L better have a hell of a run here.

- Pippel pulled away early and never let up.

The teenager is the highest seed in this group.

And he showed why.

- And here goes Josiah.

Nice and smooth.

- He made his way to another buzzer

with the second fastest time on this course.

He's now 2 and 0. [buzzer blares]

Lowell-Liszanckie made it to Floating Monkey Bars.

- Oh! [air horn blares]

- He falls to 0 and 2.

Then it was the Battle of Boston

as Tate Becker faced off against his teammate

on the NBA's Boston Celtics dunk team, Matt D'Amico.

- High-flying acts here.

- D'Amico, the three-time ninja veteran,

jumped out to an early lead over Becker, who's a rookie.

- Oh, killing it. Crushing it on the Devil Steps.

- D'Amico kept his foot on the accelerator.

Becker, rushing to keep up,

went off the rails on the Salmon Ladder.

- Oh!

- His bar fell off the rungs, ending his run.

But he wasn't going to catch D'Amico,

who sailed into his second straight win.

- Let's go!

- So Pippel and D'Amico are 2 and 0

and sit atop this group.

Now they'll face each other as we start round three.

And Zuri is going to get them going.

- We're in Vegas, and this next race is an odds-on favorite

to be one of the fastest.

It's speed demons Josiah Pippel and Matt D'Amico.

A fast time in this race could improve their seeding,

which would put them against a slower

opponent in the next round.

And these guys love to go fast.

Josiah is a Formula One fan

that's been racing since "Ninja Junior,"

where he won all but one race in his age group.

He's had the fastest time

in his qualifier each of the last two seasons.

- I live for speed. And tonight is no different.

- D'Amico burst onto the scene his rookie year

with the fastest time on Stage 2.

His motto is "every course is a speed course."

And he's never lost a race on "ANW."

- Josiah is a great barometer to see if I can win it all.

- We're going for bragging rights.

One of us is going to be 3-0,

and one of us is going to be 2 and 1.

- Don't blink or you're going to miss it.

Hey, we got one more.

- D'Amico's a Ninja coach back in Massachusetts.

And he's got many of his students watching.

Josiah's dad and girlfriend, JoJo Grubesic,

are leading the group on his sideline.

- You know both of these guys want to stay undefeated,

so they're going to be going all out.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Throw caution to the wind and hit the afterburners.

- I expect these guys to go into ludicrous mode--

heck, plaid mode.

- Well, both these guys love to go fast.

And, boy, are they moving. - Oh, my goodness.

They're both flying through Devil Steps.

- A 5-inch height advantage for Pippel.

And it's dead even.

- Oh, big move by D'Amico to get ahead.

- Well, you see Pippel, a couple of misfires

there on Ring Jump.

D'Amico landed half up the pad, now ahead.

- This is nuts.

This is nuts.

This course isn't even built for this type of speed.

- Oh!

- Oh, D'Amico is down.

all: Oh!

- So Josiah Pippel gets the win.

He goes to 3 and 0.

And D'Amico loses the chance

to improve his seeding in the next round.

They came flying out of the gate

and they were neck-and-neck through the first three.

But when you go fast, you make mistakes.

D'Amico tried to skip rungs on the Salmon Ladder

and just missed.

- Well, Josiah's already got the second fastest

finish on this course.

His time was 1:05:31.

He'll be just behind it. [buzzer blares]

- But he has three buzzers tonight, all with fast times.

- Whew, he is going to be one tough dude to beat.

- D'Amico ends up 2-1,

but he'll also be a threat in the next round.

Our next Memorable Moment

comes from season 7 in Kansas City,

when 31-year-old Michael Stanger

came to the start line after spending eight days and nights

living in a tent on the walk-on line.

Stanger's wife, Enedina, was confined to a wheelchair

with a painful illness known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Her prognosis was heartbreaking.

- I never expected to talk about my wife's death so much.

It's always pretty much a constant fear.

- Stanger had to get in shape

so he could physically support her.

And when he did, he decided to try "Ninja Warrior"

in hopes of giving his family a moment of joy.

- This is a physical love letter to his wife.

- You got this.

- [yells] Yeah!

- I love you!

- Come on. Let her see you go through.

[cheers and applause] - Yeah!

- Despite little training and in his first time

on the course, Stanger miraculously

made it to the Warped Wall.

- This is out of a movie. What a tremendous moment.

[buzzer blares]

[cheers and applause]

- This has been one of the most emotional nights

in the history of "American Ninja Warrior."

I'm tearing up.

- I love you guys! - Oh, my gosh.

- Michael Stanger's remarkable demonstration of the power

of love comes in at number 9.

Coming up, RJ Roman's been waiting weeks

to find out his fate.

Will his time hold up and get him a wildcard

into the next round?

We'll find out next on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Minutes ago, it was a round three race for group 10.

And this one was a track meet from the very start.

Both college student Max Feinberg

and high school student Kaden Forsha were 2 and 0.

- Max is only a couple of rungs ahead of Forsha.

- So they were going fast to improve their seeding

in the next round.

- It's tied up now, Matt. It's tied up.

- They traded the lead throughout, but it was Forsha,

the 15-year-old rookie, who made it to the buzzer

first in 54 seconds.

[buzzer blares] - Forsha fo-sho.

- Feinberg was right behind in 57 seconds.

Neither of them have hit the water this year.

Then it was the final round three race for group 14.

Tate Becker and Luke Lowell-Liszanckie

were both 0 and 2.

Their only chance to move on was

to win the wildcard

as the fastest third place finisher on course 2.

Sam Folsom set the mark to beat last week

of one minute, five seconds.

Both Becker and Lowell-Liszanckie started off

fast, but after getting hung up on Ring Jump,

it was clear they weren't going to beat Folsom's time.

- They needed a perfect run, and this ain't it.

- But they did have their best runs yet.

Lowell-Liszanckie made it to Piston Plunge.

- Oh! [air horn blares]

- And Becker got all the way to the buzzer,

but it was too slow to move on.

That means Sam Folsom gets one of the two wildcards.

He was fastest among the third place finishers on course 2.

So he's moving on.

The other wildcard for the fastest

third place finisher on course 1

will be decided by this next race.

Two weeks ago, RJ Roman put up a time of 54 seconds

and has been waiting ever since.

Right now he's in line to get the course 1 wildcard,

but it's going to come down to our next two competitors.

Stuntman Kyle Soderman--

- What up, Soderman?

- And college student Colton Skuster.

They are both 0 and 2.

Their only chance to move on is to beat RJ's time.

- We know they're both capable of doing it.

- Let's go!

- Oh, look at the frat boys from Beta Theta Pi.

- Colton's also got his mom and friends on the sideline.

Kyle will be cheered on once again by his wife, Megan.

- You got it, Kyle.

- 54.46, the time to beat.

Do or die!

[countdown clock beeping]

- Colton Skuster better run this course

like he's running from the frat house to his class.

Big-time players come up in big-time moments.

And this is a big-time moment.

- An extra swing for Soderman.

And Skuster with the early edge.

- Oh, boy!

- Skuster's 6'2", and he nearly hit

the water his first two races.

But he's climbed up higher this time.

- Ooh, man, he's got to go.

And they know it too.

Big moves here on Salmon Ladder.

- Oh, Soderman kicked the monkey bar off the cradle.

- Oh.

- Swung his feet too high

and knocked one of the two bars out.

Now he'll have to lache from cradle to cradle.

And that's going to slow him down.

- Oh, the frat house is going crazy.

They're doing keg stands.

- Soderman trying to finish with one bar.

No!

He's out, but Skuster's still got a chance.

- Go! Go! Go! Go!

- 54.46?

- Ah!

- Oh, my goodness!

- Oh!

- Misses out by just over a second.

That means RJ gets the wildcard.

His time from two weeks ago held up.

He's going to the next round.

Unfortunately, the season is over

for Kyle Soderman and Colton Skuster,

who came up just short.

- Great job.

- In his first two races, Colton Skuster

went low on Pole Grasper and almost hit the water.

In this one, he took the time to climb up

and that extra second or two

may have been the difference,

as he hits the buzzer a little too late.

- Skuster, 55.89 seconds.

The time you needed to beat, 54.46, my friend.

But what an impressive season.

- I appreciate it.

It means the world to be back talking to you guys.

It never gets old. So, you know.

- Hey, give the Beta Theta Pi shout out right now.

Say something to the fraternity.

- What up, Betas across the USA?

- Look at them. They're going nuts.

Hit that buzzer one more time, Skuster.

We will see him again.

- So with that, the group stage comes to a close.

16 ninjas, 90 races, and so much excitement.

Only 32 ninjas remain.

But from here on out, every race is sudden death.

- You know March Madness? Well, this is Ninja madness.

- The ninjas who are moving on have

been seeded based on their times in the group stage.

And take a look at some of the matchups we'll see.

Record-breaking Colorado teenager Taylor Greene

will go up against top contender,

The Flyboy, Isaiah Thomas.

Our other female competitor in the final 32, Isabella Folsom,

will face top seed, Utah's Kai Beckstrand.

We'll have a little brother battle as Luke Beckstrand

tries to outrun the 4'11" dynamo from Iowa,

Jason Behrends.

And our first race features Ninja legend,

Houston's Daniel Gil, taking on

the impressive rookie from Wisconsin, Evan White,

as the National Finals roll on.

- Welcome back to the National Finals.

Only 32 ninjas are left, and we now move on

to a new stage of the competition.

- We put our ninjas in a tournament-style bracket.

And now it's win or go home.

- The bracket looks like this.

On the left side, we've got the 16 ninjas

who raced on course 1, and on the right side,

14 from course 2, along with our two wildcards.

We'll start off with a 6 seed versus an 11,

upstart rookie Evan White

versus Ninja legend Daniel Gil.

The 31-year-old from Houston is in his

ninth match in the finals.

And he's facing 17-year-old Evan White,

who's made it here in his first season.

The cheddar cheese-eating Wisconsin teenager

has been impressive, and now he gets to race one of his idols.

- I definitely did not expect to be where I am right now.

I mean, racing Daniel is just incredible.

- Evan White recently showed me a photo of myself

and him, him as a child, like 4 feet tall,

years ago at a Ninja event.

And now here we are racing each other side-by-side

at the National Finals.

It is going to be a fierce, fierce race.

Evan White may be powered by cheese,

but he's standing between me and getting that cheddar.

So, Evan, I'm coming for you, man.

- Daniel may have the hair, but I got the forearms.

- Daniel's got his wife and baby girl,

Isla, here cheering for him.

And Evan's mom is leading a big group of friends and family.

- Let's go, Evan!

- Evan White pulled off two big wins in the last round,

outracing top competitors Sam Folsom and Hans Hertz.

So he's got to be feeling confident.

- Look at Daniel Gil. He looks serious.

I think he knows this race is going to be a real test.

[countdown clock beeping]

Here we go.

- No second chances in this round.

You lose, and your season's over.

And Gil, a slight edge.

- Whoo! Nice! - Launched through!

Gil needs to keep an edge. - That's being strategic.

Daniel is the second oldest still left in this competition,

keeping up with a teenager.

So he's got to be super-smooth with his moves.

- Oh, my!

Evan White just machine guns that on the Ring Jump.

- Oh!

- And now he's got the edge.

And he's putting the pressure on the Kingdom Ninja.

- Matt, this back-and-forth is giving me motion sickness.

- First up on the Salmon Ladder.

This is where those pumping forearms

should help him--but a miss.

- Nice. - And Gil's evened it up.

- And this is where you can come back

and make up some time.

- Evan White finds his rhythm.

- And he'll give us our first look

at this new final obstacle, The Clacker.

- Ooh, boy.

- You have to move those handles up and over to advance.

- It's not only about grip strength.

It's also about shoulder flexibility,

especially with this move right here.

- Do or die.

Evan White about half a move ahead.

- Uh-oh. And then look at Daniel Gil.

He's coming back into it.

Oh, my goodness! Sha-na-na!

- Who will get the dismount? - Uh-oh.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

- Who will take it? - Oh, my goodness!

Oh, my goodness! Yes!

[buzzer blares]

- Oh! - Oh, my goodness!

- Holy moly!

- Evan White wins by just over a tenth of a second.

- Wow!

- The rookie takes out

one of the best ninjas ever, Daniel Gil.

- What a race!

One of the closest we've ever had.

- It came down to this new final obstacle, The Clacker.

They were neck-and-neck,

and as they reached the final wheel,

they both looked over at each other.

Evan dove and outstretched it to the buzzer.

He's been preparing for a moment like this.

We saw him training for that move, and it paid off.

- First of all, gentlemen, thank you

for one of the great races in the history of this show.

Evan, you're going up against a legend.

- Oh, my God.

- What's going through your mind

going up against the great Kingdom Ninja?

- Daniel's been such a mentor to me recently.

To get to share this course with him is just incredible.

- 13 hundredths of a second.

Daniel, what are your thoughts as we say goodbye?

- Oh, man. I'm not done.

There's still a lot more ahead for me in this sport of Ninja.

This is exactly the outcome that we wanted.

Both buzzers, right there, neck and neck.

- It's what we asked for. - I couldn't be more proud

of Evan moving forward, be watching.

He's got several more buzzers left this season.

- OK. All right.

That's a prediction.

- Up next from our bracket is a 7 seed versus a 10.

Don't blink, 'cause this race could be that fast.

Caleb Bergstrom picked by many to be the favorite

coming into this season, going up against

Matt D'Amico, whose motto is

"every course is a speed course."

- Caleb climbed stage 4

the past two seasons

and just missed out

on winning it all.

But he's actually the lower

seed in this because

Matt D'Amico, who's been

on a roll this year,

was faster in our last round.

The Massachusetts gym owner has been supported all season

by the kids at the gym.

And they'll be cheering for him again tonight.

Caleb comes from the big Bergstrom ninja family.

And like Daniel Gil, he'll have his wife

and newborn baby on the sideline for him.

- Both these guys can go fast, Matt.

We know on this course, you have to have no regard

for self-preservation.

You just have to go.

[countdown clock beeping] - Get ready.

- We got some of the fastest ninjas going at it.

- And a good start by both.

Slight edge for Bergy.

He's got a 2-inch height advantage.

- Both these guys--

- And he's using that advantage,

which is exactly what you're supposed to do.

- Oh, my goodness. - God gave it to you.

Use it. - D'Amico--

- Uh-oh, he's hung up.

- He's looking for a big transfer.

Wow!

- Matt, I like the way he propped himself.

He got stuck a little bit.

He said, forget it. I'm just going to go for broke.

- I can't tell whose feet were down first.

It's so close.

Watch who gets to the top of the Salmon Ladder.

- Nice. - Bergy in two moves!

- It's Bergy. He's got those long arms, Matt.

At 5'10", 175 pounds.

He's trucking. - And you saw him misstep.

And now, a couple of missteps.

And D'Amico's back in it.

- Oh, boy! They both missed.

Oh, my goodness. Come on.

- It's so hard to go fast on these obstacles.

Bergy, first off.

- Right to it.

No regards for self-preservation.

Here we go.

- The Clacker.

- Click-clack. Clack-clack.

- Dead even.

Who's going for the dismount?

D'Amico's there.

- Uh-oh, D'Amico's there.

Uh-oh, he missed. They missed.

They're both going to go for it.

There's D'Amico, Bergy's going to have to leap in.

[buzzer blares] He does, but still not enough.

- Wow, less than a second difference.

- What a race!

That final obstacle,

a swing here, a swing there.

- Another race comes down to the wire.

- It came down to the last set of Clackers.

Caleb failed to push it over in his first attempt.

Matt got it, but then he had to make

a one-handed save to stay alive.

That slight edge allowed him

to reach the buzzer first and get the win.

And Matt, I gotta say, I know you're having a good time,

but for those kids back in Ascend gym,

you want to give them a message?

- Shout out to Ascend.

Those guys mean everything to us.

The kids are our motivation.

So yeah, I'm just glad that I can

put on a good show for them.

- Well, it was awesome.

Caleb, I know just like last season, one second.

It's tough to swallow, but I just want to say,

we're so honored to have you out here.

You got the real prize.

That's your baby boy. Congratulations.

- Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Akbar.

- Congratulations.

- Well, what a race.

It's so tough to see anyone go home after that one.

And, Akbar, we've only had a couple of races.

And already we've had guys who conquered stage 4,

two of the best ever,

Daniel Gil and Caleb Bergstrom eliminated.

These races are so unpredictable.

Coming up.

The last time Sam Folsom and Hans Hertz raced,

it was a back-and-forth battle.

- Whoa! Wow!

- But this time, someone's going home.

Their rematch is next on "American Ninja Warrior."

- We've had many memorable moments over the years

provided by athletes who are amputees

who've inspired us with their strength,

including former football player Artis Thompson III.

- He is determined.

- And firefighter Gary Weiland.

- [screaming]

Oh, my God! Oh, my gosh!

- All of them competed with prosthetic legs.

But in season 8, Zach Gowen took it one step further.

This professional wrestler who lost his leg due to cancer

took his prosthetic off and hopped on one leg.

- What? - Look at that.

- Whoa.

- Unreal!

- Well, cancer took his leg, but--

- It can't take his heart, though!

- He made it through the first obstacle.

- You're inspiring everybody!

- Then rolled through the second.

- Bear hug, Zach. Bear hug, Zach.

- Come on. Hold on. - Come on. Bear hug.

Bear hug. Come on.

- Yes!

And the most unbelievable run continues.

- I've never seen anything like this.

- The wrestler gamely took on the third obstacle.

- Oh, my goodness.

- And though his run ended--

- Oh! [air horn blares]

- He left the audience in awe.

- That was so amazing.

- A standing ovation right there for Zach Gowen,

and that is well deserved.

- Zach Gowen's courageous run proved

that nothing is impossible.

And he lands at number 8

in our memorable moments countdown.

We're making great moments with these races tonight.

And up next, we're going to see the number 1 seed

on the right side of the bracket, Hans Hertz,

take on the 16, one of the two wildcards,

Sam Folsom.

And this is going to be a repeat from one of the closest

races from the previous round when these two friends

battled to the very end.

- This is going to be good. It's win and you're in.

- I am so lucky to be here.

Group stage didn't go exactly how I wanted it to.

- Folsom with the miss.

- It actually helped me racing one of the fastest ninjas.

- Hans Hertz.

- Whoa! Whoa!

- Because I ended up putting down the second fastest time

of the night, giving me that wildcard spot

in the round of 32.

But it just so happens it's going to be a rematch.

- Me and Sam, we know how to push each other.

We did it once before when we raced.

Ended up with the top two times.

I know he's hungry to move on and get redemption

from that first match, but I'm the 1 seed.

I'm not playing around. And I went fast before.

I can go fast again.

- Sam's wife, Isabella, leading his sideline group.

She'll race later.

She's one of the two women still in the competition.

This may be a 1 versus a 16 seed, but don't be fooled.

Both these guys are elite.

Unfortunately, one of them will be going home

at the end of this race.

[countdown clock beeping]

These two are good friends, but they've got to put that

to the side for this race.

- Just win, baby.

You got to go for it. - Oh.

- Look out. - What a save.

Hertz almost ended right there, but now he's behind.

And he's got to set out because Folsom pulling away.

Oh, that one move may end it.

- Wow.

But Matt, there's always an opportunity,

especially if there's a hang up.

But he has got to be flawless. - Oh!

- And look at that move.

- No sooner do I say it.

- Hertz is leaving nothing on this course.

- Will he run out of fuel?

- Sometimes adrenaline gives you

that extra strength, that extra power that you need.

- Folsom, and a miss.

And Folsom's cracking the door. And here comes Hertz.

- What'd I tell you? That adrenaline is kicking in.

The adrenaline is kicking in.

- Who will be the first to dismount?

- Folsom has the edge.

- Oh, my goodness!

Come on.

- Hertz must get a buzzer.

- Oh, man.

And Hertz is going to come from behind, Matt.

- Well, Folsom closing in.

- This might be the greatest comeback ever.

And now Hertz is the first on the Steering Wheel.

And now he's onto--

- Folsom gets the dismount! [buzzer blares]

- Come on!

- He wins the rematch.

Hans Hertz looked out of it,

then made a huge comeback to pull even.

It came down to a swing.

One swing.

- Remember last week, Hans was racing Evan White.

And on the final move, he took an extra swing

and it cost him.

Tonight, it was the same situation.

He made that extra swing again and Sam didn't.

That was the difference in this one.

- And it's another race decided by less than a second.

And Hans Hertz's season is over.

Sam Folsom knocks out the top seed

on this side of the bracket.

And he'll face the winner of our next race.

This features breakout rookie Evan Lavallee.

He's collected four buzzers already,

inspired by his mom, who's been battling two types of cancer.

Evan's the eighth seed and will be facing the 9, Amir Malik,

a three-time "Ninja" veteran who's back among the elites

after taking a few years away from Ninja.

- Traffic jam.

Oh, don't get peed on. - [chuckles]

- I've been fostering dogs for, I think, 10 years now.

Yeah, well, you don't need to pull so hard.

Come on, guys.

You know, it started with just me and my mom

when I was younger.

And we fostered over 50 dogs.

And we love it.

A lot of these high kill shelters

are, you know, putting dogs down

because they just don't have the space.

And if we have the space, it can help one dog,

then we're going to do it.

Let's go, Sesame.

Let's go.

I've adopted a dog. Her name is Sesame.

She's a beagle terrier mix.

[chuckles] Sesame beagle.

Get it? [chuckles]

Belly rubs. You're the best.

Aren't you the best?

To help a dog find its forever home, it's very rewarding.

Come on.

Every time I'm on the course, the longer I make it,

the more I bring awareness to fostering dogs

and just showing how important it is.

- [barks]

- Amir's mom and girlfriend are here from Vermont

to cheer him on in the finals.

- Let's go!

- And Evan's got a big group here from Massachusetts

who are on the sidelines, along with his mom.

- Evan Lavallee is a heavy metal guitarist.

He's a banger, and Amir is a baker.

Baker, banger, let's go.

- Their season on the line.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Shrinking Steps. They get smaller and smaller.

Throws your balance off a little bit,

but not a problem for them.

- Oh, big moves and these guys are linked.

Lavallee, real smooth on the Swinging Frames.

- Not a good start for Amir Malik.

Oh, he's catching back up.

- He linked that dismount.

- Nice, whoo! - And he's caught up.

- It's almost like he's mad.

- Oh, this is a good match-up.

Who can be smooth on the descent?

- All right, here we go.

- And Lavallee, first off.

- Matt, we got ourselves a race.

- Oh, these guys really pushing each other.

Who will blink?

- And you see, Amir was thinking about

going with a big move and decided to change it.

- And Lavallee has the edge.

He was first to complete Salmon Ladder.

Malik is flying.

- Ooh, look at that. Malik has got a rhythm.

- But so does Lavallee.

He keeps the edge as Malik keeps the pressure on him.

He's looking smooth here, Akbar.

- Shoulder flexibility. - It's even.

- Both 5'6". - Lavallee, 30 extra pounds.

- Oh, boy!

- And Malik has pulled ahead.

- Uh-oh, he's looking. Don't look at him.

Go!

- Lavallee links the dismount. [buzzer blares]

- Oh!

- Another spectacular race.

- Amir went peek-a-boo and lost the race.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Amir was ahead and in position for the dismount,

but he glanced over at Lavallee

and took an extra swing

while Evan was able to link the last move

and he gets the win in another nail-biting race.

- Unfortunately, Amir Malik is now eliminated,

but Evan Lavallee's inspirational rookie season

will continue.

He now moves on and will face Sam Folsom in the round of 16

in our season finale next week.

Coming up.

Three years ago, they were among Ninja's Fab Five

that climbed stage 4 to be our champion.

- You get one moment like this.

You have to seize the opportunity.

- Now RJ Roman and Josiah Pippel will race each other.

And one of them's going home.

That's next on "American Ninja Warrior."

- What a night it's been here in Vegas already.

These sudden death races have been electric.

And for our next race, we've got our number 2 seed

on the right of the bracket, Josiah Pippel,

taking on the 15, RJ Roman.

Josiah has been perfect this season with five buzzers

and is among the favorites to be our new champion.

RJ is also a top competitor,

but his road has been a lot rockier.

He only learned minutes ago that he earned one

of the wildcards after waiting weeks to find out his fate.

- Speed demon is not even a word that describes RJ.

- Oh, no! - Oh, oh!

- RJ's staying ahead.

Wow! Did he pull away there?

Made the final climb twice.

- Oh! RJ fell!

- Man, I had my back up against the wall,

as I have many times before.

- Matt, he is dialed in. Look at that.

Wow! [buzzer blares]

- RJ Roman might have just kept his season alive.

- I knew with that last race, it was do-or-die for me.

Put up a good time and had to watch about 15 people

try to knock it out.

- And after the longest wait of his Ninja career,

RJ Roman survives to the next round.

[buzzer blares]

- Luckily for me, no one was able to.

And now here I am.

- Such effortless speed and power for Josiah Pippel.

- In the round of 32, I'm matched up against

another one of the fastest ninjas in the world.

- Oh, my! - What the heck?

- In one move!

- Definitely put myself in this position,

but we're both no strangers to having the fastest times.

- Fastest time of the night. [buzzer blares]

- No offense to him.

[cheers and applause] Let's go! Yeah!

But tonight, Josiah is getting shredded.

- Well, RJ has support from family and friends in Florida,

including Flip Rodriguez.

- You know I'm not missing this, baby, let's go!

- And tough luck for Josiah.

He's the number 2 seed, but has to face RJ in his first race.

He's got his dad and friends on the sideline supporting him.

- These guys were two of the five ninjas

who climbed stage 4 three years ago.

They share a special bond,

but got to be ruthless right now.

[countdown clock beeping]

Now, RJ Roman did have a clean start

after losing those first two races in group 1.

- But Akbar, he had the lead in all three of his races

at one point or another.

- Oh! - And Josiah is down.

- What? Oh.

- RJ Roman has done it.

And Josiah Pippel,

an unbelievable perfect season

comes to an end.

- And RJ Roman's season takes another unpredictable turn.

He's got the win, but he's going to keep going

to get experience on these obstacles for future races.

- Let's go, baby!

Let's go, baby! Let's go! Let's go!

- Let's look at what happened to Josiah.

We've seen other top ninjas do this.

They're trying to go fast and make

that long throw from the back of the second frame,

but come up short.

- Single elimination. That's it for Josiah Pippel.

And RJ Roman gets going.

- Love you, Josiah. Great job.

Hey, still stage 4 bros.

- Oh, yeah. - Well, Matt,

it's not just about speed on this racing course.

It's about execution.

- And how quickly things can change.

Half an hour ago, RJ wasn't even sure

if he was still alive in the competition.

But he held on to get the wildcard,

and now he's in the final 16.

- Wow, what a roller coaster it's been for him.

- Just needs these final moves.

And he finishes it with a buzzer.

RJ is rocking out because he's moving on.

[cheers and applause]

- Let's go, little bro!

Atta boy!

- Buddy, you get here by the skin of your teeth,

the fastest third place time.

But what's it like going all or nothing,

do or die, in a race course like this

against someone like Josiah?

- For sure. Yeah, Josiah is amazing.

I knew I had to go all out.

I feel like I perform best under pressure.

That's going to be my advantage in this competition.

So we're just going to see how it goes from here.

- Survive and advance. You took care of business, RJ.

- Yes, sir. Thank you. [buzzer blares]

- And with Josiah and Hans Hertz out,

the top two seeds on this side of the bracket are gone.

Meanwhile, RJ is picking up momentum.

He'll face Matt D'Amico in the round of 16 next week.

- Oh, boy, that should be a good one right there.

- And we'll stay on the right side of the bracket

for our next match-up.

It's a 5 versus a 12 seed

as Kaden Lebsack takes on Luke Dillon.

And the 22-year-old from Florida

is having a great season.

He's already got four buzzers,

but he's facing one of the best in Kaden,

who's a two-time Last Ninja Standing.

And he always goes hard no matter the competition.

- All right, guys, the first five laps,

that's how we decide the winner.

You guys are going down.

Me and my friends can make a competition out of anything.

Oh, yeah! I'm coming for you.

That was a good fight. Good drive, good drive.

We are always trying to one-up each other.

Can you do the one-arm challenge?

- 20-pound dumbbell.

[upbeat music]

- We do a lot of one-arm pull-up training.

All right, let's hit some one-arm pull-ups.

- All right, let's do it. - Cool.

- You guys got that.

- Oh, nice.

- Oh!

- Yes, Matt. - Come on.

- Yeah! - Yeah.

- Good stuff.

- With social media, not a lot of people see one-arm pull-ups.

So it's fun to post them and see different reactions.

- What?

- Come on. Go. Go. [groaning and laughter]

- I love posting challenges and watching

my followers repost them and trying it their own way.

[laughter]

* *

I definitely hope that, you know,

posting challenges online will help inspire people

and help them get stronger

and more passionate about something.

- Go. Go, Max.

- Go. - Go.

- My friends definitely push me.

I've gotten so much better because of them.

Yes! [laughter]

- Sorry. - I win.

- Big move by Kaden. Nice.

- Oh, my, Lebsack gets the win.

[buzzer blares]

- It feels great to be in the finals.

This is my year to win it all.

- Kaden will have his family

and Colorado training partners on the sideline.

And Luke will have his girlfriend, Avery Glantz,

leading his cheering section.

Those two are runners up in our Couples Championship.

- Kaden is the favorite in this,

but most of the favorites have lost so far tonight.

- We know both of them can go.

[countdown clock beeping]

- So much pressure in these single elimination races.

One mistake could end your season.

They are matching each other step for step early.

- Oh! - Oh!

- Oh, and it was the pressure.

- That's two early falls in a row.

- The intensity of these races may be getting in their heads.

- And Kaden gets the win.

- Luke Dillon is in shock. He can't believe it.

His impressive season is over.

Kaden Lebsack is moving on.

But like RJ, he's going to get some practice

on these obstacles for future races.

- But let's look at what happened to Luke.

Like Josiah minutes ago,

he knew he had to take chances,

and on Swinging Frames tried a long swing

to that third frame,

but had to lean his head and turn sideways.

That made it difficult to make the grab.

High risk, high rewards.

But sometimes it can be a big-time failure.

- Yeah! Yeah!

- And Kaden not letting the pedal off the metal, Akbar.

- Well, I think he wants to have the fastest time.

He wants to make sure he lets all the other ninjas know,

like, I'm the one.

He's putting everybody on notice.

- And he's going to have it.

- Oh, yeah. It's his.

[buzzer blares] - Under a minute.

- Just to be clear, at this point,

there's no advantage to being the fastest,

other than maybe intimidating future opponents.

- Whoo!

That's my boy. That's my boy.

- Those one-arm pull-ups paid off on The Clacker.

It looked like one fluid motion.

He already had the win, but you can see him

looking at the clock before he even lands.

Kaden Lebsack just made a statement.

- So he's looking dangerous as he moves into the round of 16.

And we'll find out who his opponent will be next,

as Jackson Erdos faces Christian Hart.

Plus, for Taylor Greene, it's already been

a history-making season with big upsets.

- She did it.

- Can she create another magic moment

against top contender Isaiah Thomas?

It's just ahead on "Ninja's" National Finals.

- Moments ago, two more finalists

went head-to-head with their season on the line.

In a battle of the 3 versus the 14 seed,

teen electrician Noah Meunier

took on Notre Dame college student Austin Baron.

Meunier started with a streak of 108 obstacles

completed without falling.

And he added to that during the race.

He's completed every course

since he started Ninja in season 15.

Though he wasn't perfect...

- Oh, a little herky-jerk there on the Swinging Frames.

- He was still very efficient,

completing obstacle

after obstacle

after obstacle.

He kept the streak alive with a buzzer.

That's now 114 consecutive obstacles.

Baron also made it to the end, but his season is over.

- Good job.

- Meunier moves on to the round of 16.

Next week, he'll face the impressive rookie

from Wisconsin, Evan White.

And now it's a showdown between the 4 and 13 seeds,

two teenagers from the northeast.

This is a rematch from a race in the group stage,

with Jackson Erdos, who won that first race,

facing Christian Hart, the rookie from Connecticut.

- Oh, they're going for an early knockout.

- Erdos will be the favorite in this.

The former "Ninja Junior" champ took

a few years off from competition,

but he has come back strong.

- Season 14, my season ended

on the Piston Plunge on stage 2.

both: No!

- The next years after that,

I had a lot of changes in my life.

I couldn't really get away from the fact

that no matter what I did, I just felt sad.

I just couldn't get better. I didn't have any hope.

I didn't--I didn't think there was a way out.

- * How can you know what the end is *

* If you give up *

- Reaching out for help and actually getting the help

is what made me grow so much.

- * How can you know what the end is? *

* Just don't give up *

- I kind of developed into, like, Jackson 2.0.

- Well, Erdos is crushing this course.

- Man, he ain't lost a step.

- After being gone for so many years, the amount of gratitude

I had that I was able to get called back

and then get another buzzer to start my season off...

- Go, baby, go! [buzzer blares]

- I feel like it was kind of a redemption arc for me.

- Jackson Erdos.

- I could not be more grateful to be where I am today.

I'm ready to go.

- Jackson Erdos has re-established himself

as a threat to win it all.

But he's still a teenager, so of course,

his mom still gets nervous.

For his opponent, Christian Hart,

it's already been a dream season.

He's a super-fan who grew up going to competitions.

He's been on the sidelines for many of his Ninja heroes.

- Now he's in the final 32 in his rookie season.

He's an underdog in this matchup.

- But anything can happen on this six-obstacle race course.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Here we go.

- Nice start for Erdos. What great footwork.

- Applying instant and constant pressure on Jackson Erdos.

That's the only opportunity

that Christian Hart is going to have.

- Erdos, a 5-inch height advantage.

Hart keeping with him. - Ooh!

- Who can be more efficient here on Ring Jump?

- And like Jackson Erdos got his back

towards Christian so he can't see what he's doing.

Oh, but here comes Christian! You better pay attention.

- And look at Erdos. The long jump to keep the edge.

Who will be first up the Salmon Ladder?

- Oh, come on.

- Erdos in two moves.

- Nice. - Wow!

He's got a little breathing room here, Akbar.

- He does.

- Easy to miss a placement on the Floating Monkey Bars.

But not this time.

* *

And Erdos, no break.

Right into The Clacker.

- Christian Hart still hung up on the Floating Monkey Bars.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! - A little stumble from Erdos.

And you have to advance all the handles.

They must go 180 degrees.

- Good flexibility in the shoulder.

You feel a little bit of that in the labrum.

- Just needs to avoid a fall on the final move.

And he's got it.

Jackson Erdos closes it out.

Credit to Christian Hart.

But it's Erdos with another win.

He's been perfect this season,

and is undefeated on the race course.

- Yes!

- Christian Hart's going to finish the course.

His great rookie season comes to an end.

So Erdos moves on to the round of 16.

And next week, he'll face Kaden Lebsack.

- A "Ninja Junior" champion

facing a "Ninja Junior" runner-up?

Ooh, I want to see that one.

- But now we'll slide over to the other side of the bracket.

These are the ninjas who competed on course 1

in the group stage.

And we'll start with a race between

two of Ninja's brightest young stars.

- Guys, Taylor Greene has already hit two buzzers

in these finals and defeated some of our top men.

Now she'll have to face a strong favorite to win it all,

The Flyboy, Isaiah Thomas.

They met back on "Ninja Junior."

And these two teenagers are still friends.

- OK, a little patty-cake before they battle it out.

[dramatic music]

Come on!

- It's already been

a history-making season for Taylor.

She got a buzzer in qualifying,

then became just the fifth woman ever

to finish a ten-obstacle semifinals course.

- That's her!

- In the finals, she earned two victories

and hit two more buzzers.

- She's getting that buzzer.

Nice!

- She's the first woman ever to get four in one year.

She's one of only two women in the final 32.

But she's a 15 seed taking on the number 2

on this side of the bracket, Isaiah Thomas.

- They both had great seasons,

but only one will continue after this race.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Isaiah Thomas, 8-inch height advantage,

but carrying 20 extra pounds.

- Oh, oh, Taylor hesitated.

Took a little pause there before she went up.

- Smooth start. Extra swing.

- Taylor is going to run her race.

She's not going to try to outrun The Flyboy.

That strategy worked for her before.

- Isaiah, no big moves, Akbar.

Maybe a little more cautious pace from Isaiah.

Wow. [chuckles]

What a dismount that was.

- Isaiah Thomas just flying through the course.

- Love seeing Taylor Greene's fight.

Progressing on Ring Jump. - Taylor!

- One more buzzer, honey, come on.

- I got a lot of respect for Taylor Greene.

- Well, he is really moving.

This guy's so good, Akbar.

Just doing it and making it look effortless.

Here comes Taylor Greene.

- She's not going to catch Flyboy,

who gets his fourth straight win.

[buzzer blares]

He's looking dominant in these races.

Well, Taylor Greene won't be moving on,

but still has so much to be proud of.

- She hasn't fallen on a course all season,

finished every one that she's faced.

- Struggling here. - She's feeling it.

You got to give it everything you got--aww.

* *

- Couldn't finish the course this time,

but what an amazing season.

And she's still only 17 years old.

[cheers and applause]

Taylor Greene's a trailblazer, and so are the women

in our next memorable moments countdown.

Kacy Catanzaro was the first woman to finish

a ten-obstacle course. [buzzer blares]

But after she did it in season 6, years passed.

- Oh! [air horn blares]

- And no other woman could join her.

- No!

- But at the Cincinnati City finals in season 11,

Ohio native Michelle Warnky

put together the run of her life.

Her best performance ever!

- OK!

- She reached the ninth obstacle for the first time.

- And she's going for the dismount.

Got it! - Sha-na-na!

Sha-na-na! Oh, my gosh!

- She then took on the tenth, hoping to become

just the second woman ever to finish an extended course.

Final door!

- Woman power! Woman power!

- Oh, my, in her home state! - That's what I'm talking about!

The queen! The queen!

[buzzer blares]

[cheers and applause]

[cheers and applause] - This crowd is erupting.

- Matt, her-story. Her-story.

- That by itself would have been huge.

But a half hour later, Jesse "Flex" Labreck

followed her onto the course.

The former track athlete powered her way

to the back half and took on the final obstacles.

- It's about to happen.

It's about to go down in the Queen City.

- Yes! Got it!

[cheers and applause]

And she started the climb, hoping to become

the third member of this elite group.

Nothing can stop "Flex."

- All the girls at home, I hope you're watching.

- Jesse "Flex" Labreck,

the third woman ever to hit a buzzer in City Finals.

After five years with no women finishers

on a ten-obstacle course, we had two in the same night.

There are tears of joy

as the women do what's never been done before.

For inspiring the next generation of female stars

who now inspire us week after week,

"Flex" Labreck and Michelle Warnky

are number 7 on our countdown.

Coming up, the Behrends brothers

have been making some noise this year.

- Let's go! - Let's go!

- Let's go!

- Now Ben will try to keep his season alive

against Enzo DeFerrari Wilson,

while Jason will try to outrun Luke Beckstrand

on "ANW's" National Finals.

- Welcome back to "Ninja's" National Finals.

Tonight's do-or-die races have been exciting to watch.

And here's a special treat, presented by

the Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit Card,

bringing you unlimited access with this

behind-the-scenes look from our specialty drone,

which gives us angles and perspectives

the other 36 cameras can't get on our course,

which is longer than a football field.

This is the Taylor Greene-Isaiah Thomas

race from minutes ago,

as The Flyboy jumped out in front.

- Whoa!

- Later, Isaiah had a comfortable lead as

he worked his way across the final obstacle, The Clacker.

- Ooh, this is a great angle to see this dismount.

Wow! [buzzer blares]

- Here's a really close-up look at Taylor

as she battled through the Floating Monkey Bars.

- You go, girl!

- No!

Her first fall of the season,

but we can't wait to see her again next year.

Our next race may be the loudest of the night.

It's a showdown between the 6 and the 11 seeds.

These are two of the most energetic

athletes in the sport.

We've got The Hype Guy,

17-year-old Iowa high schooler Ben Behrends.

And he'll be facing Electric Enzo,

the 18-year-old from Florida, who got here with

one of the biggest comebacks of these finals.

Enzo closes the gap. He was the first off.

Oh, but he kicked the bar off the cradle.

What's he going to do now?

- At first, when the bar dropped, I thought I was done.

I was considering just dropping in the water.

- What? - This is almost impossible.

- Enzo is going to go for the long dismount.

He makes it. - If I can get through

the Floating Monkey Bars like that, I can do anything.

- At the wire! [buzzer blares]

- That Floating Monkey Bars save was just bananas.

And now I have to race him.

Enzo is electric on the course.

That means I'm going to have to move like lightning, too.

And probably faster.

- This kid trains so hard.

- Smallest male competitor here in Vegas.

Wow! What a save!

- I'm sure because of Ben's size,

people have underestimated him in "Ninja Warrior."

- Nice! Now go, Ben, go!

- But he's one of the most powerful

and strongest ninjas I know.

Ben, you better look out

because I am hyped for this race.

- Both these guys have big cheering sections.

Enzo's family and girlfriend, Emily Gardiner,

will be screaming for him.

- Love you guys.

- And Ben Behrends has his fanatic family

from Iowa on the sideline,

including little brother Jason, who races next.

- These are two high-energy ninjas.

They're salivating at the mouth.

[countdown clock beeping]

- And both these guys have motors that run hot.

- Oh, these ninjas are good. - Oh, my!

- Oh!

- Enzo, a 7-inch height advantage,

but he's carrying 25 more pounds.

- Wow.

He's got to use his height advantage on the back end.

- Ben Behrends, such a fighter.

- Nice! Ooh, now look at that.

Enzo showing a little bit of quickness.

- Who can get the dismount?

Oh, Behrends touches down first.

- Enzo better watch his feet here.

- Oh, and Behrends pulls ahead on the Salmon Ladder.

- This is where Enzo ran into trouble before.

Both of them need to avoid a mistake here.

When you think of that 25 pounds, Akbar,

what he loses in reach, he's making up for an efficiency.

My goodness!

- Oh, the Hype Guy's all the way hyped.

He's turnt up, Matt. - But here comes Enzo.

- Oh, nice. Oh, Behrends. - Behrends!

- Being 5'3", he doesn't have the reach.

- What a save! - He could get Enzo back in it.

- Can he get to the handle? - Oh!

And he's looking over.

[buzzer blares] - Yes!

- Let's go!

- Ben Behrends delivers!

[cheers and applause]

Enzo flips out.

- Wow!

He flipped out. I'm flipping out.

This whole place is flipping out.

- Let's go!

- [shouts] Let's go!

- They were even after the Salmon Ladder,

but after his previous trouble on Floating Monkey Bars,

Enzo took it slow,

and Ben Behrends just flew through it.

He got the lead and he got the win.

But at least Enzo ended his season in style.

- Ben Behrends, you know what we say.

Let's go! - Let's go, baby!

Yes, sir!

- Hit that buzzer one more time.

[buzzer blares] - Let's go!

Yeah!

- So Ben moves on to the round of 16.

And now it's his little brother Jason's turn.

He'll be facing Luke Beckstrand.

And these two have a lot in common.

[upbeat music]

- It's a battle of the younger brothers.

People underestimate Jason for his size,

but no way I'm doing that.

- Luke and I both have brothers who've been

crushing it over the years.

- Yeah!

- Now it's our turns.

It's the battle of the little brothers.

We're going to find out who comes up big.

- Well, Jason has amazed us all season long.

At 4'11", he became the shortest ever

to get up The Warped Wall.

And has two more buzzers since then.

He'll be trying to join his brother Ben in the round of 16.

On the other side, Luke Beckstrand

has been one of the fastest all season.

And he's the higher seed in this one.

He'll have his big Ninja family on the sidelines,

including brother, Kai, who runs next.

Plus his girlfriend, Payton Myler.

- You can never count out Jason Behrends.

[countdown clock beeping]

- Had a lot of people sleep on him because of his height.

But this kid plays big.

- Good start by Luke. Jason working to keep pace.

- Ooh, Luke is flying. It's like he's got wings.

- Can Behrends link it? Nope. All right.

Well, both these guys going fast,

but not selling out just yet.

- But look at the one-handed grab there

by Jason Behrends on the ring.

I see you.

- That's where Luke seems to use that height advantage.

A little easier on Ring Jump.

- Yeah, Matt.

Luke is looking like he is on another whole level right now.

- Well, both these guys have an advantage.

When they train, they train with

some of the fastest ninjas in the world in their brothers.

- And if either of these guys win two more races

and their brothers keep winning,

we'll have a sibling showdown in the quarterfinals.

- And look at this.

Luke Beckstrand right into The Clacker.

Akbar, he's crushing this.

He's smashing this course, I should say.

- Clack on.

- Jason Behrends is hung up.

- Oh! [air horn blares]

- So Luke's got the win.

Just needs a couple more moves to reach the buzzer.

- Nice! - Got it.

- Oh, boy. Look at that.

[buzzer blares]

- Let's go!

- He wins the battle of the little brothers.

But a history-making season for 4'11", Jason Behrends.

Luke Beckstrand moves on to the round of 16.

And his brother, Kai, will try to join him.

His runs next.

He'll be facing the last woman left

in the competition, Isabella Folsom,

when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.

- Our memorable moments countdown takes us

to Tacoma qualifying in season 11.

On that night, Sandy Zimmerman,

a 42-year-old mother of three from Spokane,

shocked the Ninja world.

In two previous seasons,

Zimmerman had never made it past the second obstacle.

But that night, the PE teacher found her groove.

- Whoo! all: Sandy! Sandy!

- This is the best run of her life.

- Look at this.

- Oh, my goodness. - Sandy Zimmerman has done it!

- I am in complete shock right now.

- With her family watching, Zimmerman had a chance

to make history as the oldest woman

and the first mom to get a buzzer.

all: Sandy! Sandy!

- Got the crowd here on their feet.

She's in her backyard, her home state.

Let's go! all: Sandy! Sandy! Sandy!

- Yes! [cheers and applause]

* *

- Yes! Yes! - Yes!

The first mother ever to hit a buzzer!

[buzzer blares]

Sandy Zimmerman has made history!

* *

- Mom!

The first mom! [buzzer blares]

The first mom!

- Sandy Zimmerman sent a powerful message that night,

and it's number 6 on our countdown.

Female competitors amaze us every season.

And our next race features one of the two women

who made it into the final 32, Isabella Folsom.

But she's racing the top seed on this side of the bracket,

Kai Beckstrand.

- Ooh, OK, flex on him.

- Well, Isabella has certainly flexed this year.

She became just the fourth woman to finish

a ten-obstacle course and got two wins in the group stage.

She's hoping to join her husband Sam in the round of 16.

- He knocked off a number one seed earlier.

Maybe Isabella can do it too.

- Well, Kai is going to be tough to beat.

He's been among the fastest all season.

And he's hoping to join his brother, Luke,

who just punched his ticket to the next round.

- And remember, these two faced each other in the group.

Isabella fell on the second obstacle,

so she's going to be looking for revenge.

[countdown clock beeping]

- The only thing for sure is someone's

going home after this race.

Boy, aggressive starts by both.

And I love it. - Well, look at that.

She's not backing down. OK, Isabella.

- She's been good since she debuted on "Ninja Warrior"

four years ago, but this has been

an outstanding season for her.

She and Taylor Greene,

the two women to make it to the final 32.

- Look at Kai go. I mean, this is--

I don't even know what to say.

- Well, Kai goes so fast. And, Akbar, he's so efficient.

And you can see, though,

we were talking to his dad, Brian,

about just how strong Kai is.

- He's put so much work and time into it.

I asked him, I said,

man, has he thought about even playing football?

Look at him. I mean, he looks like a safety.

He's like, no, he's just doing Ninja.

- And he's got a higher purpose too.

Being a firefighter. That's why he loves Ninja.

It gets him fit to save lives.

- Well, Matt, you know he can climb through

any burning building-- like, look at him.

- And he's got a shot at the fastest finish of the night.

[cheers and applause] And he gets it.

Another strong performance by Kai Beckstrand.

My goodness.

- I think that's what he was going for.

- Isabella Folsom still fighting

her way through the course.

She knows her season is over, but she wants to finish.

[cheering]

- Go, baby, go!

- Nice.

There you go.

Isabella. Bell's about to ring the bell.

Nice! - Oh, my.

- Go ahead, Bells. Ring that bell.

- Ending her season on a high note.

- And what a year it's been for Isabella.

After her buzzer in qualifying,

she became the fourth woman ever

to finish a ten-obstacle semifinals course,

then won two races in the finals.

Wow, a lot to be proud of.

- Incredible performances. Kai, congratulations.

- Thank you.

- But Isabella, we're saying goodbye.

But what are you taking away from your amazing season?

- Oh, I'm just grateful for the buzzers.

And honestly, just racing Kai, blows me away every time, so...

- And never giving up. Never giving up.

And you are a fighter. I love it. Love it.

Kai, I saw you glance at the clock.

That was the goal, wasn't it? - Yeah.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

Got to start off with a strong run.

I can improve from there.

- He's going to improve from there.

- All right. - Oh, my God.

Listen, I keep talking to you,

but I have a feeling we're going to be talking more, Kai.

- Oh, yeah. - Congratulations.

[buzzer blares] Awesome job, both of you.

- Good job.

- So Kai moves on.

And if he and his brother Luke win their next race,

they will face each other

with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

Next week in our season finale,

we finish up the round of 32

and end the night with a new champion.

- Oh! - No!

Someone's going to be crowned

the new king of Ninja and take home 250 grand.

- They're rushing the stage.

- It's a season finale like we've never seen before.

For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall, I'm Matt Iseman.

We'll see you next time on "American Ninja Warrior."