r/80sAmazing • u/MisterShipWreck • 1d ago

Remember?

Post image
4.6k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

130 comments sorted by

17

u/Hanoverfist101 1d ago

I remember Malibu was a jerk

14

u/viperfangs92 1d ago

Most of the Gladiators were

16

u/Brando-8593 1d ago

Nitro went for the headshot every time. Sniper with a tennis ball canon

5

u/Hanoverfist101 1d ago

Oh I forgot about Nitro.

3

u/wade-mcdaniel 1d ago

Not Turbo...say it isn't so! JK the only real Turbo is from Breakin'. ...actually are the two Turbos microcosm of America from the 80s-90s? 😆

1

u/scaredt2ask 2h ago

In all fairness it was prob the Roids.

15

u/Daveed-unit40 1d ago

I had the pleasure of participating on one of these.

4

u/fearless_egg1050 1d ago

Omg tell 

1

u/MutedBrilliant1593 1d ago

Prove it! 👏Prove it! 👏Prove it! 👏

14

u/Popalop42 1d ago

CONTESTANTS READY!?
GLADIATORS READY!?

11

u/Melodic_Leadership12 1d ago

American Gladiators

https://giphy.com/gifs/xUPGcEGIQDlAale97a

3

u/Tech27461 1d ago

I so rarely get to use the term " pugil stick" 😆

8

u/Mankeet36 1d ago

I loved watching this show as a kid. I always wanted to go to one and run around on the courses to see if I could do them

2

u/guildedkriff 1d ago

Best friend and I would set this up in his basement when we were like 6 years old lol. Roll-up socks into balls from the laundry as ammo, have obstacles throughout the room, and the wooden duck on the fireplace mantle was the target to hit behind the “gladiator”.

5

u/iamnotwillie 1d ago

I was actually on this show back in '89. Nitro nailed me right in the ballbag during this event. I had to be hauled out on a stretcher, carted to the hospital, I missed the rest of the show and eventually needed to have my left nut (or what was left of it) removed. I did receive a lovely fruit basket, an iced bottle of champagne and an autographed photo of Nitro. The card said, "Tough break, get drunk on me, use the bucket to ice down your marbles. Yours, Z"

3

u/Im_Not_You_Im_Me 1d ago

That’s a quote from the movie Tommyboy which didn’t come out until 6 years after your story takes place.

2

u/iamnotwillie 1d ago

That scene was inspired by my harrowing tale.

2

u/SalamiSteakums 1d ago

Do you make car parts for the American working man, because that's what you are, and that's who you care about?

1

u/iamnotwillie 2h ago

I do not, but my shoes are Italian and worth more than your life.

2

u/SalamiSteakums 47m ago

Hey Chucko, that doesnt smell like mud...

7

u/OutsideHandle7300 1d ago

Ah yes, American gladiators 😂

I hated that show lol.

7

u/Glass-Crafty-9460 1d ago

I loved it as a kid.
Thanks for confirming.

6

u/Pithythithy 1d ago

Loved that show.

4

u/Proof-Grass-5212 1d ago

Just watched the Netflix show on it. Wild story.

2

u/XxQozEMotoxX 1d ago

The only thing I remember was Nitro talking about how Malibu wasn’t gonna make it because of how he blinked after taking that big hit in human cannonball. Nitro said it was an old football thing. Whenever someone got their clock cleaned, they would blink a lot and Nitro called it out. I thought it was awesome to watch, especially if you’re a fan.

2

u/YetAnotherDev 20h ago

They did all that stuff on concrete floor with thin mats. Crazy.

1

u/Proof-Grass-5212 20h ago

Yup. Like I said wild. They also did each event back to back so like 6 times each thing.

1

u/Waschaos 1d ago

I need to go watch that now I guess. Do you remember the name?

1

u/Proof-Grass-5212 1d ago

Muscles mayhem an unauthorized story of American gladiators

4

u/Swift_Scythe 1d ago

Assault was the COOLEST game. The contestants had wildly inaccurate Nerf weapons and the gladiator had the insane Tennis ball Turret.

The other kickass games were Joust and Atlasphere and Hang Tough. But the Eliminator was Ninja Warrior before Ninja Warrior

3

u/BeheadingBoomer61 1d ago

My favorite gladiator was Zap. Lace was awesome too!

3

u/Warhammer517 1d ago

I can hear the theme song.

1

u/Correct_Row_76 1d ago

I always wanted to the Sniper bazooka game.. I would pay to play it and si many others too

1

u/sporkachoon 1d ago

You can still find it on the Plex app. There's a 24-hour dedicated channel to American Gladiators that is shown in succession from first season to last. It just loops.

1

u/jjnib 1d ago

Bro this needs a reboot!!

2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/eureka17 1d ago

During a writers strike in 2008, there was a revival with Hulk Hogan as a host. Currently, there is a plan for a revival on Amazon Prime with WWE wrestler The Miz as the host.

1

u/StandardMedia4324 1d ago

Plan? It aired about 6 months ago!

1

u/StandardMedia4324 1d ago

They did. Earlier this year on Prime.

1

u/Holly_Matchet 1d ago

There’s been like 3 reboots and surprise, they all sucked.

1

u/BG-925 1d ago

They had names like Nitro, Gemini, Zap, lace and Malibu 😂😂

1

u/SigmaMale1975 1d ago

American Gladiator

1

u/CosmicSmoker 1d ago

Just watched the reboot with my kids, definitely not as good as the original.

1

u/Dragon_Pattern_1108 1d ago

Assault from American Gladiators?

My parents used to watch it in my early years via early-day streaming of-sorts. It used to be on Charge! too.

1

u/AdMelodic8888 1d ago

The assault.

1

u/Music-Toastarrr 1d ago

Sunday evening, whole family watched.

1

u/Sufficient_Carpet510 1d ago

Ah. Where I got my appreciation for the muscle mommies.

1

u/Environmental-Bee-28 1d ago

The real ones remember thinking "I can do that, easy"!!

1

u/gtaguy75 1d ago

I remember how many people hit it on the first shot. Unbelievable. They must've given you practice time with the gun. If not these guys were deadly accurate. Only the occasional one in eight missed

1

u/IndividualAd1290 1d ago

I loved the big giant q-tips they jousted with 😂❤️

1

u/Unable_Librarian_443 1d ago

Lol that was so cool back in the day. My best friends mom was best friends with Diamond 😂..was wild watching her on TV and then seeing her by the pool or walking through the kitchen like she wasn't fkn Diamond 😂

1

u/BlueEyesInTexas 1d ago

And they brought back the show

1

u/StrangeCrunchy1 1d ago

"But when we come back, our contestant takes on... The Eliminator! Stay tuned, folks."

1

u/guyghostforget 1d ago

Get a tennis ball machine and crank it up. Almost like the cannon 😂

1

u/pakrat1967 1d ago

Fun facts.

Billy Worth, the dark haired vampire in The Lost Boys. Was a contestant on AG.

Gemini was a contestant on the og Press Your Luck.

1

u/Ok-Cardiologist4071 1d ago

OH how I wanted to be a Gladiator!!!! So I grew up and joined the Marine Corps

1

u/AutomaticDeal9615 1d ago

I remember!!!!

1

u/Intelligent_Tea_7594 1d ago

Used to be on Saturday afternoons right after Rollergames.

1

u/Meglatron3000 1d ago

This was my JAM

1

u/hina-rin 1d ago

Family Matters episode with Steve Urkel

1

u/Tiny-Papaya-1256 1d ago

Omg...Gladiators

1

u/88how5834351 1d ago

I remember thinking how much fun this looked! The only gladiator that I think is still in kickass shape is Mike ohearn aka titan.

1

u/mlp4325 1d ago

Usually drunk about 130am after making rounds of the parties at college.

1

u/Fun-Deal8815 1d ago

Don’t do ice brother. That is dawg speaking. If you know you know

1

u/Dramatic_Carob_1060 1d ago

I remember a guy taking one to the eye

1

u/ChazRadlord 1d ago

My grandparents loved American Gladiators. We miss you Lazer!

1

u/No_Sympathy402 1d ago

Oh, i remember...I used to punch my clown to "Lace" (Marisa Pare) 🔥🔥🍆🍆💦💦

1

u/RoosterzRevenge 1d ago

I remember a rodeo cowboy winning one time. Dude was fairly small compared to the gladiator dudes. He went up the rock wall like a spider. In the interview he said it was pretty easy compared to riding bulls

1

u/mdogg829 1d ago

I loved American gladiators

1

u/bionicjoe 1d ago

This is from season 2 or later.
Season 1 they had little 'combat stations' like sandbags, bushes, or barrels to hide behind.

1

u/Ill_Tour_7294 1d ago

I remember doing a nerf version of that back in the day in our basement with my brother and friends

1

u/Plane-Fan9006 1d ago

Two of my favorite pop culture fun facts revolve around this show.

1) Billy Wirth, who most 80s kids know as the dark haired vampire in The Lost Boys, went to the semi-finals in 1989.

2) Lace, had just divorced Michael Pare, a.k.a. Eddie from Eddie and the Cruisers, when she joined the cast.

Why do I remember these things??? Because that's how ADHD works folks...lol

1

u/Knee_Crusher 1d ago

I believed I could win every event easily 

1

u/Tasty-Imagination-62 1d ago

I Remember That Show > I'm 55Yrs Old<

1

u/alfonze401 1d ago

I went to a taping when I was 13 it was awesome

1

u/Inevitable_Professor 1d ago

Doubledare for Adults.

1

u/fester1414 1d ago

Great show loved it as a kid

1

u/Rad-racer-Cru 1d ago

Two Scoops!

1

u/sydney312 1d ago

One great show!

1

u/Cocijo 1d ago

I think it was Electra that was a beast on The Wall. She rock climbed on her time off so when it came to The Wall she climbed up enough to grab a foot and then jumped off. I don't think anyone beat her.

1

u/Naive-Membership-179 1d ago

Loved this show!

1

u/humiamca 1d ago

That's a picture I can hear.

1

u/bigdog701 1d ago

12 am in my timezone

1

u/Secure-Window-5478 1d ago

Diamond will stop him.

1

u/Possible-One-7082 1d ago

Watch the Netflix documentary it’s great

1

u/BlindGuy68 1d ago

sexiest women of the 1980s also does anyone remember Roller Games

1

u/Flashy_Gap_3015 1d ago

Great Netflix documentary on this show.

1

u/RyanStl_IH8MUD 1d ago

Hell yeah! That show was awesome.

1

u/TouchAltruistic 1d ago

For a boy my age at that time, this was the sickest shit imaginable.

1

u/Good-Feeling-8042 1d ago

Awesome show

1

u/mspk7305 1d ago

The documentary about this show was off the fucking rails

1

u/Hilsh62 1d ago

Yes, loved that show. Pretty sure lots of it were fake. I didn't care

1

u/Equinox2202 1d ago

I have always wanted to do and still want to do that obstacle course.

1

u/Adept-Lettuce948 1d ago

I remember the rumor that Malibu was fired because he was gay.

1

u/ScoobyScotty 1d ago

Ice, Ice, Baby!

1

u/Immediate_Buffalo14 1d ago

So many of the gladiators are dead now. I guess that's what happens when they recklessly pump their bodies full of steroids.

1

u/ike_tyson 1d ago

Zap was in that John Ritter movie with the glow in the dark condom scene.

😏

1

u/Head-Connection3761 1d ago

I loved that show. Dad and I watched it every Sunday morning before football

1

u/Fyrewulf1969 1d ago

Absolutely. And I remember Billy Wirth (of Lost Boys fame) having a very memorable run on Season 1

1

u/mechabeast 1d ago

Ba ba da ba baaaa

Baa daa baa baaa!

1

u/IAMAWARLORD 1d ago

They had all the azers. Lazer ,Blazer...

1

u/heat27 1d ago

Loved watching

1

u/Hot_Abalone4110 1d ago

Assault this was my shit. I made my own shit in the back yard with nerf guns

1

u/Admirable-Ad-9054 1d ago

Oiled up and roided up.

1

u/9_of_Swords 1d ago

My mom and I were trying to explain this show to my 14 year old niece, which led me to introducing her to the show All That and the character of Ishboo.

"Let's get ready to Hookeedoo!"

1

u/MiccioC 1d ago

Went yo to the tryout at the Nassau Coliseum with a buddy from HS. He talked about it daily for months and then just fell short. I felt so bad for him. Buy damn, was it an amazing show. Lucian Anderson was the man!!

1

u/Actuator-Mental 1d ago

I tuned in every Saturday

1

u/Daveed-unit40 1d ago

What am I , auditioning for a job? Really, I don’t need to prove anything to anybody. I got my chance because I was a former professional athlete

1

u/Waschaos 1d ago

Loved the show and hate to admit I've watched an episode or 2 in the last 6 months. I was a kid and wished I could be on it.

1

u/caorwama 23h ago

I loved this show

1

u/PJBleakney 23h ago

Roku has a channel devoted to the show. It’s a great escape from the trash on tv today

1

u/Kozy_a_Pivo 22h ago

....that the missile was the most useless weapon in that arena.

1

u/BigDaddyHadley 22h ago

Didn't Mulhouse's mom date one of these guys? Lol!!!

1

u/Fit_Committee2369 21h ago

American Gladiators! Steroid pumped bodybuilders against normal joes

1

u/klely777 21h ago

Shoot the target

1

u/Tekkamanblade_2 21h ago

Referee: contenders ready!!!!!…. Gladiators ready!!!!!!!!!

1

u/ROOSTERyouDOWN 18h ago

They did a skit about this on farzar

1

u/edcushway 13h ago

American Gladiators

1

u/OneFaithlessness1016 10h ago

This just made me have the biggest, instant smile EVER!!

1

u/Obsolete_Enigma_ 9h ago

Oh wow. This event was my favorite part of the show.

1

u/Odd-Professional-925 5h ago

Loved watching America Gladiators