TAMPA - NBC announced today that wrestling great Hulk Hogan has signed on to host an updated version of "American Gladiators" that will join the network at midseason.
Hogan has never hosted a reality show but Craig Plestis, an NBC vice president for alternative programming, calls him "an American icon."
"His electrifying personality will no doubt inspire Herculean efforts from our everyday challengers," Plestis said in a news release. "There is no one more qualified to host this program."
Hogan is quoted in the release as saying "Gladiator-mania is gonna be running wild, brother."
Hogan, who grew up in Tampa, has been in the news lately because his 17-year-old son, Nick, wrecked a Toyota Supra in Clearwater, leaving a passenger critically injured.
A longtime resident of the Tampa Bay area, Hogan is a former WWE Champion several times over.
He is the only wrestler ever to be featured on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" and is the star of the VH1 reality series "Hogan Knows Best."
"American Gladiators," which pitted ordinary citizens against muscular players with names such as Nitro, Turbo and Laser, was a hit in the early 1990s.
NBC officials say it will be updated for the 21st century with new technology and twists.
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