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Ethan Swanson ranked 47 of American Ninja Warrior’s obstacles

Yes, the Rolling Log came in last place.

By Nikki Lee
American Ninja Warrior - season 11 Photo by: David Becker/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Ethan Swanson used his years of experience to rank 47 American Ninja Warrior obstacles. While wearing a swan hat. Because, duh.

Ethan is a seven-time American Ninja Warrior veteran. He’s made it to the Las Vegas National Finals three times. In season 11, he made it all the way to Stage Three. Ethan is a well-respected Ninja and he decided to impart some knowledge.

On his Twitch stream, he walked viewers through his opinions on many of the show’s obstacles. Ethan ranked them using five points of criteria.

  1. Design and look
  2. Creativity
  3. Difficulty
  4. How exciting it is to watch?
  5. How iconic is it?

He also shared the video on his YouTube page, which you can watch above.

So how did things shake out? It’s interesting to hear his perspective both as a competitor and as someone who enjoys watching the show. His top five obstacles are pretty unanimously accepted as the best of the best. And yes, in case you were wondering, everyone still hates the Rolling Log.

Here’s Ethan’s full list of rankings, which you can also find on his Instagram page.

S Tier (Best)

  • 1 - Cliffhanger
  • 2 - Salmon Ladder
  • 3 - Warped Wall
  • 4 - Double Dipper
  • 5 - Wingnuts

A Tier (Amazing)

  • 6 - Flying Bar
  • 7 - Cane Lane
  • 8 - Deja Vu
  • 9 - The Dungeon
  • 10 - Spin Hopper
  • 11 - Dragon Back
  • 12 - Flying Squirrel
  • 13 - Ascending Steps

B Tier (Great)

  • 14 - Slingshot
  • 15 - Northwest Passage
  • 16 - Jumping Spider
  • 17 - Circuit Board
  • 18 - Invisible Ladder
  • 19 - Rolling Thunder
  • 20 - Ferris Wheels

C Tier (Good)

  • 21 - Floating Boards
  • 22 - Waverunner
  • 23 - Lightning Bolts
  • 24 - Battering Ram
  • 25 - Diving Boards
  • 26 - Honey Combs
  • 27 - Snap Back
  • 28 - Spinball Wizard
  • 29 - Archer Steps
  • 30 - Slam Dunk

D Tier (Nothing Special)

  • 31 - Water Walls
  • 32 - Rolling Escargot
  • 33 - Propeller Jump
  • 34 - Floating Monkey Bars
  • 35 - Clacker
  • 36 - Lunatic Ledges
  • 37 - Shrinking Steps

E Tier (Bad)

  • 38 - Wall Lift
  • 39 - Angry Birds
  • 40 - Broken Bridge
  • 41 - Glass Cubes
  • 42 - Pipe Fitter

F Tier (Awful)

  • 43 - Rolling Pin
  • 44 - Coconut Climb
  • 45 - Broken Pipes
  • 46 - Snake Crossing
  • 47 - Rolling Log

Do you agree with all of his rankings?

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