Tonight on NBC their obstacle course competition American Ninja Warrior returns with an all-new Wednesday, May 29, 2019, episode and we have your American Ninja Warrior recap below! On tonight’s “Los Angeles City Qualifiers,” season 11 episode 1 premiere as per the NBC synopsis, “Season 11 kicks off with the Los Angeles Qualifying Round. Ninjas take on six challenging obstacles, including Walk the Plank and Spring Forward. Also: the two fastest finishers take on the new Power Tower for a chance to advance straight to the National Finals in Las Vegas.”
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be a great season 11 episode 1, so be sure to tune in for our coverage of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior at 8 PM – 10 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!
Tonight’s American Ninja Warrior recap begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
New challenges awaited the contestants this season. The course was tough enough to be with, but the show has since several new obstacles like the Shrinking Steps, Walk the Plank, and the Mega Walk is back. There was also a little something called the Power Tower. Whoever wins at the tower of doom would gain a Speed Pass and what this means is that the contestant is automatically guaranteed a place in Las Vegas. So naturally, everyone tried to be quick on their feet tonight. Even the rookies had wanted to gain this latest advantage and unfortunately, it left unprepared for the rest of the challenges. The first contestant was Kevin Fisch. He was a rookie and he managed to get through the first couple of challenges with little to no problem.
However, Fisch’s mistake is that he tried to rush through the Diamond Dash and really this obstacle is about foot placement. His gait was evenly distributed and he fell into the water. The next contestant had a similar mistake albeit on the Walk the Plank. Aubry Wiltcher needed to use the plank as a jumping off point and if it wasn’t even then she might as well have not have jumped. Only she did and then she fell. No worries Aubry. You will not be the last ninja to have fallen! The next contestant actually made his own fair share of mistakes. Ben Udy came with a wild new outfit and he was having fun on the course. He played around with the first few and then he made the mistake on not watching his knees.
All ninjas must remember to watch their knees as well as their feet. Ben fell and so did several other rookies during the commercial break, but when the show returned, they highlighted Seth Rogers. Rogers was 19 and he’s been preparing for this day since he was 11. He’s a huge fan of American Ninja Warrior and he’s won some local competitions where he even got to meet some of the stars of the show. Rogers has a lot of people watching him and his run began with mistakes. He rushed through the first obstacle and almost lost his footing. He then didn’t take that in as a lesson, so he continued to speed the rest of the obstacle and by the time he realized he was running out of steam he was on the Spin Hopper.
Rogers lost his energy at the worst possible moment. He didn’t have it in him to finish this second to the last obstacle and therefore he fell. Rogers will have to see if his time would guarantee him a spot in the next obstacle course. Now, this next contestant has a heartbreaking tale. David Alvarez came tonight because he wanted to get his story out there. He and his sister had been in a bad situation when they were placed in foster and were separated. David has been looking for his sister ever since and he’s had no such luck because of the laws in Minnesota about handing over a minor’s location. He came today wearing a t-shirt with his sister’s name and Wallyssa if you’re reading just know that your brother loves you.
David dedicated his run to his sister because the longer he was on the course the better chance his sister’s name was out there. So with such resolve, it wasn’t surprising that he raced through the obstacle course and ultimately became the first finisher of the night. David celebrated the night by holding his sister’s pacifier up and hopefully he will be reunited with her in the end. Several other contestants tried to make it to the finish line and all failed. There wouldn’t be another serious contender until Flip Rodriguez. This Flip’s ninth year competing and he missed out the Mega Wall last year. He’ll want another shot at that ten thousand dollar this time around. Flip sailed through the course like always and also he managed to overcome the Spin Hopper.
It had been the Spin Hopper that knocked him out last time and so just defeating that obstacle alone made his run successful. Rodriguez had the option of going for the Minor Wall and staying in the competition long enough to try out this new Power Tower, but he wanted that Mega Wall and he tried to get it. He tried three times and each time failed to get him that ten thousand dollars. This means that Rodriguez was done for the night! His speed alone meant he was still going on to the semi-finals and so it was a personal loss rather than a professional one. Meanwhile, this next contestant brought in new hope for the women ninjas. Samantha Bush dedicated her run to her mother who made sacrifices and kept the family together after her dad died.
Samantha fell on the fourth obstacle last time, but she made it pass with her current run and had made it to the Spin Hopper when she washed out. She still made it the farthest and so maybe next year will be different. Maybe then she would be the first woman to make it up to the Mega Wall. Until we see what the future brings, let’s return to the present. The next contestant was David Campbell. Campbell was known as the Godfather on ANW because he’s been on each and every season of the show. He was just that good! The Godfather came back this year and he had the easiest run of the night. He sped through everything and he went after the Minor Wall because he wanted to take on the tower at the end. And either way, it will be the Godfather vs David on the tower.
The next contestant was Brian Burk. He was autistic and he turned to sports to come out of his shell. Brian hopes to one day be known for his athleticism before his autism and he will surely on the right road after tonight. Brian or the Burkinator as his family calls him had an impressive run and it ended with him becoming the third finisher of the night. Brian was dancing, jumping, and even pointing. That may not have sounded like a lot but it is and it’s great that his family was there to celebrate with him. The next contestant also had a worthy cause. Cheyenne Arrington comes from a small town called Paradise. Paradise was left devastated during the wildfires in California and Cheyenne had needed something to keep her going.
Cheyenne dedicated her run to #ParadiseStrong and she made it as far as Walk the Plank when she fell. It was unfortunate, but luckily that didn’t seem to stop her and she will be back. Now, the next contestant was a familiar face. Adam Rayl was known pro and everyone had high expectations of his run. What no one saw coming was that he would fall on the Spin Hopper. His fall shocked everyone and newest sideline reporter Zuri Hall had been with Rayl’s mother when he fell. It had been heartbreaking and the only thing Zuri could say is that it wasn’t going to keep him out of the City Finals. He had made it far enough fast enough that meant he was still in the competition and so maybe he’ll learn to be a little more cautious going forward.
There several finishers during the commercial break and so the timing is now all over the place. Only the two fastest competitors get a shot at the Tower and the Godfather had a record-breaking time. The next contestant was known for his speed and so “the Lizard” was back to take on the tower. Hunter Guerard who was better known as “the Lizard” came out to LA because he wanted to race against his best friend and fellow ninja Kyle Soderman. The two of them were super competitive and so they hashed out tonight. The Lizard went first and he quickly had the fastest time of the night when he finished on the Minor Wall. He would have liked to have gone against his best friend on the tower, but Kyle made other choices.
Kyle Soderman had wanted to take on the Mega Wall. He had quickly competed for the rest of the obstacle course with the fastest time and so he could have played it safe, but no he wanted the extra ten thousand and then wait on to fail at climbing the Mega Wall. He tried three times and he missed out on his chance to climb the tower. Which was another shocker to all! The next contestant had been veteran Scott Wilson and he’s never made it to the buzzer however he changed things around this time and he passed all the other obstacles. He then came to the walls and he too decided to take on the Mega Wall. And the difference here is that he made sure to gain some momentum with his arms before he took on the wall and so that’s how he was the first one to gain ten thousand dollars from the Mega Wall.
Other than that, the last run of the night went to Kevin Bull. He also had an impressive run and he had a great time but he completed just a second after David Campbell and that means he won’t be in the running for the Power Tower.
The race to the buzzer at the Power Tower was between David Campbell and Hunter Guerard. It was basically its own obstacle course and so the two raced up the tower then had to cross it, use handlebars, and jump to the finish line.
It sounds like much for normal people, but it was nothing for the ninjas and they were neck and neck when at the last minute the Lizard came out ahead.
Hunter Guerard was now going directly to Vegas!
THE END