American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja

American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja was a new version of Team Ninja Warrior, which was premiered on March 1st, 2018 at USA Network.

Despite the name change, American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja was the third year of American Ninja Warrior's team ninja competitions. For some, it was widely considered to be the third season of Team Ninja Warrior, as most of the same elements and teams from the first 2 seasons had been retained

Teams
There were 36 teams competing for this competition. Each team had a captain, and consisted of two male competitors and a female competitor. Several new competitors replaced the previous member(s) of the same team from Team Ninja Warrior 2. Also, some new teams appeared.

Several top competitors didn't take part for this competition, including Ryan Stratis, Drew Drechsel, Jessie Graff (both of whom were in Japan for SASUKE 34, which was taped around the same time), Joe Moravsky, Geoff Britten, Mike Chick, Josh Levin, and Allyssa Beird. Brandon Mears was originally set to compete on this competition with Towers of Power. However, he backed out due to a family emergency.

Competition Format
There were some major changes for the competition format on American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja, compared to the past two Team Ninja Warrior seasons:
 * There were 3 matchups used in each episode of American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja, with the first 2 matchups served as elimination rounds (with 2 teams in each matchup), while the third matchup (Final Matchup) served as the final round (with 2 winning teams from the first two matchups).
 * In each matchup, there were up to 5 heats, in which:
 * The first 3 heats worked the same as Team Ninja Warrior's regular matchup, in which the running order for each heat was decided by the captains of each team, with female competitors were required to face each other in the same heat. In the first two matchups, competitors would face 6 obstacles, while in the third matchup (Final Matchup), competitors would face 9 obstacles (extended course).
 * The last 2 heats worked the same as Team Ninja Warrior's Relay Showdown, except for the first two matchups, only the first 6 obstacles were used (meaning each competitor would face 2 obstacles). On the extended course relay during the third matchup (Final Matchup), the second member of each team would no longer need to physically tag his/her anchor teammate, only having to press the buzzer at the top of the Warped Wall to signify the anchor could begin.
 * In each heat, the competitor who completed the course (or made the furthest, in case of no competitor could complete the course) in the fastest time would receive 1 point for his/her respective team.
 * In each of the first two matchups, the first team to cumulate 3 points would advance to the third matchup (Final Matchup), while the losing team would be eliminated from the competition. Then, in the third matchup (Final Matchup), the first team to cumulate 3 points would advance to the next round, while the losing team would be eliminated from the competition.

The competition run for a total of 16 episodes, with the first 9 episodes being served as the qualifying round, the next 2 episodes being served as the wildcard round, the next 4 episodes being served as the playoffs, and 1 episode being served as the final. The 9 teams who lost in Final Matchup from each qualifying round episode, along with 5 best losing teams during qualifying round's first 2 matchups, would compete in the wildcard round, with the 7 winning teams would advance to the playoffs. Then, the 9 winning teams from each qualifying round episode, along with 7 winning teams from the wildcard round, would compete in the playoffs, with the 4 winning teams would advance to the finals. Then, in the finals, the winning team would be the champion of American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja.

The competition format that had been explained above was used during qualifying round, playoffs, and finals. For the wildcard round, there was a slightly format change:
 * There were 7 matchups (each matchup contained 2 teams). The first 3 matchups were aired on the first episode of the wildcard round (Episode 10), while the last 4 matchups were aired on the second episode of the wildcard round (Episode 11).
 * From each matchup, only 6 obstacles were used (no extended course) and the winning team would automatically advanced to the playoffs, while the losing team would be eliminated from the competition.

In addition to the competition format, American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja also had several changes, compared to the past 2 Team Ninja Warrior seasons:
 * American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja was taped during nighttime, while Team Ninja Warrior was taped during daytime.
 * During individual races (the first 3 heats) for the first 2 matchups, the competitors' name were shown at the backdrop of the course, just before they ran the course (similar as the one used in the First Stage from SASUKE 31 onward).

Also, just like the past 2 seasons of Team Ninja Warrior, competitors were allowed to touch the water on American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja, as long as both feet of a competitor didn't touch the bottom of the pool.

Obstacles
① Sonic Swing

② Tick Tock

③ (changed each episode)

④ Floating Tiles
 * Criss Cross Ring Toss (Episode 1, 4, 7)
 * Pole Grasper (Episode 2, 5, 8)
 * Tilting Ladders (Episode 3, 6, 9)
 * Ring Swing (Episode 10, 11)
 * Parallel Pipes (Episode 12-15)
 * Wingnuts (Episode 16)

⑤ (changed each episode)

⑥ Warped Wall
 * Flying Shelf Grab (Episode 1, 4, 7)
 * Spin Cycle (Episode 2, 5, 8)
 * Flying Monkey Bars (Episode 3, 6, 9)
 * Bungee Pipeline (Episode 10, 11)
 * Hanging Staircase (Episode 12-15)
 * Criss Cross Ring Toss (Episode 16)

Final Matchup's obstacles (extended course)

⑦ Salmon Ladder

⑧ Rumbling Dice

⑨ Zig Zag Climb

Teams
① Beasts from the East

② Hashtag Ninjas

③ Team Ronin

④ West Coast Warriors

Teams
① Dark Horse

② Midwest Muscle

③ Labreckfast Club

④ Team Tarzan

Teams
① Party Time

② Brazi Bros

③ Karsten's Fast Kats

④ All-American Ninjas

Teams
① NorCal Ninjas

② Young Bloods

③ Team Wolfpack

④ Tré Amigoz

Teams
① Golden Hearts

② Average JoJo's

③ Towers of Power

④ Three Wishes

Teams
① Lab Rats

② Big Dog Ninjas

③ The Ballers

④ Team Alpha

Teams
① The Expendabulls

② Lizard Kings

③ Iron Grip

④ InvincAbels

Teams
① Phoenix Force

② Think Tank

③ Team TNT

④ Frostbite

Teams
① Superhero Squad

② Wisco Warriors

③ Tri Hards

④ Hazard Brigade

Teams
① Midwest Muscle (Episode 2's losing team during Matchup 1)

② Lizard Kings (Episode 7's losing team during Final Matchup)

③ Frostbite (Episode 8's losing team during Final Matchup)

④ All-American Ninjas (Episode 3's losing team during Final Matchup)

⑤ Dark Horse (Episode 2's losing team during Final Matchup)

⑥ NorCal Ninjas (Episode 4's losing team during Matchup 1)

Teams
① Team Wolfpack (Episode 4's losing team during Final Matchup)

② Hazard Brigade (Episode 9's losing team during Matchup 2)

③ Beasts from the East (Episode 1's losing team during Matchup 1)

④ Wisco Warriors (Episode 9's losing team during Final Matchup)

⑤ Big Dog Ninjas (Episode 6's losing team during Matchup 1)

⑥ Hashtag Ninjas (Episode 1's losing team during Final Matchup)

⑦ Three Wishes (Episode 5's losing team during Final Matchup)

⑧ The Ballers (Episode 6's losing team during Final Matchup)

Teams
① Golden Hearts (Episode 5's winning team during Final Matchup)

② NorCal Ninjas (Episode 10's winning team during Matchup 3)

③ Iron Grip (Episode 7's winning team during Final Matchup)

④ Beasts from the East (Episode 11's winning team during Matchup 2)

Teams
① Labreckfast Club (Episode 2's winning team during Final Matchup)

② Frostbite (Episode 10's winning team during Matchup 2)

③ Phoenix Force (Episode 8's winning team during Final Matchup)

④ Team Wolfpack (Episode 11's winning team during Matchup 1)

Teams
① Party Time (Episode 3's winning team during Final Matchup)

② Hashtag Ninjas (Episode 11's winning team during Matchup 3)

③ Tri Hards (Episode 9's winning team during Final Matchup)

④ Lizard Kings (Episode 11's winning team during Matchup 1)

Teams
① Team Ronin (Episode 1's winning team during Final Matchup)

② The Ballers (Episode 11's winning team during Matchup 4)

③ Lab Rats (Episode 6's winning team during Final Matchup)

④ Young Bloods (Episode 4's winning team during Final Matchup)

Teams
① Labreckfast Club (Episode 13's winning team during Final Matchup)

② Party Time (Episode 14's winning team during Final Matchup)

③ Team Ronin (Episode 15's winning team during Final Matchup)

④ Iron Grip (Episode 12's winning team during Final Matchup)