The American Gladiators franchise has seen quite a few reboots throughout its time on television. Now its latest iteration will have involvement from an unlikely source…the WWE.
According to Peter White of Deadline, MGM will be partnering with WWE for the upcoming reboot of American Gladiators. The show will actually feature WWE Superstars in the roles of the Gladiators. (Where’s Braun Strowman when you need him?)
The connection between the two brands isn’t totally out of nowhere, as original Gladiators announcer Mike Adamle had a brief run with WWE in 2008, appearing as an interviewer and General Manager of the RAW brand, as well as the play-by-play commentator for the ECW brand. That same year, American Gladiators was brought back by NBC for a revival run with Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali as hosts.
White reports that WWE and MGM will serve as executive producers on the project. Stating that Mark Burnett (current Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group) and his team are in the process of pitching the rebooted series to a variety of broadcasters and platforms. No potential broadcasters or platforms were listed in the report.
The timing of this reboot certainly isn’t a coincidence because Deadline also reported earlier this year that ESPN was in the process of producing a 30 For 30 documentary on American Gladiators in the near future. The pairing of the30 For 30 documentary alongside the reboot sounds like the perfect recipe to thrust American Gladiators back into the national spotlight.
Are you excited about the upcoming reboot of American Gladiators? Do you think that WWE’s involvement will benefit or hurt the production? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
