American Gladiators

4.3

2008•1h

Production

American Gladiators is an American competition TV show that aired on NBC and Citytv in Canada. Hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, the show matches amateur athletes against each other and the show's own "gladiators" in contests of strength, agility, and endurance. It is a remake of the original series of the same name which ran from 1989–1996, with elements of the UK version of the 1990s. The show is refereed by Al Kaplon, a former American League umpire, who can also be seen as the referee in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Play-by-play narration is handled by Van Earl Wright. Season 1 was taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. Beginning with Season 2, the show moved to the Los Angeles Sports Arena. It is produced by Reveille Productions and MGM Television. American Gladiators premiered on Sunday, January 6, 2008; an average of 12 million people watched the two-hour premiere. All other Season 1 episodes aired Mondays at 8:00 ET/PT, except for the finale, which aired Sunday February 17, 2008 at 7:00 ET/PT. Season 2 premiered May 12, 2008, on NBC, with a two-hour episode. The two-hour Season 2 finale aired on August 4, 2008 at 8:00 ET/PT. While the final two-hour episode of Season 1 was devoted entirely to the finals, the Season 2 finale consisted of the third semifinal round followed by the finals.

Seasons

8 Episodes • Premiered 2008

1. Season Premiere

The return of American Gladiators features a special two-hour premiere. Male contenders are Molivann Duy vs Jeff Keller & Anthony Abbatemarco vs Chad Knight. Female contenders are Bonnie Blanco vs Shanay Norvell & Koya Webb vs Jessie Foster.

2. Grapple for Glory

In this preliminary round, Male contenders Adonis Locket vs Jeff "Big Country" Chapman & Female contenders Christie Phillips vs Siene Silva

3. Preacher vs. Teacher

In this preliminary round, Male contenders Adam Levin vs Sharaud Moore & Female contenders Monica Carlson vs Belinda Gavin

4. Fired Up

In this preliminary round, Male contenders Son Nguyen vs Evan Dollard & Female contenders Jennifer Blum vs Christine Kim

5. Age Before Beauty

Alex Rai goes up against Mark Baker in the night's competition. For the women competing Kim Marciniak tries to get past Toni Oppliger to make it to the finals.

6. Semi-Finals

The first of the semifinals begins with winners from previous battles. The men's competition features a fireman and a rock climber. The female competitors features a fitness trainer versus a gymnastics instructor.

7. Last Chance

In the last round of semifinals Venus Ramos goes up against Monica Carlson and Andy Konigsmark takes on Alex Rai.

8. The Last Stand

In this live 2 hour season finale, we will find out which male and female contender will win the prize of $100,000 and have the opportunity to become an American Gladiator next season. Evan Dollard goes up against Alex Rai for the men and Monica Carlson goes up against ShaNay Norvell for the women.