American Ninja Warrior 9's Razor's Edge in Cleveland
Frontal view of the Razor's Edge
The Razor's Edge is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the third obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 9 in Cleveland.
Competitors must run across a 24-foot (7.32-meter) pool on top of three unstable vertical boards, until they reached the landing platform to advance. The boards had an axis placed near the bottom, which made them dangerously tilt to either side if the competitors did not have the right footwork while attempting the obstacle. The first and third boards were slightly tilted to the right, while the second board was slightly tilted to the left.
Although the function of this obstacle was very simple, its placement directly after the Rolling Log made it more difficult, as several competitors got disoriented while attempting the obstacle. During Cleveland qualifiers, it ended the runs of 19 competitors, including Carl Fantauzzo, P.J. Walsh and Phillip Hucke.
During Cleveland finals, the obstacle wiped out three more competitors (Annika Nieshalla, Kevin Weng, and Fabio Figueiredo).
Other Season Appearances[]
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
American Ninja Warrior 10's Razor's Edge in Miami
On American Ninja Warrior 10, the Razor's Edge appeared as the third obstacle in Miami. This time, the first and third boards were slightly tilted to the left, while the second board was slightly tilted to the right.
Although only 13 competitors failed on this obstacle during Miami qualifiers, it wiped out notable competitors like Colleen McCormack, Shaun Murray, Megan Dillard, Zach Thomas and most shockingly, JJ Woods.
During Miami finals, only Scott Reuter failed on this obstacle.
Razor Beams[]
American Ninja Warrior 10's Razor Beams in Stage One
A variation of the Razor's Edge (called as the Razor Beams) appeared as the seventh obstacle in Stage One on American Ninja Warrior 10, replacing the Domino Pipes from the previous season.
Instead of running on the top of the vertical boards, competitors must run across the horizontal beams until they reach the landing platform to advance. Similar to the Razor's Edge in Miami course on American Ninja Warrior 10, the first and third beams were slightly tilted to the left, while the second beam was slightly tilted to the right.
This variation of the Razor's Edge was proven to be extremely easy, as no competitor failed on the obstacle, although Hunter Guerard merely tripped on it. Because of that, the obstacle was replaced by the much harder Diving Boards during the next season.
Dangerous Waters[]
American Ninja Warrior: Couples Championship 2's Dangerous Waters
On American Ninja Warrior: Couples Championship 2, a slight variation of Razor’s Edge, now called as Dangerous Waters, appeared as an obstacle in the third position on the course. This time, the first and third board were titled to the left while the second board was tilted to the right making it similar to its ANW10 version. There were also paintings of fish in water on each panel.
Despite many of the ninjas couples tripping, this obstacle only eliminated Tyler Struss (Jeri D'Aurelio’s husband).
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American Ninja Warrior 16's Dangerous Waters
Dangerous Waters reappeared as the third obstacle of American Ninja Warrior 16 during the first two and last two qualifying rounds.
During its appearances, only a few ninjas have failed the obstacle, including Lilah Nathison, Clarisa Morris, Ashley Bergstrom, Ally Tippetts Wootton, Isaiah Lee, Chris Staples, Caitlyn Bergstrom-Wright, and in his final ANW appearance, Dan Polizzi. Several competitors also tripped up but managed to make it through, such as Owen Dyer, Vance Walker, and Jessie Graff.
Other Appearances[]
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
Australian Ninja Warrior 3's Razors Edge
On Australian Ninja Warrior 3, the Razor's Edge (named as the Razors Edge) appeared as the third obstacle during the semifinals. The obstacle is 7m long.
Similar to its appearance in Cleveland course on American Ninja Warrior 9, the obstacle was preceded by the Rolling Log.
Ninja Warrior France[]
Ninja Warrior France 3's Razors Edge
Razor's Edge (Les Lames de Rasoir) appeared in Ninja Warrior France 3, being paired along with Cargo Crossing in Split Decision as the first obstacle of Qualifications 1 and 3 respectively.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 3's Razor's Edge
On Ninja Warrior Germany 3, Razor's Edge (Rasierklingen) appeared as the third obstacle of Preliminary Rounds 1 and 4.
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
Ninja Warrior Poland 6's Razor's Edge
On Ninja Warrior Poland 6, the Razor's Edge (Na Krawędzi) appeared as the third obstacle during the Heats.
The distance between the boards was similar to the American Ninja Warrior 9 version, but the distance between the first board and the launch pad and the third board and the landing platform was longer than in ANW9.
Ninja Warrior Poland 8's Razor's Edge in Heats
Ninja Warrior Poland 8's Razor's Edge in Stage One
Then, on Ninja Warrior Poland 8, the Razor's Edge appeared as the third obstacle in Heats and in the finals in Stage One.
Ninja Israel[]
Ninja Israel 2's Razor's Edge
On Ninja Warrior Israel 2, the Razor's Edge, locally called גשר הלהבים (literally Bridge of Blades) appeared as the third obstacle in Heat 9, Heat 12, Against the Route Heat and VIP Heat.
Ninja Israel 3's Razor's Edge
Then, on Ninja Warrior Israel 3, the Razor's Edge appeared as the third obstacle in Heat 6 and Heat 10.
Ninja Israel Junior[]
Ninja Israel Junior's Razor's Edge
On Ninja Warrior Israel Junior, the Razor's Edge appeared as the first obstacle in Semifinals and Finals' Stage One.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC/Polsat broadcast and external information found.
American Ninja Warrior[]
| Razor's Edge | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
| ANW9 (qualifiers) | 60 | 79 | 75.95% |
| ANW9 (finals) | 27 | 30 | 90% |
| ANW10 (qualifiers) | 56 | 69 | 81.16% |
| ANW10 (finals) | 21 | 22 | 95.45% |
| Total | 164 | 200 | 82% |
| Razor Beams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
| ANW10 | 40 | 40 | 100% |
| USA vs. The World 5 | 5 | 5 | 100% |
| Total | 45 | 45 | 100% |
| Dangerous Waters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
| ANW: Couples Championship 2 | 8 | 9 | 88.89% |
| ANW16 (Qualifier 1) | 18 | 20 | 90% |
| ANW16 (Qualifier 2) | 19 | 22 | 86.36% |
| ANW16 (Qualifier 7) | 17 | 20 | 85% |
| ANW16 (Qualifier 8) | 18 | 25 | 72% |
| Total | 80 | 96 | 83.34% |
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
| Razor's Edge | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NWP | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
| NWP8 (Heat 1) | 20 | 22 | 90.91% |
| NWP8 (Heat 2) | 18 | 19 | 94.74% |
| NWP8 (Heat 3) | 22 | 25 | 88% |
| NWP8 (Heat 4) | 20 | 23 | 86.96% |
| NWP8 (Heat 5) | 19 | 24 | 79.17% |
| NWP8 (Heat 6) | 16 | 22 | 72.72% |
| NWP8 (Final) | 19 | 19 | 100% |
| Total | 134 | 154 | 87.01% |
Trivia[]
- Supposedly, the name is a reference to the 1944 book The Razor's Edge, by W. Somerset Maugham.
- Razor's Edge was photographed as the third obstacle for American Ninja Warrior 12's Los Angeles course before the COVID-19 lockdown. The obstacle did not appear in the abridged season.
- In American Ninja Warrior 16, both wives of the "Bergstrom family" (Caitlyn and Ashley) were taken out by the obstacle in their respective qualifier rounds. Coincidentally, their husbands (David and Caleb) would go on to complete the entire qualifying course in their respective rounds.