Credit = bodyfx2
1-Ronnie Coleman: Once again Ronnie is our Mr. Olympia, but I have to be honest when I say I was a bit disappointed with him this year. Maybe I have come to expect too much from Big Country, but he was not as dominating as usual. He did a smart thing by coming down in weight, as I felt he sacrificed too much sharpness last year at nearly 300 lbs, but I actually feel he overdid it. Ronnie looked absolutely “alien” in 2003 at about 286 lbs, and that was the look I hoped he’d go back to in 05. At 275, which is what he weighed this year, he didn’t seem much harder than in 2003, but he did seem smaller, especially in the thighs. He also does not hit his poses optimally in my opinion, which makes him look less dominating than he could be. All of that said, Ronnie is still the biggest, baddest bodybuilder on the planet, and I feel he still has a pretty firm grasp on the title. However, for me, it wasn’t “lights out” as usual this time around.
2-Jay Cutler: Always a bridesmaid, never a bride! Poor Jay is such a hard worker and wants this title so bad it is hard not to root for him. However, while this year’s version of Jay is the best he has presented since the 2001, it is simply not enough to defeat Ronnie. In fact, I feel that Jay was actually outdone by both Gustavo and Gunther! One thing I can say about Jay is that his back is rapidly becoming the equal of Ronnie’s in terms of sheer size, although Ronnie still has more gnarly muscularity back there. Jay also has incredible shoulders, thick biceps, and a truly Herculean physique. However, his quads are not what they used to be, and there is still a size difference between the two. I am not sure what else Jay can do to try and become Mr. Olympia, except for being patient and waiting for Ronnie to hang up his trunks. Regardless of whether Jay ever wins the title or not, he is certainly going to be remembered as one of the most incredible bodybuilders the sport has ever seen, with his 2001 physique quite possibly having been worthy of the title that year.
3-Gustavo Badell: When I saw pics of Gustavo 2 weeks out I said to myself, “nope, not gonna do so well this year.” Then, when I sat in the audience at prejudging I realized I needed to eat those words! Gustavo looked awesome! His waist was trimmer, his muscles were full, and his condition was spot on! I cannot think of one pose that he did not look fantastic in, and in my opinion, he should have nabbed the second position at this show. And many people in the audience agreed with me on that. In fact, during the prejudging, dozens of spectators were imploring the judges to bring Gustavo up with Ronnie and Jay during the comparisons. However, for some reason it seemed that the decision was made early on regarding who was to occupy the # 2 spot. Personally, I feel that Gustavo was more complete than Jay, less blocky, and was in better overall condition from head to toe. Even though I felt he deserved second, Gustavo should be proud about his rise to the elite level of the sport.
4-Gunther Schlierkamp: In 2002 Gunther showed up at the Olympia in absolutely incredible shape. In fact, he was so good that year that he actually defeated Ronnie at the Show of Strength held the week after the Mr. O. However, since then, he has never duplicated the combination of size and sharpness he displayed in 02, thus the once touted “Great White Hope,” became the “One Shot Wonder.” That is, until this year! When I saw Gunther walk out on stage and stand relaxed, I knew good things were about to happen. He was a mile wide up top, and although his waist can’t be considered small, it was tight and hard. To put it simply, Gunther was “nails!” In the first callout, it was Ronnie, Jay, and Gunther, and I truly felt that Jay was in serious trouble. Gunther just looked sharper and bigger, and in most mandatories I felt he just looked better than Jay. Gunther has an outstanding front lat spread, side chest and tricep, and back double bicep. Heck, even his abs and thigh shot looked awesome! And let’s face it…nobody has a better smile than big Gunther! In the end, Gunther got 4th place, but I had him third behind Badell. It is obvious that the team of Chad Nicholls and Charles Glass know exactly how to bring Gunther into a show and if they continue to work with him, who knows how high he will rise. One thing is for sure though…Gunther is back!
5-Victor Martinez: The top 5 was rounded out by big Victor, the man that Ronnie himself pegs as a possible successor to his throne! Ok, so, Victor was big…round…and hard. However, he was not shredded. There seemed to be a film of water that covered his body that made me want to see him place just a bit lower. Now, don’t get me wrong. I feel that Victor has one of the best overall physiques in the sport, however, in my opinion, he hasn’t match the conditioning he achieved when he won the Night of Champions a couple of years ago. If he were to combine his thick, round, muscle bellies with a truly dry look, he would be nearly unstoppable, and could easily move into the Olympia top 3. Victor is kind of like a diamond in the rough, and is still finding the right balance between size and conditioning…and when he finally nails it, that will spell disaster for just about everyone he competes against.
6-Dennis James: It’s amazing…when you see upper body shots of Dennis a week or two out from the Olympia, it looks as if he is ready to take on the champ all by himself. However, when he steps onstage he doesn’t look nearly as formidable. Dennis is an awesome bodybuilder with incredibly thick shoulders, a massive chest, and a wide back…and his condition was pretty darn good this year. I think the problem lies in his odd abdominal formation making his waist look wider than it actually is, and the fact that his quads do not equal his immense upper body. Dennis is in a tough situation, as I am not sure exactly what he can do to move up considerably in the placings…although bringing up his quad size could help. I also think I would like to see Dennis drop a few more pounds and come in even harder and tighter in the waist. Regardless, Dennis is still one of the best and freakiest in bodybuilding, and is nearly unmatched in the various most muscular poses.
7-Melvin Anthony: Could this man’s waist be any smaller? Wow, it is incredible that Melvin can hold so much mass on a sub-30-inch waist! And his back! It is so wide and muscular that it matches up against anyone’s in the sport in a back double bicep pose! That is the good news. The bad news is that Melvin still cannot get that truly hard and grainy look, especially in his glutes and hams. And to me, he doesn’t seem to be improving all that much from show to show, although his placings certainly are. I have to be honest that I was shocked at the callouts that Melvin was getting. It was easily apparent that he was fighting for a top 6 spot, when in my mind he should have been fighting for a top 10 spot. That is not to say that Melvin doesn’t have an awesome body, but I just feel that there were several other guys that overall, looked superior. If Melvin ever figures out how to get as hard as someone like Darrem, then he is capable of beating almost anyone…but at this show, I felt he got a gift.
8-Branch Warren: Look up the word freak in the dictionary and you will probably find a picture of Branch! Wow, is he packed with gnarly, veiny, thick, hard muscle! In looking Branch over I could not find a single weak body part, nor one that was not as dense as a brick wall! His chest and quads are particularly freaky, and are certainly amongst the best in the sport. I also was extremely impressed with his serratus and intercostals, which seemed to go right down into his hipbone. Personally, I would of liked to have seen Branch end up either 6th or 7th, as he was one of the most heavily muscled and finely conditioned guys in the show.
9-Darrem Charles: As the callouts were progressing and Darrem was seemingly being ignored I continued to get more and more frustrated. It is used to be said that Darrem was ripped to shreds, but was simply too small to reach the upper echelon. Then, when he began to add the necessary mass people began to say that he was losing his sharpness. Well, at the 2005 Mr. Olympia, Darrem had it all! Size, shape,
symmetry and extreme hardness! In fact, he had vascularity and density that I have never seen from him before. While his legs were not huge they were striated and veiny. His shoulders were as round and thick as anyone’s. And even his back was very much improved, finally matching up against most in the sport. In my eyes, Darrem was a top 6 finisher for sure, and many people I spoke to had him in the top 4! Honestly, I don’t know how Darrem ended up where he did. I think it’s time the judges get a mandatory eye exam before every show!
10-Mustafa Mohammad: Finally Mustafa has made it into the top 10! I am glad for him, as he is very passionate about the sport and fights to improve at every show. Mustafa’s downfall at every show has been his conditioning, as he certainly is not lacking in muscle. At the Olympia, he finally started to show improved separation and muscularity, which is why he finally placed where he did. That said, he still needs to get dryer and sharper if he hopes to improve his placings. He also needs to bring up his arms and back slightly to help offset his huge chest and utterly ridiculous quads. If he can get these things done, Mustafa is a potential top 6 finisher.
