American Gladiators is an American TV competition series based on the original American Gladiators. It is aired on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories, and is being hosted by WWE SmackDown wrestler Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.
Filming for the first two seasons occurred during Summer 2025 at Aren'Ice in Cergy, France, the first time American Gladiators is filmed entirely outside of its national borders. The first season of the series premiered on April 17, 2026.
Each episode features 4 everyday contestants (2 male Contenders and 2 female Contenders) battling for a $100,000 grand prize at the end of the season and the title of American Gladiator Champion.
The 10-part first season aired across three weeks exclusively on Prime Video.
Contents
Background
In April 2024, it was reported the creator of the original American Gladiators brand, John Ferraro, had signed Range Sports as a representative to develop new "TV, film, attractions, merchandise and live events" within the American Gladiators franchise. This decision was accelerated by the success of the British reboot of Gladiators on BBC One, which reached nearly 10 million viewers in total during its first series and was quickly renewed for its second and third series.
In June 2024, it was officially reported that the reboot, produced by Amazon MGM Studios, had been ordered by Prime Video, and set to air in over 200 countries worldwide. In May 2025, it was announced that professional wrestler and presenter Mike "The Miz" Mizanin would host the reboot, which was filmed in summer 2025 near Paris, France, in front of a French audience of approximately 3,000.
On June 12, 2025, it was reported that The Miz would be joined by Rocsi Diaz as sideline reporter and play-by-play commentator Chris Rose. Simultaneously, the full roster of 16 Gladiators was officially revealed. The action on the arena will be overseen by the Head referee, Wisconsin-based professional boxing referee Thomas "Tom" Taylor.
Format
Signs of a possible American reboot of the franchise were seen after the hit success of the BBC's reboot of their British adaptation, Gladiators, which has already been commissioned for a fourth series by Spring 2026.
The show's format follows the premise of the previous iterations of American Gladiators, wherein ordinary members of the public, or Contenders, battle against elite athletes, known as Gladiators, in a set of physically demanding events requiring strength, stamina and speed. Season 1 of the revival features 24 contenders going up against the 16 resident Gladiators of the show, in an elimination format consisting of preliminary heats, semi-finals and finals. The contenders first have to gain points in three events that transfer to an advantage for the final round, The Eliminator, at the end of each episode.
The contenders ultimately battle it out for the grand prize of $100,000, which only one male and one female contender earn at the end of the season.
Cast and crew
Presenters
Mike "The Miz" Mizanin is the host. Known from appearing weekly on the WWE's SmackDown brand under the ring name "The Miz".
Rocsi Diaz serves as the sideline reporter & co-host, explaining the events rules and Gladiator statistics alongside The Miz.
The Gladiators
The cast of Gladiators include professional wrestlers, bodybuilders, CrossFit as well as former D1 athletes.
On June 11, 2025, the first two male Gladiators of the lineup were revealed as former WWE wrestler Eric Bugenhagen, and former 2 time TNA world tag team champion, and star of Big Brother and House of Villains Jessie Godderz. On June 12, the rest of the total 16-strong roster were first revealed by Prime Video and The Hollywood Reporter. The rest of the Gladiators include Texas-born CrossFit Games champion Dani Speegle.
The Referees
Wisconsin-born Thomas "Tom" Taylor serves as the Main referee, alongside referees Robin Delorenzo and Mike Sydara.
Commentator
Chris Rose, known as being a long-term announcer on NFL and many game shows like BattleBots is the commentator, announcing the action live from the arena.
Events
The rebooted series of American Gladiators will see the return of many classical events such as "Atlasphere", "Gauntlet", "Hang Tough" and "Joust", as well as addition of some brand-new events to the American format. Each episode is set to culminate with "The Eliminator" obstacle course ending with the iconic "Travelator".
Season 1 Main Events
American Gladiators classic Atlasphere is returning, featuring contestants versus Gladiators in big metal "spheres", with the contestants' objective of scoring as many points as possible by rolling over several scoring pods across the arena floor.
A modified version of Atlasphere, coming from the British Gladiators reboot. Crash Course is a 2-lap race to the finish line with gladiators in the contestants' way. Winner gets 10 points and Runner-up gets 5, as long as the Runner-up crosses the finish line before time is up. Once a winner is declared, the runner-up must complete the course 10 seconds after their opponent wins or no points are rewarded.
In this brand new event taken from the BBC revival, the Contender has just 60 seconds to try to cross a giant suspension bridge and put as many colored balls into two baskets on the platforms with each shot made worth two points with a maximum 10 points if the Contender can make 5 successful shots, while four Gladiators are trying to knock them off the bridge by swinging on their trapezes from two separate platforms on the sides of the bridge.
Another classic, The Gauntlet, sees each contestant trying to get past a group of 4 Gladiators each in a Zone armed with foam weapons in a narrow, "gauntlet" shaped running track. Each zone the contender clears is worth 2 points and reaching the end point of the track awards an additional 2 points for a maximum score of 10 points. In the Semi-Finals, as a "Level Up" special, a fifth gladiator is added to the competition, upon reaching the 'Impact Zone', the competitor must get the Gladiator to step out of the zone for an additional 3 points before time runs out.
This classic sees the contestant and the Gladiator start from opposite platforms, swinging using gymnastics rings. The aim for the contestant is to get to the Gladiator's platform to claim full points, while this is trying to remove the contestant off the rings. 10 points if the contender gets to the opposite podium, and zero if they get caught by the Gladiator. 5 points for staying in the scoring zone.
A true American Gladiators classic in which the Contender must try knock the Gladiator down from the podium using a pugil stick in a head-to-head combat with the Gladiator, who is attempting to do the same thing to the Contender. 10 points are awarded if the Contender removes the Gladiator or if the Gladiator crosses over and steps on the Contender's platform, 5 points are awarded if the Contender can last the entire 60 seconds without dropping and no points if the Gladiator removes the Contender.
The Eliminator
The final legendary game at the end of each episode, an obstacle course determining the advancing/winning contestants. A race through demanding obstacle course of balance beams and cargo nets, ending with "The Travelator", known from the UK version.
Episodes
Results
Heat 1
Female Gladiators: Blaze, Crush, Empire, Huntress & Hurricane
Male Gladiators: Eagle, Fang, Mayhem, Neon & Steel
Notes
Heat 2
Female Gladiators: Blaze, Crush, Empire, Huntress, Hurricane & Voltage
Male Gladiators: Ace, The Bull, Eagle, Mayhem, Neon & Steel
Heat 3
Female Gladiators: Crush, Empire, Huntress, Hurricane & Voltage
Male Gladiators: Ace, The Bull, Mayhem, Neon & Steel
Notes
Heat 4
Female Gladiators: Blaze, Crush, Empire, Huntress, Hurricane & Voltage
Male Gladiators: Ace, The Bull, Eagle, Mayhem, Neon & Steel
Notes
Heat 5
Female Gladiators: Blaze, Crush, Empire, Huntress, Hurricane & Voltage
Male Gladiators: Ace, The Bull, Eagle, Fang, Mayhem & Steel
Notes
Heat 6
Female Gladiators: Crush, Empire, Huntress, Hurricane & Voltage
Male Gladiators: The Bull, Mayhem, Neon & Steel
Notes
Semi-final 1
Female Gladiators: Blaze, Crush, Empire, Hurricane & Supernova
Male Gladiators: Ace, The Bull, Eagle, Fang & Mayhem
Notes
Semi-final 2
Female Gladiators: Blaze, Crush, Empire, Huntress, Hurricane, Supernova & Voltage
Male Gladiators: Ace, The Bull, Eagle, Fang, Lightning, Mayhem & Neon
Notes
Semi-final 3
Female Gladiators: Crush, Empire, Huntress, Hurricane & Striker
Male Gladiators: Ace, Fang, Lightning, Mayhem, Neon & Steel
Notes
Final
Female Gladiators: Blaze, Crush, Hurricane, Striker & Voltage
Male Gladiators: The Bull, Eagle, Fang, Lightning, Mayhem, Neon & Steel
Notes