American Ninja Warrior 2018 Celebrity Special
Wednesday night is the first night of American Ninja Warrior’s tenth season!!!
But before it’s time to check out all the action with all our favorite ninjas, let’s have a little fun with the now annual celebrity edition of American Ninja Warrior. Here are the celebrities attempting the course tonight:
- Nikki Bella- From the WWE, training with Grant McCartney
- Derek Hough– From “World of Dance” training with Meagan Martin
- Ne-Yo- Hip Hop Star also from World of Dance training with Drew Dreschsel
- Colton Dunn– Garrett from “Superstore” (love that show!!!) training with Natalie Duran
- Scott Evans- “Access” Co-Host training with Flip Rodriguez
- Nastia Liukin– Olympic Gold Medalist training with fellow gymnast Barclay Stockett
- Greg Sulkin– From the TV show “Runaways” (which is on Hulu) training with Maggi Throne
- Akbar Gbajabiamila (Definitely looking forward to this one) training with Kevin Bull
Zooey Deschanel is not running the course, but she makes an appearance to promote Red Nose Day, the beneficiary of all of tonight’s proceeds.
The Course: Floating Steps, Grab Bag, Spinning Bridge, Flying Shelf Grab, Doorknob Drop, Warped Wall
Every completed obstacle equals $5000 donated to Red Nose Day.
Nikki Bella & Grant McCartney
Bella gingerly handled but completed Floating Steps to get the night started.
And there were hugs all around for Drew Dreschel and Grant McCartney as Bella completed Grab Bag.
Bella stumbled her way through it, but she completed the Spinning Bridge.
However, the WWE superstore was unable to hold on at Flying Shelf Grab.
Nikki Bella raises $15,000.
Greg Sulkin & Maggi Thorne
During the commercial, Sulkin worked his way successfully through three obstacles before falling on Flying Shelf Grab.
Greg Sulkin raises $15,000.
Derek Hough & Meagan Martin
I don’t know which ninja enjoyed their training experience more: Grant McCartney wrestling with Nikki Bella or Meagan Martin dancing with Derek Hough.
Hough needed no help on the course as he moved his way through the Floating Steps.
Hough continued his strong run through the next two obstacles.
And the dancer became the first competitor to complete the Flying Shelf Grab tonight.
Hough then became the first competitor to attempt the Doorknob Drop tonight. But he fell just short, falling at the end of the obstacle.
Derek Hough raises $20,000 (plus $10,000 on his own) for a total of $30,000.
Ne-Yo & Drew Dreschel
Ne-Yo looks like the celebrity version of his trainer Drew Dreschel as he moved quickly through Flying Steps.
Ne-Yo’s strong pace continued as he successfully completed the Grab Bag and the Spinning Bridge.
The World of Dance cohost made it all the way to Doorknob Drop, where he became the first competitor to complete it tonight.
And with the chants of “Beat that Wall!!!” reverberating through the crowd, Ne-Yo climbed the Wall on his first try.
Ne-Yo completes the course and raises $30,000.
Colton Dunn & Natalie Duran
So the guy from one of my favorite shows gets the “during the commercial” treatment? Boo!!!
Part of that is because Dunn fell on the first, second, and third obstacles (yes, he kept trying them and appeared to be having a lot of fun and was probably hilarious doing it, so I think that would have made great TV guys!!!).
For his efforts, a donation of $15,000 was made.
Colton Dunn raises $15,000.
Scott Evans & Flip Rodriguez
Another “during the commercial” celebrity, but he did have a nice run on the course.
After almost falling on Spinning Bridge, Evans made it all the way up the Warped Wall and hit the buzzer.
Scott Evans completes the course and raises $30,000.
Nastia Luikin & Barclay Stockett
Barclay Stockett is training her idol, and apparently you have to forget everything you’ve ever done with gymnastics to run the course (I did not know that).
Luikin carefully completed the Floating Steps to start her run.
Then, Luikin moved quickly through the Grab Bag and barely moved the steps on Spinning Bridge.
The Gold Medalist gained confidence through every step of her run as she leapt her way and stuck the landing on Flying Shelf Grab.
The Door Knob Drop was another deliberate obstacle for Luikin. But she completed it and set herself up for the Warped Wall.
Then, Luikin, with the help of Stockett (who was hanging upside down from the top to help pull up the Gold Medalist) and Drew Dreschel, climbed the Warped Wall and hit the buzzer.
Natsia Luikin completes the course and raises $30,000.
Akbar Gbajabiamila & Kevin Bull
Let’s see if the co-host who nitpicks everybody else’s runs handles the course on his own.
I’ll say this, the man is ripped.
And his big frame moved easily through Floating Steps (though he did nearly swing back on the rope at the end of it).
He needed a second swing, but that was enough momentum for the big man to successfully complete Grab Bag.
Spinning Bridge looked easy. But Akbar did slip at the end on his way to completing it.
Akbar tagged in his trainer, Kevin Bull, to complete the Flying Shelf Grab.
It was a struggle as Akbar brought the deliberate pace to Doorknob Drop. And though he didn’t stick the landing, Akbar did complete the next to last obstacle.
And after giving his kids a hug, Akbar got a hand and held on, pulling himself up and hitting the buzzer.
Akbar Gbajabiamila completes the course and raises $30,000.
Tonight’s total: $185,000.
Next Wednesday, the 10th season of American Ninja Warrior kicks off in Dallas on NBC. And the Ninja vs Ninja playoffs will continue on USA Monday night. We’ll have recaps for both of those telecasts next week.
See you then.
Photo Credit: Tyler Golden/NBC
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