The second season of the 2008 American Gladiators revival premiered on April 12, 2008, and concluded on August 4 of the same year, airing on NBC in the United States and Citytv in Canada.
Format Season 2 of the revival featured 40 contenders (20 male, 20 female) as opposed to the first season featuring 24 (12 male, 12 female). Men and women compete in separate tournaments, with two men and two women competing in each episode. In each episode, contenders take part in several events against the Gladiators, trying to earn as many points as possible before the final event, the Eliminator. Each point separating the contenders translates into a half-second advantage for the leader (or a half-second handicap for the trailing contender). Preliminary round matches consisted of six events plus the Eliminator (by comparison, the original series had either six or seven events plus the Eliminator). However, during the two-hour season premiere, the contenders only participated in four events before competing in the Eliminator in both heats.
The six male contenders and the six female contenders who won their respective preliminary matches with the fastest Eliminator times advanced to the semifinals. Unlike the first season, there are now three semifinal rounds, and only the two winning male and two winning female contenders with the fastest Eliminator times qualify for the finals.
The grand prize was $100,000 and a 2008 Toyota Sequoia.
Gladiators Returning Gladiators Females Males Gladiator Name Birth Name Height & Weight Gladiator Name Birth Name Height & Weight Crush Gina Carano 5'8", 150 lbs (1.70 m, 68 kg) Justice Jesse "Justice" Smith Jr. 6'8", 290 lbs (2.03 m, 131 kg) Hellga Robin Coleman 6'1", 205 lbs (1.83 m, 93 kg) Militia Alex Castro 6'3", 220 lbs (1.88 m, 99.7 kg) Siren Valerie Waugaman 5'9", 145 lbs (1.73 m, 66 kg) Titan Michael O'Hearn 6'3", 263 lbs (1.91 m, 119 kg) Venom Beth Horn 5'8", 137 lbs (1.70 m, 62 kg) Toa Tanoai Reed 6'3", 240 lbs (1.91 m, 108 kg) Wolf Don "Hollywood" Yates 6'4", 225 lbs (1.94 m, 102 kg)
New Gladiators Females Males Gladiator Name Birth Name Height & Weight Gladiator Name Birth Name Height & Weight Jet Monica Carlson 5'7", 120 lbs (1.68 m, 59 kg) Rocket Evan Dollard 5'10", 160 lbs (1.75 m, 72 kg) Panther Corinne van Ryck de Groot 5'5", 125 lbs (1.63m, 57 kg) Hurricane Breaux Greer 6'2", 230 lbs (1.85 m, 104 kg) Phoenix Jennifer Widerstrom 5'7", 153 lbs (1.67 m, 68 kg) Zen Xin Wuku 5'9", 160 lbs (1.73 m, 72 kg) Steel Erin Toughill 5'10", 156 lbs (1.75 m, 73 kg) Beast Matt Morgan 7'0", 310 lbs (2.13 m, 140 kg)
Reserves Females Males Gladiator Name Birth Name Gladiator Name Birth Name Blast Jennifer Barry Hammer Michael Briehler
Contenders Female contenders Contender Name Height & Weight Occupation QuarterfinalsSemifinals Finals Heat Result Heat Result Ally Davidson 5'6", 126 lbs Sales Rep 7 1st 1 Advanced Winner Tiffaney Florentine 5'1", 122 lbs Business Consultant 4 2nd 2 Advanced Abbe Dorn 5'6", 152 lbs Denver Police Officer 3 3rd 3 3rd Lillian Thomassen 5'9", 150 lbs Concrete Artist 6 5th 2 Eliminated Vanessa Warren 5'2", 119 lbs U.S. Air Force Major 2 6th 1 Eliminated Annie Castellano 4'11", 108 lbs College Student 9 4th 3 Eliminated Rochelle Gilken 4'11", 113 lbs Crime Reporter 5 7th Patti Franklin 5'4", 125 lbs Nurse 8 8th Tatum Yount 5'2", 122 lbs Advertising Sales Rep 10 9th Melissa Trinidad 5'1", 111 lbs Martial Arts Instructor 1 10th Adriana Posadas 5'7", 145 lbs College Student 10 Eliminated Yoko Ohigashi 5'0", 115 lbs Investment Broker 9 Eliminated Jessica Garcia 4'11", 106 lbs Cheerleading Coach 8 Eliminated Kendra Sirignano 5'7", 126 lbs Social Worker 7 Eliminated Clinessa Burch 5'8", 143 lbs Concrete Business Owner 6 Eliminated Chuanda Mason 5'5", 113 lbs Mother 5 Eliminated De Day 5'3", 115 lbs Business Owner 4 Eliminated Vicki Ferrari 5'3", 124 lbs Denver Police Officer 3 Eliminated Nikki Smith 5'7", 141 lbs 6th Grade Teacher 2 Eliminated Elena Maskalik 5'6", 143 lbs Fire Fighter 1 Eliminated Nikki Key 5'6", 138 lbs Bartender 2 Injured
Male contenders Contender Name Height & Weight Occupation QuarterfinalsSemifinals Finals Heat Result Heat Result Tim Oliphant 5'11", 147 lbs Camp Media Director 9 1st 1 Advanced Winner Mike Gamble 6'0", 160 lbs Dancer 6 3rd 3 Advanced James Ruggiero 6'1", 216 lbs English Teacher 8 5rd 2 3rd Jeff Davidson 5'10", 160 lbs Financial Advisor 7 2nd 2 Eliminated Randee Haynes 5'8", 175 lbs Construction Worker 1 4th 3 Eliminated Brick Reilly 5'10", 165 lbs NJ Dept. of Public Works 4 7th 1 Eliminated Alexander Coates 6'0", 210 lbs Mortgage Consultant 10 6th 1 Injured Tony Tolbert 5'10", 150 lbs Science Teacher 5 8th Gerry Garcia 5'5", 157 lbs Special Ed. Teacher 2 9th Melvin Davis 5'10", 203 lbs Chicago Police Officer 3 10th Anthony Pagnotta 5'11", 161 lbs NYPD Detective 10 Eliminated Alejandro Soto 5'8", 160 lbs Marine Mammal Trainer 9 Eliminated Sean Hetherington 5'9", 169 lbs Personal Trainer 8 Eliminated Aaron Simpson 6'0", 193 lbs Wrestling Coach 7 Eliminated Adam Hill 6'0", 167 lbs ER Doctor 6 Eliminated Landon Jones 6'2", 216 lbs Medical Device Salesman 5 Eliminated Toby Gordin 5'9", 200 lbs Grocery Store Owner 4 Eliminated David Moore 5'11", 215 lbs Chicago Police Officer 3 Eliminated John Siciliano 5'7", 155 lbs Prosthetic Manufacturer 2 Eliminated Jay Martinez 6'0", 191 lbs S.W.A.T. Officer 1 Eliminated
Events Returning Events Assault In Assault, the turret for the second station no longer moves side to side, and a bazooka was added for the third station. Contenders no longer have to fish in the sand for an arrow or load any of the weapons with the exception of the slingshot. If a ball fired by the gladiator bounces off the floor before hitting the contender, the hit does not count.
Earthquake In Earthquake, the contender and Gladiator wrestle on a platform that is suspended above the pool, rather than over the floor as in the first season. If the Contender takes the Gladiator off the platform, he or she is declared the winner, even if he or she also comes down in the process. A Contender gets 10 points if he or she pulls the Gladiator down, and 5 points if he or she lasts the entire 30 seconds. Holding on to the wires supporting the Earthquake ring is legal, but kicking or otherwise using the foot to remove the Contender from the ring is not. The event is similar in concept to the "Conquer", part of the "Breakthrough and Conquer" event from the original series.
Gauntlet In the quarterfinals, the rules of Gauntlet remained largely the same as the first season. However, during the semifinals, the rules reverted to ones similar to those used in the original US version: contenders earn 10 points for completing the Gauntlet in under 20 seconds, or 5 for doing so within the 30-second limit.
Hang Tough The rules for Hang Tough are largely the same as in the first season, except the course has been lengthened and the scoring rings are blue instead of red.
Hit & Run Hit & Run remains largely the same as in the first season.
Joust Joust remains largely the same as in the first season.
Powerball In Powerball, caps have been added to the scoring pods to narrow the opening and prevent the contenders from scoring by shooting the ball and the course has been enlarged. Points scored from in outer pods are now worth one point rather than two and points scored in the inner pod are now worth two points rather than three.
Pyramid Pyramid remains largely the same as in the first season.
The Wall In The Wall, the height of the wall was raised to 50 feet, and each contender raced up a separate wall. Contenders and Gladiators cross floating platforms to reach the Wall (the same platforms were used at the beginning of the Eliminator in Season 1). Once the Gladiators begin their pursuit, the platforms are retracted. Contenders that are pulled or fall from the Wall drop into the water. Unlike previous editions, however, contenders earn 5 points if they are still on the Wall when the 60-second time limit expires.
New Events Rocketball In Rocketball, two Gladiators and two contenders begin the match at the corners of the arena. When each competitor presses a button, they are launched via their harnesses into the air toward two goals at the center of the arena. The contenders try to score by throwing balls into the goals, while the Gladiators play defense. Goals in the lower basket are worth 1 point, while goals in the upper basket are worth 2. The event is similar to an inverted version of the original series event Swingshot.
Sideswipe Sideswipe features a series of five platforms, similar in size to those used in Joust. Each end platform has a "bullseye" target, and colored balls attached to the base. The contenders have 60 seconds to pull a ball off one platform, race across the five platforms, and place the ball in the target at the other end; each ball placed in the target earns one point. As in Hit and Run, the Gladiators try to end the event early by knocking the contender into the water. In Sideswipe, though, the Gladiators themselves are the projectiles, swinging on ropes to try to hit the contender.
Skytrack The 2008 revival uses the UK rules of Skytrack. The two contenders race around one lap suspended upside down from a figure 8 track hanging from the ceiling of the arena. They are chased by two Gladiators, whose goal is to pull a ripcord being trailed by the Contenders. If the Gladiator pulls the ripcord, the contender is released from their carriage and is eliminated from the race. The first contender to cross the finish line earns 10 points whereas the second contender to do so earns 5 points. The contenders also face a time limit of 60 seconds. The Gladiators start further away from the contenders so they can have a fair match.
Snapback The 2008 version of Snapback is very different from the event of the same name in the original series.Snapback – from nbc.com In the new version, each contender is connected by a bungee cord to a Gladiator, who stands on a platform behind a 50-foot-long lane. The contenders race toward red buttons at the end of their lanes while the Gladiators resist by pulling back on their bungee lines. Contenders can earn 2, 4, 6, or 8 points based on their progress down the lane when time expires. If they reach the red button at the end of their lane, they earn 10 points and launch their Gladiator into the air (but not into the pool, as in Assault); both contenders can earn 10 points.
Tilt The rules of Tilt, which is originally from the UK version, are similar to Tug-O-War from the original run of American Gladiators. The Contender and Gladiator begin each match on a platform situated above the pool. The Gladiator's platform is higher than the contender's and is tilted forward. The Contender's platform is tilted backwards to start the match. 5 points are awarded if the Contender can remain on the platform for the entire 30 seconds. The Contender can earn 10 points if they can pull the Gladiator off the platform and into the water. The rope is attached to both Contender and Gladiator by a harness, which removes the possibility of losing by letting go of the rope.
Vertigo In Vertigo, which was first introduced in the UK version, the contender and Gladiator race across a course of seven flexible poles with handholds and platforms. The game begins with both competitors racing up a laddered pole. Upon reaching the top, they must then sway their pole towards the next, crossing onto it. The winner is the first to complete the course, grabbing a large hoop at the end to return to the ground. Contenders earn 10 points if they beat the Gladiator, or 5 if they reach the scoring zone (the fifth pole or beyond) if the Gladiator wins.
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