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What strikes me about this sort of thing is how much regional variation in gladiatorial combat there was. The 'official' standards may have been set in Rome or Capua, but archeology in places like Ephesus has shown how classes and matches varied. I understand that in Britain there was a variation for a while where defeated fighters were beheaded. Haven't seen that sort of thing elsewhere, and the archaeologists concerned linked it to possible slaves brought in from the Balkans, which means the behaviour isn't foisted upon fighters but was allowed as part of their ethnic heritage. It's suprising how much of this sort of cosmopolitan accretion occurred - which as I've often argued - means that 'Romanisation' was not as all encompassing as usually assumed.