Team Ninja Warrior recap: Part one of the Wildcard battle

In the first of a two-part special, four teams faced off for the Wildcard position in the Team Ninja Warrior finals. But even if they won this episode, their slot wasn’t secure. They’ll have to face the winner of next week’s episode to make it back into the regular competition.

TL: DR: It was the LAST last chance for four teams who made it close to the finals, but just missed the win. The Labreckfast Club suffered another shocking turnaround in points that sent them home. The Wings battled hard to earn their place in the relay. But after the Superhero Squad was done defeating The Ballers, they did the same to The Wings.

The match ups:

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

Rules are, of course, at the bottom of this article.

The Obstacles:

• Sonic Swing
• Ring of Fire
• Swing Jump
• Floating Tiles
• Swinging Spikes
• Warped Wall

The Teams:

Superhero Squad

• Jamie Rahn
• Sean Darling Hammond
• Rachael Goldstein

Labreckfast Club

• Jesse Labreck
• Jon Alexis Jr.
• Noel Reyes

Heat One:

• Labreckfast Club’s Noel vs Superhero Squad’s Sean

Noel was blazing down the course when Sean tripped and fell on the Floating Tiles. The first race of the episode was a quick one!

Point= Labreckfast Club

Heat Two:

• Labreckfast Club’s Jesse vs Superhero Squad’s Rachael

Jesse dismounted off the Ring of Fire first, but fell at the Floating Tiles. She managed to pull off one heck of a save and continued down the course. Rachael didn’t fair as well. She also fell on the Tiles, but there was no coming back for her. Jesse went all the way and hit the buzzer for her team.

Point= Labreckfast Club

Heat Three:

• Labreckfast Club’s Jon vs Superhero Squad’s Jamie

Both of them were moving quickly down the course, with Jamie just barely in the lead. Jamie knew he needed to get it in gear on the Swinging Spikes. He dismounted from this obstacle first and flew up the Warped Wall.

Points= Superhero Squad

Sudden Death:

• Labreckfast Club’s Noel vs Superhero Squad’s Jamie

Noel had an odd moment while he was stuck on the Sonic Swing. However, Jamie was disqualified on the Ring of Fire. This gave Noel the chance to catch his breath, focus, and complete the two obstacles for the point.

Point= Labreckfast Club

Winner of Round One: Labreckfast Club

The Teams

The Wings

• Thomas Stillings
• David Yarter
• Melanie Hunt

The Ballers

• Lorin Ball
• Paul Kasemir
• Meiling Huang

Heat One:

• The Ballers’ Lorin vs The Wings’ David

David was in the midst of a strong run when he suddenly fell on the Swinging Spikes. Lorin completed the obstacle for his first point of the day.

Point= The Ballers

Heat Two:

• The Ballers’ Meiling vs The Wings’ Melanie

Meiling was off the Ring of Fire first, while Melanie struggled there. Meiling was all the way on Swinging Spikes before Melanie freed herself. On the Spikes, she seemed a little stuck and ended up taking a huge dismount after a long delay. She completed the course and Melanie was out on the Swing Jump.

Point= The Ballers

Heat Three:

• The Ballers’ Paul vs The Wings’ Thomas

Paul had the lead after the Ring of Fire, but Thomas wasn’t going to let him get comfortable with it. It looked like they were tied on the Spikes until Paul leapt for the dismount and ran up the Wall for a clean sweep of The Wings.

Points= The Ballers

Winner of Round Two: The Ballers

Knockout One:

The Wings seemed a little shell shocked as they went right back into competition against Labreckfast Club. They’d need to pull it together if they planned to stay in the game.

Heat One:

• The Wings’ Melanie vs Labreckfast Club’s Jesse

Jesse held the lead the whole way to the buzzer. Melanie was disqualified at the Swing Jump again.

Point= Labreckfast Club

Heat Two:

• The Wings’ David vs Labreckfast Club’s Noel

Both were tied coming off the Ring, but Noel crossed the Floating Tiles first. It gave him the edge he needed to reach the Warped Wall ahead of David.

Point= Labreckfast Club

Heat Three:

• The Wings’ Thomas vs Labreckfast Club’s Jon

Thomas had to do something drastic in order to save his team. Jon was leading after the Ring of Fire, but Thomas saw his chance on the Spikes. He took a massive leap and grabbed the third spike in. This let him pass Jon and snag the coveted two points.

Points= The Wings

Sudden Death:

• The Wings’ Thomas vs Labreckfast Club’s Noel

Suddenly it was the Labreckfast Club on the defensive. Noel made a critical error on the Ring of Fire that ended his run there, and Labreckfast Club’s bid for the finals.

Point= The Wings

Labreckfast Club is OUT.

Knockout Two:

The Ballers would need to stay strong against the Superhero Squad.

Heat One:

• The Ballers’ Lorin vs Superhero Squad’s Sean

Lorin was off the Ring first, with Sean close behind him. While Lorin was on the Spikes, Sean joined him and made an aggressive bid to try to pass him. Lorin took that as an invitation to leap down from the Spikes and run up the Wall.

Point= The Ballers

Heat Two:

• The Ballers’ Meiling vs Superhero Squad’s Rachael

Meiling looked to have a very strong lead, making it all the way to the Swinging Spikes uncontested. Rachael did manage to join her there. Meiling had enough of an edge to complete the obstacle and get to the buzzer before Rachael though.

Point= The Ballers

Heat Three:

• The Ballers’ Paul vs Superhero Squad’s Jamie

Jamie had one last chance to force a Sudden Death match. He built a lead after the Ring of Fire, but Paul was right there behind him. However, when Jamie was done with the Swinging Spikes, there was no catching him.

Points= Superhero Squad

Sudden Death:

• The Ballers’ Lorin vs Superhero Squad’s Jamie

It was captain vs captain in this important race. But once again, the Ring of Fire would be the decider. Lorin fell there. The Ballers, after a strong day, were done.

Point= Superhero Squad

The Ballers are OUT.

It would be The Wings and the Superhero Squad in the relay race.

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.

The first three obstacles would be handled by Rachael for the Superhero Squad, and Melanie for The Wings.

They would then tag in Sean and Thomas.

Jamie and David would handle the last three obstacles, including a different final climb.

• Dueling Salmon Ladders
• Globe Graspers
• 40 foot Rope Climb (Usually the Invisible Ladder)

Relay Race

Rachael navigated the Ring of Fire well. Melanie struggled there and languished. Sean was tagged in while Melanie fell at the Swing Jump. This incurred a ten second delay before Thomas could start.

Sean was on the Swinging Spikes when Thomas began to run, but Thomas was hauling down the course. Sean brought in Jamie, who know he needed to take full advantage of the lead.

Jamie was on the Globe Grasper when David started the Salmon Ladder. David took some huge, risky leaps to save time, but it paid off.

Jamie got to the Rope Climb first. But this course is exhausting, he wasn’t moving as quickly as before. David was in hot pursuit. In the end, Jamie was able to complete the climb first.

The Wings are out for the season and Superhero Squad will move on the the Wildcard relay.

Next week, four more teams will try to earn a spot challenging the Superheroes in the special Wildcard relay race.

• Karsten’s Fast Kats
• Lab Rats
• Towers of Power
• Norcal Ninjas