American Ninja Warrior 2020: Results and Top Highlights from Episode 3

The American Ninja Warrior crew returned for Week 3 of the qualifying round Monday with a few dozen ninjas attempting to move on in the competition.

The top 12 finishers and top three women overall will move on to the semifinals in this year's shortened contest to see who gets to take home the guaranteed $100,000 prize.

The Power Tower gave the two fastest runners a chance to bring their two teammates to the next round with them even if they didn't qualify during their own runs.

The first two weeks saw the addition of a few new obstacles, and this week was no different. Here is the list of obstacles the ninjas were tasked with completing this week:

• Shrinking Steps
• Lunatic Ledge
• Beehive (New)
• Spinning Bridge
• Ferris Wheel
• Warped Wall and Mega Wall

Bootie Cothran kicked off the show for the ninjas. The 51-year old talked about his success selling trees to make toilet paper during the pandemic. Matt Iseman couldn't help but make a joke about a guy named Bootie selling toilet paper. Unfortunately, he went out on the second obstacle.

Dougie Fresh, Bootie's teammate, spoke about losing almost everything he owned because of a storm and how the ninja community came together to raise money for him. He was the first contestant to get a chance at the new Beehive obstacle. He made it through, and after a close call on the Spinning Bridge, he went out on the Ferris Wheel.

Pro wrestler Sem Garay made his debut last year and made it to the finals in Las Vegas before being eliminated. He made it to the fifth obstacle before falling into the water below.

Thomas Stillings was the first veteran ninja of the night to attempt the course and also the first runner to make it up the Warped Wall and hit the buzzer. He tearfully thanked his wife for helping him get here after she had a brain tumor surgically removed this year.

Newcomer Kyle Wheeler talked about losing over 100 pounds on his journey to making it on the show. He bolted through the first two obstacles but went out on Beehive. He was followed by another first-time competitor named Tage Herrington. He may only be 19 years old and 120 pounds, but he looked like a pro as he navigated the course and made it up the Warped Wall to hit the buzzer.

Najee "The Phoenix" Richardson was looking to make a comeback after failing to hit a single buzzer last year. He came up short on the Mega Wall but hit the buzzer on the regular Warped Wall to finish the course.

Michelle Warnky Buurma got married during the offseason and spoke about her desire to start a family after this season. The Lunatic Ledge took out yet another ninja when she fell on the second obstacle in one of the most surprising eliminations of the season so far.

Sean Bryan sped through the course to set the fastest time of the night at 1:26. David Campbell followed and made a tremendous save on the Lunatic Ledge. The 43-year old ninja became the first person of the night to make it up the Mega Wall to win $10,000.

One of the most anticipated ninjas of the night was Jessie Graff. The show plugged her appearances on The Titan Games with The Rock before she took to the course. The professional stuntwoman wore an outfit inspired by the Amazons in Wonder Woman 1984 because of her work on the film. She made an impressive save on the Spinning Bridge before making it up the Warped Wall to hit the buzzer.

R.J. Roman was the final ninja to run the course. He not only finished but also made it up the Warped Wall faster than anyone else to earn himself a spot on the Power Tower alongside Bryan.

The Rocker and The Papal Ninja fought for the chance to take their teammates with them to the next round. After a close race, Roman hit the buzzer on the Power Tower to give Ben Melick and Jessica Helmer a second chance. Here is the full list of competitors who are moving on in the competition:

• R.J. Roman (Finished)
• Sean Bryan (Finished)
• Thomas Stillings (Finished)
• Austin Gray (Finished)
• Tage Herrington (Finished)
• Dan Polizzi (Finished)
• Najee Richardson (Finished)
• David Campbell (Finished)
• Jessie Graff (Finished)
• Adam Rayl (Fell on obstacle five)
• Devin Harrelson (Fell on obstacle five)
• Lorin Ball (Fell on obstacle five)
• Ben Melick (Saved by Power Tower)
• Jessica Helmer (Saved by Power Tower)
• Zhanique Lovett (Fell on obstacle four)
• Rachael Goldstein (Fell on obstacle four)

Next week will feature the final round of qualifying runs before the course expands to 10 obstacles in Week 5 for the semifinal round.