One of the most anticipated Mr Olympia contests of all time took place last night-- Friday September 27, 2013-- and it lived up to all the pre-contest hype that was being hurled at it.  It was a battle that featured 3 Mr Olympia title holders, surging veterans, and a new freak-on-the-block; yet when the smoke cleared, there weren’t as many surprises as one might have expected.

Reigning Mr Olympia Phil Heath confidently strode onto the main stage at the Orleans Arena and dominated the Olympia lineup with poise, professionalism, and gnarly striated muscle that flowed like the waves of the most perfect ocean current.  The harmony that Heath’s muscle groups exhibit draw your eyes to his physique in a way that is unexplainable but unanimously agreed upon.  While the 2x Mr Olympia wasn’t considered the favorite going into this year’s event because of the return of Jay Cutler, the surge of Kai Greene, and the emergence of Big Rami Elssbiay, Heath attacked the mandatory poses with conviction and passion, and he seems poised to collect his 3^rd Sandow at tonight’s finals.

If there was ever a chance to win the Mr Olympia, this was probably Kai Greene’s greatest opportunity to seize the title.  While Heath’s physique is magnificent, Greene has a “wow” and freak factor that we haven’t seen since Ronnie Coleman retired. He’s easily the most muscular man onstage and the slabs of muscle hanging off his back are almost mind-boggling.  His quads seem to flare out for miles and the separation in all his muscle groups leave you convinced you can store all the change in your pocket in their crevices. So what the heck happened to the man who just can’t win in Las Vegas?  That’s easy; too much of a good thing can many times ruin the recipe.  In Greene’s case, his bodyweight was just too high and he lacked the polish and detail that Phil Heath displayed in spades.  Greene needs to weigh about 8-10lbs less than he brought to the stage and, when he does that, he’ll be the most dangerous man in bodybuilding.

Shawn Rhoden placed 3^rd at last year’s Olympia and finished off the year with 4 pro contest wins yet was not even on anyone’s radar going into the 2013 event.  Being lost in the Kai Greene, Jay Cutler, Big Rami shuffle, Rhoden, instead, let his physique do the talking. . . and oh what a physique he has!  “Flex-a-tron” showed the bodybuilding community why he’s the 3^rd best bodybuilder in the world.  His incredible v-taper, tiny ripped midsection, and round curvaceous muscle bellies wowed all those in attendance.  He was so impressive that many felt he is the rightful owner of 2^nd place (above Kai Greene) going into tonight’s finals.

Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?  Everyone in the lineup should be petrified because Dennis Wolf showed up bigger, freakier, and harder than anyone else onstage.  The “footprint” his physique leaves when standing relaxed from the front and back is devastating.  Wolf is easily the tallest and widest competitor onstage.  He even made the incredible “X-Man” Toney Freeman look small and insignificant in the lineup. And that’s certainly not an easy task!  With all this bravado and gushing praise, why didn’t Wolf sweep prejudging?  It boils down to fact that Wolf’s back, legs, and width are so good that his weakness—his high lat attachments—become more readily apparent.  Having said that, I think a very good case can be made for Dennis Wolf being the next Mr Olympia.  No one was bigger, no one was wider, and no one was better conditioned.  So, why is Wolf apparently sitting in 4^th place after prejudging?  I can’t answer that question.

Dexter Jackson came into this show as the reigning Arnold Classic Champion (his 4^th win there) and, like Rhoden, no one was expecting much from him.  “The Blade” loves when he’s the underdog and off the bodybuilding radar because that’s when he’s his most dangerous.  While Dexter wasn’t at his best last night, he was pretty darn close and he seems to be comfortably in 5^th place after the prejudging round. While he didn’t have the ridiculously dry striated lower lat insertions he had in Columbus this past March, he still preserved his greatest gift; the beautiful flow of all his muscle groups.  When you look at Jackson, you don’t see good or bad body parts; they all flow effortlessly together.

When 4x Mr Olympia Jay Cutler decided to make a comeback after losing to Phil Heath in 2011 and skipping the 2012 season to nurse back to health his repaired left biceps, many people thought he was crazy.  As the show approached; however, under the tutelage of Chris Aceto, Cutler started looking like he had a legitimate chance to win his 5^th Sandow.  Easily the widest competitor with the trademark freaky front quads and ridiculously wide back, Cutler was being touted as the man to beat going into Friday night’s prejudging.  However, once comparisons started being made, Cutler’s lost size (from his 2 year hiatus) showed off his structural flaws way more than we’ve ever seen before. While the former champ fought valiantly onstage throughout the prejudging, he just didn’t pack enough punch to beat the top 5 guys.  After prejudging ended, Cutler seemed to be a solid 6^th.  If he returns fuller and harder tonight, he might have a chance at knocking off Dexter Jackson, but I doubt we’ll see him any higher than 5^th when the final bell rings.

Because of all the pre-contest hype, I’d like to address Big Rami Elssbiay’s first Olympia appearance.  Right off the bat, Rami lacked the “wow factor” he exhibited when he decimated the competition at the New York Pro this past May.  Rami was noticeably down in size and his conditioning was worse as well.  It appears as though he made the classic rookie mistake of abandoning his gargantuan size and freakiness in exchange for more conditioning. The result was just a flatter, less impressive, physique that moved him from a potential top 6 to a more likely sub-10^th place finish.  Rami will be back; you can bet the bank on that. And when he puts it all together, everyone in the lineup is gonna be shaking in their boots because Rami has all the tools necessary to be Mr Olympia.