The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own "gladiators", in contests of strength and agility.

An all-star, one-off primetime celebrity special, Superstar American Gladiators aired on ABC on May 4, 1995.

Flor-Jon Films, Inc and the Samuel Goldwyn Co in 1993 granted a license to Chariot Entertainment in an effort to launch a live American Gladiators show on the Las Vegas Strip, but the president of Chariot became mired in a securities fraud prosecution, through no fault of Flor-Jon Films or The Samuel Goldwyn Co, and the live show went unrealized.

[5] MGM Television, the successor company to the Samuel Goldwyn Company, during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, sold to NBC a prime-time revival that was closer to the British version than the American, with hosts Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, and Van Earl Wright the play-by-play voice.

In July 2014, a revival of American Gladiators was planned in the works by A. Smith & Co. Productions[6][7] where it would have incorporated elements that were inspired by the popular film franchise The Hunger Games along with mixed martial arts.

The winners of the three quarterfinal matchups automatically advanced to the semifinals, with the highest scoring contender that did not win their match receiving a wildcard spot.

In season six, the Grand Championship winners would each receive an additional $15,000 on top of what they had already won, making their total cash prize out to $25,000.

That season's Grand Champions were also given berths as the United States representatives in the second International Gladiators competition, held at the site of the British series in Birmingham, England.

During the first half of the first season, the show's set resembled that of an ancient Roman gladiatorial arena, with the stands raised high above the ground.

An onscreen clock was added in the second half of the season, which allowed viewers to see how much time a contender had left to complete an event.

Most of the events tested the contenders' physical abilities against the superior size and strength of the Gladiators, who were mostly pro or amateur bodybuilders and former football players.

Starting with the fourth season, the final event before The Eliminator, was labeled "Crunch Time", and was played for more points.

Including the Eliminator, ten events appeared in each episode, and the lineup of single and split rounds changed during the season.

There were four lineups used during the season: The Eliminator was the final event played in each episode, and determined which contender would win that day's competition.

The National Indoor Arena, home to the UK version, hosted the International Gladiators competitions.

The series, a co-production of Trans World International and Four Point Entertainment, was distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Television.

In the first two seasons a new 1990 or 1991 Chevrolet automobile of the Grand Champion's choice, worth up to $20,000 (vehicle selections included GM vehicles such as the Lumina, Lumina APV, Cavalier, Metro, Tracker, Storm, C/K pickup, Caprice, Suburban, Camaro, Beretta, Blazer, etc.

In season seven, the structure was the same but the Grand Champions won an additional $10,000 for their victories and a berth in the second International Gladiators competition.

Todd Christensen initially was Adamle's replacement as analyst, with Larry Csonka joining the series at the beginning of season two in 1990.

A referee wearing an executioner costume appeared during the first half of the first season (portrayed by former football player Jeff Benson).

The referees were assisted by several game judges, including Bob Wucetich, Fred Gallagher and Jim Marcione.

[24][25] American Gladiators was broadcast in the UK by ITV as part of their Night Time slot starting on September 1, 1990.

Amerikan kin'niku batoru), and was shown as a sports variety program produced by TV Tokyo aired on its' affiliated stations from October 16, 1992 to March 1993.

It compromises of the series' footage from its' heyday, dubbed into Japanese, [27][28] with exchanges between the hosts of the late Tatsuya Kurama and Reiko Katō respectively.

In 2008, MGM, Reveille and Flor-Jon Films Inc. revealed a special American Gladiators U.S. cross-country tour.

Spike TV purchased a rerun package they began airing during their last days as The National Network in 2002.

Factory released The Battle Begins, featuring commentary from the Lazer, Zap, and Nitro, and an interview with Billy Wirth.

[38] This dinner show featured Dallas, Laser, Hawk, Ice, Jazz, Nitro, Sabre, Siren, Sky, Tower, and Turbo from the TV show along with the new Gladiators Apache, Cobra, Electra, Flame, Flash, Jade, Quake, Rage, Raven, Tank, Thor, Tigra, Titan, Viper.

A kids version of the show called Gladiators 2000 (also known as G2) hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Maria Sansone (later Valerie Rae Miller in season 2) where it had traditional games mixed with trivia questions thrown in for educational value aired in syndication from September 9, 1994, until May 5, 1996.

A revival of American Gladiators hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali aired on NBC from January 6 until August 4, 2008.