The 2025 Mr. Olympia Weekend reshuffled the deck in the Men’s Open class. In a recent YouTube video on Oct. 15, industry experts Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo recapped the action. They discuss why they thought Hadi Choopan was the rightful winner, and shared that Nick Walker should have ‘1,000 percent’ finished in eighth place.
Las Vegas, Nevada served as the battlegrounds for this year’s Olympia contest. While Samson Dauda entered as the reigning champion, he wasn’t able to hold on to gold. He came in downsized and it cost him, while Derek Lunsford, despite a pec tear weeks from the event, persevered to reclaim the honor.
There were plenty of talking points when the smoke cleared. Andrew Jacked proved that he’s a legitimate title contender, as he secured third place. However, the night did not go according to plan for mass monster Nick Walker. “The Mutant” landed in sixth place and revealed that he mistimed his peak, which is why he didn’t look like his usual self during prejudging.
Undoubtedly, it will be an Olympia Weekend to remember. To make sense of the upsets and success stories, Ray and Cicherillo joined forces to give their take on all that transpired.
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Shawn Ray, Bob Cicherillo Had Choopan Winning 2025 Mr. Olympia, Saw Nick Walker in 8th-9th
In the video, Ray explained that he had Choopan winning on both days of the 2025 Mr. Olympia. He added that Dauda looked flat and deflated.
I had Hadi Choopan winning Friday and Saturday. For me, Hadi was going to ultimately be the winner.
I thought Samson would be able to pull a rabbit out of his hat because he simply has a better body than these guys, let’s be honest. He was a little deflated, a little flat, but I thought like Phil Heath in the past, he might be able to resurrect something on Saturday night.”
Looking at Walker, Ray and Cicherillo stood by their earlier forecast, emphasizing that he should have finished in eighth on the Olympia stage.
“He actually should have been in eighth, truth be told. That’s not a knock on him. He was actually legitimately in my book, he was 100,000 percent in eighth place finals.
When I heard he was in sixth afterwards, I need somebody to explain that to me because Tonio and Brandon Curry both beat him on Friday and on Saturday.”
Cicherillo went as far as to suggest Walker could’ve finished ninth.
“He had pressure to get on that stage this year. Maybe he wasn’t feeling it four weeks out, maybe something else went wrong in his prep but he absolutely under no way shape or form could pull out of this Olympia.”
“He had to get out there do or die, and he did that. Listen, I didn’t have him sixth either. I hate to say this, but we have to say it though, I had him in eighth place. I could have had him, honestly, in ninth place.”
Even with his lackluster performance, Ray and Cicherillo don’t think this is the end for Walker. They believe he was simply too heavy and that it affected his look and posing onstage.
“No, I don’t think the ship has sailed. We all have a day off. Sometimes losing is the best medicine. This is sixth place, okay. He knows what he missed out on. He probably has recognized all of the mistakes. He probably realizes not to trust the internet for feedback.
He probably realizes that you know what, he knows, when you’re heavy and you can’t hit the shots and nothing is happening, you know what you have to do to fix it, you just can’t do it in the moment.”
Ray suggested Walker consider the 2026 New York Pro and advised him to sit out of the next Arnold Classic.
“I would not be so outta pocket in saying that he goes for number four at the New York Pro again and try to get that. That’s somewhere where he’s built a reputation and a name for himself and he’s been very successful there. If he shows up in Ohio, I think it’s too soon.”
Cicherillo thinks the moment got to Walker, especially after he missed the Mr. Olympia in 2023 and 2024.
“Personally, I thought the moment was too big for him, in terms of mentally, again, this kid put a lot of pressure on himself. Listen, for good reason, you just didn’t make it to the stage for the last two years. I’m going to defend Nick in this one, it’ll come to a surprise to a lot of people,” he said.
Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo aren’t the only bodybuilding veterans breaking down the results. Recently, Rich Gaspari gave his take on the Mr. Olympia. He thought Dauda looked downsized after chasing better conditioning. As for Walker, he described him as the biggest disappointment of the weekend.
Fans will surely be talking about these Mr. Olympia results for months to come. Although Lunsford brought a stellar physique, Cicherillo and Ray believe Choopan was the rightful winner.
Watch the full video from the VOB Media YouTube channel below:
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