by Christian Duque
Alright folks so this is a very interesting question that has never really been posed in the sport of bodybuilding before. I mean certainly, we have talked about uncrowned champions and we have talked about fantasy comparisons and that sort of thing. All of which has been largely fan-based and limited to the message boards and Facebook groups. But for the first time in probably the last 20+ years, this question actually is one that might stump a lot of historians and insiders in the sport. And that is because it is the first time that a reigning Mr Olympia has been knocked out at the second largest bodybuilding show in the world. Back in 2002 Gunter Schlierkamp somehow managed to upset Ronnie Coleman at the GNC Show Of Strength.
Now that is technically similar to what is going on now, but also leagues apart. The Show Of Strength while being a good show was not the first biggest bodybuilding show, it was not the second, it was not the third, and it was not the fourth. Meaning it was not the Olympia, it was not the Arnold, it was not the Night Of Champions and it was also not the Iron Man Pro. It was a good pro show but beyond that it wasn’t really much to write home about. And it was at that show that the three-time Mr Olympia was allegedly knocked out. It’s not a defeat that Ronnie ever really recognized and it’s not one that the press really did very much with because it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
The 2025 Arnold Classic, however, is very much a big deal. And the fact that not only did the reigning Mr Olympia lose, but the reigning Mr Olympia lost to the Mr Olympia from the preceding year is unheard of. That has never happened before and it may never happen again. But the question remains, can Samson actually call himself the number one bodybuilder in the world moving forward for the rest of the year up until the 2025 Olympia?
Well on paper, Samson can call himself the best bodybuilder in the world. On paper, he won the 2024 Mr Olympia and as a result of winning the Olympia, which is also known as the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding, he is the de jure best bodybuilder in the world. That is uncontested and theoretically sound. That being said Derek Lunsford I would argue is the de facto number one best bodybuilder in the world because not only did he win the second biggest bodybuilding show, but more importantly he defeated the alleged best bodybuilder in the world at that contest. It also is a very troubling reality that the same judges that judge the Olympia judge the Arnold Classic. That did not happen in 2002 with the GNC Show Of Strength. Those were random judges, not Olympia or Arnold judges. So if the same judges of the two biggest bodybuilding shows in the world had Derek defeating Samson, then can Samson really call himself the best in the world? Again, it’s one of those things where it really is going to depend on the subjective opinion of each fan.
I know that if I were Samson and I were in charge of his bookings I would certainly promote him as the greatest bodybuilder in the world. I would promote his Olympia win and I would do everything possible to downplay his second place finish at the Arnold Classic. Now I can appreciate Tyler Manion, IFBB Vice President, weighing in on the good sportsmanship exhibited by Samson on stage and off stage. I will also concede that point and I would also pat him on the back gor a job well done. I mean who can forget Hadi 2 years ago when he lost the Olympia and just stormed off stage? I know that I can’t forget it. So seeing Samson act like such a man’s man is phenomenal. He was very congratulatory to Derek and never acted petty. I mean there he is standing on stage expecting to win the contest and another guy’s name is announced. He didn’t stammer off stage, he didn’t curse up a storm, and he certainly did not take anything away from Derek’s victory. I really respect that and I think most bodybuilding fans would respect that as well. But the fact is, that second place to a lot of people is first place loser. And when it comes to money and accommodations that second place could actually be detrimental to Samson when touring the world. What do I mean by that?
Well promoters are notoriously fickle when it comes to placings and they are also very frugal. Any promoter that is going to shell out the money to have a reigning Mr Olympia guest pose on their stage would not be considered cheap. At least I would not consider them cheap. I would consider a promoter cheap if they didn’t have a guest poser, if they didn’t have an expo, and if they put the event on in some dump like a high school auditorium or a seedy motel or something lol. But any promoter that’s going to have top talent is not cheap. That said, they very well may be very frugal.
A frugal promoter may point to the second place finish in Columbus as a way to lowball Samson. Not only do I think that’s a possibility, I think it’s a reality with a lot of the promoters that may not have as much money as you may think. They may also see an incentive in it for them by bringing Samson out at a lower cost. They can still say they have Mr Olympia but they’re paying a lot less because of the fact that the guy got his ass handed to him in Columbus. And that’s exactly what happened.
This was not a razor sharp decision. It was not a dead heat. It was not a virtual tie. Samson simply did not look good enough to win and Derek did. Samson was fading both at the prejudging and at the finals, whereas Derek was getting harder. Honestly, a lot of people think that Samsung could have been as low as third. A lot of insiders had Andrew Jacked winning but most people had Derek winning. Very few people with the exception of Samson’s immediate camp, which includes his sponsors, had him 1st. And it wasn’t that he didn’t look good, it’s just that he didn’t look good enough to win. Therefore, all of these things are going to factor into what a promoter is willing to pay. If I were Samson I would negotiate. Ultimately, I would get myself out there and start promoting the sport of bodybuilding. Because in my opinion a Mr Olympia has to be the ambassador of the sport to the world. Nobody asked him to do the Arnold Classic; he did that all on his own, so just because he had a bad day does not mean that the fans should suffer.
With regards to the Olympia franchise, I would imagine Jake Wood cannot be too pleased that the recipient of his contest’s title got royally destroyed at the Columbus contest. This is not supposed to happen and it also does not bode well for the Olympia franchise that its reigning champion is not considered the best in the world. Again, I have no idea why Samsun would gamble like this. I don’t know if his family told him it was a good idea or if he had a dream telling him it was a good idea. I have no clue. In reality, it couldn’t have been a bigger blunder. He had just won the Olympia less than 4 months prior and was already playing his luck against very formidable competition.
Only time will tell what Dauda does with the Olympia title for the remainder of his reign. Right now, as I write this article it’s the first week of March. He has just around 8 months to get out there, promote the sport and make money. Or he could try competing again which would be an even bigger blunder than competing at the Arnold in the first place. I think that if he tries to compete again or if he tries to find a show that Derek is doing in hopes of scoring some kind of a rematch, then he should be checked into a mental institution. I think that for Samson to compete again after losing in Columbus would only spell further disaster. Hopefully there’s someone who can talk to him and reason with him. What he needs to do right now is focus on promoting the sport, promoting himself, and preparing for his first title defense at the 2025 Olympia in Las Vegas, Nevada. Anything besides that would be a huge mistake for him.
Samson has nothing to prove. He is Mr Olympia. He should hold his head up high and take the sport both at the amateur and professional levels to new heights. He needs to stop thinking about competing and he needs to start thinking about doing the business of bodybuilding. If he had been doing that, he never would have thrown his hat into the ring with just one Sandow under his belt. In any event what’s done is done. There’s no sense in dwelling on the past. My hope Is that Samson shakes this off and moves forward. He’s going to have some pretty intense negotiations moving forward with promoters of contests and expos, but he needs to hold his own. Even though we got his ass kicked in Columbus, he is still Mr Olympia, and by virtue of being Mr Olympia he will be in very high demand. For the promoters who lowball him, he shouldn’t be afraid to simply tell them “not interested.” But he should also be ready to negotiate because he basically dug himself into a hole and now he needs to get himself out of it. Right now a lot of people are looking at Hadi, who placed second at last year’s Olympia. A lot of people are also looking at Derek, who won the Arnold Classic this year, as the next Mr O. Other people are looking at Andrew Jacked and wondering if perhaps 2025 will be his moment to shine in Vegas. At the rate we’re going, very few people are talking about Samson repeating his 2024 success in Las Vegas in 2025. So in a very real way, the defending champion now has got to redeem himself with a lot of the naysayers and win them back. There is nothing to stop him from taking another Sandow. especially if he got royally rattled in Columbus by not coming in sufficient condition. This may light a fire under him to come in razor-sharp at the 2025 Olympia. Only time will tell.
