American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5 is the fifth installment of American Ninja Warrior's post-season tournament, which was recorded after American Ninja Warrior 11's season finale, and premiered on August 31, 2020, a week before American Ninja Warrior 12's season premiere.
Team Competition[]
Competitors[]
| Team Matt | Team Akbar | Team Zuri |
|---|
Competition Format[]
The competition worked as followed:
- The stages used were Stage One, Stage Two, and Stage Three.
- The competition worked in a relay fashion (similar to Team Ninja Warrior's Relay Showdown round), with each member of the three teams tackled a few obstacles.
- In Stage One, the team who completed the course (or made the furthest) in the fastest time automatically advanced to Stage Three, while the other two teams competed against each other in Stage Two to earn the last spot in Stage Three.
- In Stage Two, the team who completed the course (or made the furthest) in the fastest time advanced to Stage Three, while the loser was eliminated from the competition.
- In Stage Three, the two winning teams (each from Stage One and Stage Two) would compete against each other. Just like on the previous tournament:
- If the competitor in each team failed to complete any obstacle in his/her leg, then the next competitor automatically continued the relay (except for the third competitor).
- The team who completed the most number of obstacles in the fastest time would be the champion.
- There was no time limit to complete the stages (Stage One, Stage Two, and Stage Three).
Stage One[]
Obstacles[]
① Archer Alley
② Spin Your Wheels
③ Double Dipper
④ Jumping Spider
⑤ Tire Run
⑥ Warped Wall
⑦ Diving Boards
⑧ Twist & Fly
Results[]
| Team | Obstacle 1-3 Competitor | Obstacle 4-6 Competitor | Obstacle 7-8 Competitor | Result | Notes | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Akbar | Grant McCartney | Jake Murray | Allyssa Beird | 7. Diving Boards | Team Matt | |
| Team Zuri | David Wright | Seth Rogers | Mady Howard | Clear (2:31.48) | ||
| Team Matt | Karsten Williams | Ryan Stratis | Michelle Warnky | Clear (2:29.16) | Automatically moved on to Stage Three. |
Trivia[]
- The first time in the All Stars history that the last two obstacles of Stage 1 were all attempted by women and that the Stage 1 course wasn’t completed in under two minutes.
Stage Two[]
Obstacles[]
① Giant Walk the Plank
② Extension Ladder
③ Snap Back
④ Swing Surfer
⑤ Grim Sweeper
⑥ Water Walls
Results[]
| Team | Obstacle 1-2 Competitor | Obstacle 3-4 Competitor | Obstacle 5-6 Competitor | Result | Notes | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Zuri | Mady Howard | Seth Rogers | David Wright | Clear (2:34.11) | Team Akbar | |
| Team Akbar | Jake Murray | Allyssa Beird | Grant McCartney | Clear (2:00.71) |
Stage Three[]
Obstacles[]
① Grip & Tip
② Iron Summit
③ Crazy Clocks
④ Ultimate Cliffhanger
⑤ Pipe Dream
⑥ Cane Lane
⑦ Flying Bar
Results[]
| Team | Obstacle 1-3 Competitor | Obstacle 4-5 Competitor | Obstacle 6-7 Competitor | Result | Notes | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Akbar | Grant McCartney | Jake Murray | Allyssa Beird | 5 obstacles | Allyssa fell at the Cane Lane. | Team Matt |
| Team Matt | Michelle Warnky | Ryan Stratis | Karsten Williams | Clear |
| American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5's Team Competition champion: Team Matt |
Skills Competition[]
Fearsome Ferris Wheel[]
The obstacle consisted of a supersized version of the Ferris Wheel.
There were three heats in this competition, with two competitors in each heat. In each of the first two heats, the competitor reached and hit the buzzer in the fastest time moved to the final heat. In the final heat, the competitor reached and hit the buzzer in the fastest time was the champion. There was no time limit in this competition.
Competitors[]
① Dave Cavanagh
② Lucas Reale
③ Daniel Gil
④ Mathis "Kid" Owhadi
Results[]
| Name | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Heat 1 | ||
| Dave Cavanagh | Clear (0:19.14) | |
| Lucas Reale | Clear (0:21.10) | |
| Heat 2 | ||
| Daniel Gil | Fail | Both Daniel and Mathis competed on this event blindfolded. Neither of them reached and hit the buzzer, but Daniel went further than Mathis, so he advanced to the final heat. |
| Mathis "Kid" Owhadi | Fail | |
| Final Heat | ||
| Dave Cavanagh | Clear (0:19.23) | |
| Daniel Gil | Clear (0:21.76) | |
| American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5's Fearsome Ferris Wheel champion: Dave Cavanagh |
Striding Steps[]
The obstacle consisted of a supersized version of the Sonic Swing from Team Ninja Warrior.
Each competitor must sprint across 9 small steps (spaced five feet apart between each step), then grabbed a rope, swung back, and sprinted across the steps in other direction, and finally reached and hit the buzzer at the top of the wall.
There were seven heats in this competition, with two competitors in each heat. In each of the first four heats, the competitor who completed the obstacle (or made the furthest) in the fastest time moved on to the semifinal heats (running in two heats), with the winning competitor from each semifinal heat moved on to the final heat. In the final heat, the competitor completed the obstacle (or made the furthest) in the fastest time was the champion. There was no time limit in this competition.
Competitors[]
① Brandon Mears
② Dan Polizzi
③ Barclay Stockett
④ Jody Avila
⑤ Jesse Labreck
⑥ Chris DiGangi
⑦ Ben Udy (appeared as "Chad Flexington")
⑧ Grant McCartney
Results[]
| Name | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Heat 1 | ||
| Brandon Mears | Fail | Neither Brandon nor Dan reached and hit the buzzer. However, Dan went further than Brandon, so he advanced to the semifinal heat. |
| Dan Polizzi | Fail | |
| Heat 2 | ||
| Barclay Stockett | Fail | |
| Jody Avila | Clear (0:18.01) | |
| Heat 3 | ||
| Jesse Labreck | Fail | |
| Chris DiGangi | Clear (0:18.91) | |
| Heat 4 | ||
| Ben Udy | Clear (0:21.29) | |
| Grant McCartney | Fail | |
| Semifinal Heat 1 | ||
| Dan Polizzi | Fail | |
| Jody Avila | Clear (0:17.32) | |
| Semifinal Heat 2 | ||
| Chris DiGangi | Clear (0:17.08) | |
| Ben Udy | Clear (0:16.99) | Ben beat Chris to the buzzer by 0.09 seconds. |
| Final Heat | ||
| Jody Avila | Clear | |
| Ben Udy | Clear (0:15.50) | Reached and hit the buzzer first. |
| American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5's Striding Steps champion: Ben Udy |
Mega Spider Climb[]
Mega Spider Climb
The obstacle consisted of a supersized version of the Spider Climb, which took place at the Stage Four tower.
There were three heats in this competition, with two competitors in each heat. In each of the first two heats, the competitor who reached the top of the tower (or made the highest) in the fastest time moved to the final heat. In the final heat, the competitor who reached the top of the tower (or made the highest) in the fastest time was the champion. There was no time limit in this competition.
Competitors[]
① Ethan Swanson
② Kevin Carbone
③ Michael Torres
④ Tyler Gillett
Results[]
| Name | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Heat 1 | ||
| Ethan Swanson | Clear (0:18.10) | Reached the top of the tower first. |
| Kevin Carbone | Clear | |
| Heat 2 | ||
| Michael Torres | Clear (0:17.43) | Reached the top of the tower first. |
| Tyler Gillett | Clear | |
| Final Heat | ||
| Ethan Swanson | Clear | |
| Michael Torres | Clear (0:16.37) | Reached the top of the tower first. |
| American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5's Mega Spider Climb champion: Michael Torres |
Big Dipper Freestyle[]
The obstacle consisted of a Big Dipper, which was held at the same place as the Double Dipper in Stage One.
After releasing from the bar, each competitor must perform a free-diving trick into the water. Then, each of the judges (consisted of Matt, Akbar, and Zuri) gave a score for him/her. Each competitor received two attempts to perform the trick and the score from both attempts were accumulated as his/her final score. The competitor who received the highest total score was the champion. If there were at least two competitors who got the same total score, those competitors competed in a dive-off, with the competitor who received the highest score being declared as the champion.
Competitors[]
① Jessie Graff
② Adam Rayl
③ Najee Richardson
④ Grant McCartney
Results[]
Attempt 1[]
| Name | Matt's Score | Akbar's Score | Zuri's Score | Total Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jessie Graff | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | |
| Adam Rayl | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 | Quarterback with Nick Hanson. |
| Najee Richardson | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 | |
| Grant McCartney | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
Attempt 2[]
| Name | Matt's Score | Akbar's Score | Zuri's Score | Total Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Rayl | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 | Digest. |
| Grant McCartney | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 | |
| Najee Richardson | 10 | 7 | 9 | 26 | |
| Jessie Graff | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 |
Final Standings[]
| Place | Name | Attempt 1's Score | Attempt 2's Score | Total Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jessie Graff | 23 | 29 | 52 | Since Jessie and Grant achieved the same total score, both of them competed in a dive-off to determine the winner. |
| 1st | Grant McCartney | 30 | 22 | 52 | |
| 3rd | Najee Richardson | 25 | 26 | 51 | |
| 4th | Adam Rayl | 21 | 17 | 38 |
Dive-off[]
| Name | Matt's Score | Akbar's Score | Zuri's Score | Total Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jessie Graff | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Since Jessie and Grant achieved the same score once again, both of them were declared as co-champions. |
| Grant McCartney (with Adam Rayl) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5's Big Dipper Freestyle co-champions: Jessie Graff and Grant McCartney |
Broadcast Notes & Unaired Skills Competition Events[]
Due to the fact that the competition was aired after Drew Drechsel's arrest, several Skills Competition events that featured Drew as one of the competitors were not shown, as part of NBC Sports and A. Smith & Co's commitment to sever all ties with him. Some of them were these:
Twist and Soar[]
The obstacle was based off of the Twist & Fly obstacle from Stage One. The premise was very similar to the Wicked Wingnuts and Supersonic Shelf Grab of past specials, but utilizing the twisters unique to Twist & Fly.
The competition worked in an elimination fashion. Each competitor was given just one attempt to clear the obstacle in required distance. If they completed it, they moved on the next round (with the distance between the pair of handles and the banner being made larger in the next round). If not, they would be eliminated from the competition. The competition continued until only one competitor could clear the required distance in any round or the remaining competitors in any round failed to clear the required distance.
Competitors[]
① Drew Drechsel
② Joe Moravsky
③ Adam Rayl
④ Najee Richardson
⑤ R.J. Roman
At the end, Drew Drechsel won the event, but due to U.S. current legal proceedings, it was not shown on the broadcast.
| American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5's Twist and Soar champion: Drew Drechsel |
Super Salmon Ladder[]
The obstacle consisted of a supersized version of the Salmon Ladder, with 35 rungs and about 4 stories (13.2 meters) in height.
Each competitor would start at the first rung and tried to reach the highest rung as possible. Whoever reached the highest rung, he would be the champion. However, if there were at least 2 competitors who could reach the highest rung, the competitor who reached it in the fastest time would be the champion.
Competitors[]
① Drew Drechsel
② Karsten Williams (second tournament's winner)
③ Barclay Stockett (previous tournament's runner-up)
④ Travis Rosen (his final American Ninja Warrior appearance)
⑤ Casey Suchocki
⑥ Nick Hanson
At the end, Karsten Williams won the match, as he reached the top of the ladder in the fastest time,
| American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5's Super Salmon Ladder champion: Karsten Williams |
External Links[]
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