The 2024 Mr. Olympia contest wrapped up with Samson Dauda winning the Men’s Open Bodybuilding title, leading to widespread discussions about the show’s results. In a recent YouTube video shared on October 17, 2024, Nathan De Asha discussed why he thought Hadi Choopan should have won. He also revealed that Nick Walker would have been in the mix to win the title had he not pulled out of the competition.
When the dust settled in Las Vegas, Nevada, history was made. Samson Dauda defeated finalists Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford, two respective Olympia winners, to claim his first title at the prestigious contest inside the Resorts World Theater.
Dauda showcased an all-time best physique and took considerable risks all season to accomplish the improbable. From separating from his coach Milos Sarcev to leaving Kuwait at Oxygen Gyms, fans were unsure how he’d look when he finally took to the marquee stage.
Furthermore, Dauda decided to compete just two weeks before the Olympia in France. While he won the show dominantly, questions about him peaking twice left the community worried about his potential performance. All of those worries didn’t end up mattering for Dauda, who proved himself against a stacked lineup of Open talent.
Nick Walker, meanwhile, had to bow out of the Mr. Olympia contest for a second year in a row. He revealed that his body wasn’t responding to his preparations and needed time to refine his physique. Now, with the biggest show of the year in the rearview, Open Pro Nathan De Asha unpacked the results and offered an interesting take on who he thought should have won.
Nathan De Asha Had Hadi Choopan Winning 2024 Mr. Olympia, Says Nick Walker Would Have Been in Title Contention If He Competed
According to De Asha, he thought Hadi Choopan deserved to win the 2024 Mr. Olympia.
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“Personally, I had Hadi in it to win it. But then, when they were moving them around, I knew Derek wasn’t in for the shot. No disrespect to Derek he just wasn’t there. Last year, even though he won it, Hadi should have won it last year, for me.”
He believes Lunsford wasn’t at his best, which is why he wasn’t considered for gold. However, he believes if Nick Walker was in the show, he would have been in the mix to win the title.
“Derek wasn’t really in the mix. From what I’m looking at for me personally, if Nick Walker would have been in there, it would have been a battle between Nick Walker and Samson.
So, Nick kind of let that one again slip which is a little bit. If I was Nick I’d be absolutely heartbroken. Last year, you could’ve won it, and then this year, they give you a chance to where you had it. The biggest thing for me, the biggest mess up for me was Andrew Jacked.
He also believes Nick Walker will receive backlash from fans if he chooses to jump into the upcoming 2025 Arnold Classic.
“It would be good if he did [the Arnold Classic 2025] but you think he wouldn’t get a lot of backlash for it? I think he would. Let’s think about it. It’s now October. He pulled out of the Olympia.
I’m a Nick fanboy right? So for me, I want to see hi in every show. People might not like his physique but for me, it’s not the most prettiest physique but I like the work ethic he puts in. That’s why I’m a Nick Walker fan.”
De Asha says Walker should opt to compete at the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro instead, which just included the Men’s Open and increased the overall prize money.
“Right now, it’s only eight weeks. If you put your name down in four more weeks that you’re doing Ohio, and you’ve just bottled the Olympia, I think people on the media are just going to bash you, just literally are going to bash the shit out of you.”
“I would just leave it and go Pittsburgh,” said De Asha.
While fans love to see Mr. Olympias try their hand at Arnold Classics, De Asha contends that Dauda is taking a massive risk by entering the show.
“That’s why Mr. Olympias don’t really win the Olympia and then go to the Arnold. It gets judged differently. I don’t know why. It should be the same criteria along the lines.”
“Deep down, people want to be the Arnold champion. It’s good to be Olympia but if I was Samson, I’d be thinking before December first should I go or shouldn’t I go but then again your confidence is riding high, you’re Mr. Olympia, it’s $500,000.”
He praised ‘The Nigerian Lion’ for listening to judging feedback and coming into the sport’s most prestigious show harder than ever.
“Samson was told to come in harder from his last show. He listened to what was said. So, I believe he was rewarded for what he was told to do. Yeah. He was told come in harder. He wasn’t the hardest but he came in harder than he normally does. For him, that’s hard enough.”
“I think he knows he has to get sharper and sharper and that’s why he did the pre-show to see where he was at with it. For me, I thought it was a great move to do that little peak week and bring it down. People were giving him a bit of shit over it. For me, it was good, he needed to drop a few pounds from France which I think he did.”
Bodybuilding veterans have been quick to offer their two cents on the 2024 Mr. Olympia results. As of late, former eight-time Mr. Olympia winner Lee Haney dived into Samson Dauda’s major victory. He believes with more muscle maturity and separation, Dauda could hold on to the title at future competitions.
While Nathan De Asha thought Hadi Chopoan should have won in 2023 and 2024, that’s not how it panned out. Nevertheless, he believes Choopan is always in the title picture, so he looks forward to seeing what comes next for ‘The Persian Wolf’ on the horizon.
Watch the full video from the Muscle Discord YouTube channel below:
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