American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World 2017 debuted on Sunday, June 4. Obviously, USA was part of the ANW special, and Europe returned for the third year. However, in place of Japan, this year Team Latin America competed.
Team America:
Drew Drechsel (Captain)
Jessie Graff
Josh Levin
Daniel Gil
Jake Murray
Brian Arnold
Team Europe:
Tim Shieff (Captain)
Sean McColl
Stefano Ghisolfi
Bjarke Tonnesen
Owen McKenzie
Alexander Mars
Team Latin America:
Karl Fow
David Saikin
Santiago de Alba
Diego Gonzalez
Danee Marmolejo
Wid Eriksen
It was nice to see Josh Levin compete. His rookie year was the previous 2016 season, and he made it to the second stage of the Vegas Finals, right with top athletes like Brian Arnold, Chris Wilczewski, and Jake Murray (two of whom were his team mates for the special). Levin was also the only one to finish the L.A. city finals in which he was competing against popular names like Jessie Graff and Kevin Bull. I thought a rookie like him would not be considered for the American team, but he definitely proved his abilities during the regular season, so I was quite glad to see him, especially on Stage 3 in which he completed and won the points for America.
I was also a bit shocked to see Jessie Graff on the team. She is incredible, no doubt, and her 2016 season proved that. I was also glad that she was genuinely chosen to be on the team and was not part of a rule which forced the teams to include a woman. She can compete just as well with the men, if not better than some, and she shouldn't be patronized or given "freebies" because she is a women. It was great to watch her compete and I was excited to see her beat the other men. It was also really amazing to see her compete and complete Stage 2. Last season she completed Stage 1, and now we know that she is capable of beating Stage 2. This makes the 2017 season very exciting for her because now everyone knows how strong she is and how far she can make it. I'm really excited to see her in the 2017 season, and I hope she knocks them dead.
Continuing about the competitors, Sean McColl practically carried Team Europe. He is the number 1 rock climber in the world, and he has been the Trump card for Europe all the years they have competed. I was a bit disappointed with the other Europe players, and I think without McColl, the competition would not have been so close.
Moving on to the actual competition, Stage 1 was the best place for Latin America. They had a few famous free runners which helped on this particular course, but the later stages were difficult for them. This was largely due to the fact that they had never experienced the course or even had a chance to practice on it. America and Europe had been on the course before and knew how it felt and what techniques they need, but for Latin America everything was totally new and foreign. I personally think this was a huge disadvantage for them. Aside from them, Europe was not at their best on Stage 1, in my opinion. I thought they dropped the ball a tad on this stage. I believe Tonnesen dropped on the first obstacle mirroring the way Geoff Britten fell during the regular season. Jessie also went out on this obstacle, but she managed to stay dry. I believe Owen McKenzie won the points for his heat, but was unable to finish the course. He dropped on the very last swing onto the cargo net. By the end of all the Stage 1 heats, it was fairly even, no one seemed to have the edge of anyone else.
Stage 2 was also disappointing, in my opinion. Of course, Latin America had a lot of trouble on the very first obstacle, the ring jungle one because they had never bene on something like it before. Many of them were not rock climbers nor had they had any experience on a Ninja Warrior type setup. Jessie Graff was amazing, as usual, and hit the buzzer which was huge for her, Team America, and women in general.
Stage 3 was the most exciting. Josh Levin made his debut and aced it, winning the points for America. The next most exciting moment after Graff was Brian Arnold's slip up. He could have finished the show and won the trophy for America if he would successfully complete the modified Crazy Cliffhanger obstacle (It has a new name, I believe, but I do not know what it is). Unfortunately, right after it appeared that he had done it, he slipped on the dismount and plummeted into the water, sending the last heat into the tie breaker. As I was speaking with my brother it came to the possibility that this was set up. Brian Arnold was an odd choice to have screw up, but if he had not, then Drechsel would not have competed at all, and he was the team captain as well as America's best competitor. I find this somewhat unlikely because Arnold has dedicated so much of his life to this show, and would only make a mistake like this for a large, large sum of bribe money from the show. I think this was an easy mistake for him to have made. He bounced off the obstacle in order to gain momentum to land on the pad, and he pushed off the wrong way, causing him to land on the very edge, lose balance, and fall off. He also seemed very disappointed in his fall. On the bright side, this did set it up for Drew to go against Sean, which was probably the most intense match up, considering these two are the Trump cards for each team. It was also unusual that Sheiff never competed. We know he is an impressive competitor because previously he set the all time record for Stage 1, with a time of 1:02. He was also the Team Captain for Europe. I believe that maybe he was originally set up against Drew, but for some reason, some how they switched him for McColl because he had a better chance. I would have liked to see Shieff compete, but they must have had some switches which did not allow him to run.
On Stage 3, Latin America was mathematically eliminated, but still could have played a significant role. Had Latin America won the final heat involving Drechsel and McColl, it would have set America and Europe into the Stage 4 tie breaker. I don't remember who ran the course, it may have been Diego, but whoever it was put up an impressive run. He made it to the second to last obstacle (I don't know the name of this one either). He had a slower time, but he did actually make it farther than McColl. For McColl, his run was cut short because he is a rock climber. He breezed by the rock climbing related obstacles, but then came the body prop. McColl himself stated that this obstacle was against his nature as a rock climber and was unfamiliar with how to go about this. He said pushing was foreign to him because he doesn't push as a rock climber. Obviously, he would have flown past the last three obstacles of Stage 3, but he fell on the Body Prop one. Now it was up to Drechsel, who they strategically placed last in the heat. Drechsel, being his usual amazing self, completed Stage 3, most likely with a great time. This won the 2017 US vs. The World Special trophy for Team America.
Overall, I wish I had seen a little more from Team Europe. I know some of the returning veterans of Europe like Ghisolfi and Mars did well the previous times, but they did not go quite as far as I thought they might. McColl, of course, did not not disappoint, though. As far as Team Latin America, I think they have a lot of potential, and I would love to see them again, especially after they gain a little more experience and training on specific courses. This could also be a gateway to having a Ninja Warrior show in Latin America. Team America, as usual, had some great players. Drechsel and Gil were no brainers after seeing their 2016 season, Arnold was typical because he is consistent, well-known, and loyal, Graff because she has proven she is capable of competing on a high level, Murray and Levin both of whom had fantastic seasons falling on the same obstacle on Stage 2.
Despite my apparent criticism of Team Europe, they all did a great job. Obviously it was a close call between America and Europe throughout, so they did not fail completely. I just feel as though they did not do quite as well as they did last year or the year before. I do enjoy this ANW special and it is exciting to see competitors from around the world.
In the end, it was great to see America defend their world champion title again, and to see new competitors like Latin America, McKenzie, and Tonnesen. Next year, I am definitely looking forward to who will compete, and who will win.
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