[upbeat music]
- "American Ninja Warrior" qualifying was historic...
- These teenagers are coming out ready for the big course.
- With the next generation of ninjas
announcing their arrival with authority.
- I'm built different!
- We had some pretty high expectations of the teens.
- Okay! - And they have delivered.
- Tonight, we're going to Hollywood,
where the course gets longer...
- This semifinals course is brutal.
- And the pressure rises... - No!
- With a ticket to the national finals on the line.
- There's a lot riding on tonight.
I so badly want
to be the first teen to hit that semifinal buzzer.
- Yes, yes!
- I'm hoping that my run, along with all the other teens' runs,
prove that the teens are just as strong, if not stronger,
than a lot of the adults.
- These kids step up and meet the challenge head on.
- Let's go!
- The youth dominated this first round of competition.
- What the what?
- That wasn't the plan.
But they better keep their eyes open,
'cause I'm coming back for the semifinals.
- He wants redemption for what happened in qualifying.
- I got some veteran ninjas
that have messaged me before running,
and they're like, "Dude, don't let these teenagers beat you.
Let's go. Let's go!"
- The weatherman delivers!
- The next generation is going to dominate tonight.
[cheers and applause]
- Teen phenoms, superstar veterans,
we've got it all tonight.
Welcome to Hollywood,
where we're on the back lot of Universal Studios,
our home for the semifinals here
on "American Ninja Warrior."
Hello, everyone, and thanks for being with us.
I'm Matt Iseman. - And I'm Akbar Gbajabiamila.
Matt, some of history's biggest movies were filmed right here,
and we could make our own history tonight.
- Absolutely, big man.
That's because we could see the youngest competitors
ever to qualify for the national finals in Vegas,
because we have teens as young as 15 out here.
- And this group we're gonna see tonight is impressive.
We've got many of the teens who tore it up in qualifying,
like 16-year-old Tennesseean Elijah Browning.
- Yeah!
- And Houston's 17-year-old Isabella Wakeham.
Boom!
Among the veterans, we've got the man
who won it all last year,
Houston worship leader Daniel Gil.
- This is his kingdom!
- And another Texan, the Big Dog, Jody Avila.
Oh, yes!
L.A. stuntwoman Tiana Webberley,
Sweet T, is also here.
Wow!
- The semifinals course is longer and tougher
than what we saw in qualifying.
For all the details, let's go down to Zuri Hall.
- Guys, our ninjas will face ten obstacles tonight.
And if they make it to obstacle nine,
they'll have another Split Decision.
But in semis, there's strategy involved.
Do you trust your arms or your legs?
On one side, it's a brutal new upper body obstacle, Inverter.
- Oh!
- And on the other, a balance obstacle,
the Tuning Forks,
which knocked out 22 top ninjas three years ago.
- Oh, and once again!
- And that's not all-- the Power Tower is back,
and it's been completely redesigned.
At the end of the night, our top two
will race head-to-head.
And the winner gets a Safety Pass,
a do-over in Vegas
if they fall on stage one or two.
All right, Matt and Akbar, let's get it going.
- Well, they've been the story all season,
so we're kicking off the semifinals
with one of our talented teenagers.
This is Christian Youst.
In addition to being a ninja, he's also a gamer,
and though he's just 16, he's old-school.
- Go, go, go!
- * Whoo, hey! *
* Some things never change *
* Oh, no *
* You're still my all-time fav *
* Can you feel it right now? *
- I've been playing classic arcade games
for about six years now.
I play games like Asteroids, Centipede, Pong.
- * We were having way too much fun *
- Let's go.
- * I'm telling you we ain't close to done *
- They're different from what people today play.
It's something that I can do and just feel unique.
- * It's that old-school feeling we got *
* From back in the day *
- I've spent so much time perfecting these games.
I've even competed in competitions for it,
and I've made some money.
- * Some things never change *
- Yes, let's go!
- * You're still my all-time fav *
- When I'm playing these games,
there's a lot of overlap
with competing on "Ninja Warrior."
The eye-hand coordination,
the focus you need for these games...
[cheering]
That's exactly what you do on the ninja course.
[upbeat music]
Whoo!
- * You're still my all-time fav *
- Tonight, I'm gonna get a high score
and power up all the way to Vegas.
- * You're still my all-time fav *
- Man, those are the games I used to play!
- Me too, big man.
Now, Christian will have lots of family watching
back in Texas, including his mom.
- Go, Christian!
- And his dad Lawrence on the sidelines.
- [indistinct cheering]
[countdown clock beeping]
- The teens were great in qualifying,
but this is the semifinals.
- They're on the bigger stage.
Will the pressure be too great?
- And some of the other teens who run tonight
are showing their support.
- Ten obstacles on this semifinals course.
The second one, Lunatic Ledges.
It's all about using that momentum
and riding it efficiently.
And you can see it's a long pendulum.
Timing it to the transfer--
now, you gotta make this switch quick.
- Now, that good. That was perfect!
- Now needs to dismount while he still has momentum.
- Just like that. Got it.
- Let's go, Christian! Let's go, dude!
- Moving quickly on to Tilt-a-Whirl.
Gotta jump the bar across the three rotating triangles.
Remember, the top 15 from tonight,
those who go the farthest the fastest,
move on to the national finals in Vegas.
- Call him the Dark Horse.
He's 5'4", 115 pounds. So many people doubt him.
They said, "He doesn't look like a typical ninja."
Well, he says, "It's in the heart."
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
- Doing a one-handed turnaround.
He's just showing off.
Makes it to the final triangle.
You want to get through these early obstacles quickly.
Save your strength for the back half.
- There you go, buddy. Come on!
- There you go. Come on.
- And he's through.
Now, on to a balance obstacle, Spinning Bridge.
[cheers and applause]
- Here we go, Spinning Bridge. Here you go.
Look at him--going so fast! - Oh, no!
- Oh, my goodness, he's reckless!
- And just got through it.
- Whoo, you got it! Whoo!
- Gonna keep it moving, go right
into the fifth obstacle, Wall to Wall.
Gotta hang on to those tiny ledges, rotate around,
and jump to the other wall.
- Here we go, Wall to Wall. This is wall-to-wall coverage.
- Gotta do a spider jump there.
- Nice! - No problem.
- You see him get into that little crouching tiger.
- But watch this. This is a drop, Akbar.
Even at 115, not a lot of mass pulling him down,
but you got to shock-absorb it.
- Gotta have great anticipation and skill.
- There it is. Great job. - Let's go, Christian.
- It's bouncing up, he's so light.
And he is pumped!
- Whoo, okay, Dark Horse!
- Yes, yes, yes!
- No Mega Wall in the semifinals.
It's the 14 1/2-foot Warped Wall.
This is Youst's first time facing it.
- He's having fun. - He's saying it's easy!
- He's having fun. - He's starting low!
- No, he's not. No, he's not.
He's not gonna use the whole run-up?
No, he's not. He's 5'4"! - Oh, that's confidence!
- He's 5'4"!
- Boom! - Okay!
- He looked like Sonic the Hedgehog!
[cheers and applause] - Let's go!
- Go get that buzzer!
- Some ninjas never get to the back half
of the semifinals course.
Christian Youst has done it on his first try.
- Matt, we're in California.
You can get taxed for having that much swag, man.
That is amazing.
- We wondered how they'd handle
the greater pressure here in the semifinals.
It's not phasing Christian Youst so far.
He starts the final four obstacles here
on the Salmon Ladder.
- All right.
- Wow. - Nice.
- Clack clack.
And Matt, you can see, he's so light,
he just flew up the Salmon Ladder.
- But now, it's Corkscrew,
which took out so many competitors last season.
You got to swing to the steering wheel
and then hold on for dear life.
- Whoa!
- Well, that's the advantage
of having a little less momentum, Akbar.
- And a lot of flexibility in your wrists.
You can see him coming in tight.
- This is impressive.
- Matt, but look at how he's gotta lache up.
He's gotta lache high.
And with all that weight coming down.
- Whoa! The hands tight!
And he's now just a dismount away
from conquering the Corkscrew.
It took out some greats last year in St. Louis.
This kid just looked like he was on an amusement park ride.
- Oh, my word, Matt, 16 years old.
- Come on!
- You're doing amazing!
- Now, he'll be the first ever to face
this new Split Decision, two different obstacles.
One tests your arms, one tests your legs,
so there's strategy.
The fastest path is to race across the balance obstacle,
Tuning Forks.
- You're all day on balance, buddy, all day on balance!
- Nah.
- Hey, he's shaking that one off.
He ain't listening to Dad.
- He's going with the Inverter.
- Good job, you got it! You got it!
- Well, the Tuning Forks are tough, but so is
the Inverter, especially if your arms are gassed.
- It's all about grip. And this board's gonna tip.
You can see on that left side there...
- Nice, he's gotta-- - Lock in that left hand.
Now a cliffhanger. - And now look at this.
You can see him kind of traversing across.
Now he's gotta reach up. - Now reach up to the handle!
- He doesn't have a big reach, but you can see him--
- And like "Top Gun," he's inverted!
- Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?
- Now he's gotta transfer to the second board.
- Watch the drop--oh! - No!
- Oh!
- Couldn't hang on.
The Dark Horse Ninja bounced off the Inverter.
- Way to go, Christian!
- The night's still early, but that run could earn
the 16-year-old a trip to Vegas.
- This kid shut down the early obstacles
like he was playing a video game.
But on the Inverter, as he goes for that second board,
just couldn't hold on to the ledge.
But what a great run to start the semifinals.
- This Hollywood night has something for everyone.
- Nice. - We've got rising stars...
- It's a dream come true.
- And superstars.
- Oh, my goodness!
- Whether you like westerns...
- Come on, country boy!
- Or sci-fi..,
Oh, my God! - What is this?
- Or even musicals...
[trombone playing]
There's plenty of drama...
- Are you kidding me?
- And nonstop action...
- Tell me you're not excited!
- On the semifinals...
- Let's go!
- Of "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to "American Ninja Warrior"
and our first night of the semifinals.
Minutes ago, Christie Brophy showed she's got some moves
for a 40-year-old.
- Hey! Okay!
- This mother of four from Round Rock, Texas,
is a former Air Force officer,
and she took flight on the Shrinking Steps.
- She's ready to go.
- But she quickly stalled out
on the second obstacle, Lunatic Ledges.
- There's no time to wait. You gotta go.
She lost the momentum, and now she's gonna be fighting it.
- She tried climbing up for a better angle,
but ultimately had a crash landing.
- Ooh! Oh, my goodness.
- The night's oldest competitor,
53-year-old ninja legend Sam Sann,
made quick work of the Lunatic Ledges.
- Looking very confident.
- The Houston gym owner has earned three trips
to the national finals,
but hasn't been there in six years.
- His goal's to make it back to stage one in Vegas.
- And things were looking good,
until he reached Spinning Bridge.
- He's gotta get a hold on! Oh!
- Karman Selby is a stay-at-home dad
who had his wife and young son
watching back in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Papa Selby is a ninja.
- The 33-year-old rookie
survived a close call on Tilt-a-Whirl...
- Oh, boy, Matt!
- And then was cruising through the fifth obstacle,
Wall to Wall, but rushed it.
- Oh, he came in too fast.
Look at Elliott. He's in shock.
He's like, "What just happened?"
- Let's go!
- Up next, another one
of the rising young stars of this sport.
This is 20-year-old Isaiah Wakeham
out of College Station, Texas.
Isaiah and his sister Isabella both reached the semifinals.
As we showed you a few weeks ago,
they've got a great sibling rivalry.
But as an artist, Isaiah is one of a kind.
- I've been drawing as long as I can remember.
My first job was in an art studio,
and that's when it really clicked:
This is something that I could really pursue--being an artist.
I run an art and apparel brand called Lucky Stripe Designs.
I create art and apparel for special causes.
- Damage from Houston flooding
is now at record-setting levels.
- When Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston,
I created the Texas Doodle shirt
and raised $5,000 and gave back so much to my community.
You might have already seen some of my art
on the ninja course.
I've designed shirts for Da Cake Ninja,
David Wright, Jody Avila, Kevin Carbone, and many more.
My shirt's really special as well.
I spent 50 hours incorporating all the athletes whose shirts
I've designed for previous seasons into this design.
It's really cool to get to see the art
that I've made for other ninjas competing on the show.
But I've been waiting six years
for my chance on the course.
I'm super excited to take it on tonight.
I'm looking forward to designing the perfect run.
- And not only is he wearing his T-shirt design,
so are all of his family and friends back in Texas.
- Whoo! - Let's go!
- His mom J wearing one under her jacket.
She's on the sideline with his sister Isabella,
who's wearing another one of Isaiah's designs
on her running suit.
- Here we go! Here we go!
[countdown clock beeping]
- He fell early last year, but he's come back to have
a sensational sophomore campaign.
- He and his sister both made it
to the fifth obstacle in qualifying.
Would love to get their first buzzers tonight.
If you hit a buzzer, you're guaranteed to move on
to the national finals in Vegas.
If you don't get to the buzzer,
you're probably gonna need to get to at least that eighth
or ninth obstacle to land in the top 15.
- Yes!
- 6'0", 165, feels so strong, but says, no matter what,
he'll never be as strong as his sister.
- Too easy, let's go!
- Well, here he is now on Tilt-a-Whirl.
- All right!
- Getting it locked in.
Going with the switch grip there on that bar, Akbar.
- And I like that-- strategically, you want
to keep that grip to secure your hold.
- Well, people peel off if you have your hands
facing the same way on the landings.
That switch grip should help prevent it.
- Yes!
- 20 years old, gonna be going to college this fall.
His sister Isabella's still in high school.
- You got it!
- It was amazing-- he and his sister reached
that fifth obstacle that took them both out
within one second of each other.
They even have a bet with Mom.
If they both make it to Vegas, she has to get a tattoo.
Now on to Spinning Bridge, the balance obstacle.
- Light on your feet. Wake them, don't shake them.
These things will spin on you.
Boom, boom, boom, boom. Just like that.
[cheers and applause]
- Yes, sir!
- I see you! I see you!
- Cool shirt, bro!
- He's like, "I don't got time to talk to you.
I got business to take care of."
- Well, now on to Wall to Wall.
A brand-new obstacle.
Got to hang on to those small ledges.
- He's got to get it locked in place,
and then he's got to get into a small--remember,
he's a big guy now-- he's got to come in--
- Easy transfer.
- You see he's doing it one-legged.
It's kind of hard to come in tight like that.
- This descent, use those arms as a shock-absorber.
- Hold yourself. - Keep the L's.
- You seem him. He's eyeballing.
He's a little unsure of himself,
but he's got it!
- Pulled it down, made it no issue.
There you go!
- We're going all the way, baby!
- All right, you heard him, "We're going all the way."
- Yeah.
First time facing a Warped Wall.
all: Beat that wall. Beat that wall.
- Go, Isaiah! Whoo!
- First one. - There it is.
- That's it! That's your first one!
- This is my dream, man! - This is your dream.
- This is the dream. - Go get it, man, go get it!
- Live your dream!
Heads to the final four obstacles.
Now facing his first Salmon Ladder in competition.
- We believe in you!
- Oh, he's putting his own spin on it.
He's an artist, so you know they do things differently.
- Got to jump it up four rungs on the Salmon Ladder.
[cheering]
And he's got it. On now to Corkscrew.
- Come on, let's go!
- Think of keeping the hands at 3:00 and 9:00
and those feet extended in a wide V
to control the momentum.
And just did it textbook. You saw those legs out.
You saw the hands at opposite ends.
A little tougher here going up.
Whoo! - Whoo!
- Look at that. Did it again!
- I love the way he's got wider base
to control the spin.
- That's it, keeping those legs out in the V.
You're trying to keep that mass near the center.
- Nice, nice, nice.
- Great job kipping up. That was textbook.
- And he's using his biceps to control that spin as well.
- Just needs the dismount. And he's got it.
Now he faces Split Decision.
Will he tackle the Inverter
or roll the dice on the Tuning Forks?
You're tired. You're winded.
The Tuning Fork is next to impossible.
- Okay, what's it gonna be?
- If you're gassed,
you know you won't survive the Inverter.
So maybe--oh, he's going for it, Akbar.
[cheers and applause]
Unstable. Now watch.
You gotta switch over that right hand.
Right there, on to a cliffhanger.
- You can see him. He's struggling.
- Swing the left hand under. There he goes.
- All right, now he's got to make that traverse,
and then he's got to reach up.
He's got long arms,
so he should be able to spin it around.
Ooh, buddy!
- Rotates it.
- He's starting to grimace, Matt.
- Bad idea, boys.
- Oh, he said, "Bad idea." This is looking a little sus.
Matt, he's in trouble.
Oh, sha-nah-nah!
- Whoo!
- He just had nothing left,
but a great effort out of Isaiah Wakeham
to get all the way to that ninth obstacle.
- Just reaching Split Decision could be good enough
to get him into the top 15.
But he decided to go with the Inverter
and was okay across the first board,
but couldn't make the grab on the second.
- Up next, she's right at home here in Hollywood.
- Action.
- Stuntwoman Tiana Webberley shows us some movie magic
when "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- Welcome back.
We're on New York Street at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Minutes ago, Perry Madison
was flying the rainbow flag to show his LGBTQ pride.
- He's here and he's ready to represent.
- With his dad and 94-year-old grandma,
civil rights pioneer Mildred Madison,
watching his run,
the 24-year-old actor got rave reviews
for his performance on the early obstacles.
- Nice landing.
- But Tilt-a-Whirl turned out to be a show-stopper.
- No, no, no!
- Oh! - Wow!
- Grandma, I can do this because of what you did.
I love you.
- Ninja rookie Caleb Benson got his friends and family
fired up back in Lowell, Arkansas.
- Welcome to Hollywood, baby!
- This 35-year-old nearly died two years ago
from a pulmonary embolism.
But he showed plenty of heart tonight.
- Stay on top, stay on top! Nice.
- At 6'2", he's one of the bigger ninjas,
and he had a tough time
on the small ledges of Wall to Wall.
- Oh, and peeled off!
[air horn blows]
- I thought I had that. I'm so mad.
- Well, now, we've got a fan favorite.
Zuri, get her going.
- Up next, it is Sweet T, Tiana Webberley.
And tonight, she is on home turf.
The stuntwoman sometimes works right here
at Universal Studios, and she gave us
a behind the scenes look at some of her stunt work.
- I've been doing stunts for the last four
or five years now,
and one side of stunt work I've been doing is mocap.
Mocap stands for motion capture,
and it's used in a lot of video games
and, you know, big movies, like, "Avatar."
You wear these suits,
and it tracks your movements in the studio,
and they transform it into the video game
from your movements.
- Action.
- It's fun training as well.
The physicality of it keeps you in shape,
and I definitely feel like I'm in the best shape
of my career.
Being in the mocap world,
I've done anything from fighting monsters,
battling epic battles, and saving the world.
But tonight, hitting that buzzer
would be the ultimate stunt.
[upbeat music]
Hi!
- Always lots of support for Tiana,
including her dad, mom, and sister,
who are watching with Tiana's new dog Allie.
Tiana's got ninja friends on the sideline,
including Zhanique Lovett.
[countdown clock beeping]
Well, she's hoping to avoid doing the very thing
she gets paid for as a stuntwoman--take a fall.
The top three women from tonight will move on
to the national finals.
The deeper you get
on this course, the better your chances.
- Sweet T, I think, is ready to party in the semifinals.
- Got such a boost last year in St. Louis,
getting her first buzzer.
Really feel like she's hitting a new level.
- Sweet T, you ready to partay?
Oh!
- Not much momentum. It's gonna be a long jump.
- She's gotta go for it now. Nice.
- She got it.
- You got it, T!
- On now to Tilt-a-Whirl.
Flip Rodriguez first told us about Tiana Webberley.
Season seven, she exploded onto the scene.
- You got it, T. - You're good, be confident!
Just throw, throw, throw, throw.
- Twice made it to the national finals.
Last time was season 11.
- Matt, I mean,
did you see how much up she got on that one?
Was like she had a little air time.
Gave herself enough time to be able to place
the bar right in the crater.
- Well, her best performances have come here
at Universal Studios, right here on New York Street.
Two years ago on the course here,
she made it to the ninth obstacle.
- Come on, T!
- And she's smiling. Always a good sign.
Feeling confident. Checking that bar placement.
She's through.
- Kind of a superhero fall right there.
I see what you did there, Tiana.
- Watch her on the balance obstacles.
5'4", 125, good feet, was a pole vaulter.
- The Spinning Bridge. She's got this.
Oh, oh! - There it is!
- Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
- Another fall.
- Good job.
- Tiana was in the final four
of our first ever women's championship,
and she said that gave her a big boost of confidence.
She's trusting her training. She trusts the preparation.
- Has to make the leap to the second wall now.
Got it!
- Yeah. Nice.
- Ooh, those feet slipping off.
- Yeah, so she's using her body
to be able to turn around to lock it in place.
- All that twisting and turning as a stuntwoman has
to be good practice for this, and this is difficult.
A 90-degree rotation and an 8-inch drop.
You got to pull it down, anticipate it.
- Please, come on, you got this.
- She's got to make that grab. Nice.
- This used to be her sticking point,
the fifth obstacle.
- Ooh. - Oh!
- Ooh. - Nearly missed it.
- Whoo!
- Whoo-hoo-hoo! Come on, baby!
- Back to the Warped Wall. She's a seven-time veteran.
She wants to get back to Vegas.
Not gonna let this wall stop her.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Let's go. Come on! Come on!
- And she does it. Sweet T up the wall again.
[cheers and applause]
- Hey, T, this is exactly what we talked about, right?
Go get it! - Such a positive woman.
Credits her mom with so much--her mom's courage.
Battled diabetes. So proud of Tiana Webberley.
- Come on, T. Nothing you can't do.
- Starts the back half here on the Salmon Ladder.
Got to get it up four rungs.
- Such an example for a lot of the ninjas out here.
She's paid her dues.
And you just want to see her hit that buzzer.
- That's all right, she can move up to the next one.
- You've got the moves. You got it!
- And now facing Corkscrew, always a wild ride.
- And you could hear her squealing.
She went for a ride there.
- I think she's having a little fun, Matt.
- We're not far from the rides here--Jurassic Park,
the big drop there.
- Oh! She almost missed that one.
I thought she was gonna miss it.
- Well, a pole vaulter knows how to kip that body up.
Gonna need more lift here, Akbar.
- Yeah, big kick, you can see, getting that big swing.
- Ooh, banged her head on the backswing.
- That's why she got the ponytail...
- But still holds on. - To protect her.
- Only gotten past the eighth obstacle once before.
Just needs the dismount to do it again tonight.
Look at this, facing the ninth obstacle.
- Nice.
- Still other women to run tonight,
but she's got a good shot to be in our top three
and move on to Vegas.
- Come on! - That's it, girl!
- But now it's Split Decision.
The two others who've reached this point
both picked Inverter and both fell.
- Come on, baby, you got this. You're gonna finish.
- Looks like she's gonna be the first to try Tuning Forks.
- Tiana's always been good on balance obstacles.
And if her arms are a little tired,
this may be her best chance.
You just got to commit to it.
You've got to own it.
All right, here you go. You did the Spinning Bridge.
Go, go, go, go, go.
- Oh! - Oh, no, Sweet T!
- Her best performance ever.
It's still early, but she's in good position
to be in our women's top three.
- She's the first to try Tuning Forks,
and that first one starts spinning as soon as she lands.
That sent her off-course,
and she misses the third fork completely.
This obstacle is tough,
but Sweet T should be moving on.
- Those who didn't fare as well include
Knoxville, Tennessee's Weiwei Qin,
who made it to the semifinals as a 39-year-old rookie,
but had an early exit on Lunatic Ledges.
And Weiwei is out!
20-year-old college student
Wade Lopp was also in his first semifinals,
but the Oklahoma State Cowboy
got bucked off the Spinning Bridge.
- You can't go down like that!
- Well, there's lots more to come
on "American Ninja Warrior."
- It's been a crazy night already here
at Universal Studios.
- Take a look at what happened in just the last few minutes.
Aerospace worker Adam Naids once again made a small step
for man at the start line.
Naids is a NASA engineer
working on the mission to Mars...
- Ahh! Let's go!
- And he had lots of Martians watching his run.
- Oh! - Oh, my God!
- What is this?
- Naids, a three-time ninja veteran,
was making his first trip to the semifinals.
And his fans were entertained early on.
But the 32-year-old from Houston
had a problem on Lunatic Ledges.
- Ooh! Right in his chest!
That's a tough one, Matt. That's a tough one.
- Our friend just seems to be going home.
Jade Buford's a NASCAR driver
who also happens to be pretty good at ninja.
- All right, he's gotta go fast.
- Though we've had several drivers
try the course over the years,
Buford's the first to make it to the semifinals.
- This is Victory Lane for him.
- The 33-year-old from Nashville
nearly had a spin-out on Tilt-a-Whirl.
- Oh! Did you see his fingertip?
Rewind the tape!
That was close! Man!
- Seconds later...
- Oh!
- Buford got the black flag.
[trumpets squealing
- Bro, my cheeks hurt.
- Well, our attempt at playing the trumpet is
to herald the arrival of our next ninja,
16-year-old Max Feinberg and his trusted trombone.
[playing trombone]
Only plays a couple notes.
I think he wants to save his breath.
- Wow, that's me!
- But I don't think it'll be a problem,
because this kid has incredible energy.
And his love of ninja is rivaled
only by his love of music.
[playing trombone]
* *
- I am a proud band geek.
- Band, horns up.
all: Snap. - Forward, march, move.
- [laughs] all: Snap.
- I spend a lot of my free time playing the trombone.
[marching band playing]
I love the marching band,
because it takes
the individual aspect of band...
* *
And combines it with the team aspect of a lot of sports.
- Detail, atten-hut.
all: Hut. Push, one, two, three, four.
Close.
- People are absolutely shocked when they see me compete
on "American Ninja Warrior."
[upbeat music]
They think of me as that classic nerd,
just a small, skinny-arm kid with glasses.
- Max is owning these like it's nothing.
- But I love being able to show them
what I can actually do.
- And he does it.
Max Feinberg gets his second buzzer!
- I've placed at... too many ninja comps to count.
* *
Tonight, I'm gonna prove to everyone at school
that you can be a band geek...
* *
This is so much fun! Ahh, whoo!
And smash a finals buzzer
on an "American Ninja Warrior" course.
* *
What's up, guys?
- Max has friends and family
watching from all over the country,
including his dad back in Virginia...
- Come on, Max.
- And his mom Debbie, who's on the sidelines.
[countdown clock beeping]
- Max and his family, they've been watching
"American Ninja Warrior" since he was in the fifth grade.
He said he's seen every episode at least 14 times,
so he's studied every course.
- He's got a couple of other teens,
Owen Dyer and Elijah Browning, cheering him on.
- You got this.
- How many of these teenagers are gonna make it to Vegas?
Max Feinberg working on getting there.
- Easy! - Nice!
- He's only 130 pounds,
so he's got to work hard to generate some swing.
- You're seeing these young athletes coming in here
with such confidence.
Look at him slam into that second ledge right there!
Getting plenty of momentum. Great technique!
I hope every ninja to come watch that form right there.
- And Matt, his dad is keeping track of obstacles to conquer.
Pulls off a number every time he gets through.
- He's on three, 'cause Max is taking on the third obstacle,
Tilt-a-Whirl.
- Max talks about being bullied as a kid.
"Ninja" really helped him transform his life.
Now he's out there crushing the course.
- Says he's a proud band geek.
Wonder what the students at his school are thinking.
I'll bet he'll get picked first next time for dodgeball.
Watch him push that far hand away.
- Whoo!
- Now, rotate the opposite direction, Feinberg!
- And the rotation here, you can see him--
his glasses are still staying on, by the way.
That's impressive.
Uh-oh, uh-oh. He's having a hard time.
He's got to use that lower body to turn.
Nice.
- We are at Universal Studios, ground zero for Hollywood.
The spotlight's all around.
You're right, though, he is struggling.
- Yeah, Matt, he's having a little hard time
using the lower body
to turn around the Tilt-a-Whirl.
- Yeah! - Let's go!
That was "amaxing!"
- There it is, buddy, number three.
- The band geek's got to march through the Spinning Bridge.
High steps, high steps.
- Hot feet, hot feet. Nice.
- Just jumps right in.
- Do you see him--he point--
he's taunting the Spinning Bridge.
[trumpet blows harshly]
- I don't think he heard my tribute to him.
- No, he can't hear that. - Max!
- You're tone-deaf.
[trumpet blows harshly]
- It's not very--okay.
I think I'm just distracting him at this point.
All right, Max, you got this, buddy.
- Nice, dude!
- This is the real test.
You can't ask the teacher for help on this one.
- Having trouble creating some rotational energy.
We saw it there on Tilt-a-Whirl.
- Come on, Max. Have fun.
- Oh, nice one, kid. - You're on Wall-to-Wall.
- I like the way he came
into that second platform very controlled.
- He just rode that one down. Now this is an 8-inch drop.
- Nice. - Great job.
- Yeah, Matt, I like how he came in really tight
to anticipate the drop, using a long body to get over.
- There it is. - Oh, there we go.
- He is off to the races.
- Dad said, "Boy, you better get up that wall."
- Come on, Akbar, let's play him up.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- Come on, beat that wall!
- Let's go!
[trumpets squealing]
- This is your celebration to getting at the top of the wall.
- Hey, Max! - Go get that back half.
- You ain't done! Keep going, buddy!
- That was horrible--that was a heck of a celebration music.
- I think he wanted to get away from us.
Look at that, kicking up his heels.
This kid has such a great attitude.
But you can see the back of his shirt,
Akbar, there is a real motivation for him.
It's that pink ribbon.
"1 in 8," that's in reference
to the women who have breast cancer,
and of course that includes someone
very close to him, his mom.
- She's a fighter just like he is.
- And now, Max will take on the Salmon Ladder.
Has to hop it up four rungs.
- Oh, my goodness!
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop! Okay!
- Maybe he should be in the percussion section
of the band.
- It's time to have some fun with it!
- Yeah, have fun, brother!
- Well, I don't know if Corkscrew's gonna be fun.
- This right here can get you dizzy.
Getting off of Corkscrew. Whoa.
- I don't think he's opened many wine bottles,
but he knows how to ride the Corkscrew.
- Nice, get high. Wow.
- And you just-- you see the power
on the laches, Akbar.
This is a big transfer up.
- And this has a lot to do
with his ability to study failure.
- Wow! - Watch it.
He's got the athletics. - You see that?
The arms at 9:00 and 3:00? Perfect.
Feinberg getting stronger
on the back half of the course.
And a little roll.
- Look at that. He's celebrating.
And for all the film that he's watched,
he's never seen this before, a Split Decision
between a balance obstacle and an upper body obstacle.
- And he's doing a little Pin the Tail on the Donkey
to try to decide.
And he's going towards Inverter.
Two others, Christian Youst and Isaiah Wakeham,
both tried this and didn't make it.
- But this is such a tough obstacle,
especially after the eight obstacles before this.
All right, here we go.
I got a feeling he's gonna do this, Matt.
- Transfer under.
- This is where he's got to max out.
- And switching over.
- He's got to max out, get that reach.
He's 5'10" so he should have plenty of reach.
- Oh, my goodness, Akbar.
- Matt, he doesn't even look like
he's nervous or that he's struggling.
- Watch this transfer. This is a drop down here.
- Come on, Max. - Close it. Close it down.
Close it down. - Oh, my!
- Close it down!
- Send it!
- Will he be the first to get through the Inverter?
- Uh-oh. He's gonna lache.
- Now, you can reach up--
- I don't know about this move.
Oh!
- But he does! He is "amaxing."
And dad's got to pull off another number...
- You did it! Number nine.
- Because Max Feinberg's going for number ten.
Trying to be our first finisher.
Got to get up the Spider Trap, a 35-foot climb straight up.
- These doors are 100 pounds. He's 130 pounds.
He's not weight room strong, but he is ninja strong.
He's using his scapula and into his elbows
to get these heavy doors open.
- Look at the flexibility,
the way he can twist the hips out
to get those feet almost flat.
- You know these 16-year-olds, man, they're flexible.
- This is incredible. One side, then the other.
I got to tell you, the strength coach is gonna
want this kid in the weight room.
He's strong!
- Matt, look, the glasses are still on.
His glasses haven't even moved!
He hasn't even adjusted his glasses!
- Oh! Does he have enough left
for the final set of doors, Akbar?
- He can see the buzzer though, he can see the buzzer.
Come on. Put your back into it.
- How "amaxing" is it? And the band plays on!
- Max out! Max out!
- "Amaxing" Max Feinberg has done it!
[cheers and applause]
The youngest ever to hit a semifinals buzzer.
Enjoy it, young man. Enjoy it.
- Oh, man, he's overwhelmed.
- Let's go!
* *
- What a moment for his mom, Debbie.
All they've been through.
Max, what is it like giving your mom--
look at the smile on her face, my friend.
What does it feel like with that?
- To make my mom proud is just the biggest--
the most I could ever ask for in my life--in the world.
That buzzer's for you, Mom!
- Love you, buddy. Love you, Max.
- He's the first to figure out the Inverter,
and at only 16 years old,
he's the first finisher tonight
and youngest ever to hit a semifinals buzzer.
[trumpets squealing]
- That's for you, Max!
Not one lesson!
- That's hard. That's hard.
- I think I'm gonna pass out.
More can't-miss moments are coming up...
- Yeah!
- Including Olympic legend Scott Hamilton...
- Whoo!
- When "American Ninja Warrior" returns.
- We're here on the Universal Studios backlot in Los Angeles
and are thrilled that Universal Studios Hollywood
is open and welcoming guests back to the theme park
to experience the amazing new Indominus Rex
on Jurassic World: The Ride.
- Plus, you've got to check out
Universal Orlando Resort in Florida,
where you can now ride Jurassic World: Velocicoaster,
the apex predator of roller coasters.
- We've had lots of early surprises
in our first night of semifinals.
Christian Washington, at 6'3" and 175 pounds,
is nicknamed The Panther,
but he couldn't make the leap at Lunatic Ledges.
- Oh, no!
- Michigan's Sophie Shaft is one of five teenage girls
to qualify for the semifinals,
but she also had trouble on Lunatic Ledges...
- She's in big trouble here, Matt.
- And couldn't save it.
- Oh, no, no. - Oh!
- Oh, no!
- Missouri dairy farmer Caleb Dowden
fueled up with buckets of milk before his run.
- Does his body good? Oh, that is milk.
- But he too got in trouble on Lunatic Ledges...
- You just gotta go. Oh!
- And became our third straight ninja
to fall on the second obstacle.
- Caleb Dowden needed a little bit more cowbell there.
- I should have drank more milk.
- Our next athlete has made fitness her life.
This is Zhanique Lovett.
The mom and personal trainer from Visalia, California,
made her debut four years ago,
and she's got some unfinished business here at Universal.
- Four years ago, I just ran out of gas on the Warped Wall.
- Ooh. - Oh!
- I was a rookie,
and I did not have the strength to get up the wall.
- No! Final attempt for Zhanique.
- I didn't have the right technique,
so I failed three times.
- Oh! - Oh!
- Zhanique Lovett comes up a bit short.
- If I would have made it up that year,
I would have been the first mom to make it up the wall.
And it's just been haunting me.
I know that I can get up that wall.
I've trained so hard.
I got it!
You better believe, when I get to that Warped Wall,
I'm going to crush it.
Tonight's the night.
Hi, guys!
- There's her husband Joseph cheering her on.
Her three kids must be asleep, Akbar.
- One obstacle at a time. Trust yourself.
- Breathe.
[countdown clock beeping]
- And I think this is the night
Zhanique finally breaks through.
Ooh. Okay, coming with that speed.
- Come on, Z. You got this!
- Made it to the fifth obstacle
in qualifying this year, one obstacle away.
She knows about coming close, Akbar.
- Well, the difference is, this season, she's healthy.
She was battling some injuries the past few years.
Finally, she's back at 100%.
- Great power here on Lunatic Ledges.
- You can tell, she's all muscles too, Matt.
She ain't playing around. She puts in that work.
- 5'6", 135.
- Ooh, a little backwards jump.
- And she is having fun.
- Yeah, girl!
- In addition to her training,
she's started making her own energy bars.
- A mother of three, Matt.
And she just--she puts so much time in, as a mom,
into her ninja, and now into her business.
Nice.
- The top three women from tonight will move on
to the national finals.
Zhanique hasn't been to Vegas since season ten.
- You're good, you're good.
- See it. Come on.
- Big hop. both: Yes!
- Makes it to the last one.
Just needs to turn it around and dismount.
- Come on, girl. - Come on.
- Big swing. both: Oh!
[air horn blows]
- Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
I can't believe that just happened.
- I'm just as shocked as she is.
She made the leap to the third triangle with no problem.
But as she starts to build up swing for the dismount,
her momentum carried the bar right off the cradle.
No Warped Wall tonight.
- Big names are just ahead, including the Cowboy Ninja,
Lance Pekus,
the Big Dog, Jody Avila,
and the reigning champion, Daniel Gil.
Plus, one ninja makes his case.
- If you want results, call me.
- Welcome back to the semifinals
of "American Ninja Warrior."
This year, our ninjas have a choice of obstacles.
We call it Split Decision.
- Yeah, and so far, our ninjas are split on which way to go.
Minutes ago, it was our old friend,
Idaho rancher Lance Pekus.
- Giddy up, cowboy.
- The Cowboy Ninja had a bit of a rough ride early.
Oh, no! My goodness!
- There it is! Oh, here we go!
- The ten-time veteran showed his true grit
and muscled his way to the ninth obstacle.
- Whoo! - There we go.
- Which way will he go?
- At Split Decision, he stared down Tuning Forks...
Oh, he psyched us!
Then made a last-minute move to the Inverter.
- Oh, my! Great save!
- Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it.
- And that's where his wild ride finally came to an end.
Oh!
- Maybe I should have gone balance.
- Well, our next athlete is ready
to make his case on the course.
This is Fort Worth attorney Brian Burkhardt.
And he is the Law Ninja.
- If you want results, call me, Brian Burkhardt,
at 1-800-1LAW-NINJA.
Summertime is supposed to be about family fun.
But at least once a week,
we're faced with unexpected accidents,
or worst of all, having your dreams of victory
snatched away by a couple of punk kids.
Oh, those punk kids. - That's all right, buddy.
It's time to call me, Brian Burkhardt, the Law Ninja.
- I'm the Cowboy Ninja, so imagine my surprise
when I was bucked off the balance obstacle.
That bridge was obviously broken.
Brian took my case. Then he took my hat.
I need that hat back, Brian.
- I had never fallen on a qualifying course before.
Then I got the shock of my life.
I called Brian, and he was able to get me a trip
to Universal Studios Hollywood.
Thanks, Law Ninja.
- It's time to call me, Brian Burkhardt, the Law Ninja,
at 1-800-1LAW-NINJA.
- Wait a minute, that's way too many numbers, man.
- No, listen. Just dial 1-800-1LAW-NINJA.
I'm Brian Burkhardt, and I'm ready to fight for you.
- That's the funniest thing we've ever had.
I love it. [laughs]
- And his friends and family love to cheer him on.
There's his sister watching from back in Texas,
along with some friends.
[countdown clock beeping]
- He's made it to Vegas three times.
Trying to get back there again.
- Yeah! Whoo!
- He's got some of his fellow Texas ninjas cheering him on.
It's tough to be a full-time lawyer,
working long hours,
and still find time to train for ninja.
Brian Burkhardt trying to show it can be done.
- Take it one obstacle at a time.
Here we go. - Turn around quick.
- Here it is--technique here.
- Got to make the move right here.
- Go, ah--he thought about it. He almost held on too long.
- Good job. - But he survives it.
On now to the Tilt-a-Whirl.
- All right, come on. Tilt-a-Whirl--this lawyer,
he's got to lay down the law on this one.
Here we go.
- No objection so far. - Here we go.
- Get that left hand locked in.
- Nice. That's how you lay it down.
- Then rotate the opposite direction.
- Lay down the law there, Brian.
- You can see him going with that switch grip,
trying to prevent the bar peeling out
of his hands right there.
Remember, only the top 15 move on to Vegas.
You need to get deep on this course to have a chance.
Burkhardt gets through.
- Let's go. Let's go!
- The five-time veteran now on to Spinning Bridge.
- Boom. - Yeah, that's it, baby!
- Always been known as a ninja who goes fast,
but that has sometimes led to early falls.
- Get in there, jump in tight. Nice.
Look at him, looking like a little briefcase.
- Wall to Wall-- like a little briefcase?
- That's it.
- Well, let's see if Matlock can finish it here.
- Easy work. Easy work. You got this.
- Eyeing that gap. - Ooh!
- He hit his face on that one. - Oh, my goodness.
- You heard that at home, didn't you?
- I heard that! - He's talking to us.
- Boy, it got him right in the dome.
- You got to refocus here,
'cause this is an 8-inch drop on this handle.
- Oh, boy! - Locked in.
- Okay, I see you with that Perry Mason grip strength!
- Well, he was--oh! - Oh, my goodness!
- I'm gonna hurt something. I'm gonna hurt something.
- He's okay.
- Oh, yes! Yes!
- Ooh. Oh, he's bleeding. Like he's busted his nose.
- Do we need to adjourn? Do we need a recess?
- No, we're good.
No, continue! This will continue!
- All right. - Sustained!
- All right.
- Let's look at this again.
He slammed his face right into the ledge
on that second wall.
That's what started the nosebleed.
Then he lands right on his tailbone on the dismount.
Ouch, he better call 1-800-1LAW-NINJA
after those collisions.
- Well, that nose really starting to bleed right now.
- He's gonna need willpower.
- No problem on that Warped Wall.
- Let's go, Brian.
- He looks a little shook.
- Well, he may be a little lightheaded,
and if that blood gets into his eyes,
that could be a problem.
- Nothing but a little blood for the Burkhardts.
- We'll see if it affects him.
He's still got four more tough obstacles to go,
starting here with the Salmon Ladder.
- All right, Matt. - Got to get up the rungs.
- He's got blood on his face. No disgrace.
You out here doing your ninja thing.
Sometimes it get like that. Oh, my!
- Oh, and he locked it, a little uneven,
but that's okay.
He can advance on to Corkscrew.
- Here we go, babe. Let's hang on.
- Good work. Good work.
- All right, Matt, this is where he's got
to trust his training.
He's got to have that irrevocable trust.
Nice!
- Well done there.
You can just see him spinning around.
He's gonna inherit the wind once again.
- Whoa, okay! He is getting twisted up!
- Now, a big one. - Don't get it twisted!
- One more. You got this!
- One more. One more, Brian. Come on.
- Well, what would Atticus Finch do?
Unreal!
The ninja veteran having the run of his life,
bloody nose and all.
- Look at him!
- And he's through the eighth obstacle.
- Oh, my goodness! - Yes!
- Yes!
- I think even he can't believe he got this far.
- He's trying to give me a heart attack.
- Which one, guys?
- Tuning Forks! Come on!
- Well, his buddy Cory Torkelson says Tuning Forks.
But Tiana Webberley's the only one
to try it tonight, and she fell.
- He's got to trust his gut.
- Don't overthink it, man.
- Well, here we go. Brian Burkhardt, he's beat up,
so he's gonna try the quicker
but more dangerous Tuning Forks.
Trying to be the first to get through.
- Will the Tuning Fork be dismissed?
- A good effort.
- Will the Tuning Fork be dismissed?
- Yes! - Let's go! Let's go!
- The lawyer has done it! - Okay, okay!
- And by choosing Tuning Forks, he saved time.
Now he's got a shot at the fastest finish...
- All the way.
- Which could get him to the Power Tower.
- Tell me you're not excited!
- Has never hit a buzzer on a semifinals course.
Needs to climb 35 feet up the Spider Trap
to do it right now.
- Here we go.
- And this run almost ended on the fifth obstacle,
but he fought through it
and now could be our second finisher.
- And them doors are heavy. Heavy.
- Just making slow but steady progress.
- He got beat up early. And he's still fighting.
This is willpower.
- He can beat Max Feinberg for the fastest time.
But it's gonna be close. - Go through the pain!
- What a turnaround. - One side and the other.
- Nice. 100 pounds.
- But one more big hurdle.
- Fastest time could mean a Safety Pass in Vegas.
- Oh! - He's gotta go for it.
The clock is ticking down.
This lawyer could make it. Look at him!
- Oh! - Fight for your life!
- Only a few seconds left.
Can he gut it out to beat Max Feinberg?
Here it is. Through the last doors.
And he's got it.
- Yeah!
This is gonna be so close. He's gotta hit that buzzer.
He's gonna do it! Burkhardt!
- Oh, look at him! He's fighting for it!
He's gonna take it! - Yes!
- Whoo!
- By one second,
gets the fastest time of the night.
- Yeah! Whoo!
- Hey, Brian, I don't care what your retainer fee is,
I want you as my lawyer.
- I like it, man. Let's do it. I'll draft it up.
- Let me tell you something, man, you can handle the truth,
because the truth is, you're going to Vegas.
- Fought through the blood and the bruises,
and now he's got a shot to be on the Power Tower
at the end of the night.
- And guys, it's a totally different Power Tower.
But the winner still gets a Safety Pass,
a second chance if they fall at the national finals.
Right now, our head-to-head race would pit Brian Burkhardt
against 16-year-old Max Feinberg.
Are we gonna see the first high school kid
compete on the Power Tower?
Stick around.
- We've had Olympians on our course all summer long.
And minutes ago, speedskater KC Boutiette got his shot,
while being cheered on by an Olympic legend,
figure skater Scott Hamilton.
- You got it, buddy! You got it, you can do it!
- Boutiette went to four Winter Olympics
and won 27 World Cup medals in his career,
and showed he's still a competitor.
- He's got an appetite for success.
He wants it, and he wants it badly.
- All right!
- Even though he's one of our oldest competitors,
at 50 years old, Boutiette put up a battle.
- Yeah!
- And he made it all the way to the fifth obstacle.
- Oh, my goodness, head first, and baptized into the water.
- Then, it was another Olympian, our old friend,
the silver medal-winning gymnast from Houston,
Jonathan Horton.
- And he wants to show up and show out.
- Horton, a seven-time ninja veteran,
has made it to the semifinal round four times,
but has never taken the next step and qualified for Vegas.
He hoped to change that tonight.
- No! - Oh!
- Dawg, what the--?
- But he came up short on Lunatic Ledges,
and Vegas will have to wait another year.
And don't forget the Summer Games from Tokyo
start this week, July 23, right here on NBC.
Well, now it's time for the other half
of the Wakeham family.
This is 17-year-old high school junior
Isabella Wakeham.
We saw her brother Isaiah make it
to the ninth obstacle earlier.
He's likely headed to Vegas.
Now she's gonna try to join him.
Isaiah will be watching, along with their mom.
- And they've got a bet going.
If both kids qualify for Vegas,
Mom gets a tattoo.
- And Dad's watching, too, there on the left.
He's back in Texas along with the rest of the family.
[countdown clock beeping]
The top three women will move on to Vegas.
Isabella, a strong start here.
- Whoo! Yes!
- 5'5", 130.
- Matt, she's so impressive. All she does is ninja.
It's a singular focus for her.
- It's all you. It's all you.
- And a great job using that lower body, generating power.
Throw your body into that second one.
Good job. Build up some momentum.
Look around.
- There we go, nice. Back around.
- Push off. - Textbook.
- Perfect. - Nice.
- Come on, Belle! It's all you!
- Matt, you mentioned how well she did in qualifying.
She reached that fifth obstacle
within a second of her brother,
so you know she's got it.
She's got the game. She can go.
- Well, we saw Isaiah looking strong,
and he said Isabella's definitely the better ninja.
Certainly the stronger one, he says.
Good power there
and just real calm with that lower body,
but authoritatively rotating the Tilt-a-Whirl.
- Well, and that authority comes from confidence.
When you have that type of confidence, you can do that.
She trusts her skills. She trusts the process.
She's been putting in a lot of work, and it is showing.
In her first year, making it to the semifinals.
- And these teens came to play.
17 years old, she's ready for the moment.
- Whoo!
- All right, these balance obstacles can be tricky,
and you see Spinning Bridge.
The balls will spin on you.
- All right, here we go, girl. - Take a deep breath.
I've been through this obstacle before,
and it's a little intimidating.
Nice. - Great job.
- She made that look easy.
She looked back at it too, like, "What?
Say something."
- Come on. It's all you.
- But now, back to what she feels is her wheelhouse here,
an upper body obstacle.
- We saw her back on "Ninja Junior,"
where she actually lost a race to Max Feinberg,
who was our first finisher tonight.
- You got it! - There you go. Come on.
- Got to make her first leap here on Wall to Wall.
And you can see-- watch the feet,
trying to get those planted.
- She is mean mugging the heck out of that little wall.
- But you gotta focus on the hand grip.
If you lose the hands,
you're done, regardless of the feet.
- Oh, man! Did you see that grip?
- Great job there. Shaking it out.
Now an 8-inch drop. You got to absorb it.
She's got the power. This is about technique.
- Sometimes it catches you off guard
if you don't anticipate that drop.
- Great job. - Nice.
- Isabella Wakeham
looking completely in command on this run.
- She's in control.
- Wow! - She knows what's up.
- Great lache. - She knows what's up.
Isabella and Isaiah about to get they mom tatted up.
- Look at the smile on her face.
First time facing the 14 1/2-foot wall.
Good, long strides. - Nice up!
[cheers and applause]
Textbook performance.
- You enjoying this? - Keep going.
You get an A+.
- And only about a dozen women in "Ninja" history
have reached the back half of a semifinals course.
Isabella Wakeham now joins that exclusive list.
We've had so many historic moments this season.
And if you've missed any episodes,
you can catch them all on Peacock.
- We love you, Belle. - Hi, guys.
- Hey, how you doing?
Just start thinking about what tattoo
you want your mom to get.
- I'm already on it.
- I think she's gonna have her mom
get a tattoo of myself and you, huh?
- That'd be a great one. - That'd be cool.
- But both kids have to qualify for Vegas.
Right now, Isabella's gotta worry about the Salmon Ladder.
Switching grip there. I like that.
- Nice.
You weren't doing this at 17.
- No, I wasn't.
And she's gonna finish the Salmon Ladder.
- All right, girl. Come on!
- But now, the Corkscrew. This is a real challenge.
- Squeeze, squeeze!
- Nice. - She loves a challenge.
And she just controlled that well.
- Ooh. - A big lache up here, though.
- And as soon as she gets up there,
she's got to anticipate that drop.
- Wow!
- But you see how she's controlling it?
- Only the elite women in this sport
have finished the eighth obstacle.
Isabella Wakeham trying to join them.
- Another big one. Watch out.
- Great lache! Great control!
- You see that? Nice grip strength.
- Are you kidding me?
- Is she about to make it to the ninth obstacle?
Yes!
[cheers and applause]
- You and me the whole way.
- Now heads to the ninth obstacle.
What's she gonna do on Split Decision?
- How do we feel about Tuning Forks?
- You got that light feet. - If you want to do it.
- I see that buzzer. - Yeah, you do.
- It's pretty close. - You do.
- Says she sees that buzzer. Love the confidence.
And she's gonna try the Inverter.
- All right, Isabella. Get this done.
- But this obstacle is so tough.
- You can see that cliffhanger there,
just about on her right hand.
She has trouble getting the fingers on--there it is.
- She's wrapping it around. She's got it.
Now she's got to traverse across.
- A handle on the far side.
- That's right.
both: Oh, no! - The reach!
- Couldn't grab on. Splashes down.
But a history-making run by Isabella Wakeham.
- She's the youngest woman to ever make it to the back
half of the semifinals course.
She was crushing it, but on the Inverter,
she couldn't make that grab as she reached up
and falls on the same obstacle as her brother.
- And Zuri's down with the Wakehams.
- I got to say congratulations to both of you,
because you went far enough, fast enough,
you're both headed to Vegas.
- Whoo! - Let's go!
- My next question is, Mom,
are you ready to get that tattoo?
- Oh, my gosh, I guess it's happening.
- It's time get some ink, Mama. Good work out there.
You start thinking about that design.
Guys, back to you.
- Well, not everyone from tonight will make it to Vegas.
Texas college student Chynna Hart was
making her semifinals debut
but came up short on the second obstacle.
- Oh, no! [air horn blows]
- Another Texan, Cory Torkelson,
was cruising through the course,
till he spun out on Spinning Bridge.
- Oh, no, come on, no! No, oh.
- Portland's Michael Larlee, a three-time veteran,
was trying to earn his first trip to Vegas,
but couldn't handle Wall to Wall.
- Oh! [air horn blows]
- There's still more to come on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to Universal Studios Hollywood.
Minutes ago, another one of our talented teenagers
took the course,
16-year-old Owen Dyer and his flamingo hat.
- Let's go, Owen!
- They're having fun out here, Akbar.
- Come on, Owen.
- The sophomore from Bentonville, Arkansas,
picked up right where he left off in qualifying...
- Perfect! - Yeah!
- Quickly making his way
to the back half of the course.
- He's not even breathing hard!
Now, the choice. Split Decision, Akbar.
- The rookie first moved towards the Inverter,
then changed his mind...
- Wow! Look at this!
- Finally settling on Tuning Forks.
- No, he had it! Just couldn't pull up.
- And I kept this guy dry for you.
Enjoy. [laughs]
Good work out there.
- Let's rock and roll!
- Then it was 37-year-old Abel Gonzalez.
- Oh, he is banging through this course, ooh!
- With the students he teaches back
in Edinburg, Texas, watching...
- Oh, caught his foot!
- The eight-time veteran turned back the clock.
- Go get that buzzer!
- Despite being one of the night's older competitors...
- Matt, he's starting to get tired.
- Gonzalez battled his way to Corkscrew,
which knocked him out of the competition last year.
- Whoa, whoa, oh, my goodness!
He said, "Not this year!"
- With his upper body sapped, he gave his arms a rest
and took a chance on Tuning Forks.
- Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
Just like that!
That's what I'm talking about!
- Yeah!
- Though his time was behind
that of Max Feinberg and Brian Burkhardt...
- Fighting for every bit of energy.
- He battled to the buzzer to become our third finisher
and was overcome with emotion.
- Yeah, baby, enjoy it. Wipe them tears off.
- Well, we've got a hot one on the course right now.
This is The Boss, 16-year-old Elijah Browning.
- Yeah--oh!
- Takes a hard fall, but he survives.
Got lots of folks cheering him on.
There's his dad, siblings, and grandma...
- You got this, bud!
- And his mom Renée on the sidelines.
Well, here he is on Wall to Wall.
And at 6'1", this obstacle is a little more challenging.
You have to be pretty compact.
- Matt, Elijah was so impressive in qualifying.
He had the second-fastest time
and was just flawless on the course.
- His nickname is The Boss because he rules the course,
but also because he has several businesses
back in Tennessee.
Buys and sells sports cards, he's got
a ninja coaching business, and he works as a model.
- Whoa! Nice.
- Boss is looking completely in charge.
- All right, go ahead. Boss this course then.
- Come on, bud! - Big swing.
- Whoo, come on, bud!
- Get out of there.
- Ooh! - Oh, okay.
- Just rolls over, makes it look intentional.
- He's staying so focused on what it is that he has to do.
all: Beat that wall! Beat that wall!
- He got the hat on backwards.
And I'm up here sporting that Boss hat.
I got you, baby. - Hey, Boss.
- I got you. I see you.
- And no problem. Shows the wall who's boss.
- Elijah! Am I wearing it right?
I'm cool? Okay. All right.
- Wear it backwards, just like he does.
- Huh, should I wear it backwards like he does?
- Try to be cool. - All right, cool, boom.
There we go. I can see it better.
- 16 years old and ready to take on the Salmon Ladder.
- Come on, come on. - Come on, buddy!
- Looking good. - Yeah!
- You're looking really smooth.
- You got the Salmon Ladder.
[cheering]
- No problem there.
- We saw Elijah back on "Ninja Junior."
He made it to semifinals. Look at his long legs.
He's gonna be flying on Corkscrew.
Look at the hair twisting around like that.
You see that, and his hat's about to come off.
Don't worry. Uh-oh. - Oh, there it is.
- Oh, we get to see--oh yeah, it's off, it's off.
And now he's off to the races.
- Well, hopefully it won't get in his eyes.
If he gets through this obstacle,
probably gonna be in the top 15.
Ooh. - Whoa!
- Just got on it. - Whoo!
- Great grip strength there.
- You see him? Into the pillar.
- And he gets through!
Well, here it is.
Akbar, I think we're ready for a boss battle,
Elijah Browning versus Split Decision.
- This is your time, buddy.
- Elijah, yo, Elijah, here, you can have my hat.
You can wear mine.
- Zuri's giving him her Boss hat.
- Oh, he needs the hat.
- Well, now that he's got the hat,
he's gonna try the Inverter.
He's got long wingspan. - Yeah, but he's got skills.
I think he can--oh, nice. He's going for it.
- Ooh, you saw that right hand miss there?
Missed again! - And he's sliding!
He's sliding. - Oh, missed again!
- He's fishing around for it. Uh-oh, he--uh-oh, oh, no!
[air horn blows]
- And The Boss just couldn't handle the Inverter.
Couldn't get a grip.
But that still may be good enough
to get him to Vegas.
- His hat came off, but it didn't phase him.
He made it through Corkscrew but seemed to run out of gas
on Inverter and never got a good grip.
- Yeah, that's hard.
- Well, no one's come further to compete
than our next competitor.
This is Deren Perez.
He's traveled over 6,000 miles
from the Pacific island of Guam.
And he's ready to put his home on the map.
[upbeat music]
- They call me the Guahan Ninja
because I'm from Guam.
Guam is a U.S. territory located in the South Pacific.
It's a real small island,
and I literally grew up playing in a jungle.
My friends gave me the nickname Mowgli
because I was just jumping from tree to tree,
branch to branch.
- Oh, there you go. - Oh, nice!
- Now, all those moves as a kid
really help my journey as a ninja.
- He is looking right at home swinging through our course.
- After 17 years with the U.S. military,
I recently got relocated back to Guam.
I'm here now for three years with the Coast Guard,
and being back home
is such a good time to catch up with everybody.
- Welcome home, Deren.
- I missed the people. And the food is so good.
I miss it so much. Amazing.
Getting up there and hitting that buzzer would mean so much
to the people of Guam,
to show what we can do as a small island.
- And Deren Perez is already on the course.
The Coast Guardsman has been cruising.
He's on obstacle five.
- Yeah. - Good job there.
- All you!
- Representing for Guam. Yeah, buddy!
- Hey.
- We're flying the flag. And his family's excited.
He's got his wife and step-kids watching
from back home, along with his mom.
There's his aunt, who lives here in California.
- Love you.
- And he's about to try his first Warped Wall
on "American Ninja Warrior."
And he got it. Headed to the back half.
Perez has had success in ninja competitions
in Europe and Asia,
but really wants to get to Vegas
and show he belongs with the best American ninjas.
- Whoo!
- Not a lot of rest in between.
He's just kind of going right into it.
- Well, no problem on the Salmon Ladder.
Taking a deep breath.
Can he hang on through Corkscrew?
With his pace, if he gets through this,
he'll very likely punch his ticket to Vegas.
- You can see him making the adjustment.
He's got the right hand placement.
- But you got a big lache up here.
- He's 5'6". He's got to go up high. Nice.
- Great job. - Yeah, and I love it.
He's keeping his L's. Coming in tight.
And that's how you kind of control the centrifugal force.
Whoa.
- Great job. Get this dismount.
- Matt, you can see him. He's grimacing.
He's like, "Oh."
- Deren Perez is going to Vegas.
But he's not done.
- Oh, Matt, they're celebrating back in Guam.
- But right now, he's gotta decide:
Inverter or Tuning Forks?
Only one ninja, 16-year-old Max Feinberg,
got through the Inverter tonight.
What a journey, from the jungles of Guam
to right here at Universal Studios.
- Rumble, rumble in the jungles then.
Rumble in the jungle. Oh, oh, oh, oh!
No!
- Well, the Coast Guard man ends up in the water,
but not before doing what he has to do to go to Vegas.
- That's it. That's what he wanted to do.
Let's check out his technique on Tuning Forks.
He tries to two-step it,
putting both feet on each fork.
But when he hopped to the second,
he slid right off.
- You are headed to Vegas. - I made it to Vegas?
Yes! Yes! Oh, my God!
Whoo!
Baby, I'm going to Vegas! Whoo!
- Well, it's a Power Tower like you've never seen before.
Our two fastest will face off there at the end of the night,
coming up on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to LA.
While we were away, two more ninjas tried
to keep their season alive.
Anthony Porter was right on target
with his William Tell impression at the start.
- Nice.
- Porter was a surprise
in qualifying, hitting a buzzer.
And he looked strong again tonight.
- And the shirt's coming off?
- After making it to the back half,
the Archery Ninja set his sights on the Inverter.
He made it through the first board...
- Oh, no! Anthony Porter's down!
- Before finally missing the mark.
But he's almost assured a spot in the top 15.
- Absolutely awesome. So happy.
- Then the Flyboy, Isaiah Thomas, took flight.
- Nice, he's got this one. He's got this one.
- The 15-year-old sensation from Garland, Texas,
had the fastest time in qualifying,
and he put on another show tonight.
- Okay! I see you, man!
- The soon-to-be high school junior cruised
to the back half.
- Look at that strut.
That strut is the cool kid strut.
- And he was one of the few to take his chances
on the Tuning Forks.
- Oh, oh, oh, oh!
- But his fast time ensured him a spot in the top 15.
- We will see you in Vegas, Flyboy Ninja.
Congratulations.
- Well, from the Flyboy to the Big Dog, it's 6'6",
210-pound Jody Avila from Sugar Land, Texas.
Everyone knows about Jody's size and strength.
But he also wants the world to know about his culture.
- I am incredibly proud of my Dominican heritage.
[soft music]
As a kid, I spent just about every summer
in the Dominican Republic,
being that all my family lived there.
So the Dominican Republic is mostly known
for producing amazing baseball players,
but unfortunately, I was never a great one.
So I'm the first ninja
that the Dominican Republic has produced.
It's extremely important to pass on my Dominican
traditions to my sons.
They're learning the language,
and I speak to them all the time in Spanish.
- Yes?
- Yeah?
Love you guys!
- And he's got family members watching from back
in the Dominican.
There's his dad in the back and grandma in front,
and his wife Pauline will be cheering with their two sons,
including Brandon...
- I love you. - We love you.
- Who will compete on "Ninja Junior" this fall.
[countdown clock beeping]
Jody's been getting stronger and stronger.
Made it to the finals each of the past two seasons.
Had a great season last year.
Trying to use that momentum to get back to Vegas.
In addition to all the family,
Jody's got Flip Rodriguez cheering him on.
- Let's go, Big Dog! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo.
- Here we go, 210 pounds.
You know you got it rocking. Nice.
- And he's got an easy, good pace going here.
- And you know, Matt, I asked him--I said,
"How'd you add speed to your game like that?
What'd you do?"
He says, "I'm just comfortable carrying the big body frame."
He's made a lot of mistakes early in his career.
He's a six-time veteran. He says he just got it.
It just clicked for him.
- He also said keeping up with Brandon.
- Yeah, Brandon will keep him in check for sure.
- Watch the bar.
He's got a lot of movement here and a lot of power.
- Yeah, be careful. He's 210.
That bar can easily come off.
- You can see, though, real control.
- Yes!
- Already a minute in,
and he's at the fourth obstacle.
- Balance obstacles, though, they can make you nervous.
- Look at that. - He skipped a ball!
- That's all right. He's 6'6".
- Tumbled down but survived.
And they're celebrating in the Dominican.
Now on to Wall to Wall.
This is gonna be a challenge, though, with his big frame.
He's 6'6".
That's a lot of body on those small ledges.
Might be able to reach out leg--there it is.
- [laughs]
Look at that! Look at this! - He's so long!
- That's the advantage of being 6'6".
- This is what you call wall-to-wall coverage.
This is like NBC News.
- Now, watch this, though.
This is gonna be a big drop at 210.
- Oh, no!
- The Big Dog couldn't hold on.
- Oh.
- His Dominican family always gonna be proud,
but Jody is disappointed.
- I can't even believe that that just happened.
- That's a tiny ledge for a Big Dog, and back it up.
You can see, he just whiffed with his left hand
and he couldn't hold up that 210 pounds
with just four fingers.
- And that puts him in 15th place,
with one ninja to run.
And that final athlete is his friend, Daniel Gil,
the ninja who went farther than anyone last year.
- All right, you guys. Another day, another course.
Let's do this.
- He runs next on "American Ninja Warrior."
- The Power Tower showdown
between our two fastest finishers is coming up.
And right now, 16-year-old Max Feinberg
and the Law Ninja,
Brian Burkhardt, are headed there.
- But our final athlete may have something
to say about that.
We've saved the best for last,
and that's why I wanted the best view in the house.
Last season, Daniel Gil took our grand prize,
100 grand, in our shortened season.
But this year, we're going back to Vegas,
with a million dollars on the line.
Two years ago, Gil timed out only feet from the top
of Mount Midoriyama and ultimate victory.
- He's slowing down, Matt. I don't know if he can do it!
[buzzer blares]
- This year, he's ready to go all the way,
and winning the Safety Pass
would give him an extra chance at $1 million.
- I would love to have a Safety Pass
going into Vegas
to use on stage one or two.
I want my revenge on stage four.
And yes, I have been working on my rope climb technique.
[upbeat music]
- He's got a big group watching back in Houston,
including his wife Abby, plus his sister and mom.
[countdown clock beeping]
Well, shockingly, Daniel Gil fell on the fifth obstacle
back in qualifying,
the first time he's fallen since 2018.
- Matt, I think he's not only going for the buzzer,
but he's also gonna go for time.
He's gonna show these young folks
that he's still the king.
- Not easy to finish
a ten-obstacle semifinals course,
but Daniel Gil's done it the past five years.
We expect greatness from him.
Going side leap, first one to do it, and it worked.
His Houston ninja training partners
Kid Owhadi and Isaiah Wakeham down on the sideline.
Gil goes right into Tilt-a-Whirl.
- Now, I want you to watch how he does it,
because he's gonna put on a clinic.
He's not gonna spend a lot of time here on Tilt-a-Whirl.
- He's been watching the other ninjas
all night on these obstacles.
Has probably visualized every move on this course.
And you see him, each time, looking up at the bar,
making sure it's properly centered.
Doesn't want it to slide off. Going with the switch grip.
Doing everything right.
- Nice.
Matt, he doesn't want to fall again.
That's just not something that happens to Daniel Gil.
- And he's through.
Facing the Spinning Bridge.
And je's smiling.
Most ninjas dread balance obstacles.
- Whoa. Oh, oh, oh.
- There it is. He's smiling.
If he gets through this obstacle,
Daniel Gil will be going back to Vegas,
and his friend Jody Avila, who's on the bubble,
in 15th place, will be going home.
- In qualifying, we remember,
he went out on the fifth obstacle.
- I can almost guarantee he will not do that again.
We haven't seen him yawn yet.
He likes to yawn on the course, helps him relax.
And you know he's in the zone when you see it.
- And he's moving through this as fast as anyone.
A'ight. Ooh, whoa.
- There goes the dismount. - Nice.
- Got it. - Okay.
- Gil is going back to Vegas.
But unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to the Big Dog.
Jody Avila is out.
And Daniel Gil is headed to the back half.
- Let's go! Whoo, yes!
- Yes.
Continue to ascend, my friend.
- Oh!
There's the yawn. That's like--you know
how Michael Jordan sticks his tongue out.
Daniel Gil yawns on the course. It doesn't mean he's tired.
That means he's getting warmed up.
- He's got more than four minutes
to catch Brian Burkhardt for the fastest time.
If he beats Burkhardt or Max Feinberg, who's in second,
he'll race on the Power Tower
for that important Safety Pass.
- All day and all night, Daniel.
This is all you, man.
- Now the Salmon Ladder.
Has never fallen on this obstacle.
And no problem.
- Got it. Got it.
- Now the Corkscrew.
His friend Janitor Josh, Josh Norton,
who's there behind Abby, he created this obstacle.
Submitted it through our Obstacle Design Challenge.
And if you've got an obstacle idea,
go to ANWNation.com
to see how to send in your creations.
- Daniel Gil is flying through this!
He wants that Power Tower and that Safety Pass.
- Just generating tremendous force.
Gil making short work of it. Just needs the dismount.
And he's through.
- And Janitor Josh is relieved.
- But what's he gonna do at Split Decision?
With his upper body strength,
Inverter would seem the safer choice.
- Matt, he's peeking at Tuning Forks.
He's considering it.
- Trust your gut. Trust your gut.
- Time's not an issue. He's way ahead of Burkhardt.
I think he's gonna try Tuning Forks.
And look. He's smiling.
Most ninjas hate balance obstacles.
Gil loves the challenge.
And gets through.
And he goes right into Spider Trap.
- Matt, he is cooking with gas.
He's gonna have the fastest time by a mile.
Here we go. - Daniel Gil is--
- Here we go, look at him!
- Oh, my goodness. - You know what he did?
He wanted to save his upper body strength
so he could just fly through this one.
Look at him going through Spider Trap.
- And look at that.
Daniel Gil. - Kingdom Come!
[buzzer blares]
[upbeat music]
- The fastest time of the night
by over two minutes!
Never count out Daniel Gil.
Reminding us why he won it all last year.
Oh, my goodness,
You are going to the Power Tower
against Brian Burkhardt, Daniel.
- Let's go! Let's get it.
- Up next, we're going to our brand-new Power Tower.
It's been completely redesigned.
Our ninjas start underneath and scramble up the rails
to a 20-foot Rope Climb, then hop the ring
and slide down to an angled Salmon Ladder,
which leads up to the Dropping Shelves
and a final swing to the buzzer.
It's gonna be a Texas showdown between two veterans,
as our defending champ
Daniel Gil races the Law Ninja Brian Burkhardt.
Only one will win the Safety Pass to use in Vegas.
And it's all just ahead on "American Ninja Warrior."
- Welcome back to "American Ninja Warrior"
and the conclusion of our first round of semifinals.
We've saved the best for last, the return of the Power Tower.
And despite the impressive teenagers,
it's gonna be two veterans
going head-to-head-- the Law Ninja
squaring off against the Kingdom Ninja.
- Oh, boy. This should be good.
- To go against Daniel Gil, who's the reigning champion,
it's a little bit intimidating.
- Daniel Gil! He is our 2020 champion!
- Daniel's been on the Power Tower five times now,
and I've never actually been,
so I'm a little bit of an underdog coming into this.
- It's very intimidating. Just the sheer size of it.
- It's scary from the ground.
- There's a lot of new twists, a lot of big moves.
- It's gotta be really terrifying
when you're up there on it.
- We'll see if the pressure gets to him or not.
- To look up there,
30, 40 feet in the sky, it's a little unsettling.
- Oh! - Ahh!
- But I know that I cannot underestimate Brian,
because the smallest mistake will be the difference
between hitting that buzzer and not.
- Matt, this is a different setup.
Both these competitors have never seen
this brand-new Power Tower.
They're both looking up, trying to plan it out.
Even though Gil's been on the Power Tower many times before,
he's never been on this version.
- Daniel's wife Abby will be watching with friends
back in Texas,
as well as parents and sisters.
Brian Burkhardt gotta be considered an underdog
going against the defending champion.
- Yeah. Let's go, Brian.
- He'll have his sister Victoria cheering for him.
- Yeah!
- The winner gets the Safety Pass,
a do-over if you fall on stage one or two.
And that could be worth $1 million.
- Here we go. Hands on deck.
[countdown clock beeping]
- And here we go.
And you can see Gil, a slight edge.
Now for this 20-foot Rope Climb.
They get to the rope at the same time.
And Daniel Gil loves being on the rope.
But it looks like Brian Burkhardt's keeping this even!
- Oh, here we go now. - Oh!
- Here we go, Matt!
- But Gil misses the bar. Oh, my goodness!
- This is an angled Salmon Ladder.
- And Burkhardt jumps out ahead.
Gil still struggling with the bar!
Burkhardt already on the Dropping Shelves.
Gil can't get on the Salmon Ladder.
- And there is no stopping the lawyer.
- Wow. - Oh, my goodness.
He is laying down the law.
- He just has to avoid a fall.
Brian Burkhardt, one more shelf to go!
Daniel Gil, no chance to catch up.
- This is unbelievable!
- What an unexpected result. - What?
- Brian Burkhardt has earned safety in Vegas
over the legendary Daniel Gil!
- Let's go! Let's go!
- That's my guy! Ahh!
- Oh, my goodness. I did not see that coming.
- A surprising result.
Akbar, that's why you run the race.
- Here's the critical point.
Daniel Gil slides down the ring
to grab the Salmon Ladder bar and misses.
Has to come back and try again,
and the bar comes off the rung.
Meanwhile, Brian Burkhardt was flawless at that spot.
He jumped out in front and never looked back.
A lot of people are gonna be calling this lawyer,
because he made his case.
Brian Burkhardt can run with the best.
An exciting ending. - Let's go!
- And we'll see both Daniel Gil and Brian Burkhardt
at the national finals in a few weeks.
16-year-old Max Feinberg and the veteran Abel Gonzalez
were our other finishers.
The rest of the top 15 include teenagers Owen Dyer
and Flyboy Isaiah Thomas,
along with Christian Youst and Elijah Browning.
Six teens in all advance to the national finals,
including Isabella Wakeham.
She and Tiana Webberley both made the top 15.
Zhanique Lovett rounds out our women's top three.
We'll be taking a short break for the Olympics on NBC,
but don't worry, we'll be back.
For Akbar Gbajabiamila and Zuri Hall.
I'm Matt Iseman.
We'll see you in two weeks on "American Ninja Warrior."