S14.E12: National Finals 3

[Lantern7]

Quote

The national finals conclude in Las Vegas as the remaining competitors move on to stages 3 and 4 for the chance to win $1 million and become the next American Ninja Warrior.

Update: Josiah Singleton wiped out on Stage 2 on his second attempt, but Nate Hansen made good on his Express Pass.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Update: Flip Rodriguez just dropped on Ultimate Cliffhanger. Also, the obstacle Chop It Up looks like a hospital visit waiting to happen.

[ams1001]

Go Nate! Austin looked more excited on the sidelines than he did!

Noooo, Flip! I was rooting for him!

8 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Also, the obstacle Chop It Up looks like a hospital visit waiting to happen.

I was thinking the same thing...

[Lantern7]

Jay Lewis cleared Stage 3.

UPDATE: Matt D’Amico fell short of the finish.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Lantern7

[ams1001]

Well, if I can't see Flip win it all, I might have to root for Josh Levin...

[Lantern7]

Just now, ams1001 said:

Well, if I can't see Flip win it all, I might have to root for Josh Levin...

Good news for you . . . Josh just cleared Stage 3.

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, Lantern7 said:

Good news for you . . . Josh just cleared Stage 3.

I know...I wrote that when he was just getting onto the eyeglasses and I waited until he finished to hit submit becaust I didn't want to jinx him. ;) 

[Lantern7]

RJ Roman clears Stage 3, marking the first time there will be more than two ninjas on Stage 4.

[SophiaD]

GO, RJ!!!!!!!!!!!  GO, JOSH!!!!!!!!!  

[Lantern7]

Josiah Pippel makes it four at the age of 16.

UPDATE: Nick Hansen fell, but he hung in there even when his short size worked against him.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Lantern7

[ams1001]

No Flip, no Josh...c'mon RJ!

Darn.

If it has to be one of the kids I'm leaning toward Jay. His size might be an advantage, too; he's lighter than everyone else.

Edited August 30, 2022 by ams1001

[Lantern7]

Nobody clears Stage 4, but Kaden gets $100K for getting the fastest time.

Everyone back to the ninja gyms! We’ll start again in late May/early June.

”Family Championship”? I’m thinking it’ll be a one-off.

[Quilt Fairy]

Was there always a 30 second time limit on the final climb?  Because none of these guys, good as they were, were particularly close.

[lambertman]

I,for one, have zero desire to watch a family episode. 

I mean, I WILL, but I probably won’t enjoy it. 

[Lovecat]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

UPDATE: Nick Hansen fell, but he hung in there even when his short size worked against him.

Nate.  Nick is the Alaskan.

[Conotocarious]

39 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Was there always a 30 second time limit on the final climb?  Because none of these guys, good as they were, were particularly close.

Yes. I guess viewers were extremely lucky to see both Geoff and Isaac make it up in the limit one after the other. That was obviously pretty special. 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Conotocarious

[South]

3 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Well, if I can't see Flip win it all, I might have to root for Josh Levin...

Not to be a geezer, but I was down for Josh, Flip, RJ or Nate.

[Vermicious Knid]

There was no reason they couldn't have shown all the runs in full tonight. Instead we're still getting WWWA and they joined one run halfway through. Grrr. Nobody wins the million but a 16 yo gets $100,000. Well at least he won't have to worry about paying for college. Anyone know what they get now for making it into Stage 3 and 4?

Dear God, the family championship is ninjas and their kids. Noooooo....

[Conotocarious]

5 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

There was no reason they couldn't have shown all the runs in full tonight. Instead we're still getting WWWA and they joined one run halfway through. Grrr. Nobody wins the million but a 16 yo gets $100,000. Well at least he won't have to worry about paying for college. Anyone know what they get now for making it into Stage 3 and 4?

Dear God, the family championship is ninjas and their kids. Noooooo....

He won it last year too and these were his first two years of competing. Pretty good salary for a 16 year old.

[Dottie D]

I tuned in last night, after not watching most of this season.  It was exciting, and now it makes sense (not that I agree) why they have so many teenagers competing.  I'm not sure if any of the contestants in their 30s would have made it up the rope in 30 seconds.

[Taeolas]

Looking at the Stage 3 obstacles, "Chop It Up" is probably going to need a retuning or be removed. It's a concussion waiting to happen; there has to be a better way to do it. 

The Rope unwinder seems like a good first obstacle. I don't think it knocked anyone out, but it's a different type of obstacle of sorts, and a good warmup. 

The Eyeglasses challenge seems to be solved after last year. So it will probably be retired as well to make room for a new obstacle. 

As for Stage 4, it was good that the ninjas were practicing it, but I suspect their training didn't account for doing it hours after running Stage 3. They all hit the wall about 50-60ft up and just couldn't get through it. Doing it in 37seconds was impressive. 

[ams1001]

10 hours ago, South said:

Not to be a geezer, but I was down for Josh, Flip, RJ or Nate.

Me, too. I just have a soft spot for Flip, I guess (given his history on the show and everything he's been through). Nothing against any of the teens (they seem like good kids and I hope they do well in life), but I didn't want one of the kids to win it.

[realdancemom]

44 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Me, too. I just have a soft spot for Flip, I guess (given his history on the show and everything he's been through). Nothing against any of the teens (they seem like good kids and I hope they do well in life), but I didn't want one of the kids to win it.

I agree.  I was rooting for Flip.  But if not him, then one of the other adults like Josh, RJ, or Nate.

[PBnJay]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I just have a soft spot for Flip

Same here. After Flip fell, I turned the channel. Figured I could come here to see if anyone won the big bucks. I didn't want to actually see a teen get the cash, didn't care which one it was.

[SophiaD]

This solidifies my transition into casual fan, who will record the runs, see how my favorites are doing, and then delete them.  Also, how they are milking the "moms with cancer" storyline is nibbling at the border of exploitation.  

Happy for the kids, but the fact that the top three finishers were all teens means that this is going to become a "teen show."  

[TimothyQ]

Who the heck was Matt D’Amico? Have they shown him at all this season? How did someone get to stage 3 after being mostly ignored by the show?

[Conotocarious]

5 hours ago, Taeolas said:

Looking at the Stage 3 obstacles, "Chop It Up" is probably going to need a retuning or be removed. It's a concussion waiting to happen; there has to be a better way to do it. 

The Rope unwinder seems like a good first obstacle. I don't think it knocked anyone out, but it's a different type of obstacle of sorts, and a good warmup. 

The Eyeglasses challenge seems to be solved after last year. So it will probably be retired as well to make room for a new obstacle. 

As for Stage 4, it was good that the ninjas were practicing it, but I suspect their training didn't account for doing it hours after running Stage 3. They all hit the wall about 50-60ft up and just couldn't get through it. Doing it in 37seconds was impressive. 

Except they didn’t run it right after stage 3. According to Flip, they ran it the next night and he thought it was a disadvantage because people would be sore.

[Taeolas]

14 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

Except they didn’t run it right after stage 3. According to Flip, they ran it the next night and he thought it was a disadvantage because people would be sore.

Good to know. 

Running it the next night probably makes sense, especially from a production point of view. Sure the ninjas might tighten up/be sore from Stage 3, but it lets everyone get a days rest and more or less start at the same level of preparedness. And for production it lets them make sure they film the climb at night, and have time to do all the interviews and setup. 

[Me from ME]

I always liked Josh Levin and was glad to see him back and getting all the way to stage 4. I was surprised he couldn't climb the rope faster given his relatively young age, experience, technique and conditioning. Once he finished his climb with the slowest time I thought that Jay might succeed and if not, be the last Ninja standing. That continuous rope that he trained on in CT and his weight and strength I thought he would succeed. I was impressed with the elegance with which Jay, Josiah and Josh ran the course on stage 3.  And, given his hard life I am always impressed that RJ does so well. In my day the rockers I knew were up all night, slept all day and certainly didn't have healthy lifestyles. As a matter of fact they would comment on their pallor and lack of muscle tone.

[ketchuplover]

All they needed was Lee Marvin shooting the rope 😁

[Necromancer]

In 2018, four cable shows ended.  My television viewing was then reduced to two network shows and one cable show.  I began watching American Ninja Warrior seriously in 2013.  The show was a pure athletic event with athletes testing themselves to successfully complete obstacles and then climbing the warped wall.  Every year I looked forward to watching the wolf  pack, Ryan Stratis, James McGrath, Kevin Bull, Travis Rosen, Sam Sahn, Michelle Warnky, Jesse Graf, Jamie Rahn, Brent Steffenson, Adam Rayl, Ethan Swann, Nick Hansen, Jesse Lebreck, Joe Moravsky, Loren, Ball, Flip Rodriguez, Grant McCarthy, Sean Bryan, David Campbell, Isaac Caldiero, Brian Arnold, and many others. 

Over the past few years the show has changed.  Contestants with health challenges or contestants hoping  to bring awareness to diseases and afflictions were now running the course.  Contestants with gimmicks such as an insect expert, a cake maker, a pizza maker, 3 piece suit guy, and others I call clowns are also competing. Then NBC lowered the age requirement allowing teens to compete.

I stopped watching American Ninja Warriors last year and now I go to YouTube and enter the names of Ninja Warriors and watch their runs there.  NBC has  ruined  what was once a great show.

[realdancemom]

I know the teens work hard and they seem like good kids.  I just don't find myself rooting for them.

[Taeolas]

Honestly, I don't mind the teen Ninjas competing and doing well. To some extent I'd expect that, since they have the youthful energy and flexibility behind them. 

They are probably getting a bit too much focus in general, but that's just due to a perfect storm of circumstances. We've gotten a set of strong ninjas coming from the ANWJr circuit, we have the age limit being lowered, and we have COVID restrictions shaking up the format in general.

But that said, we NEED these teens/twenty-somes showing up and doing well just to keep the sport going. A lot of the classic ninjas are getting older, and while it shows that they can still compete, they're obviously showing their ages in various ways. 

Basically, we have a changing of the guard happening. And while it's a bit sad to see some of our old favorites starting to fade away, it's time to start picking new favorites from the new cohort. (Jay Lache Lewis is one that seems to be a strong rising star of the new generation). 

It'll probably be another season or two for this surge to fade and we get back to a more 'normal' mix of old and new ninjas. 

[enoughcats]

8 hours ago, realdancemom said:

I know the teens work hard and they seem like good kids.

I'd like the teens a whole lot more if they were facing obstacles for the first time.  They have their own personal climbing walls and fish ladders.  That takes it way the heck away from Par cour and more like a variation on rings and horses and parallel bars in track and field.

We may never again get to see the delight of Jessee Graf up in the air, looking over at a clear plexiglass cube and deciding to just reach over with her arm and leg to get there (rather than to hazard a jump) and she did it positively and memorably. 

8 hours ago, realdancemom said:

I just don't find myself rooting for them.

I'll cheer for the Eskimo and his cobbled together set of jumps, swings, etc. in his world without trees.  And by now my favorite Lance Pinkus may be on a downward slide, but he made do with what obstacles  he could create on his farm, while still doing his farm work and caring for his wife and children. 

The way things are going, my fingers ache for the light, skinny slightly muscular bodies hanging from narrow shelves.  but I'll cheer for the old timers. 

[VartanFan]

Did you guys know that Josh Levin went to HARVARD!?!?

I was left just sort of meh at the finale.  I wish for health for everyone but the moms….oh, the moms.  As my kids start organized sports, it has given me a reminder of the type of mom I don’t want to be.  Supportive, yes, but completely dramatic?  No.  

I’d also be totally fine never seeing/hearing another “LET”S GOOOOO!” From another competitor or sideline persona again.  

[TimothyQ]

21 minutes ago, VartanFan said:

I’d also be totally fine never seeing/hearing another “LET”S GOOOOO!” From another competitor or sideline persona again.  

Or that one kid that yells “I’m built different”. I’m like, dude, you’re built lean and athletic, just everybody else. Get over yourself. Plus learn some grammar.

Edited September 1, 2022 by TimothyQ

[PBnJay]

On 8/30/2022 at 9:45 PM, Necromancer said:

In 2018, four cable shows ended.  My television viewing was then reduced to two network shows and one cable show.  I began watching American Ninja Warrior seriously in 2013.  The show was a pure athletic event with athletes testing themselves to successfully complete obstacles and then climbing the warped wall.  Every year I looked forward to watching the wolf  pack, Ryan Stratis, James McGrath, Kevin Bull, Travis Rosen, Sam Sahn, Michelle Warnky, Jesse Graf, Jamie Rahn, Brent Steffenson, Adam Rayl, Ethan Swann, Nick Hansen, Jesse Lebreck, Joe Moravsky, Loren Ball, Flip Rodriguez, Grant McCarthy, Sean Bryan, David Campbell, Isaac Caldiero, Brian Arnold, and many others. 

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I remember every one those guys, they were why I watched every week, and why I can only stand a few minutes of this show now.

I did get a kick out of this week, Matt (or someone) saying only two ninjas have won in the past, but no names mentioned. LOL!

[realdancemom]

44 minutes ago, PBnJay said:

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I remember every one those guys, they were why I watched every week, and why I can only stand a few minutes of this show now.

I did get a kick out of this week, Matt (or someone) saying only two ninjas have won in the past, but no names mentioned. LOL!

And they showed somebody holding a trophy but no face.  LOL!!

[Lovecat]

On 9/1/2022 at 8:19 AM, VartanFan said:

I’d also be totally fine never seeing/hearing another “LET”S GOOOOO!” From another competitor or sideline persona again.  

Right?!??  What IS that, and why does EVERYONE yell it?  It sets my teeth on edge.

[mlp]

4 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Right?!??  What IS that, and why does EVERYONE yell it?  It sets my teeth on edge.

I don't get it either.  They just finished a run and they're yelling "Let's go."  It makes no sense AND it's very annoying.  This show doesn't need any more annoyances.

[Good Queen Jane]

Perhaps it is a euphemism, as in "Let's Go Brandon."

[realdancemom]

10 minutes ago, mlp said:

I don't get it either.  They just finished a run and they're yelling "Let's go."  It makes no sense AND it's very annoying.  This show doesn't need any more annoyances.

I remember hearing "Let's go." I guess I never paid attention and noticed that they say it after a run.  That doesn't make sense.  It seems more logical to say it before a run so that you're rooting for the contestant to do well.