American Ninja Warrior 2014: Recap from Las Vegas National Finals Stage 2

There will be no American Ninja Warrior champion in 2014. 

Elet Hall and Joe Moravsky were the lone survivors of Stage 2 of the Mount Midoriyama finals in Las Vegas, Nevada, proving to be the only two of 18 contenders to do so. But neither was able to turn around and complete Stage 3 moments later. 

The second stage of Mount Midoriyama was a treacherous one, with contenders needing to complete the six daunting obstacles all in under 2:05. It took out the first 14 of 18 competitors to attempt it, but Moravsky broke through late before Hall joined him as the last contestant.

Both attempted to become the first to complete Stage 3 since the creation of the course in 2012, but they joined the eight others to have tried and failed over the last two years. Moravsky made it as far as only three others, but fell on the rock-climbing wall.

Here's a look at the final results from Stage 2:

Rank	Competitor
1	Elet Hall
2	Joe Moravsky
DNF	Lorin Ball
DNF	Paul Kasemir
DNF	Ian Dory
DNF	Joshua Cook
DNF	Chris Wilczewski
DNF	Abel Gonzalez
DNF	Jo Jo Bynum
DNF	Travis Rosen
DNF	Isaac Caldiero
DNF	Andrew Lowes
DNF	Dan Galiczynski
DNF	Ryan Stratis
DNF	Noah Kaufman
DNF	Yen Chen
DNF	Brian Arnold
DNF	J.J. Woods

XFINITY Sports captured a video of Moravsky climbing the ultimate cliffhanger before he was eliminated:

After nine contestants completed the Stage 1 course on time during each of the first two episodes of the finals, the field of 18 was set for Monday's epic finale. Only the best of the best advanced through the rigorous preliminaries and past the thousands of contenders to make it this far.

But it became apparent very early on Monday night that it would take a special kind of effort to stay alive.

Stage 2 began with the tough descending ropes swing followed by the vertical ladder challenge that put most contenders fighting for time. Contenders then had to climb the suspended bridge, swing around the butterfly wall, complete the metal spinning wheel and make it through three wall lifts of increasing weight (66, 88 and 110 pounds).

Oh, and it had to be finished in less than 2:05.

With the slowest finishers going first on Monday, the best competitors came last, and that meant early struggles for those who went first.

J.J. Woods set the tone for that early on by struggling on the opening ropes swing before falling on the ladder. Brian Arnold, who made it to Stage 3 last year and further than anyone else, couldn't make it two years in a row and was eliminated early.

Yen Chen was the first to make it more than halfway through and did so at a quick pace, but he couldn't take advantage of the butterfly wall and wiped out.

Ryan Stratis and Dan Galiczynski both made it to the metal ropes swing, but were behind on time and failed to stick the landing. 

The impossible nature of the metal rope swing was a big reason for the early struggles. A few contenders, including Chris Wilczewski and Abel Gonzalez, made it there in good time but were unable to swing around and stick the landing. 

Eventually, though, there was a breakthrough. 

Moravsky became the first to make it through the metal ropes swing by reaching out with his feet to grasp the landing pad. With seconds left to lift the three walls, he powered through and finished with just over a second left to make it past Stage 2 for the second straight year.

Hall joined him after failed attempts over the last two seasons. But when the daunting Stage 3 came around, he was eliminated early on the floating boards.

The hopes of an American Ninja Warrior emerging in 2014 came down to Moravsky, and he came close to breaking through Stage 3 before falling into the water on the hang climb. 

There has never been an individual champion in the American Ninja Warrior series, and Monday was a perfect example of why. Even getting to this point is an uphill climb, but once it gets to Mount Midoriyama, the challenge becomes insurmountable.

Making it to the Mount Midoriyama finals is a feat in and of itself, but it takes a special breed of athlete to make a deep run once he or she gets there. Both Hall and Moravsky proved to be a cut above the rest, but it wasn't enough to make history.

The tough task of becoming the American Ninja Warrior goes without saying, but after all, the degree of difficulty is what makes it such a coveted title and what keeps viewers tuning back in. 

Folks will have to wait until at least 2015 to see if history can be made.