Tonight on NBC their obstacle course competition American Ninja Warrior returns with an all-new Monday, August 20, 2018, episode and we have your American Ninja Warrior recap below! On tonight’s “Minneapolis City Finals,” season 10 episode 12 as per the NBC synopsis, “The Minneapolis city finals round features 10 obstacles, including “The Hinge.” Ninja veterans taking to the course include Meagan Martin, Joe Moravsky, Jake Murray and Lance Pekus.”
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be a great season 10 episode 11, so be sure to tune in for our coverage of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior at 9 PM – 11 PM ET! While you wait for our American Ninja Warrior recap make sure to check out all our American Ninja Warrior news, spoilers, recaps & more!
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American Ninja Warrior was in Minneapolis for the last City Finals before Las Vegas. The obstacle course tonight was once again based on ten obstacles with the first being the Archer Steps before the Double Twister, the Sky Hooks, the Diamond Dash, the Battering Ram, and the Warped Wall. But that’s just six obstacles! The final four obstacles were located at the back end of the course and they were the Salmon Ladder, the Hinge, the Iron Maiden, and the final obstacle was the Spider Trap. Some of the obstacles were familiar to the contestants however the show took the added step of moving things around to make the course a little bit different than what many faced at the City Qualifiers. And so the first person to run this newly arranged obstacle course had been Leif Sudberg who was also known as the “Swedish Ninja”.
The name explains the man. He had Swedish ancestry and was famous for both that as well as his Salmon Ladder climb. Leif had made climbing the Salmon Ladder into something unique and so he had wanted to do something special when he faced it again tonight. He made it through the first half of the course without any problem and had been making his climb up the Salmon Ladder when he decided to take a risk. He tried to do things differently and had even attempted to skip over three bars, but unfortunately that caused him to lose his grip on one side and he ultimately fell on the obstacle he was most famous for. It must have stung and many had questioned Leif about what happened. Only he didn’t mind that he fell because there was nothing he would have changed about his run.
The next person to have their run was Abby Clark. She was the only woman to have hit a buzzer back during City Qualifiers and had come as quite a surprise to many. Abby, as it happens, was a rookie and she just managed to save herself last time and so she proved why she was a ninja tonight. She had no problem with facing obstacles she was new with, and while it may have taken her longer than some, she still cut her way through the course. The only problem she faced was the Warped Wall. It was the same obstacle that gave her a problem last time. It had also taken Abby three tries to make it up that obstacle and so the crowd was hoping she would get it in one this time around. She had had great energy and had taken a stab at the Warped Wall because she thought she would have fewer problems though sadly she hadn’t made it up there this time.
Abby had used all three tries again and, unlike last time, she never reached the top. It had been upset that pretty much everyone had felt and no one was alone in hoping she would still make it to Nationals. Now, while that had been upsetting, it hadn’t been the end. There were other ninjas that hadn’t made their run yet and so everyone had been glad when Julius Ferguson went next. He was a rapper known as Black Jewelz. He wrote music about some of the tougher subjects and took time to both trains as well as train others at Ninjas gyms. Julius had proven in the past that he’s a ninja with heart and tonight he showed how far he was willing to go to make it through this obstacle course. He had had trouble with his landings from the beginning. Julius would either swing too long there or his footing wasn’t best. And so eventually he did fall.
Julius had made it the farthest out everyone when he was the first to make it to the Hinge and, just when it looked like he was about to dismount, he fell. Thankfully, he still had great odds at going to Nationals and soon it was onto the next one. The person that went up next was none other than Danny Bergstrom. He had started this season as a rookie only he still had a little more experienced than the others because he was Jason Bergstrom’s son. His father had been a ninja and an obstacle course in the family backyard that consisted of forty obstacles meant Danny had had a lot of time to practice. He had fallen during the City Qualifiers because he was a pretty big dude and so he worked on that until he had been the third person to take make it to the back of the course. Danny had had no trouble with either the Salmon Ladder or the Hinge. And so it had been the Iron Maiden that did him in with him falling on the ninth obstacle.
Soon it had been Jake Murray’s turn. He had taken some time away to regain his footing and that proved to be just what he needed tonight. Jake had had no problem with the back half of the course and had practically flown through the rest. He managed to hold on throughout the newer obstacles like the Iron Maiden and he had been the first person to take on the Spider Trap. Jake has had trouble with this obstacle in the past, but he managed to make it up there without a problem and became the first person to finish. Afterward, it had taken some time before the crowd next saw someone that would make it to the back end of the course. There had been several ninjas that went and fell before it could really count. So the next ninja to really have everyone at the edge of their seat had been Michael Torres.
Michael had been all muscle. He had stormed through the first obstacles without a problem and was perhaps the fastest person on the course until he came across the Hinge. The Hinge had taken out several promising ninjas and unfortunately, it had taken out Michael. Michael had tried to aggressively go after the last piece of the obstacle and that had come at the cost of his footing. His foot hadn’t gotten on the obstacle properly and Michael ended up falling because of it. But all was not lost. Michael like many could make it to Nationals if people hadn’t made it far or as fast enough and he did. He had gotten lucky with Roo Yori. The man known as the K9 ninja had been a serious competition and surprisingly he had made an early mistake on the Sky Hooks. That alone meant it was highly unlikely that he was going to the Nationals.
Then there had been Sean Darling-Hammond. Now, he had more or less sealed his run. The man known as the Most Educated Ninja had looked really good on the Iron Maiden and his fall was again a surprise because he hadn’t struggled until the actual fall however not everyone made it that far. There was Sara Heesen was known as the beast for a reason. She had been fine in the beginning and then she began to struggle with the Battering Ram. It was taking her too long to move past the obstacle and she eventually fell because it had drained whatever strength she had left, so the next person to make it back to the Iron Maiden had been the Cowboy Ninja. Lance Pekus had made it down one side and had been making the turn when his hand placement gave way. With experienced ninjas falling on the Iron Maiden, it had made it to the new obstacle to beat.
The next ninja to take that particular obstacle on was Ian Dorry. He was an ANW veteran and he once again wowed the crowds as he took on the Iron Maiden though he was the first person since Jake Murray that managed to surpass it. Ian went on to make the climb in the Spider Trap and he ultimately became the second finisher of the night. The ninja that went next had been Tyler Gillett. He had started out as a super fan until he became a rookie last year and cried when he pressed his first buzzer, so he had been hoping to do that again tonight. He started his run with a great amount of speed and had been rushing through the obstacles until he came across the Iron Maiden. It hadn’t seemed like he was struggling because he made it past one turn and had made it across to another to the second piece of the obstacle. And so the problem came when the bars moved from under his hand because that’s how he fell.
Eric Middleton was the next person to make it to the Iron Maiden. He was sort of famous for making the commentators eat a deep-fried spider when he pressed the buzzer, although after falling on the Iron Maiden, it turned out to be his turn to eat an insect. Eric eats a bug in a lollipop and no one felt the need to join him in eating one for themselves. So it soon was Joe Moravsky’s turn. He was known as the Weatherman and apparently, he had a hidden talent that he had been holding back. Joe can sing! He sang some for ANW and he wasn’t bad. He had a good baritone and he revealed that he originally wanted to become a pop star because he wanted crowds to chant his name. And so Joe said that ANW helped him to live out the dream as well as open new doors for him.
Joe had great timing and he was a consistent ninja. He too surpassed the Iron Maiden and he became the third person of the night to finish his run with a buzzer yet Meagan Martin had also had a great night. She had made it to the Iron Maiden and had been on the last piece when unfortunately she fell. She had still sealed her place at Nationals and so falling had merely been personal for her. And while Meagan had finished her run, there were still two that went on to hit that buzzer. There had been Jonathan Stevens who had cried when he became the fourth finisher of the night and there had also been Jon Alexius Jr. who used his nickname the Afro-Giant to seal his own place at Nationals by literally using his long arms and legs.
So overall it had been a good night for the ninjas!
THE END!