{"id":722359,"date":"2026-04-17T18:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-the-new-american-gladiators-doubled-down-on-pro-wrestlers\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T18:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:30:20","slug":"why-the-new-american-gladiators-doubled-down-on-pro-wrestlers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-the-new-american-gladiators-doubled-down-on-pro-wrestlers\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the New \u2018American Gladiators\u2019 Doubled Down on Pro Wrestlers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n\tViewers, ready? The Gladiators sure are.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmerican Gladiators<\/em> is back, again, and hoping to not reach the corporate Eliminator as swiftly as the two-season 2008 NBC reboot. The competition pits regular Joes and Janes who happ<\/a>en to be in unusually great shape (but are maybe short) against some truly incredible hulks.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe original American Gladiators<\/em> created by Johnny Ferraro (and picked apart by the excellent Netflix docuseries<\/a> Muscles & Mayhem<\/em>) was a syndication sensation in the \u201990s. A few attempts at updated the franchise fell flat, but Ferraro, like his competitors, is anything but a quitter. The latest attempt to revive the David vs. Goliath competition premieres Thursday on Amazon Prime Video.<\/p>\n

\n\tLike the \u201908 version, which was hosted by Hulk Hogan, American Gladiators<\/em> (2026, MGM Television) will be emceed by a WWE Superstar, Mike \u201cThe Miz\u201d Mizanin; pro wrestling is extra well-represented in the Gladiators locker room this time.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new American Gladiators<\/em> cast counts Jessie Godderz (\u201cSteel\u201d here, Mr. PEC-tacular in Impact Wrestling\/TNA), Eric Bugenhagen (\u201cBull,\u201d former WWE Superstar Rick Boogs), Kailey Latimer (\u201cHurricane,\u201d Kamille in AEW), Jessica Roden (\u201cSupernova,\u201d J-Rod across the indies\/AEW) and Michael Wardlow (\u201cFang,\u201d Wardlow in AEW). Good luck with those guys (and women), contenders.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2008 Gladiators<\/em> roster had a pair of pro wrestlers: Matt Morgan (\u201cBeast\u201d on Gladiators<\/em> \u201cThe Blueprint\u201d Matt Morgan in WWE) and Jessie \u201cJustice\u201d Smith Jr. (\u201cJustice\u201d on American Gladiators<\/em>, Smith competed on season five of WWE Tough Enough<\/em>). Fun fact: it also featured Gina Carano as \u201cCrush.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGodderz especially will not be camera shy. The Steel one, whose catchphrase is \u201cDaddy\u2019s Home,\u201d competed on back-to-back season of CBS\u2019 Big Brother<\/em>. Godderz has since been brought back to the popular broadcast series about 10 times \u2014 his estimate \u2014 usually as his pro-wrestling character. Dude is built for this, and I am not just referring to his build.<\/p>\n

\n\tRead our Q&A with Godderz below, and check out the first three episodes of American Gladiators<\/em>, now available on Prime Video.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tHow do you get a Gladiator name? Is there a list? Do you pitch ideas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThey proposed a handful and I just pretty much gave the nod. Then they were just like, \u201cHey, we\u2019ve got to narrow down these handful of final names,\u201d and they came away with \u201cSteel.\u201d I couldn\u2019t be more elated. I think it\u2019s very, very fitting \u2014 I mean, the Man of Steel just fits. Cinderella is ready for the ball.<\/p>\n

\n\tWere there other nicknames you liked just as much?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWell, I mean, they suggest everything. I\u2019m assuming there\u2019s a whole team of lawyers, if I had to guess, everything had to be approved and we couldn\u2019t step on anybody\u2019s toes. Nothing could be trademarked or registered, or any of that sort of thing. So, yeah, whatever they gave me, I was going to take the ball and run with. I\u2019m definitely glad they landed on Steel, I think it\u2019s awesome.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmerica is not exactly united right now. The red, white and blue is aesthetically toned down in this version. But it\u2019s still very much American<\/span> Gladiators<\/em>. How hard did producers push the \u201cAmerican\u201d part?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI mean, it\u2019s American<\/span><\/em> Gladiators<\/em>. [Laughs] But yeah, that was the one thing that they wanted to drive home, like, this is Team USA. There\u2019s a lot of pride and a lot of nationalism with this show. I don\u2019t know of anyone who says they didn\u2019t like (the original) American Gladiators<\/em>. It has such strong a grip on Americana, like baseball and apple pie from Grandma\u2019s house as far as I\u2019m concerned. So they wanted to drive that home.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019re not the only professional wrestler here. Miz hosts, there\u2019s Rick Boogs \u2014 Wardlow gets the cool entrance\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s so sick.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2026There\u2019s a clear (pro-) wrestler-to-Gladiator pipeline. The skills transfer better than anything else I can think of.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tBeing a two-time tag team champion from TNA, there\u2019s a lot that that encompasses, right? Like just being able to talk as soon as a competitive bout ends. What (American Gladiators<\/em> showrunner) Daniel Calin tried to capture, is you literally go from 110 miles an hour \u2014 you step off the Joust, you get done with an event, like the Wall, or Hang Tough, or Atlasphere \u2014 and less than one minute later you\u2019re standing there with Mike and Rocsi (Diaz), and they\u2019re asking you, like, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYour adrenaline is still pumping \u2014 you couldn\u2019t get a more raw feeling of emotion, especially from us Gladiators. The mindset of the contenders is different because they\u2019re so locked in and focused. Some people shut down because they\u2019re so focused on the one goal at hand \u2014 they just want to win the Eliminator, beat the other contender, just continue going through the show. You might not be able to drag much out of them because they\u2019re not seeing the show aspect of it. But (the Gladiators) are having a blast\u2026 We\u2019re just yucking it up and just cheers-ing to the boys and girls.<\/p>\n

\n\tDaniel wanted to capture that high of adrenaline, when you\u2019re not even done starting that sweat yet. It\u2019s so pure, it\u2019s very raw. I think that was the appeal way back when Gladiators<\/em> actually first started \u2014 everyone still kind of huffing and puffing and collecting their thoughts\u2026 and then they\u2019re getting a microphone put right in their face.<\/p>\n

\n\t(THR asked the same question to Calin. His response: \u201cWrestlers are fierce, multitalented athletes with many\u00a0attributes that make them great Gladiator candidates.\u00a0They\u2019re general<\/a>ly very agile, have tremendous strength, incredibly tenacity, and\u2026.they are natural showmen\/women.\u00a0We found\u00a0similar qualities\u00a0in former or current semi or pro-sports background athletes like Neon, Crush, Lightning, Mayhem.\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

\n

\t\t\t\t\tAmerican Gladiator<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Amazon<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tWithout kissing his ass, how would The Miz do as a competitor and\/or Gladiator?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWell, he has that Real World\/Road Rules Challenge<\/em> experience, as well as Tough Enough<\/em>. He would do amazing. He would do\u2026 (Miz voice) \u201cAwesome<\/em>,\u201d let\u2019s put it that way. He\u2019s a well-rounded athlete. He has the endurance and the strength to get himself up. He\u2019s been doing this for a long time, he knows when to ebb and flow, when to move and give \u2014 I\u2019m assuming he knows how to have hip control. I think he would do a phenomenal job.<\/p>\n

\n\t[Mizanin competing] might be in season one. So you\u2019re gonna have to check it out and see whether we get our hands on him, or vice versa.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow much advanced practice did the Gladiators get?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWe got there two weeks before taping, mostly to make sure that we thoroughly understood the rules. At the end of the day, this is a real competition and for $100,000, not something to shake a stick at. The Gladiators are kind of cogs in the wheel \u2014 we\u2019re just the flippers in the pinball machine that are hitting the contenders. We don\u2019t want to hinder them, we don\u2019t want to hurt them \u2014 we just want them to not score any points.<\/p>\n

\n\t(After their practice runs the, Gladiators are \u201cplaced in the events where they would perform best,\u201d Calin tells THR<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

\n\tDid they let you run The Eliminator?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tFunny enough, they didn\u2019t. I don\u2019t know if it was a timing thing. I don\u2019t know, because some of the guys definitely wanted to do it. But no, that was strictly for the contenders.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhich obstacle in The Eliminator would trip<\/a> you up the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThat cargo net climb is the one I would be concerned about.<\/p>\n

\n\tJohnny Ferraro did a phenomenal job dreaming up the whole thing. He planned out the Eliminator the way he did for a reason. It\u2019s exhilarating, it\u2019s exciting.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou lose in your first televised event. As a Gladiator, is there any embarrassment that comes with a loss?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tSo the comeuppance comes later, but at that exact moment\u2014 I think I got into my own head. I had a plan going into it, and unfortunately, I strayed away from it. I was, like, throwing [the contender] around, and I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, this is way easier than I thought.\u201d I got cocky. And one misstep\u2014 that\u2019s all it took. There\u2019s gonna be ups and downs for everybody, unfortunately. He definitely got the better of me, and that\u2019s all I can say about that. But Daddy will always get the last laugh, and I\u2019m gonna look good doing it.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat are the keys to Joust?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tHit them first, straight out of the gate. <\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s another option where, if you think that they\u2019re going to hit you first, be the first to duck. After that duck, they\u2019re kind of off balance. It\u2019s either button A or button B \u2014 like Nintendo \u2014 you\u2019ve got two moves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Viewers, ready? The Gladiators sure are. American Gladiators is back, again, and hoping to not reach the corporate Eliminator as swiftly as the two-season 2008 NBC reboot. The competition pits regular Joes and Janes who happen to be in unusually great shape (but are maybe short) against some truly incredible hulks. The original American Gladiators…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":722360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AMGL_S1_FG_103_00111624_Still131-H-2026.jpg?w=1296&h=730&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[101800,24408],"class_list":["post-722359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-american-gladiators","tag-jessie-godderz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}