American Ninja Warrior (2009–…): Season 12, Episode 8 - Finals 2 - full transcript

- It's been a "Ninja" season
like no other.

- Matt, it is great to be back.

- I love you!
- Love you.

- I'm so glad to be home.
I'm home.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.

- The thing that's so special
about "Ninja"

is the camaraderie

and the friendship that we have.

- His two friends rushed over
to console him.

- I love you, Joe!

- These ninjas, they really do
have each other's back.



- Now only the best
of the best remain.

- I'm still alive, and there's
definitely more to come.

- He broke the buzzer!

- Tonight they must
conquer the course...

- Oh, what in the world?

- And then conquer each other.

- Oh, wow.
- It's simple.

You win, you move on.
You lose, you're out.

- What?
- No!

- I am gonna go in,
and I'm gonna try to win it.

- I really feel confident that
I can take the crown this year.

- 2020 is killing it
on "Ninja Warrior."

- I want that $100,000,
and I'm gonna do it for sure.

- I'm not here
to get second place.



I'm here to win.

Yeah!

- Welcome to St. Louis,
Missouri,

where tonight, we wrap up
a special season

of "American Ninja Warrior."

Hello, world, and welcome to
what's gonna be a huge night.

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

Matt, this year has been
all about lifting people up,

and tonight, one ninja

is gonna lift up the trophy
as this year's champion.

- Well, we started the finals
last week,

and while there were
some thrilling finishes,

many of our big names

were taken down
by this unrelenting course.

Tonight, the remaining ninjas
get their shot.

Daniel Gil looking so strong.

- There's the guy who
almost won it all last year,

Houston's Daniel Gil.

We'll also see the Wild Man,
Colorado's Jake Murray.

- His best performance ever!

- And the Weatherman,
Connecticut's Joe Moravsky.

- Moravsky gets the buzzer!

- Plus stuntwoman Jessie Graff

goes for another buzzer here
in the finals.

- And Jessie Graff has done it.

- And the night's gonna end

high in the sky
over on the Power Tower.

- That's right.
Now, for all the details,

let's go down to Zuri Hall.

- Thanks, guys. Once again,

it starts with ten obstacles

on the extended course,
and, of the first six,

the new one,
the Falling Shelves,

did the most damage last week.

Get through those,
and you'll face

the brutal final four obstacles,

including this dastardly
new one, Dragonback.

Everyone will be trying
to get into the top eight,

who will advance
to our first-ever

Power Tower playoffs

at the end of the night.

That's gonna be over
on our 40-foot monster,

the Power Tower,

where the eight remaining ninjas

will race head to head
to determine

this year's champion.

Matt, Akbar,

let's get this moving.
- Thanks, Zuri.

Last week,
many of our top ninjas

struggled on this challenging
extended course,

and here's who's
in the top eight right now

Lucas Reale's at the top
with the fastest finish.

Jesse Labreck also finished.
She's in the fourth spot.

The non-finishers, though,

could get pushed
out of the top eight,

especially Jody Avila.

He's on the bubble right now.

And we're gonna get things going

with one of the two rookies
who made it to the finals.

This is 22-year-old
Jeshuah Lewis,

and he's waving to his family
of "Ninja" super fans.

They all live in an RV,

and Jeshuah took a very
different road to get here.

Since 2018, Jeshuah
and his tight-knit family

have traveled
thousands of miles,

visiting every state
in the lower 48.

- We have eight of us packed
into our motor home,

which is only 345 square feet.

- And there's one pit stop
this family of superfans

never misses,
"Ninja Warrior" competitions.

Jeshuah and his brothers
seem to show up everywhere.

This year, he sent in
a submission and was selected

by Joe Moravsky
to compete on the show.

- It's definitely
a little bit intimidating

competing against
all these people

that I've looked up to
for years,

but I'm so stoked
to make it to the finals,

so I'm gonna go all-out
on this course and crush it.

- And Lewis wouldn't
even be here

without Joe Moravsky.
- Let's go, Jesh!

- Joe's win on the Power Tower

in qualifying saved Jeshuah
from elimination,

and this rookie has
taken advantage

of his second chance.

- Let's go, Jesh!
- Joe will be on the sideline

with Devin Harrelson,

who trains with Jeshuah
back in North Carolina.

- The goal tonight
is to get into that top eight.

The rookie's gonna need
a big run.

- Well, he gets through
the first obstacle,

Shrinking Steps,
and now it's Spring Forward.

In this loaded field,

your best bet is to hit a buzzer

or at least get to that ninth
obstacle if you wanna move on.

Jeshuah Lewis
confidently bouncing his way

across Spring Forward,
and he's through.

Now this new one,
Falling Shelves.

This eliminated Chris DiGangi
and Jeri D'Aurelio last week.

You have to grab
those small handles

as you swing
across the three Xs.

Now reverse grip here,
watch this.

But the rookie able to hang on.

- Whew, that's a tough move,
and he did that.

- Yes! Let's go.

- Now moves on
to another dangerous one,

this balance obstacle,
Diamond Dash.

- All right, stay centered
on this, okay?

- Moravsky's been a mentor
to this kid

throughout the season.

- Right in the middle. Ooh, ooh!

- Diamonds are not
his best friend...

- Oh, my goodness.
- But he survives.

That was a hard impact.
Now here he is on Spin Hopper.

- Matt, Spin Hopper will test
your core strength.

- Make it yours, dude.

- Has to jump up
and across these pipes,

and they will spin on you

if you don't
grab them correctly.

- Come on, Jesh.
Come on, you got this.

- You got it, baby.
- Now he's gotta transfer.

All of them rotate
except for that middle one

on the way down,
which means, again,

hand placement precision is key.

- And it's so hard to anticipate

just how much
it's going to move.

- Almost through it.

This rookie rising
to the occasion

here in the finals,

and he's got it.

The family is rocking the RV.

- If this RV's rocking,
don't bother knocking.

- Well, he's ready to rock
the Warped Wall.

- Get it, baby.

- Wow, this kid's got power.

- This kid has got
a lot of talent.

I think he can rip through
these next obstacles.

- And what a thrill
it's gotta be for this family.

They are "Ninja" superfans,

traveled to competitions
over the years,

and now they have
one of their own heading

to the back half
of this finals course.

- Well, he's got
four tough obstacles to go,

starting with the Salmon Ladder.

- Has to jump it up four rungs.

One, two, three, four.

- And he's through.

This impressive rookie

now moving on
to the eighth obstacle.

- Come on!
- Slam Dunk, though.

First time he's faced it.
Watch this.

You gotta transfer these balls
like you're slam dunking them,

but you really have to hold
that grip tight.

- Nice, and then you gotta make

that transfer to the next ball,

and you gotta make sure
you come in even...

- Oh!
- Oh.

- The impressive run
of Jeshuah Lewis

ends on Slam Dunk.

- What happened?

- Your right hand,
it looked like, hit first.

- I think I hit my head
or something.

- It happened too quick
for me to tell.

- Yeah.
- Well, yeah, let's watch it.

Jeshuah did hit his head
on the hoop.

Maybe that threw him off
a little bit,

because, like Joe said,

he got the right hand on

but missed with his left,
and he got dunked.

- But this rookie made
the most of the second chance

he got from Moravsky.

- Never like seeing that
from somebody that talented

'cause that kinda...

Makes you rethink.

- Well, up next is one
of last year's top rookies.

This is Da Cake Ninja,
David Wright.

He got that nickname because
he eats cake before every run,

and this season he invited
a ninja who likes to bake...

- Come on, baby!
- Amir Malik.

These two have
become fast friends.

- Whew. Yeah, man.

This is a good forearm workout.

- I hate to roast you,

but you still look
like a rectangle with arms.

Amir's kinda like mini me.

Literally, we're clones.

We're pretty hype.

- Let's go!
- Whoo!

Our sense of humor is
the same...

- And we go pretty fast
on the obstacles.

- Right into Sideways.
He is flying.

- Last year David was the rookie

who had the sweet tooth.

This year it's me.

He's a great friend.
- All right, Sonic, all you!

- Our bond and our connection
is totally strong.

- Let's go, easy dismount!
Let's go!

- He's definitely
a great mentor,

and I can
definitely use his advice.

- Use those hands!
There we go, good!

To have a teammate come with me

to the finals is very nice,

but a small goal of mine
is to beat Amir

because in the semifinals,

his first words
when he got down were...

- I beat you.

- So coming out of the gun,
I'm gonna be sprinting.

I need to finish,
and I need to finish fast.

- Oh, yeah, you can have
your cake and eat it too!

- I'm gonna hit a buzzer
heading to the top eight.

- What a great camaraderie
and rivalry

these two have developed,
and Amir will run next.

- You got this, man.

- He's on the sideline
with the Big Dog, Jody Avila.

David Wright's also got
his big family

back in Texas cheering for him.

- Whoo!
- There's his girlfriend,

Caitlyn Bergstrom,
her brother, Caleb.

- Oh, she threw up
the love sign, aww.

The young ninjas are in love.

- Lots of hearts here
for Da Cake Ninja.

- Let's go, Cake!
- Come on, baby!

- Everyone running tonight
knows they need

to hit a buzzer to feel safe.
- Nice.

- Da Cake Ninja's
certainly capable,

but this is a tough course.

- Okay, he's moving fast, Matt.

- Wow.

- He's powered
by high fructose corn syrup.

- Well, the thing I love,

this young guy just runs
with such confidence, Akbar.

We've seen some more cautious,
methodical approaches.

Da Cake Ninja's
out here having fun.

- Well, this third obstacle
is not fun, Matt.

Falling Shelves is a tricky one.

- The ninjas seem to fly
through the first two,

but this third one
is a real challenge.

- Come on, man.
- Get that momentum.

Blind grab! - Oh!

- We saw it last week,
and it happens again tonight.

Another top ninja taken out
by this third obstacle.

Not a sweet finish
for David Wright.

- This third one
is a reverse grab.

You have to bring
your hands around

and just feel for those handles,

and David Wright
just couldn't find them,

and his season is over.

- And now his buddy
Amir Malik's gotta put

that disappointment
out of his head,

because he's gonna run
the course next.

Tonight...

- She just flexed on the finals!

- It's an epic ending
to an unforgettable season.

- Yeah!

- Holy cow, I'm a bit nervous.

- Only a handful of athletes
are left,

trying to get to our first-ever

Power Tower playoffs...

- I want this even more
than I wanted it last year.

- Head to head races
40 feet in the air...

- Oh, no, no!
Oh, my heart can't take it!

My heart can't take it!

- To crown this year's champion.

- Wake them up, baby! Whoo!

- It's the season finale
of "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back to St. Louis
and our season finale.

If you're a ninja fan,
you should check out

You'll find t-shirts,
sweatshirts, and all kinds

of "American Ninja Warrior"
merchandise.

And if our athletes
this season have inspired you,

why not apply for next season?

Well, up next is a guy

who sent in
his submission last year,

and look at him now.

He's in the finals.

This is Amir Malik,
a 20-year-old rookie

from Essex Junction,
Vermont, who has been

one of the biggest
surprises of the season,

and no one saw this kid coming.

- I'm from Vermont.
It's such a small state.

Not a lot of people
do ninja up there.

We don't have any big athletes,
any stars,

if you will,
coming out of Vermont.

We only have three people
working at our gym.

It's just crazy to kind of
just slide under the radar.

- Where did this kid come from?

He's gonna get a buzzer!

- First time on the course,
flawless!

- He's just out of nowhere.

Nobody saw him coming,
just a rookie popping off.

- Let's go, baby!

- He's crazy fast.

I mean, his nickname
is literally Sonic.

- Look at him bouncing across
these bars

in one continuous move.
He is flying.

- Basically, I train myself.

It's nice to be, like,
kind of alone when you do this.

You just do whatever you want,
and it's just fun.

You make it work
one way or another.

I feel like if you even
practice an obstacle

and you fail it, it just builds
that confidence in you.

- You good? Aww.

- I'm 5'5", 115 pounds.

It's my rookie season,

and I'm stacked
against these big ninjas.

I definitely think
I will be an underdog,

but anything can happen,

and I'm gonna shock the world.

- And there's his family
back in Vermont.

Mom, brother,
and even his grandma watching,

and on the sidelines,
we just talked about it,

his lookalike buddy
who invited him this season,

Da Cake Ninja, David Wright,
who just fell minutes ago.

- Let's go, Amir!

- Plus a ninja who put up

the fastest finish last week,
Lucas Reale.

- Come on!

- And, Matt,
he's only 115 pounds.

He just floats across
some of these obstacles.

He's like a water bug out there.

- Good, nice and easy, buddy.
Come on!

- And watch the way he flies
across this second obstacle,

Spring Forward.

Only 5'5".

Great shot there
on Spring Forward.

You can see how that bar
moves diagonally... ooh!

Just one continuous motion
across this obstacle.

- Let's go!
- But now Falling Shelves.

This took out his buddy,
Da Cake Ninja, minutes ago.

- Get up! Let's go!

Yeah!

- And this is the tough one,
this third shelf.

It's a reverse grab.

- There we go, get it!
- Nice.

- But Malik gets it.

He learned
from Wright's mistake.

And he is through.

Outdid his buddy on that one.

- Let's go!

- But now another dangerous
obstacle, Diamond Dash.

All about the proper...
- Nice, nice.

- Ooh, on the front there.
- Ooh!

- A stumble, but Sonic survives,

and he moves right on over
to Spin Hopper.

Amir Malik looking locked in

as he takes on
the fifth obstacle.

Well, this is another obstacle
that requires precision.

- There we go! Lock it in!

Let's go!
Power into it! Get up there!

- David Wright shouting
some advice.

Gotta have your hands...
The wider out they are,

the better you're able
to control those handles.

- And some of them are fixed,
as you can see,

but for the ones that wobble,
you gotta grab them

with both hands
at the same time.

- Let's go, come on!

- He should... ooh,
oh, oh, oh, oh!

- Wow!

- Wow, that was a little
reckless, but it worked.

- Such confidence.

He's not even breathing heavily.

- You got it.
- Ready for the Warped Wall.

- All right, and let's go!
- Fastest to this point.

- This kid is something else.
- There it is.

- Okay. I see you.

- Smacking his heart.
What meaning that has for him.

He overcame
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

as a kid,
a rare heart condition,

had heart surgery
when he was just 14 years old.

Thought he might never be able
to play sports,

and now here he is
in the finals,

ready for the final
four obstacles.

First up, the Salmon Ladder.

- Come on, kid. Let's go.

- Farthest the fastest can
put you into that top eight.

- I just feel like
he doesn't get tired.

I just feel like
this has just been something

he's been waiting
for his entire life.

- Gets through
the Salmon Ladder.

- Watch your hands.
That's the hardest part.

- Lucas Reale, who has
the fastest time

so far in the finals, offering
some advice on Slam Dunk.

Jody Avila fell here last week,

and now he's on the bubble
in eighth right now.

This transfer real challenging.

- Yup, it's all about
the placement.

We saw that with... with Avila.
Nice hand placement.

- Got it.
- Sonic, you got it!

- You got it.

- Amir Malik looking
so dialed in.

- With authority, but it's the
from ball to ball transfer,

that can be tricky,
hand placement.

- Well, we saw
the big guy struggle,

but this little Spud Webb
looking individual

is doing a great job. - Yes!

- The smaller ninja
doing better.

- Yes!

- Yes!

- Whoo!
- Yes!

- Let's go! Breathe.
- Come on, dude.

- Breathe.
- This is all you now, all you.

- And now he'll be the first
tonight to tackle Dragonback.

This knocked out a lot
of top ninjas last week.

- Malik's speed puts him
in the top eight right now,

but if he gets through this,

he'll have a good chance
of staying there.

- He's gotta jump that bar
up the notches

on the dragon's back
and then slide it down.

All about precision
with the bar placement here.

- Big things come
in small packages.

- And you can just... you can
see how that bar moves,

so difficult... oh!

The rookie sensation
is taken out by Dragonback.

- Whoo! Let's go!

- But he had a fast time
to this point,

and that puts him ahead
of some others

who fell on this obstacle.

- Watch as he makes
this last jump.

He wants to land
the bar up here,

but watch his left side.

The young fella overshoots it,

goes too far
in front of his right,

and he just couldn't save it.
- Whoo!

- I gotta tell you,
I love this kid's energy.

We could see him
on the Power Tower later.

- Well, we'll be tracking the
leaderboard all night long.

With that run, rookie Amir Malik

moves into the top eight
at number five,

which knocks five-time
ninja veteran Jody Avila out,

but Malik's not safe yet.

There are many top ninjas
coming up

that could knock him out.

It's gonna be a battle
for those eight spots,

and one of the best,
Houston's Daniel Gil,

hits the course next
on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back
to the season finale

of "American Ninja Warrior."

While we were away, the Giant,
Jon Alexis Jr.,

tried to run his way
into our final eight.

- Okay, big body.

- The 6'6"
former track star sprinted

to the back half
of the course...

- He's going for that time.
The big fella going for time.

- And even skipped rungs
on the Salmon Ladder.

- Big move on Salmon Ladder.

- And though he's the size
of an NBA player,

he couldn't handle Slam Dunk.

- Oh, no!
- No!

- That's supposed
to be our hooper!

- And he finished
outside the top eight.

- Ah.

- And now get ready for one
of the favorites, Daniel Gil.

He is one of the toughest
ninjas of all time,

but nothing can wipe
that smile off his face.

Even though he just missed out

on being our champion last year,

he's come back
as positive as ever,

and he's got a special reason

for wanting to win
the money this year.

- All right, house hunting.
- Yeah, this is fun.

- Yeah, you ready to look
at some homes?

- I am. I'm excited.

- It's amazing to me
to look back

and see how much
my life has changed...

- It's Daniel Gil.

- Over the course
of my six-year career here

on "American Ninja Warrior."

- I've got a sneaky suspicion
that Mr. Gil here

is going to be a star.

- I never would have dreamt
that I'd be married

to my beautiful wife, Abby.

Now we're looking forward
to the next phase,

which is owning a home
of our own

so that we can start having
those kids

and filling up that house.

- Wow.

- I'm looking at larger homes
able to accommodate

the family that I'm dreaming
about having.

A lot of space,
and it seems like

it's a perfect backyard
for kids.

Baby ninjas are hopefully
on the way very soon.

- We're kinda thinking
around, like, six.

- Just get out of there.
Get out of there, Gil!

- He's got it!

- Because of "Ninja Warrior,"
we're able to dream on a scale

that we never would have
been able to a few years ago.

- I think he's gonna
get it, Matt!

- Yes!
- I think he's gonna get it!

Yes! - $10,000!

- The greatest incentive
to winning this season

is the down payment on a house.

- I'm excited.
- Yeah, it's been

a fun day house hunting.

The security for my wife and I
and our future family together.

- Oh, my, Daniel Gil!

He looks unstoppable!

- This season, I'm gonna win
"American Ninja Warrior"

and get us that dream house.

Either way, I'm ready to start

this next chapter
of our lives together.

- Me too.

- And there's Abby
watching from back in Houston.

She never misses
one of his runs.

Other family and friends
also tuning in.

- That's Janitor Josh
right there.

- Plus three of the ninjas

he trains with in Houston,
Kid Owhadi, Jody Avila,

and Da Cake Ninja, David Wright.

A little yawn, Akbar.

- Well, we saw him do that
in the semis too.

Told us it helps him
slow down his heart rate,

and now he's ready to roll.

- He knows what he needs to do.

Has to get to Dragonback
to have a chance,

but to be sure of being
in the top eight,

he needs to hit a buzzer.

Well, he talks about it.

He gets such joy
out of performing,

whether it's opera singing
or at his worship group

or mostly out here
on the course.

- Daniel Gil can sing.

- He is multitalented.

And he is through
Spring Forward.

- Whoo! You got this!

- Watch it here though.

Lot of ninjas getting
tripped up on Falling Shelves,

any ninja,
any obstacle, any time.

- But you realize Daniel Gil
hasn't hit the water

since season ten,
didn't fall at all last year.

- Here's the reverse grab,

and he gets it.

Locks it in.

This is a guy, 5'9", 165,

has an effortless ease
with his pace,

makes it look easy
as he is moving sneaky quick.

- You watch his feet.
I'll watch his hair.

I'll watch his hair!
- Wow, the hair stays dry.

He knows it. - Wow.

- Hey, you gotta survive
a stumble,

and he might have just had his
there on Diamond Dash.

You definitely don't wanna
have a slip-up

on this next one, Spin Hopper.

- Come on, Daniel.
- You got it, man.

- I can't recall a course
that requires

as much precision as this one,

so unforgiving, a small mistake.

- Matt, you have to be accurate,

your hands here on Spin Hopper.

You get shifted to one side or
the other, you could spin out.

- Well, you just see,
that one's fixed.

Watch these wobble as you get
on them, trying to control it.

So hard to be precise,
but Gil doing just that,

and he is through and now
ready to face the Warped Wall.

- Whoo!
- Look at Janitor Josh.

Spraying himself with water,
he's excited.

- Come on, Daniel.

- Love the support here,
all these ninjas.

- Good work. Come on.

- And he is up.
- Nice.

- Now it's on the back half
of the course, Akbar,

and a great pace to this point.

- Matt, it's all gonna
come down to Dragonback.

If he can get through it,
he's in.

- Whoo!
- Janitor Josh giving him

a couple sprays for good luck.
- Baby, you got it.

- As he takes on
the Salmon Ladder.

And he's up.

- Come on.

- No problem
on the Salmon Ladder,

hearing that click-clack.
- But now Slam Dunk.

This is where his boy
Jody Avila fell last week.

- Feel it out, feel it out.

- Gil is so consistent.

It's been five years
since he fell

before the national finals.

Can he keep
that streak alive tonight

and get
to the Power Tower playoffs?

- Well, Daniel Gil might not
have to get out,

but he does have to get up,
and he can get up.

- And just
an excellent job here,

very controlled out of Gil,

and he survives Slam Dunk,

but now, Dragonback.

If he gets through it,

he's guaranteed a spot
in the final eight.

- Another yawn, Matt.
Every time he's yawned

in front of an obstacle,
he's beat it.

That's, like, equivalent
to Michael Jordan

sticking out his tongue.

- Lucas Reale's 4:33
from last week

is still the fastest finish.

Gil might have a shot
if he gets through this.

Well, you can just see it.
This requires such precision.

If that bar gets clocked
either direction...

- Here we go.

- It falls
in between the rails...

- Here we go. Let it go.

- Oh, great control of the bar
there by Gil.

We got one more big ride
coming up,

and he's just really doing
an excellent job

controlling the bar, but this
is the challenge here.

- Oh, he's gotta hit it.
He's gotta hit it.

- Flow with it... oh!

- And Gil has done it,
and right into it!

- He's going for broke!
He's going for broke!

- And he's confident
on the Spider Trap.

- I think he wants
the fastest time, Matt.

- 30 seconds to get it,
Gil looking strong.

- Oh, my goodness,
when he yawns...

- No yawns now.
- He comes out!

- Everybody's awake
as the Kingdom Ninja...

The new fastest time
of the night.

- Oh, my God!

- He just exploded
up that final obstacle.

- Oh, wow.
- Who's yawning now?

Well, the Kingdom Ninja
reigning supreme right now.

Janitor Josh loves it.

He's even giving it
some extra sprays.

- Yeah!

- What a performance.
- Whoo!

- Daniel Gil, congratulations.

Fastest time of the night
by 21 seconds.

- Nice!
- That is insane.

- I've got my beautiful wife,
Abby.

I've got my family
and my friends back home.

I've got so many people
cheering me on.

I felt ready to come out here
and crush it.

- I love it. You crushed it.

They'll be cheering you on
when we see you tonight

on the Power Tower.

Great job, Daniel. - Awesome.

Thank you, Zuri.

- And that fast finish
puts Daniel Gil

at the top of our leaderboard.

At the end of the night,
the number-one seed

will race the number-eight,

so time is definitely important.

Gil's run does push
Flip Rodriguez

out of the top eight.

He can rock the stage
and rock the course.

Speed demon musician
R.J. Roman's

gonna try to run his way
into the final eight...

- Oh, R.J. did a quick move!
- Yeah!

- When "American
Ninja Warrior" returns.

- Welcome back
to the season finale,

where Daniel Gil just became
our first finisher tonight,

but up next is another guy
capable of hitting the buzzer.

This is five-time veteran

and one of the fastest ninjas
in the field,

Thomas Stillings.

He's had extra motivation
this season,

his wife Zoe, who's recovering

from a life-threatening
brain tumor.

- My wife Zoe had
a very large brain tumor

that needed
a very serious operation.

- If I had waited any longer,

I could have just dropped dead.

- But if anything could have
gone right

in that surgery, it did.

It's been six months,
and she's just loving life.

- Come on. Do it for Zoe.

- He's gonna do it!

- In qualifying, once I grabbed

the top of that wall,

it really hit why I was here
and what I was doing this for.

In February, I thought
I was going to lose my wife.

She's always been
the strongest person in my life

to help keep me stable
and keep me going.

This whole season's for Zoe.

I love you so much.

- And he's throwing up
the heart sign to Zoe.

She'll be watching once again

from back in San Antonio.

So great to see her
healthy again.

Goes by the nickname Genie Ninja

because of the baggy pants
he used to wear.

Now he just wears genie shorts,

and looking to fly through
Spring Forward.

- Stillings hit a buzzer
in qualifying,

had another strong run
in semifinals.

- Wow, he's just bounding
through Spring Forward.

You can see, though,
how that up and down motion

on the diagonal angle

can throw off
your forward progress.

- Awesome.

- Stillings is through
two obstacles,

but this third one,
Falling Shelves,

kicks the difficulty up a notch.

- Especially till you get
on the Falling Shelves,

and then you gotta
anticipate that drop.

- This third one
is the toughest.

You have to grab the ledges
on the other side.

- What in the ninja is he doing?

- He stretched too far out.
Now gotta go back.

- All right, hey,
come on, sell out.

You can do it.
- And now it's moving.

I think he made that
a little more difficult!

- Oh, no!
- He made it more difficult!

- What was that?
- You were right, Akbar.

Started it in motion,
just couldn't grab on,

and the magic runs out
for the Genie Ninja.

- Whoa.
- It's okay.

- Well, he reached for
that third shelf and realized

that he was overextended
and had to go back,

but with the third shelf
now rocking,

it was almost impossible
to grab the moving target,

and the reverse curse
ends his season.

- Well, up next,
another speed demon.

This is the rock and roller
from Orlando, Florida,

R.J. Roman.

When he's not shredding
onstage with his band,

he is shredding a ninja course,

and he credits one special woman

with helping him get here.

- My grandma's name
is Mary Gedz,

and she is the queen.

My family didn't have
a lot of structure

while I was growing up,
so my grandma stepped in

and made sure
that everyone was doing

what they were supposed
to be doing.

- I would help
with their homework

and take them to the park.

He never stops, you know?

It's something about R.J.

He would give me a heart attack,

'cause he really does fly.

- R.J. Roman.
- Oh!

- Just got it.
- Oh!

- He's a rock star in real life.

- At first my grandma was
a little impartial of my music.

It's a little bit heavier,
but it grew on her.

- He knows how much I love him.

- She loves
that I'm passionate about it

and get to do it
with my twin brother.

The thing I learned the most
from my grandma is hard work,

and, going into the finals,
I'm super confident.

- Good job, bro.

- I've been getting stronger
and smarter, and tonight

I'm gonna shred up this course,
and I'ma do it for Grandma.

- And R.J.'s already
on the fifth obstacle,

just racing through this course.

- He's been rocking
all season long.

He was the fastest in qualifying

and had a big win
on the Power Tower.

- And he could be dangerous
if he gets into the top eight.

Nobody wants to face R.J. Roman

in our Power Tower playoffs.

And he gets through Spin Hopper.

- Go.
- Look at Grandma Mary.

She likes it so far.

- Beat that wall!
- You got it! Let's go!

- R.J.'s also got his mom
watching from Florida...

- Time is not an issue
right now.

- Jody Avila
down on the sidelines.

Beat that wall! Beat that wall!

- And the rocker's headed up
the Warped Wall.

Goes right over it.
Just effortless, Akbar.

- You got it. You got it, kid.

- There are only
four more runners left,

so he knows he needs
to at least get to Dragonback

and probably needs a buzzer

if he wants to keep
his season alive.

- Come on, R.J.

- Here we go
with the Salmon Ladder.

- Click-clack.

- Now for Slam Dunk.

- Take a breath. Take a breath.

- This is where Jody Avila
fell last week.

You cannot overlook this.

- There it is.
- There we go, visualize.

- Visualize it.

- Yup! Come on.
- Wow.

- He's gotta make sure
of that simultaneous grab.

He's got that part.

The ball to ball can be tricky.

- Let's go, R.J. Come on.
- Rock and jock.

This guy's looking solid
on Slam Dunk, Akbar.

- Nice.
- Get that dismount!

- Let's go!
- And he gets through it.

And R.J. has been flying.

He's got a chance
to beat Daniel Gil

for the fastest finish,

but first,
has to survive Dragonback.

- Yup.

- You gotta keep it
perfectly east-west.

- All right, here we go. Nice.

- Goes for that ride,
R.J. Roman.

- Okay.

That was as smooth as
we've seen any of the ninjas.

- I don't even... I'm not sure
he's aware this is supposed

to be a hard obstacle, Akbar.

- Yeah, not for R.J. Roman.

He's dialed in. Come on.

- Oh!
- No!

- And couldn't do it.
- Oh, boy.

- He might have had
the fastest time

had he finished,

but Dragonback ends
the run for R.J. Roman.

- Oh, so close!

Dang, I thought I had it.

- Well, he bounced through
the first part of this

as cleanly as anyone all night,

but as he goes over the top,

he pushed the right side
too far out in front,

and he doesn't get
the buzzer he wanted.

- Dang it, man.
I really wanted that one.

Ugh. Oh, well.

- Well, Grandma got to see
an exciting run.

- Hopefully that's good enough.

- And R.J.'s night
is not over yet.

Take a look
at the current leaderboard.

No change at the top,

but R.J.'s run puts him
in the seventh spot.

However, there are four more
superstar ninjas coming up

who could push him out.

R.J.'s run does eliminate
Chicago's Cam Baumgartner.

We've got one woman in the top
eight right now, Flex Labreck.

Can Jessie Graff be the second?

The superhero stuntwoman runs

when we come back

on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back to the finale

of "American Ninja Warrior."

Now, remember,
we are gonna end our night

right over there
on the Power Tower.

- And we could see,
for the first time,

a woman compete
on that beast of an obstacle.

- We could even see
two women on it,

and one could be the ninja
you see on our Jumbotron:

the great Jessie Graff.

- Jessie!
- Whoo!

- And here she comes.

The stuntwoman from California

has done almost everything
on a ninja course,

but to move on,
she must do something

she's never done
in her storied career:

complete an extended
ten-obstacle course.

- Hitting the buzzer
on that finals format

of ten obstacles has been

my primary goal
in "Ninja Warrior"

since... since I started really
paying attention in season six.

That's... that's the most
magical course to me

for whatever reason,
more... more than stage one

or stage two in Vegas finals.

I want that ten-obstacle
finals buzzer.

- As always, she'll have
lots of family support.

Her mom Ginny
and stepdad Richard

watching from North Carolina,

plus her dad
and other family members

cheering her on
from Pennsylvania,

and, of course, everyone wants
to watch Jessie run,

so she's got a big group
of ninjas

down on the sideline.
- You got this, Jessie.

- And this
is a pressure-filled run,

knowing just how much
she wants that buzzer.

- Here we go, Jess, come on.

- And if she can pull it off,
she could join Flex Labreck

in the final eight.

We could have two women
on that Power Tower.

- Jessie Graff, I love her.

Physically gifted
but just mentally a giant.

Such a great plan of attack
on these courses.

- Whenever you see her
on a course,

you know she's already
mapped it out.

It's like she just puts
the destination in the...

In the navigation system,
and then she goes.

- Good job on Spring Forward,
keeping her hands closer

to that fulcrum,
trying to control the bounce.

And she gets through.

- Great, go, Jessie, go.
Go, Jessie, go.

- And look at her,
she's coming over

to get a closer look
at the Falling Shelves,

planning out each move.

This obstacle's taken out

several of our top athletes
in these finals.

- She's spending a lot of time
thinking this one through.

- All you, Jessie.
- You got this.

- In her career, she's done
just about everything,

broken down so many barriers,
would love

to be one of the first women
on that Power Tower.

- This could be a magical night.

Oh!

- Jessie Graff,

the latest victim
of Falling Shelves.

May have tweaked her shoulder.

Hopefully nothing serious,
but in any case,

the impressive season
of Jessie Graff is over.

- Let's look at it again.

She gets a big swing
going into that second one,

and you can see right there,

she initially grabbed
both handles,

but the right hand slips off.

- And she is stretching it out.

Hopefully nothing serious
with that shoulder.

There's a smile.

And she's throwing up hearts,

letting her family know
she's okay.

She is a tough one,
Jessie Graff.

- All right, Jessie.
- Love you, Jessie.

- And though Jessie's season
is over,

now with only
three athletes left,

it means Flex Labreck

is guaranteed to be
in the top eight.

She'll be the first woman
ever on the Power Tower.

Well, here comes another ninja
many expect to be

in the Power Tower playoffs.

It's Adam Rayl.

The Arizona concrete worker

almost made it
to stage four last season,

and he's got
extra motivation tonight.

His boyhood hero,
Olympic gymnast Blaine Wilson,

is gonna be watching his run.

- Ready to watch you be
rock solid with my sons.

Good luck, man.

- I grew up as a gymnast.

Gymnastics was my primary sport.

One of my heroes when I
was younger is Blaine Wilson.

He was an Olympic gymnast

and won the silver medal
in Athens.

So I got to meet Blaine Wilson
when I was 12 years old,

and I'll never forget what
that's like to meet somebody

of such elite athleticism.

It was super cool.

Then last year, posted
this picture of me and Blaine,

and then shortly thereafter,

I'm reading down
through the comments,

and one was actually
from Blaine Wilson himself.

He saw my post,
he commented back,

and I found out
in talking to him

that his kids are actually
superfans of "Ninja Warrior."

- Rayl Roadies.

- I guess they somewhat
look up to me,

and they train a little bit
in ninja themselves.

- Teamwork here, teamwork.

- Blaine was there
to kinda guide me

and motivate me to be my best.

- Adam Rayl gets that buzzer!
- Hey!

- Look at that handstand!
- A handstand? What?

- The guy does it with style.

- And now his kids look up
to me and watch me on TV.

It's a very honoring feeling.

I got to watch Blaine Wilson

win an Olympic medal
about 16 years ago.

It would be a dream
come true to see

Blaine watch me
hit a buzzer tonight.

- And Rayl's already started
his run,

ready for Diamond Dash.

- Come on, come on,
come on, come on.

- Yup.
- Nice.

- Nice.
- Yeah!

- There's Blaine Wilson
watching him

with his own son, Bodhi.

Such a cool story.

- Come on!
- Let's go.

- And of course, you can't
have an Adam Rayl run

without his mom Vicki
and his dad Jim,

watching from back home
in Arizona.

His buddy Sean Bryan's

also coaching him
from the sidelines.

Now Spin Hopper, and Rayl
knows this obstacle well.

He fell on it last year
in L.A. qualifying,

came back, and did get past it
in city finals.

- Yeah, and look
at Rayl's hands.

He puts his thumbs
on the bottom.

Haven't seen anybody
do it that way.

- When you've got
those concrete strong hands,

you can do that.

Now the descent.

You can see the power,

the good grip, controlling it.

- Yeah, watch out
for that jiggle

when it starts to jiggle, baby.

- Stay focused.

- Almost through.
Just needs the dismount.

- That's it.

- And skips the last one!

Yeah!

- Yeah, man.
- How you doing, buddy?

- I'm real good.
How are you guys?

- We're good.

- Just having a conversation
with Rock Solid, Akbar.

- Just casual.

- Catching his breath
before the back half.

And right up the Warped Wall.

Now in his fifth season,

Rayl's been a top ninja
since he started.

He's got those massive arms
from concrete work,

plus great agility from
his gymnastics background.

That's a powerful combination.

- Let's do it. Come on.

- Sean Bryan telling him
to keep it moving.

Remember, even if you get
into the top eight,

the seeding will be determined
by your time.

- All right, keep them Ls.

Nice, nice form.

- Great job. Now Slam Dunk.

- Yes.

- Vicki's getting nervous.

Just three obstacles to go.

- All right.
- Makes the first move.

- Placement.
Placement, placement, good.

- Great job, and you can see,
kipping himself up,

giving himself a chance,

giving his fingers a chance
to find purchase.

- Them concrete worker hands.
- Great job.

- Come on.
- Great job by Rayl.

Now for the dismount.

- All right.
- He's got it.

- Okay.
- Yeah!

- Blaine Wilson proving to be
a good luck charm so far,

but now Dragonback,
the moment of truth.

If he gets through,
he is moving on.

- Oh.

- Vicki trying
to keep it together.

Breathe, Mama.

- Deep breaths.

He's 175 pounds
to hop across this.

- Nice, good, nice.
He's got some nice form,

- What's he gonna do?
- Nice Ls.

- You can...
Seeing that bar slide.

- Whoa, okay!
- Rides it down.

- Breathe, breathe.

- I credit him with this
methodical approach, Akbar.

He seems to be pacing himself,

and his arms seem to be
up to the task, but...

- Be careful on this one.
Precise.

Precise on the top.

- Another big test
coming up right here.

- Come on, slide with it
on the dragon, slide!

- Ride! Hangs on!
- Okay!

- And out, and a roll!
- Get on out of there! Okay!

- The concrete worker
buries the dragon

and gives the gymnastics salute.

And with only
two more runners to go,

he's guaranteed to be
in the top eight.

And now 35 feet away
from another buzzer.

- Come on, Adam Rayl,
hustle with the muscles.

- And his power,
those 100-pound doors

likely no match
for the Rock Solid Rayl.

- No, look,
that's just concrete slab

he's just pushing up.

Get them concrete slabs
out your way.

- And trying to be the sixth

to hit a buzzer in these finals,

the second one tonight,

showing that explosive power.

- Hit a buzzer in the semifinals

and now getting very close

to hitting a buzzer
in the finals.

- Adam Rayl truly Rock Solid.

- Yeah!

- And another buzzer.
- Yes!

- Adam Rayl flexing,

and, Akbar, what a performance.

- What is Vicki doing?
Look... look at Mama Vicki.

- Whoo!

- And doing it with hero
Blaine Wilson watching.

A clutch performance
by Adam Rayl!

So Rayl moves into fifth place
on the leaderboard,

and with only two runners left,

he's safely in our final eight,

but his run pushes
Jamie Rahn down to ninth,

so we have to say goodbye
to Captain NBC.

He's hit the start line
on Segways

and in straightjackets.

Oh! - Oh, n...

And no one's been faster
than him

all season.

Jake Murray runs next
on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back to St. Louis

and the season finale
of "American Ninja Warrior."

During this year's competition,

we allowed each of the ninjas

to share their thoughts

just moments before
they ran the course.

Some were inspiring...

- And I wanna remind everybody,

let's not use our freedom

to do what we want to do,

but use it as an opportunity
to do what is right.

- Some were heartfelt...

- I wouldn't be here
without the incredible support

of my family and my friends.

- Thinking about my family
and my wife.

I love her so much.
She's watching at home.

Oh, I miss her so much.

- And Jake Murray
was Jake Murray.

- Hey, there.
I'm Barclay Stockett.

I'm just a guy that likes
to do ninja, and you know what?

If that's illegal,
then I guess I'm an outlaw too.

If I don't make it off
the course alive,

name a school after me.

- Well, can you imagine
the fun you'd have

at Jake Murray
Elementary School?

- Well, here he is now,

the always-unpredictable
Jake Murray.

Oh, that's the straightjacket,
making fun of it.

- Yup.

- That's just one of
his memorable moments.

From corn dogs to fava beans,

he always brings some extra
flavor to the ninja course,

but beyond the fun,

ninja is serious business
for Jake.

It's not just a hobby.
It's his profession.

- For the past six years,
ninja has been my life.

I've dedicated
every single day to it.

- Ninja is the Wild Man's
livelihood now,

and at national

and international
ninja competitions,

Murray's been
racking up win after win.

He even won his mom a car.

- I do feel more focused
this season.

I want my mind in my performance

and not on,
you know, the antics.

- Jake's had the fastest time
in both qualifying

and semis here in St. Louis

and looks primed
to make a run at the title.

- I'm psyched.
This is the first time

we've had a finals like this.

There's no million dollars
this year, but not a big deal.

I'll settle for 100 grand.

Hey, guys. Love you.

- Love you too.
- Jake's getting love

from his girlfriend Carissa,
who's in Colorado,

and Jake's parents
and other family members,

who are watching from his
home state of South Dakota.

He'll have a bunch
of ninjas on his sidelines,

including Adam Rayl.

- His hair is wild.
His style is wild.

He's just a fun ninja.

- There's only one more runner
after this, Joe Moravsky,

so Jake knows
what he needs to do.

Has to reach Dragonback
really, really fast

or get a buzzer
if he wants to move on.

- Now... oh!
- Oh, that was close.

- Yeah, he almost missed
that one.

He needs to generate
a little bit more power

on these next three.

- Going fast has led
to mistakes in the past,

but he's through Spring Forward.

Right now, R.J. Roman's
in eighth place.

If Jake has a good run here,
he'll knock R.J. out.

On to Falling Shelves.

Remember, time is important,

even if you finish.

The fastest time gets
the top seed

and determines who you go
against on the Power Tower.

- At Falling Shelves,
took a squint

at this third one, Matt.

- Let's go, Jake.
- Nice.

- Yeah, here we go.

- There it is, locking it in,

and he's through.

- Perfect, perfect.
- Nice.

- Now Diamond Dash.

- Good, come on, come on.
Yup, yup.

- And Jake Murray,
good for... ooh,

a little stumble there,
but rolls on to Spin Hopper.

Last season definitely
a disappointment for Jake.

He fell early on the fifth
obstacle in the Tacoma finals

and didn't qualify
for the national finals,

but he has been
unstoppable this year.

And Jake Murray just flying.
- Nice.

Boy, that was nice.

- Boy, has he stepped up
his game this season.

- All right, be careful.

We got more wobbly ones
on this side.

- But look at his focus,
Akbar, just visualizing it,

seeing those handles.

As you like to say,
great ocular discipline

out of Jake Murray.
- He could be the fastest

for the third time this season.

- Beat that wall!
- Now the Warped Wall.

Beat that wall! Beat that wall!

- And of course it's no problem.

Well, Jake Murray has won
some big competitions,

but how sweet it would be
for him to get

to the Power Tower
and win $100,000.

- Well, Matt, this is the time
for the Wild Man

to be wilding out.

He's gotta go wild
on these final obstacles.

- Daniel Gil's got
the fastest finish so far.

If Jake wants that top seed,
that's the time to beat.

- Come on. Good.

Good.

Good. - Yeah!

- Now it's Slam Dunk,

and this could be it
for R.J. Roman.

If Jake gets through
this obstacle,

R.J. is eliminated.

Watch the handles.
These transfers,

these have been tricky.

- And you can see him
focusing, squinting to see

where the placement is gonna be.

Nice hand placement,
nice slam dunk.

- Good job.
One more big transfer.

- All right,
hand placement critical.

Nice.
- Perfect out of Jake Murray.

- Crucial.

- Nice, dude!
- Gotta stick that dismount.

Yes! He's through Slam Dunk.

And with that moves
into the top eight,

knocking out R.J. Roman.

- Well, he rocked out
with his bad self.

He should hold his head up high.

- And Jake's in,

but he can still improve
his seed with a fast finish,

but gotta get past Dragonback.
Such a challenge.

We're seeing ninjas... still got
a little better bar control.

Jake Murray here,
watch this descent.

This is tricky.
- Yup, right into it.

- Great control.
- Nice control.

- I gotta say, Akbar, this is
a different Jake Murray.

He is running
with the same speed,

but much more controlled
than we've seen in the past,

and that makes him dangerous.

- Well, it's a different type
of wilding out

for the Wild Man, Matt.
Here we go, he's seeing it.

- It's uneven there. Good save.

- I think the memo is out there.

You gotta keep it even,
or you will go down.

- All the way, come on.
- Steady, steady.

- Keep it even.
- Big slide.

We hear the advice. - Nice!

- And he's got a shot
at the fastest time.

- Oh, he wants it.

- With 40 seconds!
Are you kidding me?

- Well, strength is
not necessarily his game,

but today it is.

- 5'9", 155, and he's flying
up the Spider Trap.

- Nice, he is putting
his shoulder

and everything into it.

- Just when you think ninjas
couldn't move any faster,

Jake Murray
is gonna best Gil's time!

- And he had the fastest time
in his semifinals run.

- Oh, my!

- Nice!
- Under four minutes!

- Matt, sub-four? Sub-four?

- Jake Murray destroys
this finals course

and punches his ticket
to the Power Tower playoffs.

The Wild Man going wild.

Let's take a look
at that one again.

- He avoided disaster
by making a fingertip grab

on the second obstacle,

then survived a stumble
on Diamond Dash,

but hit another gear
on the final obstacle

and surged to the top
of the leaderboard,

the fastest finish so far.

- How does it feel, buddy?
- So darn good.

- I bet it does, man, because
you just went sub-four minutes.

You have the fastest time
of the night.

- Awesome. Awesome.

- So Jake Murray jumps
to the top of the leaderboard.

Right now,
he's the number one seed

going into
the Power Tower playoffs.

R.J. Roman gets bumped
out of the top eight.

Amir Malik now on the bubble
in the eighth spot,

and his fate's gonna be decided

by that man, Joe Moravsky,

our final runner of the night,

our final runner of the season.

Can he grab that last spot?

We'll see him next

when "American Ninja Warrior"
returns.

- Welcome back to the finals,

where we are minutes away
from our Power Tower playoffs

to determine
this year's champion.

But first, that guy
hanging in the rafters

is gonna be our final runner
on our regular course.

We're of course talking about
Joe Moravsky, the Weatherman.

He's been going fast
all season, and no wonder.

He's got a baby on the way.

- Ready?
- Set.

- Go.

- Not that... oh, my...

- Stephanie and I are
expecting our third kid.

- Oh, my God!

- We have a boy!

What? It's insane.

It's a boy.

- I cannot believe it.

- Literally, I'm gonna get home,

and a week later, we're gonna
have a new baby boy.

You're gonna have a brother.

We're really happy,
really blessed.

It's been one heck of a year
so far.

I got the Mega Wall.

- Oh, he got it!

- I got the Power Tower.

- Joe Moravsky gets the buzzer!

- And I got the semifinals
first-place run.

- The top time of the night!

- This could be my year.

I hope I win the 100,000
'cause we're moving

into that bigger house
for our growing family.

- Well, he is sending love
to that family of his,

Stephanie and the kids
back in Connecticut.

His parents
and other family members

also watching tonight,

and doing his Wakanda move
to one of the ninjas

he invited this season,
Will Schlageter.

The other ninja he brought,
Jeshuah Lewis,

is on the sideline,
along with Amir Malik,

who's on the bubble
in eighth place right now.

If Joe has a good run,
Amir will be eliminated.

- Whoo! Let me hear it.
- Here we go, Joe!

- Come on, Joe!

- To get that final spot,
Joe needs

to get through
that eighth obstacle

faster than Malik's
two minutes, 40 seconds,

or if he doesn't do that,
get past Dragonback.

- If Joe Moravsky makes it

into the playoffs,
it's a different game.

- Well, Joe's been unstoppable
this season,

has hit three buzzers,
one on the Power Tower,

and got 10,000 on the Mega Wall.

- And now he wants that 100K
for winning it all.

- You got this, Joe.

- And this new obstacle,
Falling Shelves,

it has been diabolical.

- Yeah, you've just
gotta hit it.

There's no time
for daddy daycare.

You can't babysit this obstacle.

- This blind grab
a real challenge.

- Nice.
- Locked it in.

This guy's been such a machine.

Now it's Diamond Dash,

another obstacle
you cannot take for granted.

- Come on, now.
- You got it, Joe, you got it.

- Up, down, up, down, up, down.

- Yeah!
- Nice, nice.

- Whoo!

- He's keeping it moving

and going straight on
to Spin Hopper.

- Well, the one thing I think
we learned about Joe Moravsky,

you can never, ever
doubt his abilities.

- Akbar, he's been
so motivated this season.

He's always consistent.

He was the Last Ninja
Standing twice,

went farther than anyone,

but Joe really wants
that money this year

with that new baby coming.

Great control out of Moravsky.

- This just speaks to just
the competitor that he is.

- He is just focused.

- Super focused,
super competitive.

- And he's through Spin Hopper.

- You got this, dude. Come on.

- He's got a great time
to this point,

goes straight up the wall.

And as the last runner,

Joe knows he needs to get
to the Dragonback

faster than Amir Malik's time
of two minutes, 40 seconds,

and he will be in the top eight.

- Just gotta get through
these next two obstacles.

- His buddy Will
trying to fire him up

for the Salmon Ladder.

- I feel a storm brewing
for the Weatherman.

- Indoors.
We saw it in the semifinals.

Lightning was striking.
Now Slam Dunk.

This is where
his young apprentice,

Jeshuah Lewis, fell earlier.

Has 40 seconds
to get through this obstacle,

and he will be in the top eight

and going to the Power Tower.

- Watch the hand placement!
- Oh, no!

- Watch the hand placement!
Oh, my goodness!

- Joe Moravsky rejected
on Slam Dunk!

His dreams of a title

splash down in St. Louis.

- Let's look at this again.

He got a lot of air

as he goes up
to that second ball,

but his left hand couldn't get
a grip on that side,

and one of the favorites
to win it all

is going home.

- Just like that,
in, like, split-second.

I don't even know how.
Like, I know I missed, but...

left hand didn't get in in time.

- Well, Akbar, our Power Tower
playoff is set,

and with that last run,

rookie Amir Malik
squeaks into that top eight.

- Good job, man.

- Look at that, Joe Moravsky...

- Come on, dude.
Do it! Take what I got left.

- Giving a hearty congrats
to Amir Malik.

- Yeah!
- Let's go!

- And here are the brackets

for our first-ever

Power Tower playoffs.

Amir, as the eighth seed,

will be racing Jake Murray,

the top seed.

The fourth seed,
Najee Richardson,

will go against number five,
Austin Gray.

The third seed, Lucas Reale,

will go head to head
with Adam Rayl,

and finally, a matchup
everyone wants to see.

Daniel Gil will race
Flex Labreck

as she becomes the first woman
ever on the Power Tower.

The race includes
a 40-foot climb to the top,

then back down
to dash across angled steps

and a climb back up to make
the swings high in the air

across the Dropping Shelves.

It's an obstacle like no other,

and the Power Tower playoffs
are up next

on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back
to "American Ninja Warrior."

We started our season with
a field loaded with talent,

and then there were eight.

Here we are at the Power Tower,

where our matchups
are determined

by their finish order,

and, Akbar,
we have some great ones.

- Matt, we're talking
about the playoffs.

This is gonna be good.

The first round will
have four races,

higher seeds
versus the lower seeds.

It's single elimination,
so lose, and you go home,

and our winner will get
the $100,000 prize.

- And kicking it off,
the Phoenix Ninja

who continues to rise,
Najee Richardson,

against the man who continues
to teach us to share,

Austin Gray.

- A four and a five seed here,

and Najee's got
that gymnastics background

that may give him an edge.

- After not hitting
a single buzzer last season...

- Let's go!

- The Phoenix has risen
from the ashes.

- Eyeball, he's locked in. Nice.

Oh, no, no! What? - Oh!

- What in the world?
- No way!

That's the best one-handed save
I've ever seen!

- He's three for three
in St. Louis, and this season,

the biggest difference
has been his mindset.

- My whole mantra this time
is having fun.

The more fun I have,
the better I do,

so that's exactly what I'm
gonna take to the Power Tower.

- But he'll have his hands full

with Colorado's Austin Gray.

He's also been perfect
this season,

and his speed has placed him
in the top five

all three rounds.

Fastest time of the night.

- Austin Gray is
a phenomenal athlete.

I think I'm the underdog
going into this.

- Naj is saying
he's the underdog?

Ha! Okay.

He's got a lot of advantages
in this too.

I'm not gonna say
anyone's an underdog.

- I'm definitely gonna come out
swinging and see

if I can give him a good race.

- It's gonna be a great race.

- And Najee's got his family

watching from back
on the east coast.

- Yes! Whoo!

- There they are,
blowing kisses.

And Austin Gray's got
his friend Kaylee,

who he donated a kidney to,

watching along
with her twin sister Aubree.

This will be the first time
for either of them

on the Power Tower
in their career.

We've seen guys fly
through this, Akbar.

They could do it
in about 30 seconds.

Blink and you'll miss it.

- Now's the time to get
to business.

Six explosive steps here.

Matt, they're in
their drive phase.

- Oh, my.

- Look at Najee Richardson
frog hopping.

- Oh, these two, dead even.
- Oh, boy, here we go.

- Najee, Austin,
Austin slightly ahead.

- Now Austin's gotten away.
He's breaking away.

- First up on the poles.
Here comes Najee.

- It's gonna be an aggressive
ascent up these poles, Matt.

- Phoenix has gotta fly.
- You can't mess around.

It's gonna come down
to who wants it most.

- Austin first on the flying
shelves, quick transfer.

- Austin Gray is aggressive.
- Najee even.

- The Phoenix can fly!

- Oh, my, dead even!
- Oh, boy!

- Here comes Austin!
It's gonna be a race!

- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

- It was close, but Austin Gray

just besting the Phoenix.

Austin Gray edged him.

- Oh, man.
- Good race, man.

- Right at the buzzer,
what a finish.

- Oh, wow.

- This season continues
to deliver.

- Austin Gray had a slight
lead coming down the pole,

but Najee made up ground
going back up,

and they were dead even
on the final dropping shelf,

but Austin made
a quicker dismount

and got to the buzzer 1/10
of a second ahead of Najee.

- That was awesome, man.
That was awesome.

- So Austin Gray keeps
his comeback season alive,

but we have to say good-bye

to the Phoenix,
Najee Richardson.

Austin Gray will be back
in a few minutes

to face the winner

of the Jake Murray-
Amir Malik race,

and next up we have
Coach Lucas, Lucas Reale,

against the Rock Solid
Adam Rayl.

Get ready for a classic
matchup of speed...

- Oh!

- Versus strength.
- My goodness!

- This season, 22-year-old
gym manager Lucas Reale

has been flawless,

with three buzzers
and three top three finishes.

- At the end of the day,
speed is my game.

I like going fast.
I like being efficient.

The only thing that
I'm a little nervous about

is power.

It's called the Power Tower.

You have to be explosive.

You have to be quick.

- This, to me,
is where my strength shines.

Shorter courses,
all about power.

- Concrete worker Adam Rayl

is one of the strongest ninjas
in the sport.

- No holding back,
pedal to the metal,

just full force, 100%.

- Rayl has insane strength.

- His arms are like tree trunks.

- What I might lose in power,
I think I can make up

in quick thinking and technique,

so I'm coming for it.

- I'm feeling good.
I'm feeling strong.

Don't blink,
or you're gonna miss it.

- Both these guys
will have family watching.

Lucas has his grandparents,
who he's very close with,

watching from Connecticut,

and Adam Rayl will
of course have

his mom, Vicki,
and his dad, Jim,

cheering from Arizona.

Lucas lost to Dave Cavanaugh
on the Power Tower

last season in Baltimore.

This is Adam's first try at it.

- Look at that.
He's got his game face on.

He's in the zone.

- Go, go, go!

- It's win or go home.
Here we go.

And look at Adam Rayl, Matt.
All-out ninja athleticism.

Here he is, Matt, and you see,
on the sixth step already,

the first one to the bar.

- But Reale keeping
close behind.

- Well, it's not how you start.

It's how you finish.

- And look at this.

Adam Rayl been working
on his climbing ability.

Reale keeping it close.

- I don't think
he can catch Rayl.

- And Rayl first
on the dropping shelves.

- Nice. He's making quick work.

- Here comes Reale.

Oh, my! Look at Rayl.

- What? Are you kidding me?

- Adam Rayl gets a buzzer,

destroys the Power Tower.

- Yeah!

- Adam Rayl reached
the top first,

and he never gave up that lead.

The concrete worker used
those big arms

to climb up quicker.

Reale could never
quite catch up,

and Adam Rayl got the win.

- So Austin Gray and Adam Rayl
are moving on.

Gray will face the winner
of the Jake Murray

and Amir Malik matchup,

while Rayl will face

either Daniel Gil
or Flex Labreck.

Flex will be the first woman
ever on the Power Tower.

That happens next
on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back
to our season finale.

Two races in our Power Tower
playoffs are in the books

as we move closer
to crowning a new champion,

and we're ready
for our next matchup,

the number-one seed
versus the number-eight.

- Matt, I can't wait
for this one.

- Jake Murray, our Wild Man,

going against the rookie,
the Sonic Ninja, Amir Malik.

- I have no idea
what we're about to witness

with this race.

- Oh, my!

- Nice!
- Under four minutes!

Jake Murray destroys
this finals course!

- I earned the number-one seed

going into
the Power Tower playoffs,

and I'm facing Amir,

who has proven himself
as a rookie,

and, holy cow,
I'm a bit nervous.

- Look at him,
right into Sideways,

his confidence growing
with every obstacle.

- There we go! There we go!

- I, you know, just snuck by,
eighth seed,

and it's totally crazy.

I'm still just, like,
in shock, you know?

I'm just gonna wake up

and just be in my bed in Vermont

and just be like,
"Oh, it was all a dream."

- I just feel like
this has just been something

he's been waiting
for his entire life.

- I remember being a rookie
and feeling

I had something to prove
against all the veterans.

- Showing off the athleticism.
- Whoa.

- Nice flip.
- Good flair.

- And so knowing that he has
that as motivation,

it's kinda scary.

- I am hopefully gonna shock
the world.

- Both of them getting in

a final wave
to their loved ones.

That's Jake's girlfriend,
Carissa, back in Colorado,

and Amir's got his mom, grandma,

and brother
watching from Vermont.

Jake comes in riding
a wave of momentum.

He was the fastest
in qualifying,

semifinals, and finals.

He is the guy
to beat this season,

so Amir Malik has
an uphill battle.

He's only 5'5",

so these big obstacles
could be a challenge.

- Plus he just turned
20 years old,

first time on the big stage.

- Whoo!
- Oh, my gosh, come on.

- Who will move on
to the next round,

Jake Murray, Amir Malik?

- Here we go, Matt.

This is like climbing
your way to heaven.

- Oh, my.

- Look how steep
these stairs are.

- Look at Amir!

- And Amir is going sonic boom!

- And Jake stumbled.

Amir got a big gap there...
- Oh, my goodness.

- And not looking back.
- Okay, young fella!

Young fella's going!

- Oh, my!
- Young fella's going!

- Sonic striding out,
but here comes Jake!

- Well, he might have taken
too many circles

around that pole,
but here we go.

- Amir first
on the dropping shelves.

- Oh, he's off
to the second shelf, Matt.

- He's got a shelf ahead.
Jake's gonna have to sell out.

Amir two shelves ahead.
- He's gotta go all-out.

Oh! - Amir's got the dismount!

- Amir ain't playing!
- Sonic!

Amir Malik, the rookie
just punched his ticket

to the next round!

- Dude, good job, dude.

- This is as big an upset
as you can get.

The number-one seed,
Jake Murray,

who had been unstoppable
all season,

knocked out
by previously-unknown rookie

and the eighth seed, Amir Malik.

- He beat him.
- Oh, my God.

- The key moment came early.

Jake stumbled and smashed
his face into the steps,

so Amir was able
to take advantage.

Look, he's already on the poles,

and Jake's way back here.

He closed the gap going up,
but it wasn't enough.

The rookie takes out
the veteran in a huge upset.

- The Cinderella season

+for this
previously-unknown rookie

just gets better and better.

So Amir Malik will be back
for the second round.

Jake Murray's
impressive season is done.

- Matt, this is what
the playoffs is all about.

- So now Amir Malik

will face Austin Gray
in the next round,

but we've got one final race
in this opening round,

the Kingdom Ninja, Daniel Gil,

against the first woman ever
to compete on the Power Tower,

Flex Labreck!

- I'm the first woman to ever
make it to the Power Tower.

That's just insane.

I'm a little bit nervous,

but having a challenge
doesn't intimidate me.

I want to go in,
and I wanna win.

- You got this!

- Control the bar on the slide!

- Come on!

- She's done it!
- Yes! Yes! Yes!

- One of the greatest runs
we've ever seen!

- I think my experience
last year on stage four,

being three seconds shy
of a million dollars,

has prepared me.

- Oh, the clock running down!

- Anything could happen
out there on that Power Tower.

I mean, I could fall,
Daniel could fall,

and so I'm just gonna
try to have a clean,

smooth run to that buzzer,
and we'll see what happens.

- I've had a whole year
to prepare for this moment,

and I am going to give it
everything that I've got.

- Well, up on the big screen,
Daniel Gil has his wife, Abby.

- Go, Dan, whoo-hoo!

- And for Flex, her dad, Larry,

stepmom Sandy, and of course

her fiancé, Chris DiGangi,
just couldn't stay away.

- Come on, Jesse!
You've got this!

- He's over here in the Dome

in another part
watching intently.

- Daniel Gil's gonna have
his hands full

with Jesse Labreck.

She's been outstanding
all season long.

- She's hit two buzzers
already, and blazing a trail

as the first woman
to attempt the Power Tower.

- You got it, babe!

- She's amazed us before.

Nothing is impossible
for Flex Labreck.

- Come on, Jesse, go!

- All right, she should use
that taller frame, uh-oh.

- Daniel Gil getting a bit
of a lead here.

- Daniel Gil pulling away!
That's all right.

- Six giant steps, 4 1/2 feet.

- It ain't over till it's over.

- And he's the first
onto the fire pole,

but here comes Flex!

- Uh-oh, oh, she's...
- Long legs.

- She came down quickly
on the pole!

- Here we go.
- Come on, Jesse, go!

- And Daniel Gil
making that ascension,

the Kingdom Ninja,
but Flex right behind.

- Oh, Matt, he is going.
And we can see...

- Look at this! Here comes Flex!

- Flex is right
behind him, Matt!

- Gil on the dropping shelves.
- Here we go.

- And Flex
just one shelf behind!

- Nice!
- Oh, my, Gil going

for the dismount,
and Gil edges out Flex!

- Oh, wow.
- What incredible matchups.

And Flex is gonna get
that buzzer.

- Well done.

- What a season
for Flex Labreck.

- And Matt, I can tell you
right now,

Jesse Labreck should hold
her head up high

because that was
one heck of a race.

- Ah! Those steps.

- Remember, Daniel Gil
has done this before.

He knew how to scramble
up those steps,

but Flex hasn't
done them before,

and she fell behind,

made up ground
on the middle obstacles,

but couldn't quite close
the gap,

and Gil gets the win.

- So Gil's moving
to the second round,

one step closer
to that new house for Abby.

It's the end of the road
for Flex,

but what a season she's had.

And we'll see Gil back racing
again in just a few minutes.

And look at these matchups.

The eighth-seeded rookie
sensation from Vermont,

Amir Malik,
against the number-five seed,

Colorado's Austin Gray,

plus second-seeded Daniel Gil,

the only higher seed to advance,

versus the sixth seed,
Arizona's Adam Rayl.

And we're redesigning
the Power Tower

and adding a cliffhanger

to make it
even more intimidating

for our final four athletes.

And we'll see it next
on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back to the Dome
at America's Center

and the season finale
of "American Ninja Warrior."

We're down to
our final four athletes,

Colorado's Austin Gray,
Vermont's Amir Malik,

Arizona's Adam Rayl,

and Houston's Daniel Gil.

- And, Matt, one of them is
about to be our new champion.

- But, Akbar, as we've done
all season long,

we're about to ask
a little bit more of them.

- That's right, Matt.
We've changed things up.

The Power Tower just got harder.

We've amped up
the upper-body challenge

by adding a cliff hanger,
similar to the one we use

on stage three
at the national finals.

Our version tonight
is six thin ledges,

and you have to hang
by your fingertips

as you work your way around.

- Well, first up, with a spot

at the $100,000 finals
on the line,

we have Austin Gray
against Amir Malik.

One of these two young guns

is gonna be
in the championship race.

- And let's look at
how these two match up.

They're both young, 20 and 24,

but the big difference
is in size.

Amir Malik's just 5'5"
and 115 pounds,

so Austin's 5 inches taller
and 35 pounds heavier.

- It's been a Cinderella
season for Amir Malik.

An unknown rookie
a few weeks ago,

now he's two races away

from being this year's champion,

and for Austin Gray, it's only
his third ninja season.

He didn't make it
to Vegas last year,

so this is a huge
comeback year for him.

- You can feel
the pressure, Matt.

- Here we go.

- Amir Malik, 20 years old.
- Oh, my.

- This Y2K baby better run

like it's the end of the world!

- Austin Gray jumping out
to a big early lead,

and he's on
to the cliffhanger first.

But here comes Malik.

- This rookie won't quit,
but he's gotta close the gap.

- And Austin Gray...

- Austin Gray
pulling away, Matt.

- On to the poles.

- Look at Austin Gray go!

- And he is flying,

first onto the dropping shelves.

- Don't sleep on the rookie
of the year!

- Here comes Amir!

Oh, he is pushing Austin.

- He's getting up there.
He's gotta go.

- And look at this,
one shelf behind!

- And look at Austin Gray!

- Austin going for the dismount!

- Oh, Amir is down!

Yeah!

- Austin hits the buzzer!

The 24-year-old is going
to the championship race.

- Whoo!
- Yeah!

- Whoo!

- Amir Malik's magical
rookie season comes to an end,

but he went out in style.

- Whoo!

- Amir stumbled
on the third step going up,

and that put him behind.

Then rushing to catch up,
he almost fell off the pole,

landed hard on his butt.

He closed the gap,

but he couldn't handle
the third shelf,

and listen to him on the fall.

- Meanwhile, Austin Gray cruised

through the new cliffhanger
and hit the buzzer.

He's gonna race
for the championship.

- Every time he runs,
gets to spread that message,

"Share your spare."

- You got one more race
to show that shirt.

- Share your spare.

- Come on down and rest up
for that final race.

So we know Austin Gray will be
one of our final two athletes.

Now we're gonna find out
who the other one will be.

It's Rock Solid Adam Rayl

against the Kingdom Ninja,
Daniel Gil.

- The first race
featured youngsters,

but these guys are
savvy veterans,

both 27 years old.

This is Rayl's fifth year
of competition, Gil's sixth.

Rayl is 2 inches taller

and 10 pounds heavier than Gil.

These guys
basically came in second

and third last season,
so these are the ninjas

we expected
to be here at the end.

- Here we go.
Let's get ready to race.

- Win, and you're in.

Turn up the turn up, let's go!

- Oh, my, just levitating.

- And look at Adam Rayl,
Daniel Gil,

neck and neck, Matt!

- Dead even on the fire pole.

- Oh, my goodness!

- And Gil a slight edge,
first onto the second panel,

but Rayl matching him!
- No, but look at...

Oh, look at Adam Rayl!

- Rayl onto the poles
slightly ahead!

- Oh, he's on a whole
different "Rayl" system!

- Oh, my!

Who can be more efficient
on the flying shelves?

- Oh, no, no.
Oh, my heart can't take it.

- Oh!
- My heart can't take it.

- Dead even!
- Side by side!

- Dead heat!
- Side by side!

Race to the buzzer!
- Oh, shoot! Oh!

Oh! - Whoo!

- Oh, sha-na-na!

- The Kingdom Ninja's going

to the championship race.

- Oh, my word.

- It can't get any closer,
can it?

- Matt, that is too much
action for one platform.

These guys were neck and neck
at the top of the steps,

and then, after the cliffhanger,

still exactly dead even,

and watch them
on the final shelf.

They arrive together,
but Gil makes

a quicker dismount
and hits his buzzer first,

while Rayl crashed
right through his.

- Everyone's still catching
their breath after that.

One of the closest races
we've ever had.

- Adam Rayl, he gave it
everything he had.

- And so our entire season

will come down to one race.

It's gonna be Austin Gray
versus Daniel Gil

for the title.

One of them's walking away

with 100 grand
and our championship trophy,

and we'll see it next
on "American Ninja Warrior."

- Welcome back
to the season finale

of "American Ninja Warrior."

It's been
an extraordinary season

under exceptional circumstances,

and now we're down
to one final race

with the title of American
Ninja Warrior on the line.

- Plus $100,000 at stake.

Matt, we got
our final two ninjas left.

- And it's gonna come down
to speed.

Austin Gray had the fastest time

in the first round
of Power Tower races,

but Daniel Gil had
the fastest time

in the second round
minutes ago against Adam Rayl.

Good luck, gentlemen.

- Here we go.

Both these guys have had
a perfect season,

hit buzzers in qualifying,
semis, and finals,

and then two more tonight
on the Power Tower.

- Whoo-hoo!
- Once again cheering

Daniel Gil on, his wife Abby,

plus some of his friends
back in Houston,

along with ninja training buddy,

Janitor Josh Norton.

And cheering on Austin Gray,

the woman whose life
he changed with that kidney,

Kaylee Adams,
and her twin sister.

It's amazing these are
our final two ninjas.

For both, this has been
a season of redemption.

He's 35 feet away!

- Oh, but he's slowing
down, Matt!

- So I've waited 365 days

since the finale of season 11
of "Ninja Warrior" to now.

- Daniel Gil!
He looks unstoppable!

- I'm back here again
for the final showdown.

This is the moment
I've been waiting for,

and I am in it to win it.

Whoo!

- I went from last season

falling on balance
in city qualifiers...

- No!

- And not advancing...

- Fastest time of the night!

- To now I'm in this finals
of the entire season.

Whoo!

This is the comeback
of all comebacks.

Now I'm just here
to finish the job.

- I want this even more
than I wanted it last year.

My wife and I are now looking
at becoming homeowners.

To make that dream
become a reality

will require me to win.

- Spreading my message is

the most important thing to me.

The Big Ask, the Big Give

is the National Kidney
Foundation's free resource

to help patients
find a living donor.

- What a great message,
share your spare.

- And he's hoping to encourage
other people to donate.

- This is just another way
for me to raise awareness

for this cause
of organ donation.

- I think it's going
to come down to the wire

between Austin and I.

We're both going to give it
everything that we've got

and show what we're capable of.

- This is his kingdom!

- I know he wants it bad,
but I want it even more.

- This kid has been a beast.

- I'm gonna win this thing.

- And after hundreds of runs,

this season comes down
to one race...

- This is pressure, Matt.

Feels like a pressure cooker
up in here.

- To be the new ninja champion.

Here we go.

Oh, they're off!
- This is it, Matt!

- Oh, my, Austin Gray
jumps out to a big lead!

- Oh, he's out in front!
- But here comes Gil!

- We've never had a finals
like this, Matt!

- Gil's smooth, and dead even
on the cliffhanger!

- That's what I'm talking about!

If you want it, go get it!

- Gray on the poles,
Gil right there.

- Gray wants it.
Gray wants a better hanging.

- Who can be smoother
on the shelves? Gil first!

- Oh, boy!

- They're on dead even!

Oh, my! Gil, Gray!

- Who wants it? Who wants it?
- Gil!

- Who wants it?
- Daniel Gil!

- The Kingdom Ninja
finally reigns supreme!

- Oh.
- Congratulations, man.

- He is our 2020 champion.

- You did it! Whoo-hoo!

- Hey, babe,
we're buying a house.

- Whoo!

- Austin Gray was way ahead
coming off the steps.

He was way out here,

but he got hung up on the pole,

while Gil slid down
without a hitch,

so they were all even again.

As they reached
the dropping shelves,

it was anyone's race,

but Gil dismounted quicker,
and he got the W.

- Congratulations
to the Kingdom Ninja!

- After last season,

I knew that I had
what it takes to get here,

so I was like,
"Lord, I will train myself.

"I will do everything
that I know to do,

but then I'm gonna leave
the rest in your hands,"

and here we are.

- There you are.
Congratulations again.

Great job, Daniel.

- Thank you very much.

- So after coming so close
one year ago,

it is the Kingdom Ninja,
Daniel Gil,

who is indeed ruling
"American Ninja Warrior."

- Matt, he's earned it.

- An incredible season

and a perfect ending.

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

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