Why the New ‘American Gladiators’ Doubled Down on Pro Wrestlers

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 created by Johnny Ferraro (and picked apart by the excellent Netflix docuseries Muscles & Mayhem) was a syndication sensation in the ’90s. 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.

Like the ’08 version, which was hosted by Hulk Hogan, American Gladiators (2026, MGM Television) will be emceed by a WWE Superstar, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin; pro wrestling is extra well-represented in the Gladiators locker room this time.

The new American Gladiators cast counts Jessie Godderz (“Steel” here, Mr. PEC-tacular in Impact Wrestling/TNA), Eric Bugenhagen (“Bull,” former WWE Superstar Rick Boogs), Kailey Latimer (“Hurricane,” Kamille in AEW), Jessica Roden (“Supernova,” J-Rod across the indies/AEW) and Michael Wardlow (“Fang,” Wardlow in AEW). Good luck with those guys (and women), contenders.

The 2008 Gladiators roster had a pair of pro wrestlers: Matt Morgan (“Beast” on Gladiators “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan in WWE) and Jessie “Justice” Smith Jr. (“Justice” on American Gladiators, Smith competed on season five of WWE Tough Enough). Fun fact: it also featured Gina Carano as “Crush.”

Godderz especially will not be camera shy. The Steel one, whose catchphrase is “Daddy’s Home,” competed on back-to-back season of CBS’ Big Brother. Godderz has since been brought back to the popular broadcast series about 10 times — his estimate — usually as his pro-wrestling character. Dude is built for this, and I am not just referring to his build.

Read our Q&A with Godderz below, and check out the first three episodes of American Gladiators, now available on Prime Video.

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How do you get a Gladiator name? Is there a list? Do you pitch ideas?

They proposed a handful and I just pretty much gave the nod. Then they were just like, “Hey, we’ve got to narrow down these handful of final names,” and they came away with “Steel.” I couldn’t be more elated. I think it’s very, very fitting — I mean, the Man of Steel just fits. Cinderella is ready for the ball.

Were there other nicknames you liked just as much?

Well, I mean, they suggest everything. I’m assuming there’s a whole team of lawyers, if I had to guess, everything had to be approved and we couldn’t step on anybody’s 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’m definitely glad they landed on Steel, I think it’s awesome.

America is not exactly united right now. The red, white and blue is aesthetically toned down in this version. But it’s still very much American Gladiators. How hard did producers push the “American” part?

I mean, it’s American Gladiators. [Laughs] But yeah, that was the one thing that they wanted to drive home, like, this is Team USA. There’s a lot of pride and a lot of nationalism with this show. I don’t know of anyone who says they didn’t like (the original) American Gladiators. It has such strong a grip on Americana, like baseball and apple pie from Grandma’s house as far as I’m concerned. So they wanted to drive that home.

You’re not the only professional wrestler here. Miz hosts, there’s Rick Boogs — Wardlow gets the cool entrance…

It’s so sick.

…There’s a clear (pro-) wrestler-to-Gladiator pipeline. The skills transfer better than anything else I can think of.

Being a two-time tag team champion from TNA, there’s a lot that that encompasses, right? Like just being able to talk as soon as a competitive bout ends. What (American Gladiators showrunner) Daniel Calin tried to capture, is you literally go from 110 miles an hour — you step off the Joust, you get done with an event, like the Wall, or Hang Tough, or Atlasphere — and less than one minute later you’re standing there with Mike and Rocsi (Diaz), and they’re asking you, like, “What happened?”

Your adrenaline is still pumping — you couldn’t get a more raw feeling of emotion, especially from us Gladiators. The mindset of the contenders is different because they’re so locked in and focused. Some people shut down because they’re so focused on the one goal at hand — 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’re not seeing the show aspect of it. But (the Gladiators) are having a blast… We’re just yucking it up and just cheers-ing to the boys and girls.

Daniel wanted to capture that high of adrenaline, when you’re not even done starting that sweat yet. It’s so pure, it’s very raw. I think that was the appeal way back when Gladiators actually first started — everyone still kind of huffing and puffing and collecting their thoughts… and then they’re getting a microphone put right in their face.

(THR asked the same question to Calin. His response: “Wrestlers are fierce, multitalented athletes with many attributes that make them great Gladiator candidates. They’re generally very agile, have tremendous strength, incredibly tenacity, and….they are natural showmen/women. We found similar qualities in former or current semi or pro-sports background athletes like Neon, Crush, Lightning, Mayhem.”)

Without kissing his ass, how would The Miz do as a competitor and/or Gladiator?

Well, he has that Real World/Road Rules Challenge experience, as well as Tough Enough. He would do amazing. He would do… (Miz voice) “Awesome,” let’s put it that way. He’s a well-rounded athlete. He has the endurance and the strength to get himself up. He’s been doing this for a long time, he knows when to ebb and flow, when to move and give — I’m assuming he knows how to have hip control. I think he would do a phenomenal job.

[Mizanin competing] might be in season one. So you’re gonna have to check it out and see whether we get our hands on him, or vice versa.

How much advanced practice did the Gladiators get?

We 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 — we’re just the flippers in the pinball machine that are hitting the contenders. We don’t want to hinder them, we don’t want to hurt them — we just want them to not score any points.

(After their practice runs the, Gladiators are “placed in the events where they would perform best,” Calin tells THR.)

Did they let you run The Eliminator?

Funny enough, they didn’t. I don’t know if it was a timing thing. I don’t know, because some of the guys definitely wanted to do it. But no, that was strictly for the contenders.

Which obstacle in The Eliminator would trip you up the most?

That cargo net climb is the one I would be concerned about.

Johnny Ferraro did a phenomenal job dreaming up the whole thing. He planned out the Eliminator the way he did for a reason. It’s exhilarating, it’s exciting.

You lose in your first televised event. As a Gladiator, is there any embarrassment that comes with a loss?

So the comeuppance comes later, but at that exact moment— 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’m like, “Oh, this is way easier than I thought.” I got cocky. And one misstep— that’s all it took. There’s gonna be ups and downs for everybody, unfortunately. He definitely got the better of me, and that’s all I can say about that. But Daddy will always get the last laugh, and I’m gonna look good doing it.

What are the keys to Joust?

Hit them first, straight out of the gate.

There’s another option where, if you think that they’re going to hit you first, be the first to duck. After that duck, they’re kind of off balance. It’s either button A or button B — like Nintendo — you’ve got two moves.