>>10830609You're a dumb fucking faggot
Gladiators definitely used tricks because the arenas in all major cities were open literally every fucking day almost all fucking day long, so if they were fighting to death every single time, slave owning promoters would go out of business in two fucking weeks. Retard.
There are primary sources talking about dulled weapons, pigs bladder filled with animal blood hidden beneath clothing to simulate deadly blows, and in many way, in the daily fights, gladiators were essentially wrestling a hardcore match. They could blade each other professionally to get good juice while not inflicting incapacitating blows, etc.
Of course there were often big events were they were really fighting to death, usually when the emperor showed up and paid for it or other important games were thrown.
Gladiators also weren't Romans. All of them during the early imperial era were slaves, often subdued enemy soldiers from all the people conquered by Rome. Even during the mid imperial era, when slaves became rarer and much more expensive, gladiators were almost never born in Rome. Gladiators were ranked among the lowest rungs of society with actors and prostitutes. If a free citizen had no money, no education and could do nothing but beat something with a stick, he would die of dysentery in a legionary camp rather than go fight in the arena.
The exception being Commodus, the bloodthirsty Vince McMahon of ancient Rome and that guy must have cut the best promos of all times in between clubbing cripples and midgets to death for everyone to see
