DCBLOG: DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars

Thursday, December 26, 2019

DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - The Lighter Side of the Ninja

BY DC CUEVA

■ @DC408DXTR @ IG/YT/SC/TB

When fans look back on 2019 in The Challenge, they can think of this year as one of redemption. After the long, dragged out trilogy and the bitter taste of its last act on Final Reckoning last year, many longtime viewers were just about ready to move onto other things. But after the first & second installments of War of the Worlds, and both producing third titles for C.T. Tamburello and Jordan Wiseley and a popular rookie champion in Turabi "Turbo" Camkiran, we leave this year a little more satisfied with The Challenge than we were twelve months ago around the Christmas tree.

War of the Worlds represented, to a certain degree, a reboot for this show, and it & its sequel introduced us to a slew of people from outside the MTV system in continuing to stretch its wings beyond just its American borders. Those from Britain continued to pour into this show after debuting on Vendettas including that fascinating personality known as Bear, while the Big Brother universe expanded in the same year of CBS & Viacom's reunion as Season 19 champ Josh Martinez showed that you can be emotional as he is and still back it up to be a consistent contender.

This year's female Challenge rookie contingent saw promise for this next generation: Georgia Harrison went from being on Love Island to be a finalist on WOTW1 and also put up a good sophomore season. Someone who competed with her in the final this spring, Mattie Lynn Breaux, will join fellow rookie Challenger Gus Smyrnios and the rest of his southern mates tonight on Floribama Shore. And another woman who made it all the way not just there in Namibia was also the only rookie of that season to get another crack at the cash on WOTW2 in Thailand.

It's because of The Challenge's winningest player as far as rings are concerned, Johnny Bananas, and him trying his luck at the most treacherous obstacle course on television for his first season hosting NBC's 1st Look, that the MTV fanbase opened their eyes to American Ninja Warrior. An alum of two seasons of ANW and a few spinoffs of the franchise, Natalie "Ninja" Duran, competed with Georgia, Mattie, Turbo, Cara Maria, Hunter, Theo and Wes in what was called the toughest final ever on the show, and she was the only female to make it to the end despite not cashing in 4th place.

Ninja made quite a mark in her two seasons competing on The Challenge, and she knew that she had to adjust to a whole new mindset being in the house itself, in addition to doing what she does best and compete. She was part of the fall's most-memorable elimination when she and Laurel went toe to toe in a closely contested battle that, for a moment, thought that the one-time queen of one-on-one battles had won... only for receipts to prove that Ninja had gotten the puzzle correct - and she won. And Ninja then made it to the WOTW2 final on an U.S. team with Ashley, Cara, Kam, Leroy, Paulie and Zach, though they fell short of the top prize to the Brits... though she no doubt felt happy for the one she grew with the strongest being part of the winning side in fellow Asian Dee Nguyen.

Before being on these shows, being a rock climber and possessing a Guinness World Record plaque for making it up a 5-meter rope climb in the quickest time, Ninja found herself becoming part of a pioneering breed. YouTube first went online in 2005, and two years later a then 17-year-old Natalie decided to launch a channel on the fledgling site. As NDTitanLady, she became one of the first to post daily vlog videos, becoming part of the first generation of online influencers - helping setting the pace for the revolution of Internet personalities that are now everywhere fifteen years later.

Ask anyone for their thoughts on Ninja and the replies may be varied, from that proving ground battle to her finishing ahead of two champions in her two finals. Many fans feel weary about her strong persona in competing, which was best personified by her yelling at Turbo during last season - though they are now on much good terms. And the jury is still out over disparaging Twitter posts supposedly made by her many years earlier, joining that epidemic of past social behavior being exposed.

But when you check out her YouTube channel, it's nothing but a good time with Natalie... and we felt we wanted to share with you some of The Lighter Side of the Ninja, where the videos embedded below show a different side of this rock climber turned ninja warrior turned challenger. From showing off some friends of the sea to getting slapped by a fish, and a Cat Man running after her while traveling in Japan, there is always something fun about Ninja.