No longer the tallest Gladiator, the still imposing 6′8″ mountain of a man, Justice, sat down for an interview with the New Jersey newspaper, The Leader, recently. Since Wolf, Titan and Crush grabbed all of the attention in Season 1, little is known about this behemoth. He does open up for this reporter as you will learn a little bit of the personal side of Jesse “Justice” Smith.

Wow!!! That’s what you say when you are blown away by the amazing body of the newest gladiator, Phoenix. Our friends at MonstersandCritics.com got a chance to sit down with some of the Gladiators at a breakfast junket recently in stories part one and part two. Besides learning what has Hulk’s interest and what the Gladiators eat regularly, they got to snap a few pictures. And did they deliver! Part two of the story has several photos of Toa, Wolf and our new favorite Phoenix. You’ll notice she goes from the girl next door in the first photo to the smokin’ girl next door by the third picture. Enjoy! This season looks like the Gladiators have stepped up the beauty!

In what looked like a sure thing has now turned into a distant memory. Matt Morgan of TNA fame could not agree on a contract with NBC to become a Gladiator afterall. Thus leaving him off the card for AG Season 2. Apparently, according to the story from WrestlingObserver.com and Prowrestling.net, NBC wanted to lock Matt up to a 6 year deal and he wasn’t having any of that. You can continue to get your fill of Morgan wrestling it up on TNA for the immediate future.

If you missed Episode 7 don’t worry NBC has you covered with a two-minute recap of the show. You missed an exciting Men’s Eliminator and a dominating women’s performance. Click play above to watch the recap. Enjoy…

Canmag.com authored a story awhile back on Valerie Waugaman’s (aka Siren’s) experience as a gladiator during the show’s filming.  Although the show has turned into a mega-hit with audiences and many of us have ultimately gazed at Siren’s beauty, there’s still some amusing anecdotes about the Gladiators comraderie to be found.  Plus it doesn’t hurt to look at this beautiful creature one more time.

For those of you who are Mike O’Hearn (aka Titan) fans, emorywheel.com has put together a background story titled the “Renaissance Muscleman.”  It goes down a little bit of an editorial rant at the end but it does shed some more light on Mr. O’Hearn’s life leading up to his American Gladiators gig.

According to 411mania.com, the popular MMA fighter Gina Carano (aka Crush) is choosing to protect her facial asset and she will not be participating in the upcoming February 16th EliteXC card.  There are many rumors flying around about disagreements between Carano’s camp and Elite XC officials but as long as she is a favorite gladiator, NBC will most likely apply pressure for her to stay out of the ring.  She’s become an asset to NBC and they want to protect their investment.  Couple that with other prime-time opportunities and it may be awhile before she puts her face at risk again in a fight.

According to Access Hollywood, the original American Gladiator cast did more than just handle a pugile stick each week on TV. Laser, Sabre, Ice and more reveal insider information including a never before revealed secret about one of the cast members’ lifestyle preference.

After leveraging ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”, Laila Ali has apparently parlayed her new gig at American Gladiators into an even newer gig at CBS as she continues to cross-network herself. According to Shelley Ross, senior executive producer of the “The Early Show” broadcast, “Laila has a unique skill set that I’ve come across in broadcast news.” He continues, “She has been a dedicated educator and author in areas of heath and fitness. She has a spiritual side, while being a fearless competitor. She’s a great addition to the The Early Show team.”

The appointment is effective immediately. Ali will report on health and fitness topics.

American Gladiators has caught the eye of mainstream sports giant ESPN, well, their Page 2 section at least.  Lead columnist Bill Simmons must have been too busy, too afraid or maybe just too smart as 5′9″ writer Sam Alipour was sent to Stage 30 at Sony Pictures Studios to experience the behind the scenes action of AG. 

Check out video evidence of this weekend warrior’s encounter with childhood hero Hulk Hogan and the beatings he receives from 6′8″ Justice on the Pyramid and the sexy MMA pro, Crush, on the joust podium.  He also provides a humorous account of his visit as well in his column.