Tonight’s on NBC American Ninja Warrior airs with an all-new Monday, June 2, 2025, season 17 episode 1 and we have your American Ninja Warrior recap below!
In tonights American Ninja Warrior season 17 episode 1 called, “Qualifiers 1,” as per the NBC synopsis, “Qualifying rounds begin in Las Vegas on the world’s most challenging obstacle course.
The competition returns bigger than ever by bringing back trailblazers, record-setters and fan-favorite competitors from the last 16 seasons.”
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be a great season 17, so be sure to tune in for our coverage of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior at 8 PM – 10 PM ET! While you wait for our American Ninja Warrior recap make sure to check out all our American Ninja Warrior news, spoilers, recaps & more!
Tonight’s American Ninja Warrior recap begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
In tonight’s American Ninja Warrior premiere, ANW was back for an all new season on tonight’s premiere. Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Matt Iseman, and Zuri Hall all returned to host the show. There were also a lot of familiar faces from seasons’ past.
Up first was the Qualifiers. Night One of the Qualifiers comprised of the Quad Steps, Log Grip, Block Run, Spin Cycle, Battering Ram, and ultimately ending with the iconic Warped Wall. These obstacles were a part of Ninja history. They were known as some of the toughest obstacles. They took out numerous ninjas. This included some of the greats. And so the show was bringing the drama this season.
The first to try the course was Jonathan Morin. He last competed ten years ago. Jonathan was a pastor from Texas. He competed last time after his youth group convinced him to try it. It was an admittedly rough start back then and he still managed to hit a buzzer that night. Again, its been a while for him. He was now ten years older and he came in at two-thirty. He made it to the second obstacle when he fell. It was still great to see him. Jonathan was followed by Leo Heuring. He was a college student in Colorado.
Leo also happens to be neurodivergent. His biggest issue was his dyslexia. It made him struggle with school. He even struggled making friends and then he found out about ANW. His parents encouraged him to join the ninja gym. He met other kids that were excited by the same thing as him. He got to come out of his shell. Which helped him gained the confidence he needed. He now calls himself the Dyslexic Ninja. The words were spelled the way he saw it and he brought a lot of awareness to his condition.
Leo wasn’t a bad ninja either. He made it as far as the Battering Ram when he fell. He has to wait and see where he falls at the end of the night. This next ninja hailed from Philadelphia. Her name is Milo Carpenter. She was sixteen. She started doing ninja when she was seven years old. It introduced her to her best friend, Maddie Valentine. Maddie will be running the course herself tonight as well. The two kids agreed when they were little that they were going to be known as an iconic ninja. They came up with their own names. And had shirts made with it.
They’ve since outgrown the nicknames, but they never gave up on the ninja dream. Milo sadly fell on Log Grip and the two girls were so alike that Maddie later fell on the same obstacle. The teenagers were followed by Tiana Webberely. She was a veteran ninja known as “Sweet T”. She was also a stuntwoman from Southern California. Her job was very dangerous. She’s suffered from a few injuries. She gained the new nickname of Humpty Dumpty by the doctor that put her together again after she broke her collarbone during a stunt.
Sweet T was now returning to ANW after a few seasons away. It sucks that they brought back the bane of her existence right as she was making a triumphant return. She would go on to fall on the Battering Ram. It took her out the last time they used it too. Sweet T was followed by newbie Bray Weinacker. He was a fifteen year old wakeboarder from Florida. Wakeboarding was in his blood. His parents were serious competitors for twenty years. They were considered some of the best in this field.
Bray was at an disadvantage tonight. He was legally blind in one eye. He suffered an injury as a kid. Only he didn’t let that deter him from sports. He pursued wakeboarding. He pursued ninja. He was in a ninja gym back home and, while there was a stumble on the first obstacle, he was the first of the night to complete the whole course. He finished with enough time to go after the Mega Warped Wall. He didn’t get it and that’s okay because he still completed the course. Bray’s secret was that he let his feet take him away. He didn’t think about the time or second guess himself.
Jonathan Bange experienced something similar back in 2023. The now veteran went all the way to Stage 3 on his first season. He was also a great guy. Ha gained a lot of fans with his signature “bang” move. Many expected the same showing from this personal trainer from Texas. It surprised everyone and indeed that meant everyone when he got taken out by the first obstacle. He tried to skip a step. It would have worked at other times. It just didn’t work in his favor tonight. Cicilia Bogle was up next. The nineteen year old from Miami was a trapeze artist.
Cicilia was pretty good at it too. She has her own trapeze company. She travels with the circus. Her family thinks she’s crazy and still this probably best prepared her for the ninja world. She was used to changing strategies on the fly. She wasn’t afraid of the tougher aspects. She also fed off the crowd. If they their energy was up, her energy matched theirs. She made it as far as the Battering Ram tonight. It wasn’t bad for her debut. Not when this same obstacle was known for taking out the best of the best.
Owen Dyer was up next. The ninja veteran wasn’t sure if he wanted to return this season. His little brother talked him into it. Owen experienced some depression after his graduation and training in the ninja gym with his brother was the one thing to get him out of his funk. He came back tonight not knowing if he would still be good enough but tonight wiped away the doubts because he became a finisher. There were some finishers during the few commercial breaks tonight. There was five of them in all at this point and Owen had the second best time.
After Owen hit a buzzer, he asked his little brother to try out the Warped Wall. He was barely five feet and he still managed to get up there without help. He’ll soon be hitting buzzers himself in a few years. Owen was followed by Eddy Stewart. He was known as Double Double because he could make his pecs dance at the same time. He can still do it as he proved tonight. It was the obstacle course that took down the firefighter from Alabama. He made it as far as Block Run when he got taken out. The next ninja feared that obstacle the most tonight.
Gary Weiland returned this season with a new prosthetic. He lost his leg after a complication with a knee replacement years ago. The new grandfather from Texas struggled with his previous prosthetic. The previous one was hard to manage on the balance obstacles. He fell once. He nearly fell the last time. He managed to save himself back then by using pure upper body strength. Things were different now with this new one. It helped him put his full body weight down. He made it pass the balance obstacle. He got as far as the Battering Ram when he fell.
It remains a memorable run. Daniel Gill was soon up. The Texas ninja veteran has made it to Stage 4 twice. He came back this season with a brand new baby girl. His daughter was named Isla Rose. She was used to meeting new people because of him. Daniel turned ninja into a career and he often travels the country to promote the sport. Tonight was the first time she got to see daddy in action. Daniel sped through the course. He finished with the fastest time so far. Daniel had the option of the Mega Warped Wall. An extra ten grand would be perfect with a new baby only he missed it by a few inches.
They keep raising the height of that thing so much that it’s a miracle anyone can reach it nowadays.
Avery Glantz’s loved one ran during the commercial break. She then got her turn after Daniel. The college student from Florida shot to fame for creating an obstacle just for women. It was included in one of the National competitions. The men tried to do it and failed. The women had a much easier time of it. She was a great creator. It also gave her a different perspective on the obstacles. She went at it as a creator and not just as a ninja. She made it all the way to the Battering Ram when she fell. It might be enough to get her into the Semifinals.
The next ninja showed up in a hazmat suit. Darion Bennett was a Mold Inspector from New Jersey. He has great dreadlocks that he couldn’t risk at the job and hence the hazmat suit. He has a few of them. This ninja veteran returned after a disappointing season last time. He fell into the water. His son who was seven had asked him why he did that? He also told him before tonight not to fall into the water again. He made his dad promise. Darion did his best to keep that promise. He completed the course and hit a buzzer tonight. He didn’t get a chance at the Mega Warped Wall. And so maybe that’s what his son should get him to promise next.
The legendary Flip Rodgriguez soon had his turn. He was a stuntman from Florida. He was a serious ninja veteran. His first season was Season 3. He used to wear a mask to cover his face and he left his shirt off all the time. Now, things are different. The mask was off. The shirt was on. He’s done all of the obstacles tonight and it shocked the ninja community when he fell on Block Run. He was so stunned when he fell that he needed a minute. The whole audience watching also needed a minute. Sometimes the obstacles can humble even the best of them.
The baby-faced ninja Ryan Cooper was back. He competed on ANW Jr. He was now sixteen and can compete with the grownups, but he didn’t lose the baby face. He does not look sixteen. Nor does it look like he’d old enough to drive. He didn’t look big enough for the obstacle course and the course thought the same. He fell far too early to go to the next round. Then came Elijah “the Boss” Browning. This ninja veteran has started so many businesses that he’s called the Boss. He first started at sixteen. He had his best season at the time and then he went home to find out his mom was battling breast cancer.
Elijah had to shift gears afterwards. His mom was in a much better place now that she’s in remission. The ninja community came together to support her and they came out again to support the Boss. Elijah became a finisher tonight. He didn’t get the Mega Warped Wall, but pretty much no one has. Not even Ginny MacColl. She was the oldest ninja out there at seventy-two. She fell on the second obstacle and that’s when her daughter had her turn. Jeffie Graff was the first woman to finish Stage 1. She was another stuntwoman. The ninja veteran was back after a few seasons away because of movies she’s filming.
And at forty, she hit a buzzer with her mom at her side.
THE END!
