A big part of Roman gladiator games was the show and the contrast - most likely, a Crupellarius, as a heavy gladiator, would have been paired against an unarmored Retiarius, with a trident and a net. The tactic of a Retiarius against other heavy gladiators was to evade and exhaust them before binding/tangling them and ‘finishing’ them, whether by bringing them to a surrender or wounding them. One imagines a similar tactic would be employed against this heavy bastard.

But even if no serious wounds are inflicted, the fight is what matters - you have to give the crowd a show, and everything else is secondary!