American Gladiators is back for a second season with some new events to challenge both the contestants and the gladiators. Wolf and Toa are two gladiators back for a second round. They suited up in silver spandex to preview the new competitions and adventures in store for season two.
Crave Online: What is new this season on American Gladiators?
Toa: New gladiators, new events, new arena. It is huge, it is the LA Sports Arena and they dedicated it to us so it is our Gladiator home. It is a lot bigger than the other one. The games are everywhere. We are using every element from the floor to the water to the sky. We are flying all over this arena. The rafters. All the events from last year are bigger as well. The wall is about 20 feet higher. Way more difficult than last year.
Wolf: They're wanting every episode to be different. So every episode there'll be something new popping up, whether it be an event or a gladiator. That way it just keeps it fresh and exciting and something that you're gonna want to tune in for because it's not going to be the same old show every day.
Crave Online: How much time did you get to train on the new events?
Toa: We had a week or two to rehearse the new games and get familiar with them, which is not a lot of time because once you step in and play the game, it is new to us again, because we didn’t get to practice a lot. The new events are really exciting and they are going to be revealed per episode. So I think the two being revealed in the first episode are Rocket Ball and Vertigo. Those are the two new ones you’ll see in the first episode. Rocket Ball, I’m not sure if you’ve heard about that game yet, it is like basketball in outer space. We are racheting up into the rafters and we have to defend against these contenders and we are going toward the same basket in the middle, it is just like basketball, but they are trying to go up there to make a basket and we are going up there to try and collide or knock the ball out of their hand, hopefully collide. When they come back down and run back in push the buttons and do it over again. So the whole time there are four people flying up and down and it is really visually stimulating.
Crave Online: Which show is more hardcore, the original show or the new one?
Wolf: No disrespect to the original gladiators, but I think ours is a little more hardcore. They were tough competitors just the same, but nowadays, we're having to compete against UFC, we're having to compete against so many different other things out there. So I think we're trying to bring it a little harder so we can capture that. Plus, we have a lot of cage fighters on our side now, both on the male and female side. We're all fighters, we're all gladiators. I know some of the original gladiators personally, and they've even said that this show's, especially like the Eliminator, is way tougher than their Eliminator. They're like, "You guys have stepped it up."