@Steven
People who trained as gladiators also played dice. Does that make it a gladiatorial game? :)
Seriously, gladiatorial games= ludi gladiatorii were a separate thing from venationes or ad bestias (death sentences by wild animals). You're thinking more in general of ludi circenses= arena games.
And yes, there were other classes, but the point is that the games were highly formalized, except for very special events, and that opponents were paired. They were not the "free for all" massacres shown in movies, and that was where all this conversation started.
As for emperors "fighting as gladiators", that was akin to a celebrity throwing the first ball in baseball: going in the arena clothed as a gladiator and putting up a fight against wooden swords. It was also despised because gladiators were highly frowned upon, much like actors.
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