American Ninja Warrior concluded its seventh season on Monday, Sept 14. Along with the competition of the obstacles, the show highlights the journey of contestants to the competition. American Ninja Warrior Host and former NFL player Akbar Gbajabiamila felt the storylines of the competitors have been compelling.
“I think a lot of us can relate to them one way or the other,” he said. “Whether it’s through struggle, whether it’s just through some similarity in condition, I love that.”
American Ninja Warrior was inspired by the show “Sasuke,” an international hit show from the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, according to NBC.
On the show, contestants must run through an obstacle course that tests balance and endurance as well as grip and upper body strength, according to NBC. Obstacles include the Warped Wall, where contestants must run up a curved wall and the Cliff Hanger, where contestants cross a pool of water on an edge only wide enough for their fingers to grip.
The finals were a three-week-long event in Las Vegas, contestants had to pass a four-stage course modeled after Mount Midoriyama, the final course from the Japanese hit show, “Sasuke.” The finalists consisted of 90 qualifying competitors and 10 wildcard competitors, according to NBC.
A notable contestant is Michael Stanger whose wife suffers from a terminal illness. Gbajabiamila felt that the way Stanger competed was a “physical love letter to his wife.”
“The guy got in shape so he can take care of his wife and now he is using that to compete on American Ninja Warrior,” Gbajabiamila said.
Among the female contestants is wild card finalist Kacy Catanzaro who reached the finals in 2014, according to Jezebel.
“The female competitors exploded especially since Kacy Catanzaro’s big run last year where everybody was just like: I can’t believe what we just witnessed,” Gbajabiamila said. “She proved a lot of people wrong and it made a lot of people believe in their own magic.”
At the beginning of his career with American Ninja Warrior, Gbajabiamila believed that his background in pro-football would make him invincible to the obstacle course.
“I was quickly humbled after I got the American Ninja Warrior job,” he said. “I just realized that this is really art and it requires your attention, not that you couldn’t do [the obstacle course] coming off the couch because we had some people coming off the couch and do it and have been really successful.”
Gbajabiamila’s competitive spirit is what led him to try out some of the obstacles at a ninja gym in Los Angeles. The Warped Wall and the Salmon Ladder, where contestants must move a bar up to higher ledges while hanging from that same bar, were obstacles that Gbajabiamila could pass. However, he had trouble with the Cliff Hanger.
“I couldn’t even hold on for half a second,” he said. “I don’t know how anybody does that.”
His experience with comentating on College Football games and working with host Matt Iseman also helps him create commentary for contestants as they complete the course.
“Calling college football games helped me with American Ninja Warrior because I’m able to react to what I see,” he said. “That’s what I brought to the show, it’s just telling you what I see in a fun and colorful way.”
