By Jason Genegabus

Breakthrough and Conquer.

Hang Tough.

Powerball.

The Eliminator.

If any of those names ring a bell, then you’ll probably also remember Gemini, Nitro, Malibu and Zap from “American Gladiators,” which aired from the late 80’s to the mid-90’s in national syndication.

I remember watching this back in intermediate school when it first came out, wishing I was old enough to strap that silly headgear on and do some damage in the Joust!

Pro wrestling was cool, but as a teenage athlete I was stoked to see average people up against these Hollywood bad boys (and girls) in physical competition that really seemed to mean something.

Looking back now, it was probably the prize money that was the incentive. =P

Anyway. If you don’t remember the program, that YouTube video is a good refresher.

The 2008 version features a dozen new Gladiators, including Toa, pictured above. Locals might recognize him (without all that eyeliner) as the guy who served as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s body double when the former pro wrestler filmed a movie in Hawaii.

Tanoai “Toa” Reed is actually a cousin of Johnson’s, born and raised in the islands and a two-time winner at the World Stunt Awards. Here’s a picture from 2005 when he visited Russell Tanoue’s “Piranha Room” party; Reed is fourth from the left:

Reed joins a lineup that includes a kickboxer, MMA fighter, rodeo bullfighter and a number of bodybuilders. NBC’s publicity stills definitely emphasize his Polynesian background, despite those weird Muay Thai shorts and sneakers he’s been given to wear.

“American Gladiators,” hosted by Hulk Hogan and Layla Ali (what, no Mike Adamle???) debuts at 8 p.m. Jan. 6 on KHNL.

Related Links:
Official NBC Site
American Gladiators Blog
Reality TV Scoop

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2007 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Outside Hawaii, Video, Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.