S11.E13: Las Vegas National Finals Night 1

[Lantern7]

It's all been leading to this!

Quote

The season's top competitors attempt to conquer all four stages of the world's toughest obstacle course, beginning with stage one, which features eight grueling obstacles, including the new Roulette Row and Diving Boards.

That's basically a run-on sentence isn't it?

[enoughcats]

20 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

eight grueling obstacles,

Your adjective fits, but I am in a Monday attitude and I thought of the food definition of gruel

which would either have them landing in gruel or swimming through it.

Quote

Gruel is a truly unpleasant food — weak and runny, consisting of oatmeal or cornmeal boiled in milk or water. It's the kind of "slop" prisoners and other inmates of institutions were historically forced to eat.

[Lantern7]

@enoughcats . . .  hey, I just copied it from my cable's schedule, and that's what it said. 🤷‍♂️

ETA:  Without Warnky, Michelle's season ends. Feh, I think it's funny. The pun, I mean.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Lantern7

[Hellga]

Seriously, rather than show that silly wrestling intro show fewer WWWAs!  At least the North Pole piece was somewhat interesting, though it could have been shortened by half.

I am bummed Kevin Bull fell again on the last obstacle.  I like him.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Hellga

[ClareWalks]

Damn, this Danell Leyva guy was SPECTACULAR right up until that fall. Amazing body contol.

[Hellga]

2 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Damn, this Danell Leyva guy was SPECTACULAR right up until that fall. Amazing body contol.

Quite possibly the most impressive save I have ever seen on ANW. 

[ClareWalks]

ADAM RAYL. Good effing GAWD. That was...sexy.

[Lantern7]

Travis Rosen clears Stage One and gets to keep his beard. No disrespect to Brent Sims, but I'm betting Ryan's beard gives fans more Stratisfaction.

I like that the tires have been redesigned to eliminate shortcuts. Also, it helps if you're really light, because the big wheel barely moves for you.

ETA: Fun with online calculators . . .  minus-40 degrees Celsius translates to . . .  minus-40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Lantern7

[Hellga]

SRSLY, how LONG is that Philips Scott's sob non-story is going to last?  I tried to fast-forward through it and still failed by quite a while.  That alone makes me wish he would fall so I wouldn't have to suffer through yet another replay of the same thing on stage 2.

PS  And he fell on the jumping spider. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Hellga

[Lantern7]

DOWN GOES NAJEE! DOWN GOES THE PHOENIX!!!! Holy shit, that was not supposed to happen.

8 minutes ago, Hellga said:

SRSLY, how LONG is that Philips Scott's sob non-story is going to last?  I tried to fast-forward through it and still failed by quite a while.  That alone makes me wish he would fall so I wouldn't have to suffer through yet another replay of the same thing on stage 2.

PS  And he fell on the jumping spider. 

The guy can be an inspiration to others. Making it to Vegas was a feat in of itself, and I'm guessing ANW didn't want to WWWA him. I'm hoping he comes back.

[Hellga]

I wouldn't mind if they mentioned his story, but they spent what felt like an entire full run's worth rehashing something we have just seen last week!  What a waste of time.  

Pity Najee fell, but I am happy for Chris DiGangi.  Chris must have been the prototype for Luke from Lily's Garden game! 

Now I hope Flex LaBreck continues their tradition of falling on the same obstacle and completes the stage 1 too!  I worry about her timing out more than I worry about her falling on any of the actual obstacles. 

[Hellga]

C'mon, they waste time on some non-stories and then WWWA finishers like Roman and Polizzi.   Face, meet palm.

[DEL901]

2 minutes ago, Hellga said:

C'mon, they waste time on some non-stories and then WWWA finishers like Roman and Polizzi.   Face, meet palm.

Do they ever show Polizzi’s runs anymore.   Wonder who he pissed off. 

[Hellga]

Run, Jesse, run!  I so worried about her fizzing out in the last second again - and unfortunately, she did.  So close. 😞  

Nice hair, though.  I wonder if that's her natural color or she colored it.  I think it was slightly different shade in her first season. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Hellga

[Lantern7]

Shit. Flex had it. If she hadn't kept swinging on the second obstacle, she would've had more time and energy for the cargo net.

Will Flip flop again?

[Hellga]

So Flip's re-run was not immediately after his first, and not at the very end... though of course it's hard to say whether they show runs in the same order on TV as they happened in real time...   I hope he completes the stage, otherwise it would be such a waste of the safety pass!

[ClareWalks]

7 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Do they ever show Polizzi’s runs anymore.   Wonder who he pissed off. 

*raises hand* Can't stand the dude.

I like Phillip Scott's story but they've definitely covered it a lot. 

[Necromancer]

22 minutes ago, Hellga said:

SRSLY, how LONG is that Philips Scott's sob non-story is going to last?  I tried to fast-forward through it and still failed by quite a while.  That alone makes me wish he would fall so I wouldn't have to suffer through yet another replay of the same thing on stage 2.

PS  And he fell on the jumping spider. 

They devoted 8 minutes to that guy last week.  I have never watched the back stories choosing instead to change the channel.  ANW should have shown  the complete runs of Polizzi, Swanson, and DiGangi.  They deserved full coverage because they made it to the top and hit the buzzer..

[Lantern7]

Travis Rosen goes out on a wet note.  At least he made it that far. Jon Stewart didn't even clear the Regional Qualifiers in his swan song.

4 minutes ago, Necromancer said:

They devoted 8 minutes to that guy last week.  I have never watched the back stories choosing instead to change the channel.  ANW should have shown  the complete runs of Polizzi, Swanson, and DiGangi.  They deserved full coverage because they made it to the top and hit the buzzer..

One, I still think it was a story worth retelling. Two, ANW can be inconsistent with which ninjas get WWWA. IIRC, didn't Sean Bryan's Stage One run get that treatment last season? And he wound up making Stage Three.

Flip gets redeemed on his do-over. Good for him.

[Hellga]

Sorry to see Travis Rosen go out with a fall.  

Maybe Flip should have rested his left leg a bit more if it is hurting?  Not sure a couple hours would have made a difference, though.   At least he made it, and Stage 2 is mostly arms...   

[Hellga]

Daniel Gil is still on top. Let's see if his fastest time survives the second set of stage 1 attempts next week.

I guess it will be two episodes worth of Stage 1 and then maybe one episode of Stage 2 and one for Stages 3 and 4?   If 12 made it through Stage 1 tonight, we should have about as many next week, I would have thought they would have split it about evenly when cutting episodes for TV...  25 or so attempts on Stage 2 is a lot to cover but hopefully that would mean no WWWAs...

[ams1001]

The stream of my consciousness...(ish...)

• I love Kevin Bull's little superfan on the sidelines. 🙂
• Hope Flip has some dry shoes for his second chance...I was a little worried about him while he was in the water. Seemed to be taking a while getting out.
• You "gotta" ring that bell for the wrestling guy, Akbar? The one they put there just for that purpose? You don't say. (Primo the hype man can go away, please.)
• Just waiting to see someone hurt themselves goofing around at the starting line.
• Sorry (not really), I laughed when the first Tower of Power fell on the diving board.
• Does Brett Sims' wife still do this? I won't be upset if he has to shave; I think he looks better without the beard. That spin thing is brutal. Even the ones who managed to land on the platform so far have all been thrown to the right side. (Nice backflip from Brett, though. Can't wait to see what Mustache Ninja decides to do with his facial hair.) 
• Damn, Barclay Stockett. That was a hell of a run up to the wall.
• I see Maggie Thorne there...wonder how she's doing...
• How many times do I have to watch Travis Rosen break his ankle?!?!
• Ninja Phil reminds me of Dr. Reid on Criminal Minds. Except Dr. Reid wouldn't get past the first obstacle.
• Waiting for someone to fall between the Double Dipper landing pad and the Jumping Spider approach. Phil almost did it.
• Aw, Najee! (Great flip, though. Never quite sure if some of these flips are on purpose or just momentum combined with gymnastics experience.)
• Watching Flex watching Chris DiGangi was making me nervous...
• I love that Emeline still comes to see Flex run.
• Noooo! Flex! Now I wanna see Chris win the million and then they can have a fabulous ninja wedding.
• Lorin Ball gets WWWA'd a lot, too...
• Seriously! How many times?!?!?!
• They keep repeating that this "could be" Travis's last run...as if they're expecting him to fall... (...and he did.. but at least he didn't break anything).
• I just noticed that the double dipper landing pad is angled at the front, when it was square last year, and looks like it's softer, too. I wonder if they changed it because of Travis's injury.
• Drew Dreschel isn't even running...why is he shirtless? And is he wearing goggles on his head?
• Not fond of the attitude that "playing through injury" is something to be respected. Sometimes it's just dumb. Hope Flip's leg is okay. Glad his safety pass wasn't wasted.
• Uh...something about Daniel Gill...I dunno...
• Oh well, good night.

Edited August 27, 2019 by ams1001

[enoughcats]

18 minutes ago, Hellga said:

Maybe Flip should have rested his left leg a bit more if it is hurting? 

Didn't we hear Flip say "I'm hurt" when his head came out of the water when he slipped?  (He could have said it later and they moved it in the editing.)  The time between his runs had to be long enough for a medical exam and ?tape on his left leg.  

8 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

(Great flip, though. Never quite sure if some of these flips are on purpose or just momentum combined with gymnastics experience.)

Najee had another flip a couple of years ago, and he was asked was it just for style.  Then he said it was the standard gymnastic way of slowing down momentum for control.  

Bradley Stockard's not getting up the wall broke my heart for her.  Najee and Flex are two more that I wish had had complete successful runs. 

[ams1001]

13 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Didn't we hear Flip say "I'm hurt" when his head came out of the water when he slipped?  (He could have said it later and they moved it in the editing.)  The time between his runs had to be long enough for a medical exam and ?tape on his left leg.  

I thought he said it after he got out. I don't recall (though that doesn't mean much) him saying anything in the water. He almost looked a little dazed, though (when he was holding onto the base of the last board); I was afraid he might have hit his head but then after they showed the fall again it didn't look like it, so then I thought maybe he was just testing his leg to see how bad it hurt before trying to get out of the pool. I was all worried for him while Matt and Akbar just kept talking and no one on the sidelines looked particularly concerned.

Edited August 27, 2019 by ams1001

[EllenB]

That wrestler guy with his highly annoying sidekick can please get off my screen and never return.

I'm sorry that Barclay Stockett's mother has cancer, but boo hiss to the whole family for letting her be filmed in the hospital.  I absolutely effing hate that.

[Fukui San]

I can't tell what the ninjas on the 2nd obstacle who lost momentum were doing differently than the ones who powered through it. It was really crucial in most cases.

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Does Brett Sims' wife still do this?

I looked it up. She competed but missed out on qualifying for Vegas. Also, Bret designed an obstacle a few seasons back in the design contest. I did not know that.

The first round course has remained largely the same for several seasons it seems. However, I don't mind since the fails are spread pretty evenly throughout the course. I think we saw fails everywhere but the first obstacle, and I like the percentage of people who passed, though I wish Flex and a few others had made it.

3 hours ago, Hellga said:

Quite possibly the most impressive save I have ever seen on ANW. 

That was an all-timer, that's for sure. Another one that comes to mind is David Campbell's from 10 years ago in Japan. Seeing these impromptu saves is the closest thing we get to how acrobatic superheroes would look in real life, I think.

[Hellga]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Drew Dreschel isn't even running...why is he shirtless? And is he wearing goggles on his head?

Because in reality he was to run stage 1 and (if successful) stage 2 that night?   That's the only explanation I can think of.

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I looked it up. She competed but missed out on qualifying for Vegas. Also, Bret designed an obstacle a few seasons back in the design contest. I did not know that.

Thanks. I vaguely remember seeing her run recently but I honestly didn't remember if it was from this season. I didn't know Brett designed an obstacle, either.

8 hours ago, Hellga said:

Because in reality he was to run stage 1 and (if successful) stage 2 that night?   That's the only explanation I can think of.

Maybe. But still, why no ever-changing shirt to match the current runner like everyone else?

[Mierin]

12 hours ago, Hellga said:

Quite possibly the most impressive save I have ever seen on ANW. 

It was!  I was super impressed (and then disappointed for him when he fell a few moments later).

[enoughcats]

11 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I don't mind since the fails are spread pretty evenly throughout the course. I think we saw fails everywhere but the first obstacle

Exactly.

[healthnut]

So BUMMED for Flex, geez three years in a row at the same obstacle. I was happy for Digangi and for once, he didn’t get WWWA’ed. 

My heart also broke for Barclay. Hasn’t she gotten up that warp wall before in a previous Vegas appearance?

What was up with Najee? Says he’s been spaced out all year...strange. His fall was the biggest shock of the night for me. 

So clearly we aren’t having more than one woman finish Stage 1 this year, I don’t believe they would have two or more in one night and zero the first night. Best bet is definitely Jessie Graf, but maybe Alyssa can pull it off again, too. I’ll be really disappointed if we don’t get at least one and then they’ll probably figure out some way to give women a safety pass, too, just to try to get someone on Stage 2. 

[Hellga]

2 hours ago, healthnut said:

So BUMMED for Flex, geez three years in a row at the same obstacle.

I think when she sees the timer she starts panicking and makes mistakes.  She was doing so well this year up to that point... 

[little black cloud]

2 hours ago, healthnut said:

What was up with Najee? Says he’s been spaced out all year...strange. His fall was the biggest shock of the night for me. 

I wonder, too. I also wonder what happened to his girlfriend — always liked seeing her on the sidelines, but she hasn’t been around this season. 

[Chaos Theory]

As much as I look forward to Vegas I always ultimately find it disappointing.  Flex, Barclay and Warnky are all quickly Eliminated

I was hoping at least one of these women would complete stage 1.  

I do like the new course though.  

If we don’t get at least one woman past stage 1 I am probably gonna skip the rest.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[eel21788]

19 hours ago, Hellga said:

Seriously, rather than show that silly wrestling intro show fewer WWWAs!  

I felt the same way about The Battle of the Beards. We could have seen at least three WWWA runs in their entireties if they hadn't wasted so much time on that.

17 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Didn't we hear Flip say "I'm hurt" when his head came out of the water when he slipped?  (He could have said it later and they moved it in the editing.)  The time between his runs had to be long enough for a medical exam and ?tape on his left leg.  

I couldn't tell if he said,, "I'm hurt," or "That hurt."

Edited August 27, 2019 by eel21788

[eel21788]

15 hours ago, Fukui San said:

The first round course has remained largely the same for several seasons it seems. However, I don't mind since the fails are spread pretty evenly throughout the course. 

I didn't like it. They need to get rid of the Jumping Spider and the Warped Wall in Stage I and replace them with something new. They have now been practiced so much that the only people who couldn't do them were only two people who had never experienced them in competition before. Keeping the course fresh is what keeps it interesting and challenging.

[AZChristian]

11 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

I felt the same way about The Battle of the Beards. We could have seen at least three WWWA runs in their entireties if they hadn't wasted so much time one that.

I couldn't tell if he said,, "I'm hurt," or "That hurt."

"That one hurt."

[Rosenrot]

Why is Drew shirtless and wearing ridiculous swimming goggles? (Probably for the reason Hellga mentioned, but let me have my Drew hating moment.) And why was the Kid wearing some ninja mouth cover thingy? 

Hey, Brett Sims was shown! ... aaaand he's gone. LOL @ the new beard, tho. I love peculiar beards. 

NAJEE! 😭 Why must you do this to me, Najee? (At times it sounded like the crowd was chanting "nazi, nazi" and I'm awful, but it was too funny.) Other bummers too - Kevin Bull falling, Barclay falling, The Godfather falling, Labreck falling, Travis Rosen falling, Daniel Gil NOT falling AND having the fastest time. Blergh.

Can't believe it's already Vegas day 1. The season always goes so effing quickly. 

20 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

They need to get rid of the Jumping Spider and the Warped Wall in Stage I and replace them with something new. They have now been practiced so much that the only people who couldn't do them were only two people who had never experienced them in competition before.

I agree with your main point, but Barclay Stockett is quite experienced in the ninja competition and she couldn't go through the Warped Wall this time (whatever the reason).

Edited August 27, 2019 by Rosenrot

[Me from ME]

I'm convinced they show the runs out of order. When Michelle ran "first" I knew that she wouldn't make it through.

I also think that Drew had completed stage one and was either about to do a stage two obstacle or had just finished one which required goggles.

[EllenB]

4 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

As much as I look forward to Vegas I always ultimately find it disappointing.  Flex, Barclay and Warnky are all quickly Eliminated

I was hoping at least one of these women would complete stage 1.  

I do like the new course though.  

If we don’t get at least one woman past stage 1 I am probably gonna skip the rest.

Flex was hardly "quickly eliminated."

[Fukui San]

6 minutes ago, Me from ME said:

I'm convinced they show the runs out of order. When Michelle ran "first" I knew that she wouldn't make it through.

Yes, filming at night lets them shuffle the order so that they can fit it into their storytelling format: Early losses and human interest stories, someone almost makes it, a breakthrough, the big names go for it with wins and losses, and a triumphant run at the end of every episode. Even if the first 60 people fail and the last 20 make it, they'll still arrange it to fit their format and put the most "feel-good" run at the end.

Oddly, I think this a holdover from the very beginning of Ninja Warrior from the G4 days. They took the existing tournaments and chopped them up into 30 minute episodes with that general format. Loss, breakthrough, end triumph, credits. They trained the US audience to expect it, maybe. The Japanese version is one long special and not a weekly series, so they don't have to conform to that format. They stack the order of competitors so that the last runners of the round are the best ones with the best chance of success, but sometimes the big names fail. We never have had Round 1 end with a heartwrenching loss (at least as a TV viewer), but the Japanese version often has Round 1 end on a tragic note. But Round 2 starts after the ensuing commercial break, not next week.

Both formats are so entrenched by now that's just how it's going to be, unless the Japanese version ever goes to the weekly ongoing series format. I don't think that's ever going to happen, though. The ratings don't warrant it there the last time I checked.

[eel21788]

4 hours ago, Rosenrot said:

I agree with your main point, but Barclay Stockett is quite experienced in the ninja competition and she couldn't go through the Warped Wall this time (whatever the reason).

She had never done it in Stage I before with the shorter run-up.

[VartanFan]

I just love Travis Rosen.  

Daniel Gil - barf.

Did they seriously see Maggi Thorpe totally lose her marbles on that balance obstacle and go ‘yup, this is the one we’ll make EVERYONE do’?  Crazy.  Also, with regard to Thorpe - I read about her and how she couldn’t remember anything and had tbi....then why the F is she at Vegas with her booty shorts and pink shit.  Take care of yourself, women.  Sheesh.  

Oh, Flex - - do a couple extra swings and you’d be nearly at the top!!!

[Dewey Decimate]

On 8/26/2019 at 10:03 PM, ams1001 said:

The stream of my consciousness...(ish...)

• Noooo! Flex! Now I wanna see Chris win the million and then they can have a fabulous ninja wedding.
• Not fond of the attitude that "playing through injury" is something to be respected. Sometimes it's just dumb. Hope Flip's leg is okay. Glad his safety pass wasn't wasted.

There was another ninja wedding a while back and for some reason the pics of everyone doing handstands and stuff seemed kinda cheesy, but for Flex and Chris - I hope he does win and they celebrate to the nines. They seem like a legit great couple.

ITA - really scowled at that "I admire someone who FIGHTS through the PAIN!" comment. Seems extremely foolish and BOO-RAH man's-club, especially when it's not your ass (and livelihood) on the line, Akbar. [Though I'll give him a pass just because they've repeatedly shown that clip of him getting pecked by a penguin, which never ceases to crack me up.]

While I do like both Matt and Akbar in general, I'm starting to get annoyed at Matt's perpetually smiling reaction to every fall, no matter how painful-looking. Everything's not funny, dude!

[Nonja]

Travis Rosen retiring truly bums me out. Terribly. He was always so, so great.

So sad for Jesse, she was so close! It must be weird for Chris to outshine her for once, but I think they can handle it.

Im so glad Flip made it the second time. And Adam Rayl...damn. He is back bigtime. 

I dont give a crap about beards or wrestlers, and I usually dont care for the "inspired by a sick kid" stories at this point in the game, but that Kevin Bull girl was beyond charming. 

Looking forward to next week with Nick Hanson and Joe Moravsky.

[Nonja]

5 hours ago, VartanFan said:

Did they seriously see Maggi Thorpe totally lose her marbles on that balance obstacle and go ‘yup, this is the one we’ll make EVERYONE do’?  Crazy.

I know, like there haven't been enough injuries already this year. Are they TRYING to hurt these people...

[questionfear]

6 hours ago, Nonja said:

I know, like there haven't been enough injuries already this year. Are they TRYING to hurt these people...

Cthulu demands more blood from ANW or he will rise out of Mount Midoriyama and destroy Las Vegas.

[healthnut]

13 hours ago, Fukui San said:

Yes, filming at night lets them shuffle the order so that they can fit it into their storytelling format: Early losses and human interest stories, someone almost makes it, a breakthrough, the big names go for it with wins and losses, and a triumphant run at the end of every episode. Even if the first 60 people fail and the last 20 make it, they'll still arrange it to fit their format and put the most "feel-good" run at the end.

Oddly, I think this a holdover from the very beginning of Ninja Warrior from the G4 days. They took the existing tournaments and chopped them up into 30 minute episodes with that general format. Loss, breakthrough, end triumph, credits. They trained the US audience to expect it, maybe. The Japanese version is one long special and not a weekly series, so they don't have to conform to that format. They stack the order of competitors so that the last runners of the round are the best ones with the best chance of success, but sometimes the big names fail. We never have had Round 1 end with a heartwrenching loss (at least as a TV viewer), but the Japanese version often has Round 1 end on a tragic note. But Round 2 starts after the ensuing commercial break, not next week.

I always wish they would’ve adopted the Japanese format of numbering 1-100, it would be so cool to have the last ten runs be the likes of Daniel Gil, Sean Bryan, Joe, Najee, Drew, etc. and watch people “move up” over the years. 

[Taeolas]

The problem is, the city courses are different, so finishing a city course in 5minutes may be different from not finishing a different city course in 8 minutes. thus ranking the Ninjas appropriately wouldn't really work.

That said, if they do want to establish an order, have a simpler course set up in Vegas (that includes some of the standards, a leap, a balance, a swing task, and a warped wall) that all of the Ninjas will run, and the speed establishes when they run the real course. (Faster they run the course, the later they are in the rankings). Some of the filler time could be showing the Ninjas qualifying for their position in Vegas. 

[ams1001]

18 hours ago, Dewey Decimate said:

There was another ninja wedding a while back and for some reason the pics of everyone doing handstands and stuff seemed kinda cheesy, but for Flex and Chris - I hope he does win and they celebrate to the nines. They seem like a legit great couple.

I think they showed some video from Jamie Rahn's wedding. I feel like there might have been a more recent one, too, but I can't think who.