American Ninja Warrior (season 4)

The fourth season of American Ninja Warrior began on May 20, 2012, and aired on NBC and G4. This was a landmark season for Ninja Warrior, as the entire format was overhauled. For the first time, the finals took place on U.S. soil. In addition, regional qualifiers were added, taking place in Dallas, TX, Miami, FL, and the series' flagship location, Venice Beach, CA. New co-host Jonny Moseley replaced Jimmy Smith, while Angela Sun replaced Alison Haislip. Again, the winner would have received $500,000 and the coveted American Ninja Warrior title. Brent Steffensen became the first contestant to complete the ultimate cliffhanger.[1]

American Ninja Warrior
Season 4
Hosted by	Matt Iseman Jonny Moseley Angela Sun
Finals venue	Las Vegas, NV
Release
Original network	NBC G4
Original release	May 20, 2012
Season chronology

Qualifying

The Venice Beach regional qualifying course during season 4

Submission videos for American Ninja Warrior Season 4 had been collected since January 25, 2012.[2] There were six regional competitions held in three locations: Venice Beach, CA (Southwest and Northwest), Dallas, TX (Midwest and Midsouth), and Miami, FL (Northeast and Southeast) that determined the 100 competitors to participate in the qualifying rounds.

Region Finals

The 30 competitors that went the fastest the farthest from the Qualifiers of each region, tackled an extended course, featuring three new additional obstacles, like the salmon ladder, and cargo climb. The top 15 competitors that went the fastest the farthest would move on to compete in the National Finals in Las Vegas.

Southwest Regional Finals

Order #	Competitor	Outcome	Obstacle/Result
1	Evan Dollard	Completed	3:03.99
2	Jesse La Flair	Completed	3:04.99
3	Kole Stevens	Completed	3:07.82
4	Remi Bakkar	Completed	3:12.74
5	Brent Steffensen	Completed	3:18.03
6	Chad Simpson	Completed	3:20.27
7	Derek Nakamoto	Completed	3:36.17
8	Dorian Cedars	Completed	3:36.78
9	Paul Darnell	Completed	3:43.59
10	Dan Mast	Completed	3:46.75
11	Sedrick Bassett	Completed	4:29.48
12	Ryan Thompson	Completed	4:39.32
13	Dylan Curry	Completed	5:09.72
14	Ronnie Shalvis Jr.	Failed	Arm Rings
15	Michael "Frosti" Zernow	Failed	Arm Rings

Midwest Regional Finals

Order #	Competitor	Outcome	Obstacle/Result
1	Matthew Derouen	Completed	2:25.28
2	Andrew Karsen	Completed	3:15.47
3	Jack Morgan	Completed	3:26.14
4	Stephen Volcko	Completed	3:35.97
5	Arthur Skov	Completed	3:45.53
6	Michael Silenzi	Completed	4:18.73
7	Nickolas "Nick Lovin" Stephforn	Completed	4:30.27
8	Johnathan Morin	Completed	5:44.41
9	Scott Robinson	Failed	Lamp Grasper
10	Will Dodd	Failed	Lamp Grasper
11	Joshua Grant	Failed	Lamp Grasper
12	Andrew Lowes	Failed	Lamp Grasper
13	Nick Aye	Failed	Lamp Grasper
14	Nick Kostner	Failed	Lamp Grasper
15	Cade Halada	Failed	Lamp Grasper

Northeast Region Finals

Order #	Competitor	Outcome	Obstacle/Result
1	Tim Shieff	Completed	2:43.55
2	Luis Moco	Completed	2:49.35
3	Dan Galiczynski	Completed	2:49.84
4	Chris Wilczewski	Completed	2:56.30
5	Elet Hall	Completed	3:01.84
6	Travis Graves	Completed	3:21.46
7	Jesse Villarreal	Completed	3:32.70
8	Chris DiGangi	Completed	4:07.20
9	Andrew Wood	Failed	Salmon Ladder 1:31.60
10	Danny Johnson	Failed	Salmon Ladder 1:32.50
11	Bradley Smith Jr.	Failed	Salmon Ladder 1:45.11
12	Phillip Pirollo	Failed	Salmon Ladder 2:05.48
13	John Sapinoso	Failed	Warped Wall 1:02.03
14	Matt Mings	Failed	Warped Wall 1:09.77
15	Michael Pericoloso	Failed	Warped Wall 1:17.90

Midsouth Region Finals

Order #	Competitor	Outcome	Obstacle/Result
1	Paul Kasemir	Completed	2:23.22
2	Brandon Douglass	Completed	2:29.41
3	Brian Arnold	Completed	2:30.72
4	Jaret Salas	Completed	2:43.41
5	Kevin Klein	Completed	2:56.28
6	Sat Khalsa	Completed	2:56.89
7	Ahmed Toure	Completed	2:59.70
8	Josh Lobeck	Completed	3:04.64
9	Lorin Ball	Completed	3:20.52
10	Jake Smith	Completed	3:45.40
11	Bob Pondrom	Completed	3:48.06
12	Nathaniel Spencer	Completed	3:50.80
13	James Wyatt	Completed	3:57.82
14	Tremayne Dortch	Completed	5:19.63
15	Alan Connealy	Failed	Lamp Grasper 1:38.11

Notable competitors

• Professional Parkour Athlete and Freerunner Brian Orosco
• British film actor William Moseley
• Tennessee Titans defensive end Kamerion Wimbley
• Stuntman Dan Mast
• Stuntwoman Luci Romberg
• "Roam" (a.k.a. A.J. Amores) and "Chairman Platinum" from MMO video game company Artix Entertainment
• Harlem Globetrotters basketball player Bull Bullard
• Devin Thorpe aka Grim Leaper from Fly or Die Freerunning
• Survivor China Contestant Michael "Frosti" Zernow

Mount Midoriyama

Legend

  The competitor cleared that stage.
  The competitor is female.
  The competitor ran out of time on the obstacle.

For the first time in the history of the series, rather than traveling to Japan to compete on Sasuke, 100 finalists from the city qualifiers competed at a finals venue with four stages that was built just off the Las Vegas Strip.

Stage 1

Order #	Competitor	Outcome	Obstacle/Result
1	Tom Hutchman (Wild Card)	Failed	Giant Swing
2	David Money	Failed	Final Climb (Time Out)
3	Cade Halada	Failed	Jumping Spider
4	Ronnie Shalvis Sr. (Wild Card)	Failed	Jumping Spider
5	Michael Pericoloso	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
6	Ghassan "Marcus" Ramos (Wild Card)	Failed	Giant Swing
7	Alan Connealy	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
8	Ben Wicks (Wild Card)	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
9	Michael 'Frosti' Zernow	Failed	Jumping Spider
10	Nick Kostner	Failed	Rope Ladder (Time Out)
11	Matt Mings	Failed	Jumping Spider
12	Andres De La Rosa (Wild Card)	Failed	Jumping Spider
13	Tremayne Dortch	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
14	Paul O'Connor	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
15	Ronnie Shalvis Jr.	Failed	Jumping Spider
16	Nathaniel Aye	Failed	Giant Swing
17	John Sapsoto	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
18	Gunner Bahn	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
19	James Wyatt	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
20	Tony Reddick	Failed	Giant Swing
21	Dylan Curry	Failed	Jumping Spider
22	Andrew Lowes	Failed	Spin Bridge
23	Natalie Strasser (Wild Card)	Failed	Rolling Log
24	Phillip Pirollo	Failed	Spin Bridge
25	Brian Kretsch	Failed	Jumping Spider
26	Nathaniel Spencer	Completed	00:00.00
27	Niko Bogucki	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
28	Kelvin Antoine (Wild Card)	Failed	Fell Off Course after Giant Swing
29	Ryan Thompson	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
30	Joshua Grant	Failed	Spin Bridge
31	Bradley Smith Jr.	Failed	Jumping Spider
32	Ben Snead	Completed	00:22.98
33	Selena Laniel (Wild Card)	Failed	Jumping Spider
34	Bob Pondrom	Failed	Giant Swing
35	Adam Grossman	Failed	Giant Swing
36	Dan Mast	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
37	Will Dodd	Completed	00:07.77
38	Ryan Saegert (Wild Card)	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
39	Danny Johnson	Completed	00:27.69
40	Kevan Reoli	Failed	Rolling Log
41	Jake Smith	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
42	Brendon Kelly	Failed	Jumping Spider
43	Patrick Cusic (Wild Card)	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
44	Paul Darnell	Completed	00:25.02
45	Ryoga Vee (Wild Card)	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
46	Scott Robinson	Failed	Jumping Spider
47	Andrew Wood	Failed	Step Slider
48	J.B. Douglas	Completed	00:12.98
49	Lorin Ball	Completed	00:33.13
50	Thomas Hall	Failed	Spin Bridge
51	Dorian Cedars	Failed	Rope Ladder (Time Out)
52	Jonathan Morin	Failed	Jumping Spider
53	Risa Scott (Wild Card)	Failed	Step Slider
54	Chris DiGangi	Failed	Jumping Spider
55	Justin Walcker	Failed	Jumping Spider
56	Josh Lobeck	Completed	00:03.92
57	William Brown	Failed	Jumping Spider
58	Joyce Shahboz (Wild Card)	Failed	Rolling Log
59	Derek Nakamoto	Completed	00:35.80
60	Nickolas Stephen	Failed	Spin Bridge
61	Jesse Villarreal	Failed	Spin Bridge
62	Nathan Sausedo	Failed	Rolling Log
63	Ahmed Toure	Completed	00:22.07
64	Sean Morris	Failed	Spin Bridge
65	Chad Simpson	Failed	Jumping Spider
66	Michael Silenzi	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
67	Travis Graves	Failed	Spin Bridge
68	Joshua Horsely	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
69	Sat Khalsa	Failed	Spin Bridge
70	William 'Bull' Bullard	Failed	Final Climb (Time Out)
71	Brent Steffensen	Completed	00:29.00
72	Arthur Skov	Failed	Jumping Spider
73	Elet Hall	Completed	00:24.00
74	Justin Sweeney	Failed	Spin Bridge
75	Kevin Klein	Failed	Jumping Spider
76	Michael Eckert	Failed	Jumping Spider
77	Remi Bakkar	Completed	00:19.02
78	Stephen Volcko	Failed	Jumping Spider
79	Chris Wilczewski	Completed	00:08.74
80	Kyle Cochran	Failed	Spin Bridge
81	Jaret Salas	Failed	Warped Wall
82	JJ Woods	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
83	Kole Stevens	Completed	00:27.67
84	Jack Morgan	Failed	Giant Swing
85	Dan Galiczynski	Failed	Jumping Spider
86	Sean Noble	Completed	00:16.80
87	Brian Arnold	Completed	00:11.84
88	Travis Rosen	Completed	00:19.00
89	Jesse La Flair	Failed	Jumping Spider
90	Andrew Karsen	Failed	Half-Pipe Attack
91	Luis Moco	Failed	Warped Wall (Time Out)
92	David Campbell	Failed	Spin Bridge
93	Brandon Douglass	Completed	00:16.82
94	Drew Drechsel	Completed	00:23.92
95	Evan Dollard	Completed	00:11.90
96	Matthew Derouen	Failed	Step Slider
97	Tim 'Livewire' Shieff	Failed	Spin Bridge
98	James McGrath	Completed	00:18.39
99	Paul Kasemir	Completed	00:21.71
100	Flip Rodriguez	Completed	00:18.34

Stage 2

Order #	Finalist	Result	Notes
1	Nathaniel Spencer	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Fifth level.
2	Chris Wilczewski	1.Slider Drop	Lost grip on drop.
3	Will Dodd	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Digest. Fifth level.
4	Sean Noble	3.Unstable Bridge	Failed dismount.
5	Brian Arnold	4.Balance Tank	Fell halfway through.
6	Evan Dollard	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Seventh level.
7	J.B. Douglas	3.Unstable Bridge	Digest. Transition to second board.
8	Brandon Douglass	3.Unstable Bridge	Transition to second board.
9	Travis Rosen	4.Balance Tank	Fell at beginning.
10	Josh Lobeck	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Digest. Seventh level.
11	Paul Kasemir	5.Metal Spin	Lost grip on chain.
12	Ben Snead	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Digest. Seventh level.
13	Elet Hall	3.Unstable Bridge	Digest. Transition to second board.
14	James “The Beast” McGrath	1.Slider Drop	Derailed bar on drop.
15	Remi Bakkar	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Seventh level.
16	Drew Drechsel	3.Unstable Bridge	Failed dismount.
17	Ahmed Toure	4.Balance Tank	Fell 4/5 of the way through.
18	Danny Johnson	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Digest. Seventh level.
19	Brent Steffensen	Completed	00:00.03
20	Kole Stevens	1.Slider Drop	Digest. Derailed bar on drop.
21	David “Flip” Rodriguez	4.Balance Tank	Fell at beginning.
22	Lorin Ball	2.Double Salmon Ladder	Digest. Seventh level.
23	Paul Darnell	3.Unstable Bridge	Lost grip on first board.
24	Derek Nakamoto	5.Metal Spin	Lost grip on chain.

Stage 3

Order #	Finalist	Result	Notes
1	Brent Steffensen	6.Hang Climb	Fell 3/4 of the way through.

Ratings

Network	Episode		Air date	Timeslot	Rating/Share (18–49)		Viewers (millions)	Ref.
G4	1	"Southwest Regional Qualifying Part 1 of 2"	May 20, 2012	Sunday 9:00 p.m.	0.2	N/A	0.338	[3]
	2	"Southwest Regional Qualifying Part 2 of 2"		Sunday 10:00 p.m.	0.1		0.273
NBC	3	"Southwest Regional Finals"	May 21, 2012	Monday 9:00 p.m.	2.4	6	6.200	[4]
G4	4	"Midwest Regional Qualifying Part 1 of 2"	May 27, 2012	Sunday 9:00 p.m.	0.1	N/A	0.233	[5]
	5	"Midwest Regional Qualifying Part 2 of 2"		Sunday 10:00 p.m.	0.1		0.193
NBC	6	"Midwest Regional Finals"	May 28, 2012	Monday 9:00 p.m.	2.1	5	5.790	[4]
G4	7	"Northeast Regional Qualifying Part 1 of 2"	June 3, 2012	Sunday 9:00 p.m.	0.2	N/A	0.350	[6]
	8	"Northeast Regional Qualifying Part 2 of 2"		Sunday 10:00 p.m.	0.2		0.344
NBC	9	"Northeast Regional Finals"	June 4, 2012	Monday 9:00 p.m.	2.2	6	6.780	[4]
G4	10	"Northwest Regional Qualifying Part 1 of 2"	June 10, 2012	Sunday 9:00 p.m.	0.2	N/A	0.358	[7]
	11	"Northwest Regional Qualifying Part 2 of 2"		Sunday 10:00 p.m.	0.2		0.380
NBC	12	"Northwest Regional Finals"	June 12, 2012	Tuesday 8:00 p.m.	1.7	5	4.990	[4]
G4	13	"Midsouth Regional Qualifying Part 1 of 2"	June 17, 2012	Sunday 9:00 p.m.	0.1	N/A	0.216	[8]
	14	"Midsouth Regional Qualifying Part 2 of 2"		Sunday 10:00 p.m.	0.1		0.250
NBC	15	"Northwest Regional Finals"	June 18, 2012	Monday 9:00 p.m.	2.0	5	5.780	[4]
G4	16	"Southeast Regional Qualifying Part 1 of 2"	June 24, 2012	Sunday 9:00 p.m.	0.2	N/A	0.410	[9]
	17	"Southeast Regional Qualifying Part 2 of 2"		Sunday 10:00 p.m.	0.2		0.421
NBC	18	"Southeast Regional Finals"	June 25, 2012	Monday 10:00 p.m.	1.9	5	5.700	[4]
G4	19	"Las Vegas Finals Part 1 of 6"	July 8, 2012	Sunday 9:00 p.m.	0.2	N/A	0.358	[10]
	20	"Las Vegas Finals Part 2 of 6"		Sunday 10:00 p.m.	0.1		0.265
	21	"Las Vegas Finals Part 3 of 6"		Sunday 11:00 p.m.	Unknown
NBC	22	"Las Vegas Finals Part 4 of 6"	July 9, 2012	Monday 9:00 p.m.	1.4	4	3.990	[4]
	23	"Las Vegas Finals Part 5 of 6"	July 16, 2012		1.8	5	4.590
	24	"Las Vegas Finals Part 6 of 6"	July 23, 2012		2.0	5	4.870

References

1. Carroll, Richard (2016-06-01). "The 10 Most Powerful Moments in 'American Ninja Warrior' History". Thrillist. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
2. "G4 and NBC Partner to Broadcast New Season of 'American Ninja Warrior' - Ratings - TVbytheNumbers.Zap2it.com". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on 2012-01-28.
3. "Sunday's Cable Ratings: Spurs/Clippers Best "Thrones," "Kardashians"". The Futon Critic. May 22, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
4. "SpotVault - American Ninja Warrior (NBC) - Summer 2012". Spotted Ratings. May 23, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
5. "Sunday's Cable Ratings: Spurs, "Thrones" Put TNT, HBO in Front". The Futon Critic. May 30, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
6. "Sunday's Cable Ratings: Game 4 of Celtics/Heat Draws 11 Million Viewers". The Futon Critic. June 5, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
7. "Sunday's Cable Ratings: "True Blood" Returns on Top for HBO". The Futon Critic. June 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
8. "Sunday's Cable Ratings: "Falling Skies" Tops Viewers, "True Blood" Leads Demos". The Futon Critic. June 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
9. "Sunday's Cable Ratings: "True Blood" Continues Demo Reign for HBO". The Futon Critic. June 26, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
10. "Sunday's Cable Ratings: "True Blood" Remains Unstoppable for HBO". The Futon Critic. July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.