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Preview Stage One with Adam Rayl’s nailbiting run

We get a look at the whole course. But does Adam get to the buzzer in time?

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On Monday, August 30, American Ninja Warrior arrives at the National Finals in Las Vegas! It’s been two years since we’ve visited the final four stages and we cannot wait to get this going.

Our preview run this week is a doozy. It’s an ENTIRE run... Kinda. Check out Adam Rayl’s time on Stage One!

Let’s talk about the obstacles first. Obstacle one is new. It’s called Slide Surfer and the three boards slide forward as the Ninjas attempt to race across them. Obstacle Two, the Swinging Blades is also new and the name of it pretty much gives it away.

Obstacles three, four, five, and six are familiar. It’s the Double Dipper, Jumping Spider, Tire Run, and the Warped Wall.

Then things get really interesting! Split Decision has come with us to Vegas. The choice happens at the top of the Warped Wall when Ninjas hit a button that releases The High Road. It’s a ring that, if the Ninjas can grab it, will carry them to a ladder that leads to the buzzer. But it’s a risky move. They have to first run across the new Dipping Birds and then time a trampoline jump to the moving ring.

If that proves too risky for their tastes, the Ninjas can choose the standard Fly Hooks, which will take a lot more time and energy. It’s a hard choice with a time limit of 2:45.

In Adam’s run, he gives us a pretty textbook performance. He’s calm and in control. Maybe too calm? Time gets very low as Adam picks the Fly Hooks. It’s VERY low as he gets to the cargo net. He climbs as fast as he can as the course blares red. The clock hits zero as Adam touches the buzzer.

The crowd, hosts, and Adam are shocked. Did he make it? The video cuts off there. We’ll find out if Adam got there in the nick of time when the National Finals debut on Monday, August 30 at 8 pm EST/PST!