by Christian Duque
The Mr Olympia is the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. It is the event that all bodybuilding fans all around the world wait to see each year. They want to know who is going to be crowned the very best in each and every respective division. From its Inception it has always been considered the absolute pinnacle of muscle and fitness. It’s a contest that has survived the cold war, pandemics, and media scrutiny. The caliber of competition was always the top priority and continues to be.
Originally, the O was a contest for the winners of the universe and other professional titles to come together to battle it out to see who was the best. It has gone from Joe’s hands to AMI’s to now Jake Wood’s. Every promoter has given their best. Not all of them have always been bodybuilding fans but they have most definitely understood the significance of the event and done whatever was necessary to ensure that it was a success year after year. I would say the legacy of the event is second to none as well. And this also goes down to the people that expedite the show, promote it, everything from a to z. This article is not about taking anything away from the greatest bodybuilding show in the world. I have nothing but respect for all parties involved.
My issue however comes more with the judging and the qualification process. As you all know I am of the belief that Martin Fitzwater should have won the New York Pro. It all worked out in the end because he qualified for the Olympia by winning the Detroit, but nonetheless I had a major issue with Nick Walker taking the win at the third most prestigious bodybuilding show. I also take a little exception with the Olympia when it comes to which athletes they promote and which they seemingly ignore.
Because of the fact that the New York Pro was such a controversial decision in 2024 I thought that it would have been an ideal place to create some buzz between the guy that won the show and the guy that should have won the show. I thought that the Olympia could have had a great opportunity to create buzz and sell tickets by marketing a rematch between Martin and Nick. They never did, but in any event they are free to market their show however they see fit.
So what’s my issue with Nick? Well my issue is I didn’t think he was going to do the Olympia. I didn’t want to come out and say it in so many words, but I did. I hinted at it, too. And there wasn’t really that much of a shock value to begin with because he dropped out last year as well.
There are competitors that like to tease the fans with a comeback and then there are competitors that actually qualify but don’t do the show. Now Nick might have gotten injured one week out. He may have had some sort of a health scare. Or he simply may not have had any intention of doing the show to begin with. Again I think that bodybuilding is a sport – if you want to call it that – that relies heavily on the power of marketing and buzz. And when the Olympia did not jump on the opportunity of creating some buzz between Martin and Nick, that certainly made me think something was up.
I don’t really want to get into conspiracy theories because that’s a very slippery slope. What’s real, what’s not – that’s so subjective. I have nothing to substantiate my concerns. But I’m not reporting news to you. I’m simply speaking in terms of commentary. That’s largely what I do here at Iron Magazine. I share my opinions and I like to cite history and try to come up with some kind of an analysis that’s worthy of your readership.
When I saw Nick Walker presenting at the Arnold Classic but not competing that made me think something was up. Everybody was remarking about how good he looked even though he was fully clothed. They said they could see the silhouette of a physique that was ready to go. But silhouettes don’t win shows. I didn’t think that he could have won the Arnold and he didn’t even compete. But he did compete at the New York Pro. Who was he really up against? That was supposed to be a contest that he could swoop in and win easily. No one was expecting Martin Fitzwater to bring what he brought. He brought tremendous symmetry, excellent condition, and posed hard. No one was expecting him to go the distance for the win. No one thought that he actually thought he could win, either. But pose after pose he was securing a lead over Nick.
I have gone over that show several times over and to be honest with you every time I go over the mandatory pose, I find myself giving the win to Martin. I have to tell you that that is pretty jaw-dropping. If even one time Nick would come out on top I would surely put that into my article but it just never happened. To this day I still scratch my head at that decision and I ask myself why did they give it to Nick? What were they thinking? And the only thing that comes to mind is the fact that if Nick had not won in New York, he would not have tried to qualify for the Olympia again. So what if he didn’t compete again? What’s the big deal?
The big deal is that Olympia needs to sell tickets. The big deal is the Arnold Classic is reportedly going to pay more money than the Olympia in 2025. The big deal is people want to see Nick Walker on stage. If Martin had won and Nick would not have tried to qualify again, I think that would have hurt the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. I think that they needed Nick to win at all costs. The Olympia people don’t score shows. The judges do. But I don’t know if it stops with the judges, or if the judges maybe were guided somehow. Again, I want to be careful how I word this, but at the same time only a fool would tell you that there’s no politics in bodybuilding. There’s politics in everything. most especially in a subjective sport with a bunch of guys in speedos, all oiled up, posing in front of a panel of judges.
The reality of the matter is if politics did exist, they would do very well in a sport such as bodybuilding. They wouldn’t do well in a sport that involved kicking a field goal or shooting a basket or scoring a goal. Nonetheless, Nick won New York and that’s that. But the weirdness doesn’t end there.
Shortly after his controversial win in New York, there was a photo session that involved Nick, Samson, and Derek. It’s important to put this in the article because Derek did not want to pose with Nick beyond just a few shots. The reigning Mr Olympia did not feel that Walker deserved to be next to him and protested. in the end Lunsford would play ball. And that is because Lunsford is a yes man. He may protest initially but ultimately he will do what is expected of him. He would rather cooperate than be an obstructionist and that is a huge reason why I think he was crowned Mr Olympia. They want somebody they can work with. And again who are they? Well I will leave that for you to decide. But the bottom line is the reigning champion did not think Nick Walker was good enough to stand next to him for an extended period of time.
Now let’s talk about the Pittsburgh. Nick Walker goes to Pittsburgh to guest pose and backstage there is an interview between him and Tony Doherty of Doherty’s Gym in Australia. This is a very bizarre interview because it seems extremely rehearsed and forced. In this interview Nick asserts that he is going to cut Derek’s reign short. Derek can barely hold a straight face because he knows that Nick can’t hold a candle to him and maybe he even knows that Nick will never make it to the Olympia stage. Nonetheless Tony eggs them on because they need to have something to create buzz with. The buzz is necessary in order to sell tickets. The showdown between Derek and Hadi just wasn’t enough.
Even to this day people are not all that concerned with whether or not Lunsford or Choopan win. They want new blood. They want the freak factor. What they want is what they can’t have. They want to see Nick Walker go to the Olympia and emerge victorious. Because at the end of the day, bodybuilding fans always love the freaks and Nick Walker is the king of them all.
So when Nick Walker announces shockingly just one week out from the Olympia that he’s dropping out without any real specifics, I have to be honest, I wasn’t super shocked. In fact I was wondering what took so long. The fans have already bought their tickets and many of them are already in Las Vegas. They have checked into their rooms and they are ready to go. The problem is the competitor they’re there for is not going to be competing. Maybe he’ll hand out some trophies or put out some protein shake samples but he will not be on stage. Again I’m not saying this was planned and I’m not saying that Nick enjoys pulling out just days before the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. I’m just saying I never expected him to hit the stage, and as a result he’s not going to.
I’m just as eager as the next person to see what the reason was. Was it a health scare? Did he injure himself again? I saw a picture of his leg with what looked to be some black and blues on it. Maybe he had some kind of strange allergic reaction or he popped a blood vessel. Who really knows? And whatever it may have been, could it not have been treated? Again these are questions that many outlets will rather leave unasked, and especially on answered. But it just seems weird to me. It’s very weird to me that this top tier competitor drops out for a second consecutive year from the biggest show in bodybuilding.
Maybe there’s no conspiracy. Maybe it’s just bad luck. Or maybe you have something else to say. Whatever the case may be, Nick Walker is out of the Olympia. And with that, as the great Steve Weinberger said, the Olympia is wide open. Why do you think Nick dropped out? I appreciate you reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments.