Blog

Jan 09, 2024

American Ninja Warrior 2023 LIVE — Viewers slam new format as 'difficult' and are 'not fans' of shocking new obstacle

The 15th season of American Ninja Warrior is underway with new obstacles and

The 15th season of American Ninja Warrior is underway with new obstacles and challenges along with an all-new format - but fans aren't loving it.

Some viewers have taken to Twitter to express their dislike for the new format the show has taken on.

One Twitter user wrote: "I don't understand why they're making it so difficult?

"So far I am not a fan of this new format."

The same fan slammed the new obstacle courses, tweeting: "Somebody's going to get hurt on that last part of that rope obstacle.

"Not a big fan of that one."

Catch American Ninja Warrior next Monday at 8pm ET on NBC.

Follow our American Ninja Warrior live blog below for the latest news and updates…

As the season 15 premiere aired last night, fans had called for the show to renew for a 16th season ahead of the episode.

American Ninja Warrior is better with each passing episode and week. I really hope this show will be renewed for a 16th season. #AmericanNinjaWarrior

16-year-old Katie Bone has been named the 2023 American Ninja Warrior Women's Champion.

The 2022 champion was Jesse "Flex" Labreck.

The first champion in 2021 was Meagan Martin.

Sleeping is not a bad thing, but a rather smart tactic on the show, according to contestant Zack Eichenstein.

"A lot of times, you’ll see people who are just nervous for like six hours straight, and then they get up there and you could see them shake," Eichenstein warned.

While most viewers would expect the ninjas to be stretching and performing pushups in the show's warm-up tent, Zack Eichenstein revealed what actually goes on.

"If you were to go to the warm-up tent about halfway through one of the filming nights, half the people are on blow-up mattresses, just sleeping," he revealed.

The ninjas are "trying to just get any sleep because it's 2am," he said.

Eichenstein said that he brought his own blow-up mattress and slept before it was his turn to run the course.

"While I did want to stay up and watch all my friends, at the same time I knew that I would be super tight and stressful the whole time.

"You just kind of force yourself to just relax," he said.

More of the series winners are listed below,

American Ninja Warrior aired its first season in the year 2009.

Below are the show's winners,

Contestant Zack Eichenstein told The U.S. Sun that the most difficult part of running the course is the margin of error.

He revealed that the ninjas don't get to practice the course beforehand and shared more details about the unknown obstacles.

"If we think that a bar is going to spin or we think it's not going to spin or it's going to be slippery and we’re not ready for it."

He added: "You have to trust your muscle memory, not get nervous, and still be able to focus enough."

Zack Eichenstein built Ferox Athletics, a 40,000-square-foot facility, which opened its doors in Brooklyn, New York in 2022.

Ferox, which is the East Coast's largest professional ninja park, features many obstacles and elements similar to those seen on the TV show.

He revealed that the facility exists because of the amount of training it takes to be on American Ninja Warrior.

Former contestant Zack Eichenstein exclusively revealed to the U.S. Sun that American Ninja Warrior is different than many believe.

"A lot of people think it's almost like a game show where you can kind of just randomly go on and actually win a million dollars," he shared.

"But it actually requires a lot of training and a lot of work.

American Ninja Warrior gives participants the opportunity to win a $1million prize.

The winner must conquer all four stages at the series finals in order to win the prize and the title of American Ninja Warrior.

NBC explains that aside from including side-by-side races, one of the biggest challenges in the competition has also been modified.

"The Mega Wall is even taller than before at 18½ feet and, for the first time ever, ninjas will need to complete all six obstacles in a designated time in order to earn a shot at the $10,000 prize."

Per NBC, season 15 is being touted as having the "biggest changes" in the show's history.

"Season 15 will challenge the ninjas to race side-by-side and head-to-head across a high-stakes course with a spot in the national finals on the line," reads the description.

Zuri Hall is an entertainment reporter who's worked in various competitions and shows over the course of her career.

Aside from her work in American Ninja Warrior, Hall is also a correspondent for Access Hollywood.

She's been the host of Miss USA for two consecutive years, starting in 2021.

Akbar Gbajabiamila is the co-host of American Ninja Warrior.

He's a retired NFL player who has fostered a career in TV, also being one of the hosts of The Talk, on CBS.

Over the course of his career as a professional athlete, Gbajabiamila played for the Oakland Raiders, the San Diego Chargers, the Miami Dolphins, and more.

Matt Iseman is a comedian, actor, and TV personality.

He's been involved in almost all seasons of American Ninja Warrior, hosting 13 of them since the year 2010.

He was also the winner of The New Celebrity Apprentice, in the year 2017.

American Ninja Warrior has various hosts, including Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila.

Zuri Hall serves as the show's sideline reporter.

She's in charge of speaking to contestants after they complete their rallies while also interacting with the public and with contestants’ friends and family.

The lower age requirements were introduced in season 13 of American Ninja Warrior and were controversial.

Fans of the series took to Reddit to complain about the changed age limits and how they prevented long-time competitors from participating in the show.

"I honestly don't think I like having the younger ninjas on the course," wrote a fan.

"As an adult, I just don't want to watch kids compete unless they are mine."

The new season of American Ninja Warrior has lowered the competitors’ age requirements.

Season 15 competitors can be as young as 15 years old.

In earlier seasons of American Ninja Warrior, competitors had to be over the age of 19 to be eligible to participate.

While most viewers are focusing on the obstacles when watching a ninja race through the course, they might not pay attention to the background - which is pitch black.

The show's production doesn't start until it gets dark outside.

Contestant Zack Eichenstein revealed that the ninjas are on site from about 5pm to 5am.

"Lunch is at about 1am," he said.

The first year Eichenstein was on the show, he was the third person to run the course.

But in his second year, during the semifinals, he "ran it about 5am in the morning, almost as the sun was coming up."

"It was freezing and we'd just been there for like 12 hours," he said.

Jessie Graff injured herself during season 12 of American Ninja Warrior when she fell on the third obstacle on the final course.

After her fall, she needed surgery on her knee and shoulder and documented her progress on social media.

The rehabilitation needed to get her back to 100 percent forced her to sit out of the season 13 competition - and in February 2021, Graff posted a video of her progress and announced she would not be competing in the upcoming season.

"Part of me keeps trying to calculate whether I can regain my strength in time, but the reality is that I won't be fully healthy until a few months after qualifiers," she wrote.

"This time, I’m being smart and responsible, so I can heal fully and come back stronger than ever! This is just the first half of the song (and the story).

"But I’m so grateful for all the ways this time off has inspired me to learn and grow! I’m so excited to see where it all leads."

Jessie said women and little girls have told her that she has changed the way they look at themselves and at life.

One memory that stuck out to her was a message she received from a young girl on Instagram.

"This little girl sent me a message on Instagram and said, 'I love doing gymnastics and swimming, but my friends told me it wasn't cool to have muscles, so I stopped doing those things. But now that I’ve watched you, I think muscles are cool and I’m doing everything again,'" Graff told American Ninja Warrior Nation.

"That's the most heartwarming thing ever," she added. "To know that a kid was on the verge of losing their confidence and feeling like they couldn't do what they love because of how it made them look and now she has that freedom and confidence to do what she loves doing."

Despite her success in the years following her first history-making win on American Ninja Warrior, Jessie Graff's accomplishments extend beyond the challenge course.

When she isn't training or competing, Graff works as a stunt double on movie sets including the major 2020 Blockbuster, Wonder Woman 1984, starring Gal Gadot.

She announced her involvement in the film with an Instagram post in December 2020 alongside a photo of her from a scene in the film.

Despite her fall on the Snake Run, Jessie Graff's teammates did not let her down and instead asked her if she felt ready to go back out there and compete in stage two.

"I have so much appreciation and gratitude for the fact that I was able to try again right away," Graff said.

"My teammates gave me that chance, but also had faith that I could perform—that I would come back from it.

"To have a chance at immediate redemption, it's such a rare thing on Nina Warrior."

Jessie Graff has competed on American Ninja Warrior since season 10 when she joined the competition in Miami, Florida.

In stage one of her first season, Graff went up against the other competitors and in a rallying victory, became the first woman to complete the stage in American Ninja Warrior history.

She advanced to stage two of American Ninja Warrior: USA vs The World and once again stunned viewers by becoming the first woman to complete that round.

"It was so devastating," she said in an interview with Paste Magazine in 2017.

"This was my chance as a woman to show we could compete on an international level against men."

Below are the female ninjas who advanced to the semi-finals: