Abel Gonzalez Jr. is a personal trainer and public speaker from Edinburg, Texas who built his own gym, Ground Zero in his backyard and open to the public, operated by Nathan Jasso and himself. In a short time he has become one of the most beloved competitors due to his mission to make south Texas healthier and his motto "We Are All Abel".
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 6[]
In American Ninja Warrior 6, he competed as a walk-on and impressed everyone with his great rookie season, completing both the qualifying and finals round in Dallas. In Vegas, he was the first to complete Stage One and the only walk on to make it to Stage Two, where he fell on the transition of the Double Salmon Ladder.
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
He returned in American Ninja Warrior 7 in Houston, where he performed great in qualifying, but in the city finals he fell on the Walking Bar like so many that night. However, he still made it to Las Vegas, where he was able to complete Stage One again. He was also able to get his revenge on the Double Salmon Ladder and became one of the eight to complete Stage Two.
On Stage Three, he was the first competitor to run the course and the first ever to complete the Psycho Chainsaw, as well as the returning Doorknob Grasper and Floating Boards, but unfortunately, he fell on the modified Ultimate Cliffhanger when he couldn't reach the raised fourth ledge.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
He returned in American Ninja Warrior 8, this time in the Philadelphia region. His run was fast-forwarded, but he shocked everyone when he failed the Paddle Boards where he was disqualified for touching the center axis.
Interestingly, his elimination actually contributed to history on ANW. As the penultimate runner on the course, Allyssa Beird was sitting in the 29th position before he ran. With only Michelle Warnky left to run, had he advanced to the city finals, Allyssa Beird would not have moved on, and thus the Fantastic Four would not have been formed.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
He returned in American Ninja Warrior 9 where he completed the qualifying course in San Antonio, placing 13th, and moved on to the city finals. At the finals, he failed the Hourglass Drop and placed 12th, moving on to Vegas.
In Vegas, Abel cleared Stage One for the third year with 17.40 seconds left, becoming the record breaking 39th Stage One clear. Unfortunately, he failed Wingnut Alley of Stage Two, ending his season.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Abel returned to compete in Dallas in American Ninja Warrior 10. In qualifying, he almost fell on the Tuning Forks when he lost his balance on the third fork and had to save himself by wrapping around the side of the fork, but he still completed the obstacle. He later attempted to scale the 18-foot Mega Wall but came up short, he did scale the 14'6' wall on his one attempt and finish the course in 8th place.
In the city finals, he fell on the ninth obstacle, Fallout, but placed 7th overall and moved on to the national finals.
His run on Stage One was digested but it was shown that he failed the Double Dipper, making it the first time that he failed Stage One.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
He returned to compete in Oklahoma City in American Ninja Warrior 11. His qualifying run was cut from the broadcast, but he once again cleared the course, this time in 12th place.
During the city finals, he was one of several to fail the Crazy Clocks. However, he didn't go fast enough to make the top 13 and as such, failed to move on to Vegas for the second time in his career. He placed 18th overall.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Abel returned to compete on American Ninja Warrior 12. In qualifying, he completed the course with the 6th fastest time of the night. However, for the second year in a row, his season ended at the eighth obstacle in the semi-finals, after he fell on Corkscrew.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
He returned to compete in the first qualifying episode of American Ninja Warrior 13. His run was digested, but it was shown that he failed on the dismount of V Formation. Despite failing in qualifying for the first time since season 8, he still moved on by placing 24th overall. He later competed in the first semifinal episode. His run was once again digested, but it was shown that he got his revenge on Corkscrew and also cleared the Tuning Forks at Split Decision. As a result, he managed to clear the course and placed 4th overall. He was emotional as he cleared a semifinal course for the first time since his rookie season in season 6.
In the national finals, his run on Stage One was once again digested, but he got revenge on the Double Dipper, only to fail the next obstacle, Jumping Spider despite clearing it multiple times in the past. This marked his second time falling the first stage and the first time he failed it in back-to-back seasons.
Abel shared on Instagram that he declined his invitation to compete on American Ninja Warrior 14 due to not meeting the medical requirement to be eligible, ending his eight year streak.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
He competed in the seventh qualifier alongside his students Sebastian Chrismer and Erick Zamorano. Abel made it to Lasso Launch before splashing down, and this was good enough for 8th place. In the semifinals, he unfortunately lost to Karsten Williams, as Abel fell on Slingshot, not moving on and making it the first time since season 8 that he failed to hit a buzzer.
He wasn’t chosen to compete in American Ninja Warrior 16.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: InvincAbels | ||||||||
| 1 | 6 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Real Life Beasts | Drew Drechsel | Loss | 0-1 | |
| 1 | 6 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Party Time | Brian Arnold | Loss | 0-2 | |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Team Ronin | Flip Rodriguez | Win | Flip fell at the Ring of Fire. | 1-2 |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | Team Ronin | JJ Woods | Loss | 1-3 | |
| 2 | 7 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Towers of Power | Brandon Mears | Loss | Abel fell at the Ring of Fire. | 1-4 |
| 3 | 7 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 3 | Iron Grip | Daniel Gil | Loss | 1-5 | |
Relay Showdown Record[]
| Season | Episode | Competitor (Obstacle Attempted) | Opponent Team | Opponent (Obstacle Attempted) | Result | Notes | Relay Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: InvincAbels | |||||||
| 3 | 7 (Qualifying) | Marybeth Wang (1-2) Victor Juarez (3-4) Abel Gonzalez (5-6) |
Iron Grip | Tiana Webberley (1-2) Mathis Owhadi (3-4) Daniel Gil (5-6) |
Loss | 0-1 | |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Failed Double Salmon Ladder (Stage Two) | ||
| 7 | Failed Ultimate Cliffhanger (Stage Three) | ||
| 9 | Failed Wingnut Alley (Stage Two) | Digest. | |
| 10 | Failed Double Dipper (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 13 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage One) | Digest. |