The Doorknob Drop is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the fifth obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 10 in Los Angeles.
It featured two boomerang-shaped boards, with the second half of the first board facing each other with the first half of the second board. Each board contained a different number of doorknobs (17 doorknobs on the first board and 10 doorknobs on the second board). The first board was symmetrical, while the second board had its first half much shorter than its second half.
Competitors must climb up a rope to reach the first board. Then, they must use their upper body to traverse the first board's doorknobs (in a similar fashion with the Doorknob Arch). After that, they must make the transition to the second board by turning their body around, then traversed the second board's doorknobs, and finally made the dismount to the landing platform. When the competitors reached the end of each board, it would tilt in favor of their weight, creating a 4-foot (1.22-meter) drop that tested their grip strength. Also, several doorknobs were stationary, while others would rotate when the competitors grabbed on them (similar to the Doorknob Grasper).
During Los Angeles qualifiers, the obstacle was proven to be brutal, as it took out many top competitors, including Flip Rodriguez, Kevin Bull, Tiana Webberley, Grant McCartney, Anna Shumaker, Selena Laniel, Gabe Hurtado, Zhanique Lovett, Scott Willson, Jeremy Rivette, Westley Silvestri, Anthony Trucks, Cody Johnston, Austin Seibert, Verdale Benson, Ruben Arellano and Davyon Hancox. In total, 27 competitors fell on this obstacle and only 10 competitors were able to complete the obstacle.
During Los Angeles finals, the obstacle was made easier by drastically reducing the speed of the drop and one doorknob at the first board was modified. As the result, only Zhanique Lovett fell on the obstacle.
The Doorknob Drop was attempted early during Celebrity Ninja Warrior: Red Nose Day 2. However, the number of doorknobs was reduced to 22 (13 doorknobs on the first board and 9 doorknobs on the second board), and the doorknobs were more peg-like and stationary. Among the 5 celebrity competitors who attempted the obstacle, only Derek Hough failed to complete it.
Other Appearances[]
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
On Australian Ninja Warrior 4, the Doorknob Drop appeared as the fourth obstacle in Heat 1 and Heat 2. This time, the obstacle featured eight doorknobs on the first board and six doorknobs on the second board, with a pole as the medium for competitors to reach the first doorknob. After reaching the top knob of the first board, it will drop over a meter down, where the contestant must make the transfer to the second board.
Similar to the one that happened during Los Angeles qualifiers on American Ninja Warrior 10, the obstacle was proven to be ruthless and brutal, as only eleven competitors completed this obstacle across two heats (eight competitors in Heat 1 and three competitors in Heat 2). The obstacle served as the cut-off for the competitors in those two heats to advance to the semifinals.
This obstacle would also appear as the second obstacle in Stage Three of Australian Ninja Warrior 5, but now competitors would use the rope to reach the first doorknob. From there, Zak Stolz, the Last Man Standing of the competition, failed on the dismount to the landing platform.
It was replaced by the Crazy Cliffhanger on the next season.
Ninja Warrior France[]
On Ninja Warrior France 5, Doorknob Drop (Les รquerres, literally The Brackets) appeared as the sixth obstacle of Stage One. There were eight doorknobs on the first board and six doorknobs on the second board, A pole was also present at the start. It eliminated three ninjas. It was replaced by Slingshot the following season.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
A nerfed version of Doorknob Drop first appeared in Ninja Warrior Germany 3: Celebrity Special as the fifth obstacle of Round 1. Similar to other international versions, the first section had 8 doorknobs while the second at six. However, the doorknobs all face the same side. Additionally, a parallel lache bar was placed between the two sections for an easier transition. Most important of all, the two boards were fixed at a 45-degree angle and no longer pivots even when weight is applied.
In Ninja Warrior Germany 4, the Doorknob Drop, locally called Hangel-Fall (literally Shimmy Drop), appeared as the fourth obstacle of Semi-finals. Here, the obstacle was similar to the version used in Ninja Warrior France 5, as consisted of a pole prior to the main portion and the same doorknob configuration.
Ninja Israel[]
On Ninja Warrior Israel 3, the Doorknob Drop, (ืืืืืช ืืืืช , literally Door Handles) appeared as the fifth obstacle in Route B during Repechage Heat, which was very similar to the one used in Australian Ninja Warrior 4, except that the pole was replaced by rope just like American Ninja Warrior 10's version. However, due to low number of competitors attempted it, the obstacle was not brutal, as only two out of eight competitors failed on it.
Then, on Ninja Warrior Israel 5, the Doorknob Drop appeared as the fifth obstacle in Repechage Heat. Only one out of five competitors failed on it.
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
On Ninja Warrior Poland 6, the Doorknob Drop, locally called Klamki Wspinacza (literally Climber Handles) appeared as the fifth obstacle in Stage One, which was very similar to one used in American Ninja Warrior 10. All 20 competitors who managed to reach this obstacle cleared it.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC/Keshet 12/Polsat broadcast and external information found
American Ninja Warrior[]
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
ANW10 (qualifiers) | 10 | 37 | 27.03% |
ANW10 (finals) | 24 | 25 | 96% |
Total | 34 | 62 | 54.84% |
Ninja Israel[]
NWI | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
NWI3 (Repechage Heat) | 6 | 8 | 75% |
NWI5 (Repechage Heat) | 4 | 5 | 80% |
Total | 10 | 13 | 76.92% |
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
NWP | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
NWP6 | 20 | 20 | 100% |
Total | 20 | 20 | 100% |