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The Wall Lifting (ウォールリフティング), shortened as the Wall Lift in English broadcasts, has been the final obstacle in the Second Stage for every tournament except in SASUKE 18 (during which the Shoulder Walk took its place), SASUKE 28 and SASUKE 29 (during which the Passing Wall took its place).

Its function is simple: the competitor must lift three walls of increasing weights, which is 2.4m apart between one wall to other other, and make it to the finish line before time runs out. The three walls weighs 30kg (66 lbs), 40kg (88 lbs), and 50kg (110 lbs).

For the first seven tournaments, competitors just needed to walk through the gates in order to clear the Second Stage. Starting in SASUKE 8, a button was added, requiring competitors to press it in order to stop the clock and open the gates. If competitors went through the gates without pressing the button, they would be disqualified (as Paul Hamm did in SASUKE 14).

The obstacle was named the WALL LIFTING in SASUKE 1 and WALL LIFTING RUN in SASUKE 2, being the only obstacle that officially used English alphabet. In SASUKE 3, it was changed to the katakana, which still stands until today.

FootCatchSSK20

Levi Meeuwenberg having his foot caught in the third wall, SASUKE 20

After Levi Meeuwenberg injured his foot in SASUKE 20, the walls were raised approximately 2-3 inches off the ground. This made the obstacle slightly easie,  as competitors could reach under the walls instead of lifting them from the sides. The walls would eventually be lowered to their pre-SASUKE 20 height in SASUKE 32.

For SASUKE 28 and SASUKE 29, it was changed into the Passing Wall, a modification of the obstacle.  

The original version returned in SASUKE 30, though it was modified by having the first wall be identical to the one used for the Passing Wall. Due to being the next obstacle after the Backstream, the wet hands caused by it made lifting the walls more difficult. 

WallLiftingStuckSSK31

The third wall not going down after Drew Drechsel's run, SASUKE 31

In some instances, due to high humidity, the walls would not go down as a competitor lifed it. Just like what happened during Drew Drechsel's run in SASUKE 31. As he lifted the third wall, the wall would not go down and got stuck in that position. With the help of some crew members, he tried to move the third wall down and fortunately, it did.

KUNOICHI Appearance

WallLiftingK10

KUNOICHI 10's Wall Lifting

The Wall Lifting appeared in KUNOICHI 10, as the fifth and final obstacle of the BLUE Stage (Second Stage). The weight of the walls have toned down to 10kg (22 lbs), 15kg (33 lbs), and 20kg (44 lbs), in order to make the obstacle easier for women.

Coincidentally, its first appearance has the same completion rate as its first appearance in SASUKE, as 3 out of 4 competitors completed the obstacle in KUNOICHI 10, and had a 75% completion rate. While in SASUKE 1, 6 out of 8 competitors completed the obstacle, which also has 75% completion rate (with the only difference being the number of competitors attempts and clears).

American Ninja Warrior Appearances

ANW4 Wall Lift (NE & SE)

American Ninja Warrior 4's Wall Lift in Northeast and Southeast region

ANW4 Wall Lift

American Ninja Warrior 4's Wall Lift in Stage Two

ANW7 Wall Lift

American Ninja Warrior 7's Wall Lift in Stage Two

On American Ninja Warrior 4, the Wall Lifting (simply called as the Wall Lift) appeared as the sixth obstacle in Northeast and Southeast region (because of that, the number of obstacles during Northeast and Southeast region qualifiers and finals was 7 and 10 respectively, rather than 6 and 9 in other 4 regions), with the walls weighed less than SASUKE's Second Stage version (45 lbs, 55 lbs, and 65 lbs, i.e. roughly 20kg, 25kg, and 30kg). Since the region qualifiers and finals didn't have a time limit to complete the course, the obstacle served as both time and energy waster for the competitors.

Furthermore, the Wall Lift appeared as the sixth and final obstacle in Stage Two from American Ninja Warrior 4 to American Ninja Warrior 7, with the walls weighed the same as their SASUKE version, albeit with an alternate counterweight-based system and the walls were being raised.

On American Ninja Warrior 8, the obstacle was replaced with the Wall Flip.

Other Appearances

During the first three seasons of Ninja Warrior UK, the Wall Lift appeared as the fifth and final obstacle in the finals' Stage 2.

On Ninja Warrior UK, only Timothy Shieff was able to reach the obstacle, but his time ran out while lifting the third wall. On Ninja Warrior UK 2, the obstacle was unattempted. On Ninja Warrior UK 3, the obstacle was finally beaten by Cain Clarke and Jonny Urszuly, with both of them became the first two competitors to advance to Stage 3.

-39- Wall Lift

Australian Ninja Warrior's Wall Lift

On Australian Ninja Warrior, the Wall Lift appeared as the fifth obstacle in Stage Two, which was the same as the Wall Lift from American Ninja Warrior 7. However, the obstacle was unattempted.

Visual Design

SASUKE

  • For the first twelve SASUKE tournaments, the walls ware painted with black and yellow stripes, with the numbers "1", "2", and "3".
  • From SASUKE 13 to SASUKE 17, the walls were repainted with black and silver stripes, with the Roman numerals "I", "II", and "III".
  • From SASUKE 19 to SASUKE 27, the numbers and stripes were removed and replaced with plain wooden walls.
  • From SASUKE 30 onward, the walls were changed back to metal and painted silver with the currently used Japanese daiji numerals "壱", "弐", "参", though that was firstly used on the Passing Wall.

KUNOICHI

  • For the Wall Lifting in KUNOICHI 10, the obstacle featured transparent walls with blue and yellow borders, and had increasing amounts of foam ball within them as the weight, along with the numerical scheme used in the Wall Lifting's pre-SASUKE 13 color scheme.

American Ninja Warrior

Competitors' Success Rate

  • All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found.
SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
1 6 8 75%
2 9 14 64.29%
3 6 8 75%
4 11 11 100%
5 1 1 100%
6 5 5 100%
7 5 5 100%
8 4 5 80%
9 4 6 66.67%
10 4 4 100%
11 7 9 77.78%
12 10 10 100%
13 5 8 62.50%
14 10 12 83.33%
15 6 6 100%
16 8 8 100%
17 8 8 100%
19 0 0 N/A*
20 1 1 100%
21 3 4 75%
22 4 4 100%
23 7 7 100%
24 7 7 100%
25 5 5 100%
26 6 6 100%
27 10 10 100%
30 9 13 69.23%
31 8 10 80%
32 8 8 100%
33 5 5 100%
34 9 10 90%
Total 190 217 87.55%

KUNOICHI

KUNOICHI Clears Attempts Percentage
10 3 4 75%
Total 3 4 75%

American Ninja Warrior

ANW Clears Attempts Percentage
ANW4 1 1 100%
ANW5 7 7 100%
ANW6 2 2 100%
ANW7 8 8 100%
USA vs. Japan 2 2 100%
USA vs. The World 4 4 100%
USA vs. The World 2 3 3 100%
Total 27 27 100%
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