American Ninja Warrior (season 11)

The Mega Wall, introduced in the tenth season, returns with new rules. Contestants must now choose which version to attempt—the 14.5-foot Warped Wall or the 18-foot Mega Wall—and cannot change once they have attempted one or the other. In addition, contestants are now allowed three attempts at the Mega Wall, and can win cash on any of them: $10,000 for scaling it on the first try, $5,000 on the second, or $2,500 on the third.[9]

A new obstacle, the Power Tower, was also introduced. In the city qualifiers, the two fastest finalists from each course competed against each other for a "speed pass" that immediately advances the recipient to the National Finals.[8] In the city finals courses, the Power Tower offered a "safety pass" that allows the recipient a second chance to complete Stage 1 or 2 of the National Finals. All the other ninjas with 2 using it on Stage 1 (Drew Dreschel and Flip Rodriguez) and the other 3 (Dave Cavanagh, Mathis 'Kid' Owahdi, and Karson Voiles) having to play their Safety Passes from the City Finals but the only one out of the six who didn't play it was Micheal Torres because he finished Stage 1 and 2 and you can't use it on Stage 3.

The Los Angeles qualifiers featured two new obstacles, Walk The Plank and Spring Forward. The course took place on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood. The Los Angeles Clippers cheerleaders along with mascot "Chuck the Condor" who were firing up and handing out t-shirts to the crowd. Former NBA player Kareem Rush ran the course as 10-time NBA all-star Paul Pierce cheered him on. Gymnast Danell Leyva, a US champion and 3-time Olympic medalist, completed the course.

The Los Angeles finals had 1 new obstacle, Leaps Of Faith. Starting this season, only the Top 12 Competitors in each region would move on to the National Finals. In Los Angeles, a total of 15 competitors moved on to the National Finals, as the Top 12 contestants, the Top 2 Women, and Hunter Guerard, the Speed Pass winner in qualifying, advanced. The Los Angeles Chargers cheerleaders and "Thunderbolt" Drumline along with Sean Culkin were in the crowd cheering on the competitors and pro football player Anthony Trucks who ran the course.

In a tie-in with the 2019 movie The Secret Life of Pets 2, the course had a theme inspired by the movie; a preview also aired during the episode. The Atlanta qualifiers featured two new obstacles, Off The Hook and the Ferris Wheel. The competition took place outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons; their cheerleaders and mascot Freddie Falcon were in attendance to cheer on competitors. Celebrity competitors included former NFL cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion Tyrone Poole who made it to the Ferris Wheel obstacle, and World Series of Poker player Tony Miles who only made it to the third obstacle, thus losing the bet his friend put on him to hit the buzzer at 25:1 odds.

The Atlanta Finals will feature 1 new obstacle, Up For Grabs. 15 contestants advanced to the National Finals from this region, as 13 competitors automatically advanced, as Drew Drechsel, who was in the Top 12, won the Speed Pass in qualifying, along with making it up the Mega Wall and now winning the Safety Pass, making ANW history by completing this trifecta. The Top 2 Women also advanced to the National Finals, as Caitlyn Bergstrom, along with her brother Caleb Bergstrom, also made ANW history, becoming the first brother/sister duo to both qualify for the National Finals, after making history by becoming the first brother/sister duo to qualify for the city finals in qualifying.

The Oklahoma City qualifiers featured three new obstacles, the Wing Swing, the Diving Boards and the Coconut Climb. In attendance hyping up the crowd was the Oklahoma City Thunder cheerleaders and drum line, along with mascot Rumble the Bison. Also, the Oklahoma State University cheerleaders and school mascot Pistol Pete helped cheer on the competitors. The ninja course was held just outside the Oklahoma State Capitol. Former Kansas State legislator Kevin Jones improved his performance from last year by making it to the second obstacle.

The Oklahoma City finals introduced a new obstacle, Snap Back. In attendance among the crowd was Boomer, one of the mascots from the University of Oklahoma. A record for the most women to make it up the Warped Wall during a city finals round was set, as four women made it up the 14 1/2-foot Warped Wall, including Karen Wiltin who was the third mom to make it up the Warped Wall in American Ninja Warrior history. Maggi Thorne became the second mom to make it up the wall later that night. Taylor Amann became the second female in their rookie season to automatically qualify for the national finals, following Jesse Labreck, and later Mady Howard, who achieved the feat one week later during the Seattle/Tacoma city finals.

The Seattle/Tacoma qualifiers featured two new obstacles the Lunatic Ledges and Barrel Roll. Taking place inside the Tacoma Dome, this was ANW's first-ever indoor course. In the audience was "The 12s", Seattle Seahawks fan club, along with the Mariner Moose from the Seattle Mariners. Musician Ryan Phillips from rock band Story of the Year ran the course, making it to the fifth obstacle. Sprint car driver McKenna Haase also competed, getting to the third obstacle. U.S. Olympic decathlete Jeremy Taiwo gave the course a try, but failed on the Lightning Bolts. U.S. Olympic halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira also tried his luck on the course, only making it to the second obstacle. Former baseball player for the Mariners Ryan Rowland-Smith became the first MLB pitcher to compete, getting to the second obstacle.

PE teacher Sandy Zimmerman, a National Judo Champion, former Gonzaga University basketball player, and mother of three, became the first mom to finish the course in the show's history. She was also the first and oldest woman (age 42) to complete the course this season, soon followed by stuntwoman Jessie Graff who returned to ANW after a year absence.[10]

The city finals on this course introduced a new obstacle, Northwest Passage. Sean Bryan, who won the Speed Pass in qualifying automatically qualified for the National Finals. This marked the first time in the show's history that no competitor completed the ninth obstacle on a city finals course and the third time in American Ninja Warrior history as a incomplete course, as the Lightning Bolts and Floating Monkey Bars took out over 80% of the competitors, leaving very few competitors who made it to the ninth obstacle.

Present to entertain the audience was Blue Thunder, the Seattle Seahawks' drumline.

The Baltimore qualifiers featured two new obstacles, the Dangerous Curves and the Hazard Cones. The course took place on Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Among the audience cheering on the competitors was the Baltimore Orioles' mascot, "The Oriole Bird", along with the University of Maryland cheerleaders and the Maryland Terrapins mascot, Testudo. Former WNBA player Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever competed on the course, making it to the Dangerous Curves, the third obstacle.

The Baltimore finals featured one new obstacle, Angry Birds (which was done in promotion for The Angry Birds Movie 2). Angry Birds took out 22 competitors, and nobody cleared it. This marked the first time in American Ninja Warrior history that no competitor made it past the eighth obstacle on a city finals course.[11] This was also the first time in history that two city finals courses in one season went without any finishers, and the fourth time that a city finals course went unfinished. Dave Cavanagh became only the second competitor to win both the Speed Pass and the Safety Pass.

Along with the Oriole Bird, the cheering section included the Baltimore Ravens cheerleaders and the team's mascot, Poe.

The Cincinnati Qualifiers featured one new obstacle, the Sling Shot. Among the crowd was Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton along with the team's cheerleading squad, the Cincinnati Ben–Gals, and the team's mascot, Who Dey. Also in the crowd were the Cincinnati Reds mascots, Mr. Red, Mr. Redlegs, and Rosie Red. Drew Lachey of the boy band 98 Degrees was among the celebrities who attempted this course.

The Cincinnati finals featured one new obstacle, Slam Dunk. In addition to the three Cincinnati Reds mascots, the University of Cincinnati cheerleaders, marching band, and university mascot Bearcat were on hand in the cheering section. This episode also featured a special guest appearance by legendary funk musician and Cincinnati native Bootsy Collins, who accompanied Grant McCartney to the starting line.

For the first time since the Dallas city finals in season 6, a female competitor completed the entire city finals course. The feat was accomplished by two women, first by Michelle Warnky (third woman to get past the 9th obstacle) and next by Jesse "Flex" Labreck.

Stage 1 featured one new obstacle, Spin Your Wheels.

NOTE: Drew Drechsel failed on the fifth obstacle on Stage 1, The Tire Run and used his Safety Pass from winning his regional to do the course a second time, as did Flip Rodriguez on seventh obstacle on Stage 1, the Diving Boards.

NOTE: For the second season in a row no women had completed Stage 1 after the success of Jessie Graff: American Ninja Warrior: Season 8 (2016) and Allyssa Beird: American Ninja Warrior: Season 9 (2017) and that Jesse 'Flex' Labreck was the Last Woman Standing going the farthest on Stage 1 and marked the third straight season she had failed on Stage 1 in the regular season until the USA vs the World when she finished Stage 1 in the international competition.

Stage 2 featured three new obstacles, Giant Walk the Plank, the Extension Salmon Ladder and the Grim Sweeper. A record-number 21 competitors completed Stage 2.

NOTE: Mathis "Kid" Owhadi failed on the Grim Sweeper which was the fifth obstacle on Stage 2 and used his Safety Pass from winning his regional to do the course a second time where he hit the buzzer joining the record number of 21 going to Stage 3, as did Karson Voiles on Snap Back which was the third obstacle on Stage 2 which came from the Oklahoma City Finals and he hit the buzzer joint the record number, while Dave Cavanagh on Giant Walk the Plank then played the Safety Pass from the Baltimore Finals then fell again on the Extentsion Ladder so he was the only Ninja who had play the Safety Pass on Stage 2 to not move on to Stage 3.

NOTE: The time limit showed in the broadcast was 3 minutes, when it was really 3.5 minutes. This could be seen when the actual physical timer was shown on the sidelines. This means the actual times of competitors were 30 seconds slower than what was shown on the broadcast.

Stage 3 featured three new obstacles, Grip and Tip, Iron Summit and Pipe Dream.