BY DAVID KRONKE >TV CRITIC

If you're considering being a contestant on NBC's new "American Gladiators," it might help if you have a death wish.

"The contenders are feisty people," says "Gladiators" co-host (with Hulk Hogan) Laila Ali, daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali and a champion boxer herself. "They're not, `Oh, I'm going to try my best'; they're talking smack. They're (saying), `I'm going to take her down!"'

And doing that, to put it mildly, is not a good idea.

Justice Smith, whose Gladiator moniker is Justice and who is an imposing 6-foot-8, 290 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan, says contestant trash-talking "makes you go even harder. We do want to stop them, but if they talk smack, we want to smash them."

Alex Castro, a former Marine and Cirque du Soleil acrobat who goes by Militia on the show, recalls that when one contestant got chippy with him, "I came up to him, and I cannot tell you what I told him. And then he just changed; he said, `Just please don't break my glasses."'

And Don Yates, whose mane amply explains his nickname Wolf, and about whom another Gladiator says, "He's just a mean bastard," proves it when he says of a taunter, "I'm not just going to embarrass you on national TV. I'm going to hurt you, and for the rest of your life, whenever you hear the name `Wolf,' you will cry."

So the new "American Gladiators" - or, as Mike O'Hearn, or in "AG" parlance, Titan, calls it, "`American Idol' with muscles" - is clearly aimed at the extreme-sports generation. It's a pumped-up version of the syndicated series that ran on TV from 1989-97.

In the original version, the Gladiators sported goofily colorful spandex costumes and bore names like Zap, Laser, Turbo, Gemini and Lace.

Today's Gladiator's come with swaggering appellations like Crush, Venom and Fury - and those are just the women.

Hogan says that, at his suggestion, the new version of the show will emphasize the Gladiator's rebellious persona more than the old series did.

"That's an element of the show that's going to snowball," he says. "There's an opportunity for these guys to turn into larger-than-life characters. It's a lot like character development with these guys; they all have different personalities. They're coming out of their shell. Wolf came out first - the wolf thing, he acted like a wolf; he did his hair.

"With the outfits and their characters, that's a huge part of making the show a success. If they step up to the plate, they'll all develop their own fan bases," he adds.

For their part, the Gladiators are a little bemused by those skimpy outfits that define their personalities.

"It's been an adjustment," concedes Valerie Waugaman, (battle name: Siren) who competes in a silver bra and shorts with crimson accents.

Castro, whose Militia costume is anything but military-issue (tight shorts with a gun-metal gray strap traversing his pecs), says, "I saw it and said, `That's it?"' (Castro may be being a little disingenuous here, as it was reported that in addition to the Marines and Cirque du Soleil, he's also spent some time in the porn industry, which requires even less costuming than his short-shorts.)

Robin Coleman, who as Hellga, fells foes in a tight black top and silver miniskirt, boasts, "I'm a bad woman in a little dress."

Gina Carano (Crush) admits, "There have been a couple of wardrobe malfunctions."

Beth Horn, whose Venom costume of silver bra and shorts are connected by a strap snaking up her abs, recalls, "My first malfunction was on the `Today' show. I was doing the rings (challenge) and pulling up my bra at the same time. One time Wolf was going up the Pyramid and his pants split."

As crowd-pleasing as the Gladiators promise to be, Ali says that viewers will be taken by the backgrounds of the contestants vying for the $100,000 prize, as well.

"There's one guy whose mom was in Iraq, and he wants to help retire her with the money - you're just rooting for him to win," Ali says.

"I'm always rooting for the contender against the Gladiator. I'm like, `Why can't everyone get a prize?"'

David Kronke, (818) 713-3638; david.kronke@dailynews.com

www.insidesocal.com/tv

AMERICAN GLADIATORS

>What: Network revival of the syndicated series pitting contestants against buff champions in physical challenges.

\>Where: NBC (Channel 4).

\>When: 9 tonight; thereafter, 8 p.m. Monday.