The Wedge

American Ninja Warrior - Crashing the Course- Los Angeles Finals (Digital Exclusive)

The Wedge is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the eighth obstacle in Los Angeles finals on American Ninja Warrior 8. It is known for being one of the toughest city finals obstacle in American Ninja Warrior history. Competitors must hop a bar across a wedge-shaped gap, somewhat similar to the Flying Bar, then make the dismount the same distance as the gap. However, the dismount is made harder by the fact the bar would roll as they swung, because it had a lacrosse ball on both ends. It proved to be incredibly difficult as many competitors fell either from tiring out, keeping the bar even, or attempting to make the dismount. Several top competitors (e.g. Ben Melick, Flip Rodriguez, Adam Rayl, Grant McCartney, Jackson Meyer, Nick Hanson, Kevin Bull, and Nicholas Coolridge) fell on the obstacle. Only two competitors (Jessie Graff and Josh Levin) were able to get past the obstacle entirely.

American Ninja Warrior 9's The Wedge in Denver

The Wedge returned on American Ninja Warrior 9, serving once again as the eighth obstacle in Denver finals. Similar to what happened during Los Angeles finals, The Wedge once again became the ninja killer obstacle, with only 3 out 16 competitors who attempted it, could complete it (Lorin Ball, Jesse Lucero, and Ian Dory). 

Double Wedge

American Ninja Warrior 8's Double Wedge in Stage Two

The Wedge returned in Stage Two on American Ninja Warrior 8, as the Double Wedge, replacing the Roulette Row from the previous season. This iteration of The Wedge was 22 feet across and it worked similarly to its single-wall set counterpart, but competitors had to make a lache transition to a second wedge at the end of the first one. Of the six competitors who attempted this obstacle, four of them failed: Josh Levin, Jake Murray, Brian Arnold, and Chris Wilczewski. Only Drew Drechsel and Daniel Gil were able to defeat this obstacle.

Competitors' Success Rate

ANW	Clears	Attempts	Percentage
ANW8	2	20	10%
ANW8 (Double Wedge)	2	6	33.33%
ANW9	3	16	18.75%
Total	7	42	16.67%

Trivia

• The Wedge was the third hardest known city finals obstacle in American Ninja Warrior history by 2017, taking 18 out of the 20 competitors who've faced it, giving it a 90% knockout rate. While the Unstable Bridge in the semifinal of American Ninja Warrior 3 had the highest knockout rate, took 13 out of the 14 competitors who've faced it, giving it a 92.85% knockout rate.
• Coincidentally, Ben Melick, who had also fell on Cannonball Alley during American Ninja Warrior 6's Venice Beach finals, also finished in 15th place on this obstacle.
• The first two competitor to get past The Wedge from their respective city finals (Jessie Graff during Los Angeles finals, and Lorin Ball during Denver finals), both finished in second place among the other competitors (for Jessie Graff, this made her the highest rank among the female competitors during city finals).
• During Denver finals, all 16 competitors who attempted this obstacle advanced to Las Vegas national finals (with Meagan Martin , who finished in 16th place, advanced through top 2 among the female competitors).
• The obstacle originally was going to have separate walls to make it feel more inspired by the Flying Bar. However, no tester could succeed in getting past that version, so it was scrapped.
• The Wedge is named after a surfing spot of the same name in Newport Beach, California.
• This obstacle is very similar to the Pipe Slider, with a jump at the end of the obstacle to the landing platform. However, due to a larger gap to the landing platform, the jump from The Wedge is far more difficult than from the Pipe Slider.