Sergio Oliva Jr. said that Joe Weider deleted pics where Sergio Oliva senior was better than Arnold in 1972 Mr. O... He deleted those pics because he didn't want people to see in bb magazines that Oliva was better than Arnold Arnold was Weider's golden boy
three3thou lats to high, lacked details in his legs, no definition in arms, upper chest underdeveloped and lacked roundness like Arnold! Also calves were not even on the same level from behind!
Of course it was the ifbb is rigged. Joe Weider chose Arnold Schwarzenegger because Arnold was charismatic and he knew he could make money off him and make the sport bigger. Sorry I mean beauty pageant not sport. That's why Franco Columbu one after his injury. That's why Arnold one in 1980. That's why Dorian Yates beat Nasser despite deserving second. The point is is that the whole Federation is rigged the judges have been the same judges since the 90s for fuck sakes. And it's a fascist system. If you speak out against the judge's you get banned. What kind of sport is that? Well I'll tell you it's no sport at all LMAO. Bodybuilding is a rigged beauty pageant for muscles. THAT'S IT.
100% truth. The ifbb look for the competitors who can sell the 'sport' and make them the most money. That's why dorian beat nasser and why phil heath beat big ramy, because having a muslim as mr o wouldn't be good for lining their greedy, jewish pockets. Fuck competitive bodybuilding, I'll take powerlifting any-day where the bias is minimal.
Sergio had mass, but the shape of his muscles was odd. Arnold had everything. Just perfect shape, symmetry and mass. The sport peaked and ended with Arnold as far as I'm concerned.
There's ALWAYS politics involved in everything. Everybody's out to 'make a buck'. We'll probably never know the truth, but from your point-of-view, I agree with you completely. Sergio, at one point, had thighs larger than his waist. He was always massively ripped (by 60s & 70s standards). If people get the right backing (money &/or exposure) the sky's the limit. My favorite example is that Bruce Springsteen & Peter Frampton started their careers at approximately the same time. Bruce now is almost 'a god' while hardly anyone remembers Peter...it was exposure & 'air-time'. Nice work Nick; keep them coming.
it's not possible to pick a random product and put it on display/exposure and automatically it will succeed, there is a reason for that growth in exposure and like weider stated, Arnold sold 3x the magazines as the other guy. If he didn't, he wouldn't have received any more exposure. I believe Arnold has a certain combination of traits that are obvious throughout his career that sets him apart from the competition, probably Weider saw the same thing and decided to go with it. And Bruce springsteen isn't just a random entertainer who was "exposed" in front of a wider audience, he's serious talent. A better comparison would be manufactured pop idols of later decades.
Arnold never looked better than sergio in his whole life you dont really know bodybuilding if you think otherwise sergios genetics are so superior he could look better with 30 more pounds of pure fat arnold just knew the right people
Nick does a great job of finding incredibly hard to find details in bodybuilding history so here's a challenge for ya. Who on earth is that in the curtain at 3:28?
well only reason Phil Heath won the 7th time was because they wanted him to equal Arnold's titles.... so it would be childish not to think that the whole thing is rigged and set up. welcome to the human race.
I did not know that about the International contest, and I also did not know about Weider's comment about selling magazines with Arnold vs Sergio.Thanks for that information. As per your main point, I think i would have to agree with the bias toward Arnold at that time. I think the Weiders knew that Arnold could really promote the sport better and expand it. This goes up to 1975 and the Nubret incident at the Olympia.
I don't doubt there was some favoritism, however even to this day if you were to ask gym rats or novice physique enthusiasts which body would they most like to have, Arnold would be at the top of the list. He would beat Ronnie and Phil easily. His charisma was second to none and his success in other ventures proves that there is something extraordinary about him. His wins were deserved when the whole package was taken into account. I will admit that his last Olympia seemed more about who he was rather than what he brought to the stage, but overall he was just so much more impressive and pleasing to the eye than Sergio, Zane, Mentzer and all the others. As much as you may not like to admit it bodybuilding contests are still very much like beauty pageants where your physical self is not the only thing that can help you win.
There’s still no doubt Arnold would’ve probably won at least 5 even if it wasn’t rigged. His physique will always be regarded as the best and for good reason. But the Olympia isn’t what it used to be anymore. People idolize non-Olympia bodybuilders more now
On a personal note, I don't care who wins the Olympia according to the 'judges' - I have my own opinion, and just enjoy the show. Although it changes a lot for the athletes involved, and sadly, it may prevent them from showing up again if they outclass an opponent, and still lose.
If Arnold did not win, would body building be as popular as it was back then? Nope. Did Floyd Mayweather win all his matches 100%? Nope. Its business but its also about promoting the sport. Its not like between Sergio and Arnold the difference was immense. As you pointed out, Arnold looked simply better. Smaller, but better. Not much discussion. And if its minor differences, the reigning champ stays, been like that in most sports since dawn of time. Arnold did more for body building then sergio could ever have done, Joe saw this. Its simple really.
look at Lee Priest had a hell of a body in his prime, he deserved better treatment but he was not a player and spoke his mind a dangerous thing to higher powers however i like the way he is honest and speaks his mind KUDOS TO LEE PRIEST BTW
I'm sorry Sergio did NOT ever have a better physique. Sergio had a smaller waist and that's about it. He was arm dominant. His arms were unsymmetrical, did not have good shape and were not as aesthetic, especially in that superman pose he used to do. He was a good bodybuilder but highly overrated in my opinion.
Back in those days 60s and 70s I was a Bob Hoffman fan. And because of the things Bob Hoffman said or alluded to I always considered Joe Weider a sleazy fake salesman type.
Sergio was a freak and one of the greats but to be honest Arnold was better. Arnold had great proportions and was way ahead of his time and never neglected any part of his body and was always on the lookout for ways to improve it much like Zane did and approached it much like an artist would that`s why when we see Arnold in his prime he still has that wow factor even today 40yrs plus years later. Politics? yes to some extent but usually you have to be a great bodybuilder to win the Olympia period, that comes first.
This is a very probable line of thought 💭, as bodybuilding has always been judged subjectively the winner is only someone's opinion nothing more, as such the "judging panel" is just window dressing to the advert to buy bodybuilding magazines supplements and anything else they can think of.
I think yeah joe rigged it in favor of Arnold... but.... he did it because Arnold had the best physique. Jo wanted the best that the bodybuilding world had to offer, and that was Arnold.
Very interesting, I never knew this. I wonder what Arnold has to say about this? There is always a back story to every rise and fall. Atleast Joe admitted why he did what he did, for magazine sales. It must have been very disheartening for Sergio to know you're better than Arnold and still lose.
Nick you live in So.Cal, you know that every golden age bodybuilder always said the fix was in. I know politics played a huge part in bodybuilding and still does, however that is how things work. I attended a People's Choice contest one year and some guy who was clearly smooth won the show, he had tons of family and friends show up and vote. Serge's big problem was his bicep/tricep separation, especially during his famous front double bicep pose. Hey Nick- BRAD HARRIS!
In my opinion 2 of those olympias he won have asterisks next to them, and them changing the background helped him but hurt Nubret. I still believe he won a lot based on his genetics and hard work tho.
Here's my opinion on this. Arnold earned his Olympia's, because he simply had the best physique for his time. No one was as complete as Arnold and no one had Arnold's combination of size, conditioning, and posing ability. Olivia Sr. was probably the closest to matching Arnold, but he never had Arnold's conditioning and he wasn't nearly as good of a poser. Even in the highly controversial 1980 Olympia, I still believe Arnold had the best physique. He dwarfed everyone's upper body and his legs were weak that year, but despite this weakness, his back, chest, and arms were clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the 1980 competition. But, could Arnold have gotten biased treatment? Of course he did, but it still doesn't necessarily make it rigged, because his physique was clearly better than everyone else's. It wasn't like any of his Olympia's, besides the 1980 one, were highly controversial. But every champ eventually gets biased treatment. LeBron James will be getting more calls in his way, as opposed to some no name NBA player. Tom Brady will be getting more calls his way, as opposed to Tom Savage. It's just the nature of sports/pageants or whatever you want to call bodybuilding.
I think Arnold deserved it in 1970 and 1972, so much more aesthetic, Sergio is a legend and I'm a real fan of him but his physique was never really aesthetic and he never really seemed to have the conditioning of Arnold
One thing you dont see in the pics is how arnold moves from one pose to the next. Also Im still of the opinion that Arnold had the best physique for every olympia that he won. Im surprised franco didnt win, he look vascular as fuck!
He deserved all the Olympia's,I asked my dad who doesn't know any of the bodybuilders, and asked him for each year who had the best body?Arnold was his reply every time
Why do people say that Arnold shouldn't have won because he didn't look his best? Yes, he didn't look *HIS* best, which still looks better than most guys' best. What is all that whining all about?
The Mr.Olympia before Arnold and Pumping Iron wasn't that big a deal. He didn't have that much competition either look at pumping Iron...He was versus 2 people in the tall category... Imo Mr.Olympia was at his peak between 1977 and 1992 the true golden era. From 1946 to 1969 that was the peak of the silver era.
One of your best researched pieces Nick! WOW! Sergio looked pretty damn amazing in some of those shots against Arnold, and in my opinion looked alot better in some of them too. That being said, in my short experience in competing, it was clear to see that the shows winners were hand picked. The best guy and or girl doesn't win. Lets face it, it is all a popularity contest. 007
Nick, what are your thoughts on Arnold’s version in his book Total Recall. Interesting how he left out all that you have shared here from the book. Very interesting.
Definitely; any sport or competition in which results are down to subjective evaluation are highly prone to rigging, especially one that is a niche and wants to become more popular. The average bloke can't tell the difference between top 5 finishers (or they all have subjective standards) thus picking the most charismatic one is the best for promoting your business.
Love your content. What a channel. Arnold looked amazing on stage regardless of the year. He was favored and deserved to win. He is synonymous w bodybuilding.
But I will say there was definitely some smoke with Arnold and weider bottom line EVERYTHING is about $$ at the end of the day!!do I think he deserved all 7??very debatable but every single champ we've had had some debatable win,including ronnie
Honestly Nick, I’m torn in this particular type of situation. Arnold was a fantastic bodybuilder and he was and still is a huge inspiration for myself as I come up in this industry. In fact I feel I may be biased because in a lot of competitions including the ones that were controversial, I still see Arnold winning or at least holding his own on stage. However looking at it closely and really hearing the stories and facts brought around through videos like this one or reading it through blogs, forums, or articles, I start to believe that maybe it WAS rigged for Arnold. And if hat were the case, there are at least 3 Olympias that Arnold one that he really shouldn’t have (1 being the year of the disqualifications and him being the only one to show up and compete. That should kind of be a void comp IMO because really it’s not a competition at that point). Crazy to think that maybe he was REALLY only a 4 time winner and we have all kind of built him up to be so huge now. It’s sort of a conflicting ideology. But regardless, this was a great video as always! I like videos like these where you pursue the deeper side of the contests as well as the usual videos that tell us of old school legends! Love the channel
70 Sergio should’ve won. In 71 it was about monopolizing bodybuilding. 72 Arnold was clearly better. There will always be controversy in bodybuilding. Hell Kai Greene has beaten Phil heath at least twice but, you make more money with Phil than Kai.
Man i appreciate your researching effort and accuracy but overall we all have eyes and minds and what ever it was (bribing, rigged, cheating..etc) we can clearly judge and distinguish who Arnold was during his era which deeply convinces us of him being the best and the winner who diserved his wins.
Arnold had the better physique/genetics regardless if he wasn't in top shape... his shape and form alone is why he was always better than the competition. And he was definitely better than Sergio Oliva.
I watched an interview with Frank Zane and Joe had said to him that if he wanted to succeed Frank would have to be nice to him. Joe definitely at least had a ridiculous hand, if he wasn't the only hand, in nearly every mr olympia. Zane actually didn't train at gold's gym during the filming of pumping iron, saying it should have been called pumping arnold instead. Arnold did have an amazing physique but if I'm honest Nubret should have won the 75 olympia, rewatching the movie Arnold's legs are 2/3-3/4 of what they should have been for his upper body. There's my two cents lol
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Weider had most of those shows fixed. It's the same way in the NPC (IFBB's amateur organization). I learned long ago in bodybuilding: "It's not what you know but who you know."
Every sport is rigged in some way or another. That being said to me there's an argument that could be made either way as they were very close. I will say in my viewpoint 1 was better in some aspects and the other in other aspects so I would think it would be an up in the air verdict. I have to add I think some of the fights that Muhammad Ali had were rigged as to him winning that I think he should not have won. But, that's life.
I don't think it was rigged, I just think that Joe Weider recognized exceptional talent when he saw it. Check out those comparisons between Arnold and Sergio @3:56, sure, Sergio's waist was smaller then Arnold's and he has overall better muscle bellies in his legs,but Arnold's upper body, muscle separation and unreal arm development destroyed Sergio, not to mention Arnold's artistry and fluidity onstage was second to none. You can follow a perfect "S" curve in almost every pose that Arnold executed, back in those days I think artistry and fluidity counted for something, nobody except for maybe Frank Zane and Ed Corny came close to his genius posing routines.
Maybe Arnold was selling 3x more of the magazines (because people were just buying it more, I doubt Joe was forcing people to buy it with a gun to their head), because people simply liked his physique more. If people prefer one thing over other thing, it's because it's better. Numbers don't lie. Unless someone has a proof, that Joe was buying those magazines himself, to boost the sales, noone can deny, that people simply prefered Arnold. Which means, his physique was more desirable=better.
Sergio had ridiculous arms in proportion to his physique, which he had a great one in general. But looking at these pictures i actually think Arnold looks way better. Sergio looks kind of freakish with his proportions, like he is out of a cartoon. The way Arnold poses and his lats flow into his v-taper is more pleasing to me. Also the vacuum he pretty much constantly hits sells it for me lol.
Nick I'll give u credit u are one he'll of a researcher.
Terrence Rollins u spelled hell wrong
thats what the Uni does to you
*Terrence Rollins* Who are you calling a heel?
Nobody can deny Arnold was incredible. But many of his wins were sketchy, with that I agree.
That side chest is just insane
Today that would be all photoshop
I need to return some video tapes
Patrick Bateman Not as good as Rich Piano.
Patrick Bateman Are you a genesis fan?
Sergio Oliva Jr. said that Joe Weider deleted pics where Sergio Oliva senior was better than Arnold in 1972 Mr. O...
He deleted those pics because he didn't want people to see in bb magazines that Oliva was better than Arnold
Arnold was Weider's golden boy
Chevvy Sergio was not as good as Arnold.
Anthony .O you sound silly as hell. Why you think they kicked Sergio out of iFBB
Anthony, that is because you have only seen pics putting Arnold in the best light. There are pics of Sergio looking incredible, but they are rare.
sergio may have looked better against any other version of sergio, but still blocky and not cut. no back. just lats. many flaws. just big dont count.
All shows are rigged. You just have to be on the favorable side of the rigging.
Kelly Brownyeah like Floyd Mayweather, they always make him look good, he's lost some fights
Yeah you have to be the one dude in the entire world to be on the side of the rigging.
Incredible odds.
3:28 Guy at the bottom left: "Hello there!"
Rigged or not he still had the most complete body for his time!
James Sopkin who was more complete then??
Sergio Oliva
three3thou lats to high, lacked details in his legs, no definition in arms, upper chest underdeveloped and lacked roundness like Arnold! Also calves were not even on the same level from behind!
Ok here's 2 more: Robby Robinson, Danny Padilla.
hague444
Let's see: thin thighs ( except 1974) ,wide waist, unimpressive abs. His pecs, biceps and calves overwhelm everything. Triceps and delts :meh.
Of course it was the ifbb is rigged. Joe Weider chose Arnold Schwarzenegger because Arnold was charismatic and he knew he could make money off him and make the sport bigger. Sorry I mean beauty pageant not sport. That's why Franco Columbu one after his injury. That's why Arnold one in 1980. That's why Dorian Yates beat Nasser despite deserving second. The point is is that the whole Federation is rigged the judges have been the same judges since the 90s for fuck sakes. And it's a fascist system. If you speak out against the judge's you get banned. What kind of sport is that? Well I'll tell you it's no sport at all LMAO. Bodybuilding is a rigged beauty pageant for muscles. THAT'S IT.
Hmm....🤔
My knee jerk reaction was to disagree with you sir but I see your point!
👌
You seem to be a little insecure
100% truth. The ifbb look for the competitors who can sell the 'sport' and make them the most money. That's why dorian beat nasser and why phil heath beat big ramy, because having a muslim as mr o wouldn't be good for lining their greedy, jewish pockets. Fuck competitive bodybuilding, I'll take powerlifting any-day where the bias is minimal.
Fuck I want to argue with you for disrespect but honestly it’s all true Lmao
Dionicio Ysassi I just laughed my ass off at the Denny’s comment thank you
As much as I don't want to believe it..I think Bodybuilding has entirely too much politics involved and I do believe it helped Arnold in his Career
We got Commando... so it all worked out in the end.
The fact that he brought along his own judges is hilarious. It's like giving your numbers you want chosen to the lottery offical.
Seeing photos of the Golden Age really makes you realize how crappy bodybuilding has become
Sergio had mass, but the shape of his muscles was odd. Arnold had everything. Just perfect shape, symmetry and mass. The sport peaked and ended with Arnold as far as I'm concerned.
No sergio had muscle bellies up and strong separation down. Perfect
Was UA-cam rigged for hedge to be a star?
There's ALWAYS politics involved in everything. Everybody's out to 'make a buck'. We'll probably never know the truth, but from your point-of-view, I agree with you completely.
Sergio, at one point, had thighs larger than his waist. He was always massively ripped (by 60s & 70s standards).
If people get the right backing (money &/or exposure) the sky's the limit.
My favorite example is that Bruce Springsteen & Peter Frampton started their careers at approximately the same time. Bruce now is almost 'a god' while hardly anyone remembers Peter...it was exposure & 'air-time'.
Nice work Nick; keep them coming.
Good analogy. Thumbs up dude.
it's not possible to pick a random product and put it on display/exposure and automatically it will succeed, there is a reason for that growth in exposure and like weider stated, Arnold sold 3x the magazines as the other guy. If he didn't, he wouldn't have received any more exposure. I believe Arnold has a certain combination of traits that are obvious throughout his career that sets him apart from the competition, probably Weider saw the same thing and decided to go with it. And Bruce springsteen isn't just a random entertainer who was "exposed" in front of a wider audience, he's serious talent. A better comparison would be manufactured pop idols of later decades.
Rigged then, rigged now...
But Arnold came with his A game in 1971. He was better and leaner than Sergio.
bmx7596 I disagree. Oliva was huge. Jones have been training him.
Arnold never looked better than sergio in his whole life you dont really know bodybuilding if you think otherwise sergios genetics are so superior he could look better with 30 more pounds of pure fat arnold just knew the right people
bmx7596 i think arnold deserved 4 out of the 7 olympias which would still make him a star
natalie portman fan bundle plan bruh even nick said in the video arnold looked better that year
natalie portman fan bundle plan yeah yeah yeah... There is a reason Arnold in regarded and the greatest nobody gives a fuck about Sergio
Obviously it’s rigged for certain guys, Arnold, Ronnie, Phil heath. Why do you think Phil won even when he looked like shit? Hmm
Lord Tangy woooooow buddy. I think anyone would disagree with Ronnie’s majority wins except the last time with jay lol
3:48 arnold has the better physique, IMHO. Arnold far more asthetic, which was far more important back then.
Nice Video. One of reasons the great Mike Mentzer retired from bodybuilding was the same reason- Mr Olympia is rigged!
Just look at Arnie's chest in the beginning...damn!
I’d say it’s likely. Subjective contests with financial interests are often manipulated.
I would be fair and say that 5 of Arnold’s 7 Olympia wins were 100% legit and deserved
Nick does a great job of finding incredibly hard to find details in bodybuilding history so here's a challenge for ya.
Who on earth is that in the curtain at 3:28?
well only reason Phil Heath won the 7th time was because they wanted him to equal Arnold's titles.... so it would be childish not to think that the whole thing is rigged and set up.
welcome to the human race.
dang,your channel really helped me get prespective of things and BB history right. thanks nick!
I'm quite sure Wieder felt that way about selling magazines, but I'd very surprised to hear Wieder actually said that in print.
Nick you know if you make a video talking about those stuff about Arnold a bunch of fanboy is going to tell you he was perfect while no one is.
Great video Nick. Many interesting questions and points of view for sure.
I did not know that about the International contest, and I also did not know about Weider's comment about selling magazines with Arnold vs Sergio.Thanks for that information. As per your main point, I think i would have to agree with the bias toward Arnold at that time. I think the Weiders knew that Arnold could really promote the sport better and expand it. This goes up to 1975 and the Nubret incident at the Olympia.
I don't doubt there was some favoritism, however even to this day if you were to ask gym rats or novice physique enthusiasts which body would they most like to have, Arnold would be at the top of the list. He would beat Ronnie and Phil easily. His charisma was second to none and his success in other ventures proves that there is something extraordinary about him. His wins were deserved when the whole package was taken into account. I will admit that his last Olympia seemed more about who he was rather than what he brought to the stage, but overall he was just so much more impressive and pleasing to the eye than Sergio, Zane, Mentzer and all the others. As much as you may not like to admit it bodybuilding contests are still very much like beauty pageants where your physical self is not the only thing that can help you win.
That side chest pose by Arnie is legendary...No 1 comes close to that...
There’s still no doubt Arnold would’ve probably won at least 5 even if it wasn’t rigged. His physique will always be regarded as the best and for good reason. But the Olympia isn’t what it used to be anymore. People idolize non-Olympia bodybuilders more now
On a personal note, I don't care who wins the Olympia according to the 'judges' - I have my own opinion, and just enjoy the show. Although it changes a lot for the athletes involved, and sadly, it may prevent them from showing up again if they outclass an opponent, and still lose.
whatever people say Arnold always looked better than Sergio, without any disrespect to Sergio, look at 3:51.
If Arnold did not win, would body building be as popular as it was back then? Nope. Did Floyd Mayweather win all his matches 100%? Nope. Its business but its also about promoting the sport. Its not like between Sergio and Arnold the difference was immense. As you pointed out, Arnold looked simply better. Smaller, but better. Not much discussion. And if its minor differences, the reigning champ stays, been like that in most sports since dawn of time. Arnold did more for body building then sergio could ever have done, Joe saw this. Its simple really.
Daniel Larsson exactly , people like talk to much bullshit, arnold raised up this entertaiment to a whole other level.
Arnold clearly looked better especially in 1972 sergios arms were too big for that physique and his posing wasn't anywhere near as good
look at Lee Priest had a hell of a body in his prime, he deserved better treatment but he was not a player and spoke his mind a dangerous thing to higher powers however i like the way he is honest and speaks his mind KUDOS TO LEE PRIEST BTW
I'm sorry Sergio did NOT ever have a better physique. Sergio had a smaller waist and that's about it. He was arm dominant. His arms were unsymmetrical, did not have good shape and were not as aesthetic, especially in that superman pose he used to do. He was a good bodybuilder but highly overrated in my opinion.
Back in those days 60s and 70s I was a Bob Hoffman fan.
And because of the things Bob Hoffman said or alluded to I always considered Joe Weider a sleazy fake salesman type.
Sergio was a freak and one of the greats but to be honest Arnold was better. Arnold had great proportions and was way ahead of his time and never neglected any part of his body and was always on the lookout for ways to improve it much like Zane did and approached it much like an artist would that`s why when we see Arnold in his prime he still has that wow factor even today 40yrs plus years later. Politics? yes to some extent but usually you have to be a great bodybuilder to win the Olympia period, that comes first.
This is a very probable line of thought 💭, as bodybuilding has always been judged subjectively the winner is only someone's opinion nothing more, as such the "judging panel" is just window dressing to the advert to buy bodybuilding magazines supplements and anything else they can think of.
I think yeah joe rigged it in favor of Arnold... but.... he did it because Arnold had the best physique. Jo wanted the best that the bodybuilding world had to offer, and that was Arnold.
Very interesting, I never knew this. I wonder what Arnold has to say about this? There is always a back story to every rise and fall. Atleast Joe admitted why he did what he did, for magazine sales. It must have been very disheartening for Sergio to know you're better than Arnold and still lose.
Arnold is the reason, bodybuilding is so popular right now, if it wasn't for him, so many people could've died without realizing their potentials.
Nick you live in So.Cal, you know that every golden age bodybuilder always said the fix was in. I know politics played a huge part in bodybuilding and still does, however that is how things work. I attended a People's Choice contest one year and some guy who was clearly smooth won the show, he had tons of family and friends show up and vote. Serge's big problem was his bicep/tricep separation, especially during his famous front double bicep pose.
Hey Nick- BRAD HARRIS!
In '71, I'd say Sergio had better legs and mid section (aesthetic) , but Arnold' s upper torso (shoulders, arms) was superior.
In my opinion 2 of those olympias he won have asterisks next to them, and them changing the background helped him but hurt Nubret. I still believe he won a lot based on his genetics and hard work tho.
Here's my opinion on this. Arnold earned his Olympia's, because he simply had the best physique for his time. No one was as complete as Arnold and no one had Arnold's combination of size, conditioning, and posing ability. Olivia Sr. was probably the closest to matching Arnold, but he never had Arnold's conditioning and he wasn't nearly as good of a poser. Even in the highly controversial 1980 Olympia, I still believe Arnold had the best physique. He dwarfed everyone's upper body and his legs were weak that year, but despite this weakness, his back, chest, and arms were clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the 1980 competition.
But, could Arnold have gotten biased treatment? Of course he did, but it still doesn't necessarily make it rigged, because his physique was clearly better than everyone else's. It wasn't like any of his Olympia's, besides the 1980 one, were highly controversial.
But every champ eventually gets biased treatment. LeBron James will be getting more calls in his way, as opposed to some no name NBA player. Tom Brady will be getting more calls his way, as opposed to Tom Savage. It's just the nature of sports/pageants or whatever you want to call bodybuilding.
1:40 "pimping iron"? Is that real or a hilarious typo since "I" and "u" are right next to each other on the keyboard?
good for Sergio to not compete in 1971. arnold's advantages over him would've been even more obvious.
Holy shit that chest is insane. Surely bigger than chests even today?
met arnold when he was "18"
I actually think Arnold did look better the Symmetry on Sergio right side versus left is a weaker
Heavy hitting hard rocking exposees of The Weider$ crooked IFBB
I think Arnold deserved it in 1970 and 1972, so much more aesthetic, Sergio is a legend and I'm a real fan of him but his physique was never really aesthetic and he never really seemed to have the conditioning of Arnold
He tried to add 3 of his own judges haha thats hilarious lol
One thing you dont see in the pics is how arnold moves from one pose to the next.
Also Im still of the opinion that Arnold had the best physique for every olympia that he won.
Im surprised franco didnt win, he look vascular as fuck!
Anold is genetically gifted bodybuilder people stop hating on Arnold he's the king of bodybuilding
Arnold looks more cut in all the pictures shown, sergio was big, BUT he looks like he was holding a LOT of water!!!
Great vid as always Nick!
He deserved all the Olympia's,I asked my dad who doesn't know any of the bodybuilders, and asked him for each year who had the best body?Arnold was his reply every time
dark pewdiepie "my dad who doesn't know any of the bodybuilders" - that's your reason then...
Why do people say that Arnold shouldn't have won because he didn't look his best? Yes, he didn't look *HIS* best, which still looks better than most guys' best. What is all that whining all about?
Of course. Bodybuilding is not a sport, it's a beauty pageant. It's all about what's best for business. It's still like that to this day.
Ashley James yeah right cause the other sports are never rigged 😂
The Mr.Olympia before Arnold and Pumping Iron wasn't that big a deal. He didn't have that much competition either look at pumping Iron...He was versus 2 people in the tall category...
Imo Mr.Olympia was at his peak between 1977 and 1992 the true golden era.
From 1946 to 1969 that was the peak of the silver era.
Sergio was one hell of a body builder but everybody knows Arnold was numeral Uno
One of your best researched pieces Nick!
WOW!
Sergio looked pretty damn amazing in some of those shots against Arnold, and in my opinion looked alot better in some of them too.
That being said, in my short experience in competing, it was clear to see that the shows winners were hand picked.
The best guy and or girl doesn't win.
Lets face it, it is all a popularity contest.
007
Nick, what are your thoughts on Arnold’s version in his book Total Recall. Interesting how he left out all that you have shared here from the book. Very interesting.
Definitely; any sport or competition in which results are down to subjective evaluation are highly prone to rigging, especially one that is a niche and wants to become more popular. The average bloke can't tell the difference between top 5 finishers (or they all have subjective standards) thus picking the most charismatic one is the best for promoting your business.
Whilst sergios arms always looked massive they also seemed a bit shapeless to me and undefined
Love your content. What a channel. Arnold looked amazing on stage regardless of the year. He was favored and deserved to win. He is synonymous w bodybuilding.
Everything's rigged but more to the point.... 1980 Olympia. Nuff said. Also, the 1975... Nubret was a clear winner. So there's that.
But I will say there was definitely some smoke with Arnold and weider bottom line EVERYTHING is about $$ at the end of the day!!do I think he deserved all 7??very debatable but every single champ we've had had some debatable win,including ronnie
We know Nick is a natty just by the sound of his voice
Not really he had a physique and his charisma was what made him stand out
Another great video!
The old saying comes to mind..... "its not what you know its who you know"
Wag Bennet is the one that discovered Arnold and asked him to join him in east London during his teens.
Arnold was the better bodybuilder. Sergio was magnificent but Arnold was the best. As far as rigging yes everything in the world is rigged for profits
Nubret said 1972 wasn’t even close Sergio by a mile and Arnold and Nubret fighting for 2nd
Honestly Nick, I’m torn in this particular type of situation. Arnold was a fantastic bodybuilder and he was and still is a huge inspiration for myself as I come up in this industry. In fact I feel I may be biased because in a lot of competitions including the ones that were controversial, I still see Arnold winning or at least holding his own on stage. However looking at it closely and really hearing the stories and facts brought around through videos like this one or reading it through blogs, forums, or articles, I start to believe that maybe it WAS rigged for Arnold. And if hat were the case, there are at least 3 Olympias that Arnold one that he really shouldn’t have (1 being the year of the disqualifications and him being the only one to show up and compete. That should kind of be a void comp IMO because really it’s not a competition at that point). Crazy to think that maybe he was REALLY only a 4 time winner and we have all kind of built him up to be so huge now. It’s sort of a conflicting ideology. But regardless, this was a great video as always! I like videos like these where you pursue the deeper side of the contests as well as the usual videos that tell us of old school legends! Love the channel
There's a Great 2 Part History of the WBF on Wrestlelamia's channel on here. It's in his "Behind the Titantron" Series
Arnold’s arms and chest are better, the rest is a toss up.
70 Sergio should’ve won. In 71 it was about monopolizing bodybuilding. 72 Arnold was clearly better. There will always be controversy in bodybuilding. Hell Kai Greene has beaten Phil heath at least twice but, you make more money with Phil than Kai.
Man i appreciate your researching effort and accuracy but overall we all have eyes and minds and what ever it was (bribing, rigged, cheating..etc) we can clearly judge and distinguish who Arnold was during his era which deeply convinces us of him being the best and the winner who diserved his wins.
Yes it was rigged for Arnold. Both Sergio and Serge were shunted off to the side.
Arnold had the better physique/genetics regardless if he wasn't in top shape... his shape and form alone is why he was always better than the competition. And he was definitely better than Sergio Oliva.
Only by a very few. Arnold was the best, and still to this day has the best physique to ever hit the stage.
The selling more magazines comment alone makes me suspect Joe was shady.
I watched an interview with Frank Zane and Joe had said to him that if he wanted to succeed Frank would have to be nice to him. Joe definitely at least had a ridiculous hand, if he wasn't the only hand, in nearly every mr olympia. Zane actually didn't train at gold's gym during the filming of pumping iron, saying it should have been called pumping arnold instead. Arnold did have an amazing physique but if I'm honest Nubret should have won the 75 olympia, rewatching the movie Arnold's legs are 2/3-3/4 of what they should have been for his upper body. There's my two cents lol
video on Ninja Tyler?
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Weider had most of those shows fixed. It's the same way in the NPC (IFBB's amateur organization). I learned long ago in bodybuilding: "It's not what you know but who you know."
Every sport is rigged in some way or another. That being said to me there's an argument that could be made either way as they were very close. I will say in my viewpoint 1 was better in some aspects and the other in other aspects so I would think it would be an up in the air verdict.
I have to add I think some of the fights that Muhammad Ali had were rigged as to him winning that I think he should not have won. But, that's life.
IMO ( just imo mind you) but Arnold looked better the Sergio in all the pictures u have shown!
Fantastic video as always.
I wouldn't put it past them, but it's impossible to say based purely on photos. I think the only one that was clearly fixed was Arnolds final Olympia.
SERGIO DON'T HAVE ANY SEPARATION IN THE ARMS WHILE ARNI HAVE GREAT SEPARATION ARE YOU BLIND . HE WIN BECAUSE HE WAS BETTER
Yes it was rigged but it didn't matter he was better then every other bodybuilder aside from in 1980.
I don't think it was rigged, I just think that Joe Weider recognized exceptional talent when he saw it. Check out those comparisons between Arnold and Sergio @3:56, sure, Sergio's waist was smaller then Arnold's and he has overall better muscle bellies in his legs,but Arnold's upper body, muscle separation and unreal arm development destroyed Sergio, not to mention Arnold's artistry and fluidity onstage was second to none. You can follow a perfect "S" curve in almost every pose that Arnold executed, back in those days I think artistry and fluidity counted for something, nobody except for maybe Frank Zane and Ed Corny came close to his genius posing routines.
Maybe Arnold was selling 3x more of the magazines (because people were just buying it more, I doubt Joe was forcing people to buy it with a gun to their head), because people simply liked his physique more. If people prefer one thing over other thing, it's because it's better. Numbers don't lie. Unless someone has a proof, that Joe was buying those magazines himself, to boost the sales, noone can deny, that people simply prefered Arnold. Which means, his physique was more desirable=better.
Sergio had ridiculous arms in proportion to his physique, which he had a great one in general. But looking at these pictures i actually think Arnold looks way better. Sergio looks kind of freakish with his proportions, like he is out of a cartoon. The way Arnold poses and his lats flow into his v-taper is more pleasing to me. Also the vacuum he pretty much constantly hits sells it for me lol.