The Déjà Vu (officially stylized Deja Vu, literally translated as Already Seen) is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the third obstacle in Stage Two on American Ninja Warrior 10, replacing the Wave Runner from the past two American Ninja Warrior seasons.
The obstacle consists of two bars attached by wires on both ends. After completing the Criss Cross Salmon Ladder, competitors must grab the first bar and unhook it from the first set of cradles. Then they must swing the bar and hook it onto the third set of cradles. From there, they must grab the second bar (which was locked in hooks on the second set of cradles), unhook it, and finally swing it to the landing platform.
The obstacle turned out to be brutal, taking out 10 of the 24 competitors who attempted it, including top competitors like Daniel Gil, Dan Polizzi, Casey Suchocki, Eric Middleton, Thomas Stillings, Hunter Guerard, Tyler Gillett, Mike Meyers, Mike Murray, and Austin Gray. Most competitors failed either by the grip slipping or giving out, or only landing one side of the bar on the cradles, which would pull off all the bars and send them spinning into the water.
During USA vs. The World 5, a surprising disqualification occurred when Javier Cano from Team Europe dismounted to the landing platform from the first bar, proving that it was possible to do so in the first place.
Despite its overall difficulty, this obstacle was replaced by the Snap Back on the next season.
Other Appearances[]
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
Deja Vu appeared as the seventh obstacle of Preliminary Round 7 of Ninja Warrior Germany 6. A lache bar was placed before the start of the obstacle.
In Ninja Warrior Germany: Four Nations Special 2, the Déjà Vu, locally called Doppel-Trapez (literally Double Trapeze), appeared as the sixth and final obstacle in the Third Stage, and was very similar to the Déjà Vu used in American Ninja Warrior 10. However, the obstacle here was preceded by three different obstacles (the Cliffhanger, the Peg Cloud and the Time Bomb), with no rest or laché bar in between any of those obstacles. This made the Déjà Vu even more brutal in this case, since competitors must complete this obstacle with major pump in their forearms after having completed the preceding obstacles. As a result, the obstacle was extremely brutal, as all three competitors (Alexander Wurm, Jamie Rahn and Sladjan Djulabic) failed on it, with Alexander Wurm coming the closest out of these three competitors, but failing the dismount to the landing platform.
In the Ninja Warrior Germany: Four Nations Special 3, the Déjà Vu then appeared as the fourth obstacle in the Second Stage of that special, and was once again very similar to the Déjà Vu used in American Ninja Warrior 10. This time however, the obstacle was directly preceded by a shorter, three-cradle Flying Bar, without any rest bar or laché bar in between those obstacles.
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
The Déjà Vu made its appearance as the third obstacle in Stage Three of Australian Ninja Warrior 5. Compared to its appearance on American Ninja Warrior, competitors must climb over an inclined pole before reaching the bar. Due to Zak Stolz failing on the previous obstacle, the Doorknob Drop, no one attempted the obstacle in this competition.
It appeared as the second obstacle of Stage Three on Australian Ninja Warrior 6, where it was finally attempted in competition by five competitors, with Matthew Bowles being the only one who failed on the obstacle.
Ninja Israel[]
In Ninja Warrior Israel 4, the Déjà Vu, locally called קפיצה בזמן (literally Time Jump) appeared as the fifth obstacle in the Semifinal 4, and was very similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 10. Competitors must simply jump to reach the laché bar before reaching the wired bar. Both wired bars were also made longer to prevent it from derailing too easily. Despite that, the obstacle was more brutal than the one used in American Ninja Warrior 10, as it eliminated 12 out of 17 competitors who attempted it.
Then, in Ninja Warrior Israel 5, the Déjà Vu appeared as the third and final obstacle of Stage Two. This time, the laché was replaced by a inclined pole, and the wired bars were shortened to their original length, making the obstacle very similar to the one used in Australian Ninja Warrior 5. This time, both competitors who attempted the obstacle (Yogev Malka and Shneor Sameach) cleared it.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC/RTL/Keshet 12 broadcast and external information found.
American Ninja Warrior[]
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
ANW10 | 14 | 24 | 58.33% |
USA vs. The World 5 | 4 | 5 | 80% |
Total | 18 | 29 | 62.07% |
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
NWG | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
NWG: FNS2 | 0 | 3 | 0% |
NWG: FNS3 | 9 | 14 | 64.28% |
Total | 9 | 17 | 52.94% |
Ninja Israel[]
NWI | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
NWI4 | 5 | 17 | 29.41% |
NWI5 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Total | 7 | 19 | 36.84% |
Trivia[]
- The Déjà Vu was one of the two obstacles that won the second edition of American Ninja Warrior: Obstacle Design Challenge, and designed by Kevin Carbone, who won the same contest on the previous season by designing the Wingnuts. Coincidentally, the Stage Two course on American Ninja Warrior 10 also featured the Wingnut Alley as the fifth obstacle, which was a variation of his obstacle.
- Just like the Wingnuts, Carbone credited his father, Jerry, for coming up with the obstacle's name. Before officially submitting the obstacle, his creation remained unnamed until his father commented, "that looks like déjà vu".
- Regarding the obstacle name, it is named after the psychological phenomenon referring to a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
- As seen on Lucas Gomes's video, the obstacle originally had fourth cradle, with the latter two was placed backward from competitor's view (compared to the design drawn by Kevin Carbone which featured all cradles facing towards). However, possibly due to the dismount being hard on a still bar, the fourth cradle was removed to give competitors more forward momentum to dismount.