American Ninja Warrior, NBC’s obstacle course competition airs tonight with an all new Monday, September 14 season 7 Finale called “Vegas Finals.” We’ve got your recap down below! On tonight’s episode in the Season 7 finale, contestants tackle the final three stages of the Mount Midoriyama course in Las Vegas. Stage 2 features a new obstacle, Roulette Row; and Stage 3 has the new Psycho Chain and Area 51 obstacles.
For those of you who don’t know, the action-packed series follows competitors as they tackle a series of challenging obstacle courses in both qualifying and finals rounds across the country.
On the last episode the finals of “American Ninja Warrior” continued from Las Vegas, Nevada where the top finishers from the regional finals tackle the ultimate challenge – a four stage course modeled after ‘Mount Midoriyama’ in Japan. The remaining finalists took on Stage 1, with new obstacles Sonic Curve and The Double Shock. Those that finish moved on to Stage 2, and continued their chance to win a cash prize of $1,000,000 and the title of “American Ninja Warrior.” Did you watch last week’s episode? If you missed it we have a full and detailed recap, right here for you.
On tonight’s episode per the NBC synopsis, “It’s the final night of the “American Ninja Warrior” Las Vegas finals where the top finishers from the regional finals tackle the final three stages of ‘Mount Midoriyama’. Competitors who survive Stage 1 will take on Stage 2, and possibly Stage 3 and 4. Stage 2 has been redesigned and includes a brand new obstacle, Roulette Row. Stage 3 features the new Psycho Chain and Area 51 obstacles. Lastly, if any competitors conquer both stages, they will attempt Stage 4 with a cash prize of $1,000,000 at stake and the title of “American Ninja Warrior.”
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be great and you won’t want to miss it, so be sure to tune in for our coverage of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior at 9:00 PM EST! While you wait for our recap hit the comments and let us know how excited you are about the show so far.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
It’s finale night on #AmericanNinjaWarrior. It’s time for stage two, three and four of the 2015 Las Vegas finals! Moving into Stage Two tonight are the following competitors – we’ll update the list as we move from stage to stage to show who has made it through to the next phase.
Stage 2 competitors include:
• Brent Steffensen
• Jake Murray
• Kevin Bull
• Drew Dreschel
• Daniel Gil
• Joe Moravsky
• Jeremiah Morgan
• JJ Woods
• Mike Meyers
• Flip Rodriguez
• Dan Yager
• Travis Rosen
• Geoff Britten
• Lance Pekus
• Brian Arnold
• Neil Craver
• Jojo Bynum
• Sean Clayton
• Isaac Caldiero
• Jason Williams
• Karson Voiles
• Mike Bernardo
• Thomas Stillings
• Brian Wilczewski
• Abel Gonzalez
• Ryan Stratis
• Jamie Rahn
• Anthony Scott
• Brandon Mears
• Grant McCartney
• Dustin McKinney
• Ian Dory
• Nathan Tucker
• Kevin Klein
• Pavel Fesyuk
• Tremayne Dortch
• Dustin Rocho
• David Yarter
Stage 2 consists of these six obstacles: Rope Jungle, Double Salmon Ladder, Unstable Bridge, Butterfly Wall, Roulette Row and the Wall Lift. Ninjas have just two and a half minutes to complete the course. Jojo Bynym is up first. He starts the Rope Jungle and is a mix of sliding and fixed ropes. He makes it through and goes to the Double Salmon Ladder. He falls right away and that’s the first ninja out. What’s tough is he went into the water and Jojo can’t swim.
Rookie Daniel Gil is up next. He makes it through the Rope Jungle and moves to the Double Salmon Ladder. He makes it past and moves to the Unstable Bridge. He clears the third obstacle and moves to the Butterfly Wall. He clears that too and is on the Roulette Row which looks like the Spin Cycle from the Venice City trials. He gets stuck and the clock runs down while he struggles. He finally falls with 11 seconds left.
Next to try the course is little bitty Dustin McKinney at just 5’2”. He falls out on the first obstacle. He just got too low on the ropes and is out in just six seconds. He says he was rushing and trying to go too fast. Over the break, three more ran. Kevin Klein got hung up on the ropes and fell. Tremayne Dortch went out on the Unstable Bridge as did Brandon Mears. Jamie Rahn, Captain NBC, is on the Unstable Bridge when the show comes back from the break.
He moves to Butterfly Wall with one minute left. He clears that and heads to Roulette Row with less than 40 seconds left. He almost makes the transition but barely misses the second and ends up in the drink. Jamie got further than anyone else so far, but almost doesn’t count at Stage 2. Rookie Grant McCartney is next. He’s past the ropes but almost fell on the dismount. He heads to the Double Salmon Ladder which takes him out.
The next competitor is Dan Yager. He jumps to the Jungle Ropes and the rookie makes it to the next obstacle. He’s on the Double Salmon Ladder and moves on to the Unstable Bridge. He dismounts with a little less than 1:30 left on the clock. He makes it past Butterfly Wall and moves on to Roulette Row. He’s got 44 seconds left. He makes the transition but then falls off the landing mat. So close – he just landed with one foot and fell right off.
Ian Dory is next and is a training buddy of Yager’s. He makes it past the Ropes and heads to the Salmon Ladder. He moves to the Unstable Bridge and nails the landing. He moves to the Butterfly Wallbut he’s got less than a minute. He makes it on one spin and heads for Roulette Row. He’s got just 35 seconds left and nails it. He’s down to 22 seconds. He runs the Wall Lift fast and makes it to the buzzer making Ian Dory the first to complete Stage 2.
Brian Arnold is next and he’s the Ninja who has been the closest to Stage 4 before. He easily gets past the first three obstacles including the one that took him out last year – the Unstable Bridges. He moves to the Butterfly Wall and moves past it and on to Roulette Row. He’s got 40 second left and he runs for it but misses the transition and gets stuck. The clock is running down and he won’t make it. He hangs on then drops as he has three seconds left ending his 2015 run.
Travis Rosen, a six year veteran, is on Stage 2 again. He’s the oldest to make it to Stage 2 at 41 and gets hung up on the Ropes and struggles. He’s spend more than 30 seconds on it and is in trouble now. He moves to the Salmon Ladder and he falls on the transition on the Unstable Bridge. That ends his Stage 2 run. 13 Ninja Warriors have already been knocked out of Stage 2 in the first 45 minutes of the three hour 2015 finale.
On the break, three more ran starting with Neil Craver. He fell out on the Double Salmon Ladder. Veteran Dustin Rocho went out on the Unstable Bridge with a horrible face plant. And Brian Wilczewski was taken out by Roulette Row. His brother jumped in the water with him to celebrate the fall. The veteran of every season of ANQ Ryan Stratis is next. The Georgia native has a strong start and moves through the Rope Jungle to a strong dismount.
He heads to the salmon ladder but then takes a fall after the transition. Wow. That shocked the crowd and Ryan too. He was rushing and his season is done. He had momentum going from the last swing and didn’t wait it out. Next up is rock climber Isaac Caldiero who also went out on the Salmon Ladder last year. He moves easily through the Ropes and past the Salmon Ladder that took him out last year. He moves past the Unstable Bridge and sticks the landing.
Isaac moves to the Butterfly Wall with more than 1:15 left. He makes it in one turn and now he’s facing Roulette Row. He takes a breath and runs with 45 seconds left. He makes the transition and lands and now it’s the Walls and he slaps the buzzer with 25 seconds left to be the second Stage 2 finisher! The crowd is chanting his name. Impressive run.
Back from the break, two more Ninjas ran. Rookie Mike Meyers was taken out by the Roulette with a sloppy dismount. Jeremiah Morgan was able to score a finish and will move on to Stage 3 as the third finisher. That officially tops last year’s two Stage 2 finishers. Cowboy Ninja Lance Pekus is up next and he hangs up on the Salmon Ladder but recovers and makes a two rung elevation on the transition. He takes out the Unstable Bridge with ease.
He heads to the Butterfly Wall and makes the leap then does a turn to grab the rope. He’s on to Roulette Row with less than 50 seconds on the clock. He doesn’t make the transition and goes into the water and that takes him out of it. The next Ninja on Stage 2 is Kevin Bull. He makes a two rung skip on the back of the Salmon Ladder and lands the Bridge with 1:25 left. He’s on to the Butterfly Wall and makes it on one turn.
Now it’s the Roulette and he lands that too. He runs for the walls, lifts them and slaps the buzzer with 28 seconds left making him the fourth Stage 2 finisher. This #NinjaWarriorFinale is heating up. That’s double the finishers compared to 2014. Kevin Bull has the fastest time so far followed by Isaac Caldiero, Jeremiah Morgan and Ian Dory. Back from the break, we see that Mike Bernardo and Karson Voiles were both take out by the Roulette Row.
The next Ninja to run is Flip Rodriguez. He starts his run without the mask and speeds through the ropes. He nails it and heads to the Salmon Ladder. He gets hung up but moves on and also takes out the Bridge with ease. Now to the Butterfly Wall and he’s up and over with 50 seconds on the clock. It’s the Roulette and he makes the transition but gets stuck on the second and can’t dismount and the clock runs out and he’s in the water. He just couldn’t seem to let go.
Back from the break, three more ran. Pavel Fesyuk started out with a selfie then fell off the Salmon Ladder. Anthony Scott was taken out by the Unstable Bridge and Abel Gonzalez slapped the buzzer to move to Stage 3 as the fifth finisher of the night.
Next up is Geoff Britten a veteran of 2014. The cameraman starts his run and nails the Ropes then heads for the Salmon Ladder. He clears that and the Bridge as well. He’s making good time as he heads for the Butterfly Wall. He makes it over then goes for the Roulette Row. He’s got just less than a minute left so he stops to think it out. He nailed it with ease then lifts the walls and slaps the buzzer with 29 seconds left and the fastest time of the night as the sixth Stage 2 finisher.
Back from the break, three more ran the course. David Yarter fell on the Bridge, JJ Woods was knocked out by the Roulette and Drew Dreschel killed Roulette Row and hit the buzzer to be the seventh finisher on Stage 2 for the first time in his Ninja career. There’s just seven competitors left. Brent Steffensen is next and Kacy Catanzaro is there to cheer him on. Brent starts his run and gets hung up on the ropes. He’s lost his momentum and is losing time but makes it past the obstacle.
Brent heads to the Salmon Ladder but then falls on the Unstable Bridge. That was a surprise but he just spent too much energy on the ropes. Next up is weather man Joe Moravsky who got farther than anyone else last year. He’s had two years at Stage 3 and is looking to make it a third year. He works through the Ropes fast then on to the Salmon Ladder. He clears the Bridge then moves to the Butterfly Wall which he makes it past. Now it’s the Roulette.
Joe nails it and slaps the buzzer with 20 seconds left to be the eighth finisher on Stage 2. Back from the break, we get a quick look at the untimed Stage 3 and hear that the other competitors didn’t make it. First is the new Psycho Chainsaw then the Doorknob Grasper, Floating Boards, Ultimate Cliffhanger, Pole Grasper, Hang Climb, the new Area 51 and the Flying Bar which is like a horizontal salmon ladder.
Next up is Stage 3 and these are the eight Ninjas competing:
• Kevin Bull
• Drew Dreschel
• Joe Moravsky
• Jeremiah Morgan
• Geoff Britten
• Isaac Caldiero
• Abel Gonzalez
• Ian Dory
Abel Gonzalez is first up. He starts with the Psycho Chainsaw and moves to the Doorknob Grasper which he makes it past. Now it’s the Floating Boards. There are four boards 40 inches apart with no hand holds so legs are necessary. He moves to the last one and dismounts. That’s three obstacles down. Now it’s the Ultimate Cliffhanger that’s usually a Ninja killer. He misses the transition up two feet and falls into the water. He’s out.
Kevin Bull is up next and clears the first two with apparent ease. Now it’s the Boards. He nails it and moves to the Ultimate Cliffhanger. He makes the transition and moves on but then falls when he has to reach down for the lower ledge. The momentum killed him and he went into the water. That leaves six to go. Next up is Ian Dory who makes it past the first two obstacles easily then moves to the boards and on to the Ultimate Cliffhanger. He makes the transition up, then the one down as well. He moves on and makes the huge jump to the other side and moves on.
Dory is the fourth American to ever reach this point. He moves to the Pole Grasper but one is on a bungee. He uses his feet as he moves. The bungee pole dips him but he hangs on. He’s on the final pole and has to make it to the Hang Climb which is an upside down climb. He moves along and makes it through. He’s now on the new obstacle called Area 51. He makes it past and onto the Flying Bars. He stops for a break.
He makes the first one and the second and then falls on the third. He made it so far. Rock climber Isaac Caldiero is next. Isaac makes it from the Chainsaw to the Doorknobs. He lands gracefully and moves to the Boards. Now it’s the Cliffhanger. He moves swiftly with control. He nails the ledge jump and then it’s the Poles. Now the Hang Climb which should be easy territory for him. Now he’s on Area 51. He stops for a rest before moving to the Ladder.
Isaac Caldiero has done it. He is the first person in history to make it through Stage 3 of the finals and he will face Mt Midoriyama. The Wolf Pack guys run to hug him and so does his GF. He says he felt at home for the most part. Next up is Jeremiah Morgan who is on the Boards back from the break. He moves on to the Cliffhanger. He makes the transition up then the one down and now faces the big leap. He falls when he fails to grasp the opposite ledge. His 2015 run is done.
Drew Dreschel is up next and he clears the first two then moves to the Boards. He does the Cliffhanger too and makes the transition. He’s headed for the Poles now. On the final four obstacles, your feet don’t get to touch the ground on this brutal course. He falls on the transition from the Hang Climb. Now there are just two left to run Joe Moravsky and Geoff Britten.
A guy beat the ninja warrior course – 1st time in history! now a second gets a shot – they’ve never had anyone make it this far and this year there are two – kind of amazing.
Joe Moravsky goes out when he tries to transition backwards from the Cliffhanger. He leaped with his back turned which means he couldn’t see. He tells Kristine he’s done it in practice and was a little tired. He says it’s a shame but he’ll be back. Now it’s down to Geoff Britten who Joe Moravsky said he thinks could win it all. Geoff has completed every course this year and has been killing it. Isaac cheers for him as he moves. He clears the first two fast and moves to the Boards.
He’s now on to the Cliffhanger. He makes the big jump and will move to the Poles. He now moves to the Hang Climb. He makes it off and now it’s Area 51. He’s made it to the final obstacle – the Ladder. He’s four jumps away from making history with Isaac Caldiero. Geoff stops to take a breath and then makes the first leap and the others. He drops a leg on the dismount but climbs up and nails it. He’ll try for Mt Midoriyama with Isaac Caldiero.
They’ve never had any Stage 4 competitors and this year, there are two. Amazing. Back from the break and it’s time for Isaac Caldiero to try for Mt Midoriyama and the $1 million prize. They each have 30 seconds to climb the 75 foot rope and hit the buzzer. If they both make it, the fastest time wins. Isaac had the fastest time so he gets the choice and decides to try second. Geoff Britten faces off with the giant rope that could take him to a huge payday and a record-breaking never-before-held title.
Everyone is there and all the other Ninja Warriors are cheering for him and a bunch even have his signature t-shirts on as they chant their support. The clock starts and he’s going. He’s flying up the rope. He’s more than halfway up with time left then starts to slow. He’s got seconds left and finishes with less than 1/3 of a second left. Geoff Britten is the first American Ninja Warrior in history. Now it’s up to Isaac Caldiero to see if he can beat that time.
Isaac Caldiero starts his climb and is moving so fast. Holy cow he’s really going. He slaps the buzzer with three seconds to spare and he’s the second ever American Ninja Warrior and will take home the million dollars. The crowd is on their feet. Not bad for a bus boy. Never a winner before and this year there’s two Ninjas. Isaac Caldiero is the big winner, but it’s an amazing showing for Geoff Britten as well. Isaac tells Kristine this is like a dream and says his legs and arms were burning and then he was at the buzzer.
He says he tried to be one with the rope and use all his training. He says every Ninja out there helped him and says Geoff is an amazing athlete. Isaac and Geoff hug it out even though Isaac just took a million bucks out of his pocket – the show should pony up a big cash prize for making it that far. Seems like they could pay it out of all they’ve saved not paying it out over the past many seasons.
That’s it. Isaac Caldiero and Geoff Britten are the first American Ninja Warriors in history and Isaac takes home the big check.
