American Grit 2016 Results: Recap from April 14 Episode

WWE fans know John Cena as one of the biggest wrestling Superstars in the world, but he played a new role Thursday: television host.

Cena is the host of Fox’s military-themed competition show, American Grit, which premiered Thursday night. Fox’s official website, which noted there is $1 million of prize money on the line, described American Grit as a competition that “embodies the military ethos ‘no man left behind,’ because only the first team to complete the challenges together is safe from elimination.”

Thursday’s show started with an introduction of the four team leaders who would divide the 16 competitors into groups of four and attack the “Evolution” and “Circus” portions of the episode.

The four team leaders—Rorke Denver, Noah Galloway, Tawanda “Tee” Hanible and Nick “The Reaper” Irving—all have military backgrounds.

Per Fox’s website, Denver led Special Forces and trained U.S. Navy SEALs. Galloway received a Purple Heart from his time in the Army after he lost an arm and leg during deployment. Hanible was in the Marine Corps for 19 years, and Irving was a sniper in the U.S. Army who earned his nickname with his marksmanship.

Cena discussed the four team leaders, per Jean Bentley of EOnline: “They are heroes—tried-and-true heroes. We have a U.S. Navy SEAL commander, we have an Army Ranger sniper. ... They are all awesome. They all motivate in their own way and they are very different personalities, but it's really cool to be around them all and see them at work.”

After the show introduced audience members to the leaders, they were tasked with choosing four team members. They debated the strengths and weaknesses of the 16 competitors and eventually selected them like a fantasy draft.

The action heated up in the Evolution portion of the episode, which pitted the four teams against one another in an obstacle course that required strength, endurance and teamwork.

The teams were first asked to carry 120-pound logs through an obstacle course, and Team Noah fell behind in the early going. However, the second stage of the Evolution had the teams carry their logs more than three miles to the next step, and Team Noah marched past the rest of the field during the lengthy hike.

The competitors then had to use ropes to position the logs in a place that would help them get over a divide before the final step of the Evolution, when American Grit threw some math into the physically grinding task. The teams were asked to add up the years in which they were born to get the combination of a lock, and Team Noah flexed its brain muscles as the first to do so.

American Grit captured the winning moment:

As if the immunity from elimination for winning the Evolution wasn’t enough, Cena rewarded Team Noah by joining its members for a meal. He was impressed with their ability to persevere following the slow start:

The three losing teams had to send one member to the final challenge of Thursday’s episode: the Circus. Fox’s website described the Circus as “a punishing, endurance-based obstacle course designed to break the weakest competitors.”

The Circus didn’t end until one person gave up and rang a bell, signaling his or her failure to continue.

The team leaders chose which member would go. Irving sent Jim for Team Nick, Hanible sent Chris for Team Tee and Denver sent Tabatha (otherwise known as “Goldie”) for Team Rorke.

Jim was the oldest competitor, and Goldie was described as a roller-derby queen, but Chris drew the most attention. He questioned Hanible’s leadership abilities during the Evolution stage of the competition and was seen as brash and cocky. Cena even told him before the Circus started that he should not question Hanible’s leadership in front of the rest of his team.

The three Circus competitors first had to navigate through a lengthy obstacle course that included a rope course, a giant log ladder that was more than 30 feet tall, a high beam and a “downward fall” rope course to the endurance platform. The reward for reaching the platform first or second was the chance to rest while the third-place finisher made it through the course.

Chris made it through the obstacle course first, followed by Jim and then Goldie.

That left Goldie no time to rest before the endurance portion, which had the competitors hold heavy bags of sand up with a rope. The first one to drop the bag would have to ring the bell and be sent home.

American Grit gave viewers a glance at what the competition looked like:

Despite rainy conditions, all three lasted past the 40-minute mark and then had to hold the rope with only one hand. Chris lost his grip over an hour into it, even though he is a personal trainer and spent much of the early portion of the Circus mocking the other competitors and trying to get in their heads.

He appeared to be the strong favorite early on, but he ultimately lost, much to the disappointment of his team leader:

Cena sent Chris home and concluded the first episode of American Grit:

Chris was criticized for his early cockiness and attitude by the team leaders and Cena. The fact that he lost his initial lead after being overly confident may serve as a lesson for the rest of the competitors on the way to a potential $1 million prize.