Akbar’s team took home the trophy on tonight’s American Ninja Warrior: All-Star Special. (NBC)
UPDATE: Team Akbar has won the team portion tonight.
Tonight, two teams of five competitors went head-to-head to compete for the championship trophy. The teams were picked by hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila, and each consisted of one rookie and one female competitor. The obstacles featured on this evening’s show were a giant peg board, a 40-foot Salmon Ladder, the Flying Shelf Grab, Jump Hang, and the Mega Wall. The veteran contestants ranged from professional stunt woman Jessie Graff to hopeful opera singer Daniel Gil.
In the first round, Joe “Weatherman” Moravsky came out of the gate with an exceptionally fast performance. He finished Stage 2 in 1:08:52– the fastest time to date. Brett Steffenson followed Moravsky, and lost his grip on the salmon ladder. Lance Pekus was the next competitor to complete the race without falling, followed by rookie Daniel Gil.
Meagan Martin and stunt woman Jessie Graff were the first two women to attempt Stage 3 and both made it to the fourth obstacle. And when Flip Rodriguez faced Lance Pekus in the rope climb, Flip took the win and completed the challenge in just over 30 seconds.
Team Akbar won the team round, 5-3.
Skills Portion: David Campbell took his go at the Peg Board after Jessie Graff. Graff made it through 10 segments before the clock ran out. Campbell got through 13 segments. The final competitor on the giant Peg Board was climber Brian Arnold. Arnold was able to make it through 15 segments on the board, making him tonight’s champion.
Next came the Shelf Grab. Meagan Martin went first and was able to fly over 9 feet to grab the second ledge. Kevin Bull went next, and was tasked with flying over 10 feet to catch it. He was able to propel himself 10 ft 6 inches, and successfully make it to the other end, along with Drew Dreshel and Isaac Caldiero. In a dramatic move, the shelves were then pushed to be 14 feet away– maximum distance. Both Drew Dreshel and Isaac Caldiero made the 14 foot jumps, making both of them the winners of the Shelf Grab competition.
Next, Dustin McKinney gave his go at the Salmon Ladder, and set the bar quite high by jumping 22 rungs. Cowboy Lance Pekus made it 28 rungs. 35-year-old Mike Bernardo was able to jump an astonishing 35 rungs– the full height of the Salmon Ladder– making him the Salmon Ladder champion.
Last came the Mega Wall. The wall began at 16 feet, then was raised 18 feet, and three of the four competitors were able to make it to the top. Next, it rose to a whopping 18’9″. Flip Rodriguez was able to make the wall climb, as was weatherman Joe Marovsky. The wall was eventually raised to 19 feet, and Flip Rodriguez prevailed.
Tonight’s event was broadcast in anticipation of the Season 8 premiere this Wednesday, June 1, on NBC. According to the International Business Times, this season will feature some exciting new faces next to some faces we all may have seen before, too. Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe will be taking part in the games. He told the IB Times, “Unfortunately, this means I have to lay off the cookies and White Russians for the next couple weeks. A cloud for every silver lining.”
Season 8 of American Ninja Warrior will premiere Wednesday, June 1, at 8pm ET/PT on NBC.