2013 Mr Olympia - my personal REVIEW!

[tkD]

Winners? Losers? Surprises and disappointments? All that happened on September 29th at the 2013 Mr Olympia, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

We've seen the best line up on an Olympia stage since probably 1999, when Ronnie was battling with guys like Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray, Kevin Levrone, Chris Cormier and Nasser El Sonbaty. Were the results as you expected? Well, for me at least, and like many others, I agreed with some placings, while being a bit disappointed with a few of them (Cedric McMillan, Victor Martinez).

All in all, I will "try" to Peter McGough this review in a few words. Fail? Boring? Maybe, but it's my first review for a bodybuilding show, which will be longer than a few lines, haha.

So here are my personal beliefs about the 2013 Mr Olympia:

Brandon Curry - 16th place + $2,000. Definitely he's not happy about the results since he placed 8th in 2011, BUT, the competition changed a lot over the years. He looked good, but didn't show major improvements, that at his potential, could have placed him in the top 8 again, easily in my opinion. 2014 will be the year where we'll see if he manages to work on the improvements he needs to do, for a better place.

Johnnie Jackson - 16th place + $2,000. Johnnie definitely isn't happy with this place since he did better in the previous years, including two top 10 finishes. As always, his only weak point is the balance between the upper body and the lower body. If he will manage to bring up the legs to the top 6 level, he could be in the top 6. Why? Because his chest, back and the rest of the upper body are one of the best in bodybuilding today!

Essa Obaid - 16th place + $2,000. At the press conference, Essa said that he will beat all the guys from the 2nd line, including Lionel, Steve Kuclo, Evan and so on. He looked good, but not as good as he did when he came in 2nd to Steve Kuclo at the Europa show, and Evan at the Tampa Pro earlier this summer.

Baitollah Abbaspour - 16th place + $2,000. This guy's quads are very similar to Tom Platz's back in 80's. He could have competed in the 212 class since he is one of the smaller/shorter bb'ers in the Open class, but he choose to fight with the big guys. He beat Lionel (10th place) at the Nordic Pro, winning the show 2 weeks ago, but this time, he came in a bit off and that cost him a lot. Better luck next year!

 

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Toney Freeman. With a total of 152 points he places 15th, still looking competitive at the top level, and all that was achieved at the age of 47!!! What he did is still amazing. And with such a talented lineup his place was good enough! Well done Toney! Oh and $4,000 for his place is not bad for a weekend.

Steve Kuclo places 14th + $4,000 in his Olympia debut! For a rookie he did very good, beating guys with more experience and who have placed in the top 10 in the previous years like Toney Freeman, Brandon Curry and Johnnie Jackson! Watch out for him, because in the eyes of many he could be a future Mr Olympia.

 

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Evan Centopani -13th place + $4,000. In 2012 he made his Olympia debut, placing 8th. Many thought that he was gonna move up to the top 6 from there, but it wasn't like that. Only 13th place for him, and since he has to qualify for the next year, it's gonna be a great 2014 season. He will probably compete at the 2014 Arnold Classic like other big names, such as Victor Martinez, Branch Warren etc.. With his potential, he could definitely be in that top 6 next year. Oh and btw, he also ruined my top 6 predictions. NOT cool, Evan.


Cedric McMillan - 12th place and $4,000? Well, with his potential this is not where we all thought he's gonna place. It only depends on him if he will find the best combo of size and conditioning, coming next year. He is Mr O material! Great lines, shape and symmetry. MY favorite since he turned pro at the Nationals in 2009. Last night he was one of the disappointments of the show. Bring it next time, Ced!


Victor Martinez -11th place + $4,000. After all the injuries and a series of bad luck he had earlier this year, and for the entire 2012, he was 13 points close to Lionel Beyeke and the 10th place. This is only his 2nd show after the arm injury, and he will come back bigger and better for the next show, which probably will be the 2014 Arnold Classic. At his best he could be Mr Olympia. Jay Cutler would approve that!

 

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Lionel Beyeke. He had to work hard for his 10th place at the 2013 Mr O. And hard work pays off, right? He was happy with the result and with the package he brought, especially when he had to fight and compete a couple of times before scoring enough points to qualify for the O. With Dennis James's help he managed to get better and better every show, and that payed off in the end. 10th place and $14.000 dollars richer! If he will continue improving at this rate with Dennis James as his trainer, 2014 could be his best year in bodybuilding. Top 6 is so close for a guy with his potential!

Branch Warren - 9th place. From 2009 to 2012 he worked with George Farah and managed to come in great shape, placing every time in that top 6 (2nd in 2009, 3rd in 2010, 5th in 2012). This year, he changed his nutritionist, hiring Neil Hill, but as we saw last night, he was FAR from his best. Only 9th place for Branch, and he will have to fight hard next year to qualify and to get in the top 6 again, especially if he wants to win more than $16,000.

 

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Big Ramy. 8th place at the Olympia debut and $17,000! The big talk of the year since he won the 2013 New York Pro, beating Victor Martinez and other experienced bodybuilders. He and this coach Dennis James aimed for a top 6 place, but 8th, at only 28 years old is not that bad. Watch out for the next year! This guy is literally, HULK size next to many on stage!







Roelly Winklaar, 7th place + $18,000! After a couple of years placing out of the top 10, Roelly finally found the magic formula, of size with conditioning. The improvements he brought for the 2013 Mr O were incredible. Legs on par with the upper body, back vastly improved and like the experts in this business have said, probably the best arms in bodybuilding today. Next year he's gonna aim for the top 6 and that will be very interesting to follow!

 

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Jay Cutler. Only 6th place + $30,000 for him. After a bicep injury, and a year off (2012), Jay made his comeback to the Olympia stage last night, placing 6th in a tough lineup. He was looking to regain his title and win his 5th title, but in the end he had to accept the 6th spot. Since he didn't announce his retirement, as many thought he was gonna do it, myself included, Jay might come back next year to show everyone that with a full off season he can do better than that. We can only wait and see what's to come from the 4x Mr O and 3x Arnold Classic winner, next year at the 2014 Mr Olympia!

Dexter Jackson - 5th place and $40,000. The Blade did his best in this lineup and managed to beat guys way bigger than him like Big Ramy, Jay Cutler and so on. He showed us that if you're not at 100% you might slip and he's gonna take that place. Well done Dexter. At 43 years old it looks like no one can push him out of the top 6!

 

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Shawn Rhoden! For many, 4th place could be a dream come true, but not for Shawn. He can also win more than $50,000, prize money for that 4th spot. Last year he placed 3rd and was ready to attack the O title this year. He looked a bit improved since last year, but with guys like Phil, Kai and a hugely improved Dennis Wolf, 4th place was as good as it comes.

Dennis Wolf must be in cloud nine with his 3rd place! Top 3 was all that he wished for (from his interviews), and it looked like he could have done better. With 8 points between him and Kai who placed 2nd, Dennis could turn back next year, and battle Phil and Kai for the title! Prize money for his 3rd place was $75,000.

 

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Kai Greene 2nd to Phil again! If you remember last year in 2012, Kai brought a very good package to the stage, almost winning the whole show. This year, he went for a different look, bringing some more size, but it cost him that grainy and shredded conditioning that could have dethroned Phil. With that said, 2nd place for Kai, 2nd year in a row, $100,000 again in prize money and look out for another interesting battle in 2014!

Phil Heath - 1st place biggest prize! $250,000 for Heath. Or like one of his shirts say, H3ath! That's right, Phil won the 2013 Mr Olympia for the 3rd consecutive time, tying the 3x Mr O Frank Zane. With perfect scores again, Phil brought an improved package, and deserved the win. However, many others have said that it was very close between him and Kai, especially in the finals, and that the perfect scores victory is not justified. Will that fire up Phil even more for the next year? Will his future shirt say "He4th" ? Stay tuned on musclemecca, and we'll see his progress going into the 2014 season.

 

[TalkAdmin]

This is great brother!! Great information here!!

 

[pakiman]

Good stuff tkD. I'm a bit busy but will definately come back and give my two cents!

 

[pakiman]

I could not be more happy with Brendan's placing... sadly I might not be the only one_ the perennial underachiever he is Brendan might be just as satisfied with his placing as I am!

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JOJ is workingman's BBer and you cannot but love how much effort he puts into his career. This might seem like a bad placing but this was no ordinary line up!

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Essa & Baitollah were both off compared to how they usually turn up for the show... so in this tough line-up they got what they deserved _ except for placing behind Steve Kuclo! They should have placed ahead of Steve but then Steve Weinberg likes his bitches white & soft__ both Essa & Baitollah were too "black & hard" for Weinberg's liking!



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How tough was this lineup? Evan placed 13th... bloody 13th! It should have been 12th at least if it weren't because of another Texan being gift an undeserving spot! There was no way in hell Branch beat the 4 gentlemen behind him! NO WAY IN HELL!
Branch looked like a road-kill run down by the same truck which hit Kevin English first!

 

[pakiman]

Ramy was no as sharp & conditioned as DJ was telling us all along... also the idea to throw him in the thick of things at the Olympia was a bad one! They should have gotten him to do the European ASC and/or Sheru (if thats still on).

 

[alex]

nice review tkd..cutler should place lower than winklaar and maybe big ramy...branch lower than Beyeke and many others....

 

[tkD]

nice review tkd..cutler should place lower than winklaar and maybe big ramy...branch lower than Beyeke and many others....

I agree man. Beyeke looks great next to Dexter. He definitely should have beaten Branch.