Team Ninja Warrior recap: Qualifying week 7

This episode of Team Ninja Warrior was just one shock after another. The second obstacle would determine the outcome of so many races. The course sent a clear reminder that the obstacles were in charge, leaving many of the Ninjas taken aback and a little shaken.

The result was some very short races and some very early exists.

TL:DR: The Ring of Fire was a massive stumbling block for many of the Ninjas. It would take out Geoff Britten, Jessica Britten, Flip Rodriguez, Abel Gonzalez, Geoff Lancaster and Mike Chick before all was said and done.

Only the Towers of Power would survive its wrath and secure their slot in the finals.

The match ups:

• Team Ronin vs InvincAbels
• Ninja Brittens vs Towers of Power

You can find a reminder of the Team Ninja Warrior rules at the bottom of this article.

The Obstacles:

• Sonic Swing
• Ring of Fire
• Swing Jump
• Floating Tiles
• Fly Wheels
• Warped Wall

The Teams:

Team Ronin

• Flip Rodriguez
• JJ Woods
• Tiana Webberley

InvincAbels

• Abel Gonzalez
• Geoff Lancaster
• Jeri D'Aurelio

Heat One:

• Team Ronin’s JJ vs InvincAbels’ Geoff

JJ only had to make it through two obstacles. Geoff fell from the Ring of Fire, handing over an easy first point.

Point= Team Ronin

Heat Two:

• Team Ronin’s Tiana vs InvincAbels’ Jeri

Things picked up when the women took to the course. Tiana was the first to dismount from the Ring of Fire and cruised through the Swing Jump. Jeri tripped on the Floating Tiles but kept herself in the game. Both were on the Fly Wheels at the same time. Tiana got this dismount first as well, but when she missed her first try at the Warped Wall, the door was open for Jeri to take the lead.

Both Jeri and Tiana ran up the Wall at the same time. Now Jeri missed her first attempt, while Tiana had corrected her stride and made it to buzzer.

Point= Team Ronin

Heat Three:

• Team Ronin’s Flip vs InvincAbels’ Abel

This was another quickie. In a shocking surprised, the experienced Flip fell from the Ring of Fire, allowing Abel the two points needed for Sudden Death.

Points= InvincAbels

Sudden Death:

• Team Ronin’s JJ vs InvincAbels’ Abel

JJ was off the Ring first and gaining ground. But Abel put the pedal to metal and tore down the course after him. On the Fly Wheels it looked like a dead heat. In the end, JJ completed the obstacle first and had zero trouble with the Warped Wall.

Point= Team Ronin

Winner of Round One: Team Ronin

Next up, the Ninja Brittens faced Towers of Power.

The Teams:

Ninja Brittens

• Geoff Britten
• Mike Chick
• Jessica Britten

Towers of Power

• Brandon Mears
• Dan Polizzi
• Selena Laniel

Heat One:

• Ninja Brittens’ Jessica vs Towers of Power’s Selena

The women kicked off the next match up. Selena struggled a bit with the Ring of Fire, but Jessica fell from it, giving us another very short race.

Point= Towers of Power

Heat Two:

• Ninja Brittens’ Mike vs Towers of Power’s Dan

Dan was off the Ring of Fire first, but got slightly wet on the Swing Jump. While that was happening, Mike was lagging farther and farther behind. Dan was able to complete the whole course with no real challenge from Mike.

Point= Towers of Power

Heat Three:

• Ninja Brittens’ Geoff vs Towers of Power’s Brandon

This was a close one! After Geoff gained an early lead, Brandon had to kick it into gear. They were so, so close on the Fly Wheels. However, Brandon tried to launch himself into the dismount and his momentum actually took him off the course entirely.

He jumped back up and completed the run, but he had been disqualified. Meaning we were headed to Sudden Death again.

Points= Ninja Brittens

Sudden Death:

• Ninja Brittens’ Jessica vs Towers of Power’s Selena

The women took the lead in this important run. Selena had no issue with the Ring of Fire, while Jessica seemed bogged down there. Selena was on the move, generating an impressive lead. For the first time, she made it to the Warped Wall and went right up it.

Jessica had fallen at the Swing Jump while this was happening, and looked to be injured.

Point= Towers of Power

Winner of Round Two: Towers of Power

Knockout One:

The Ninja Brittens needed to recover from their hard loss quickly, heading right into competition against Team Ronin. Unfortunately, Jessica was unable to continue with her injury, and alternative Sarah Schoback replaced her.

Heat One:

• Team Ronin’s JJ vs Ninja Brittens’ Mike

Ring of Fire strikes again. Mike was disqualified there, putting the Brittens at a disadvantage.

Point= Team Ronin

Heat Two:

• Team Ronin’s Tiana va Ninja Brittens’ Sarah

Tiana used her experience on the course to navigate the Ring of Fire successfully. Sarah was stuck there for a minute, but did figure it out. However, she then fell from the Swing Jump, giving Tiana the point.

Point= Team Ronin

Heat Three:

• Team Ronin’s Flip vs Ninja Britten’s Geoff

What. The. Heck. BOTH Geoff and Flip fell on the Ring of Fire at the same time! Since Flip had grabbed the obstacle first, he was awarded the point.

Points= Team Ronin

Ninja Brittens are OUT.

Knockout Two:

We were left hoping for more of a fight from the Towers of Power and InvincAbels.

Heat One:

• InvincAbels’ Geoff vs Towers of Power’s Dan

Dan breezed through the course and Geoff was just unable to match his speed. Dan was uncontested as he hit the buzzer.

Point= Towers of Power

Heat Two:

• InvincAbels’ Jeri vs Towers of Power’s Selena

Selena had a lead until the Swing Jump when Jeri tied it up. Selena was on the Floating Tiles first and tripped there. While she was down, Jeri tried to navigate past her, also tripped and ended her run on the obstacle.

Point= Towers of Power

Heat Three:

• InvincAbels’ Abel vs Towers of Power’s Brandon

Okay, here we go... Oh, wait. Never mind. Now Abel fell from the Ring of Fire, closing out his team’s bid for the finals.

Points= Towers of Power

InvincAbels are OUT.

Towers of Power would face Team Ronin in the Relay, as long as SOME ONE survived the Ring of Fire!

In the relay, all three team members will be on the course at the same time. Each will complete three obstacles, meaning the course is extended. It’s up to each team to decide which member runs when.

Team Ronin would have Tiana start the first leg again Towers of Power’s Selena.

Tiana would tag in Flip after the Swing Jump. Selena would bring in Dan.

At the top of the Warped Wall, JJ and Brandon would be waiting to take on the final three obstacles.

• Dueling Salmon Ladders
• Globe Graspers
• 40 foot Invisible Ladder

Relay Race

Tiana was slightly faster than Selena on the first leg, and brought in Flip. But Selena was right behind, tagging in Dan.

Dan closed the gap between the competitors, and JJ and Brandon were tagged in just moments apart. They traded the lead back and forth across the Globe Graspers and both were in the Invisible Ladder at the same time.

However, Brandon looked to run out of gas and slowed his climb. JJ powered up and completed the climb for the win.

Towers of Power are eliminated and Team Ronin advances to the finals!

But we still have one more team to add to the final bracket. On June 6, four previous teams would be revived to fight for a wildcard slot!

• Labreckfast Club
• Superhero Squad
• The Wings
• The Ballers