Are Sha-ri Pendleton and Rodney Mitchell Still Together? We discuss the 2023 Netflix series Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators.
The late eighties was a funny old time for television. Situational comedies were incredibly popular, with Seinfeld and Married With Children pulling in incredible viewing figures.
We also had The Simpsons and Twin Peaks to contend with, so you can’t say anything about networks not taking chances.
Somewhere in the middle of all this was American Gladiators.
Running from 1989 to 1996, the show was a mix of reality TV and game show, featuring a cast of Gladiators that looked like real-life superheroes, with codenames, costumes, and characters that would win the hearts and minds of fans worldwide.
The show would launch an international franchise, and every week; we would thrill to the sight of hopeful athletic contestants, pitting their brain and brawn, usually brawn, against the Gladiators, in a modern-day Coliseum filled with lots of nets, ropes, and spandex.
Netflix has managed to produce an unauthorized five-episode deep dive into the show (Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators) that explores the incredible phenomena of the show, with interviews with the Gladiators themselves.
This article will summarize two of the cast as we explore are Sha-Ri Pendleton and Rodney Mitchell, still together.
Who are Sha-ri Pendleton and Rodney Mitchell?
Sha-ri played the role of Blaze in the show American Gladiators. Born in 1963, her sporting background involved javelin throwing and hurdling, and she also aspired to be a bodybuilder.
Sha-ri would also dip her toes into acting, appearing in several TV shows, including Renegade and The Enemy Within.
Rodney had been a Marine and also a professional bodybuilder.
He would appear in another similarly themed show called Knights and Warriors, where he would go by the code name Knightmare, but this show would not attain anywhere near the prestige of American Gladiators.
Although he never became an actor, Rodney’s father would be involved with cinema, appearing in The General’s Daughter and Alien: Resurrection.
How did Sha-ri Pendleton and Rodney Mitchell meet?
Sha-ri was looking for some tips on the jousting part of the show and contacted Rodney, a Marine at the time who had helped other Gladiators on the show, to ask for some coaching. The pair would get together and, despite initial antagonism, discover they had a connection that led to them dating.
This would eventually lead to their marriage in 1991.
Are Sha-ri Pendleton and Rodney Mitchell Together?
Yes, the couple are still together. Sha-ri and Rodney live in Corona, California.
Sha-ri now works in education and teaches maths, but is still active in sports, coaching track.
Who is Re-al Mitchell?
Re-al is the son of Sha-ri and Rodney. He has an older sister Jazmeen, who is a 400 runner at La Verne Lutheran and now attending Chapman College.
The couple seems to have passed their athleticism to their son and daughter.
Re-al is a quarterback on the University of San Diego football team and has also excelled in sprints.
He has run the state’s fastest times by a sophomore in the 100 and 200 meters, with 10.76 and 21.70 seconds.
