Written by Flex Wheeler
01 October 2006
 "It's Miller time tonight!"

For the ninth year in a row, the final announcement of the Mr. Olympia took place while a glorious champion stood overwhelmed by emotion at center stage.  Only this time it was Jay Cutler, standing onstage at the wonder of realizing his dream.  History was indeed written tonight-or rewritten-when Jay Cutler became only the 11th man to hold the prized Sandow aloft in the contest's 41-year lifespan.  The Blonde Behemoth did the unimaginable by dethroning 8-time champion Ronnie _mg_2075Coleman in probably the most nail-biting climax in memory.  Cutler took advantage of the lead he established last night in judging, this time learning from his previous mistake by coming out blazing.  I've never seen Jay this aggressive.  He didn't let up on Ronnie in the least.  He knew he had the champ pinned against the ropes and damn it all if he was going to let him escape this time.  The two goliaths battled ‘till the last man standing and when the winner was announced, that man was Jay Cutler, the new Mr. Olympia.  The entire house erupted in pandemonium.  The new champion acknowledged the old, showing Coleman all the proper respect.  To his credit, Ronnie handled the loss like a true winner, giving Jay heartfelt praise for a hard fought battle.

Third place was a war within the war as Victor Martinez took two steps forward-but not one step back-to surpass Dexter Jackson and claim the coveted third spot.  It's what we've all been waiting for: Victor, big, hard, perfectly proportioned, flowing seamlessly, and conditioned.  Let me repeat, "Conditioned, conditioned, conditioned!"  The Blade was nearly diced and flawless, but Victor could not be denied.  Fighting him down to the last drop of sweat was Melvin Anthony.  Melvin's improving every year and if he can nail his conditioning-which was close this time-he's got all the tools to move up even further.  Gustavo Badell fought equally hard and it could have gone either way. 

Yes, I know tonight's outcome doesn't quite flow with my assessment of judging, but that's the way I saw it on Friday.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not perfect, which falls in line with what everybody's been saying all along.  I want to be the first to usher Jay Cutler into the new era of bodybuilding.  Jay Cutler made history.  And after the lights have faded, the question lingers on, "Will Ronnie return for revenge in '07?  Will Victor continue getting better?  Is this the start of a new dynasty?  For now, as a victorious Jay Cutler said, "The Sandow stays in Vegas." Congratulations to the promoters for a fine showing.  This year's rendition was a fabulous return to "good ole bodybuilding," just the way we like it.  A fitting end to a spectacular IFBB season. 

  1. Jay Cutler
  2. Ronnie Coleman
  3. Victor Martinez
  4. Dexter Jackson
  5. Melvin Anthony
  6. Gustavo Badell
  7. Toney Freeman
  8. Markus Ruhl
  9. Dennis James
  10. Gunter Schlierkamp

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