Think of it - a crowd of hundreds, chanting your name, staring at your every move, holding their breaths in anticipation of that fatal stroke. Of course, there are some drawbacks to the current state of affairs. The crowds get jaded quickly in this age of cheap and ready death. To keep them coming back for more, we have to show them sights they can't see even in the thick of battle. The bloodier, the fiercer, the more shocking, the better.
Spectacle is the name of the game now.
Costumes, beasts, even strange, dire sports with arcane rules are becoming the rage in every arena. We strive and strive, but still we must give the crowd more. They want pathos, they want tragedy. They want to see the blood of heroes. And you will supply it.