So when it came down to make the same decision this year, Greene didn’t have to give it too much of a thought judging by his – and his fellow competitor’s –  recent history. Both Phil Heath and Jay Cutler (the last two Mr. Olympia winners, respectively) prepared solely for the O and stayed away from competing until September.

Greene had a lot to prove in 2011 after a lackluster seventh place finish at his maiden Olympia voyage the previous year. He came back strong and dominated the big city stage at the New York Pro, which put him right back into the mix for a top three placing at the Olympia.

That is exactly what happened and Greene is once again in the conversation of dominating bodybuilders. He has already proven himself in Columbus on more than one occasion and he is more than ready to take it a step further.

KAI GREENE – CONTEST HISTORY

The top six resembled the one in Las Vegas in more ways, with Dexter Jackson being the one exception. ‘The Blade’ sat this show out, so Toney Freeman moved up from seventh at the O to sixth here. Kai Greene (third), Victor Martinez (fourth) and Dennis Wolf (fifth) placed the same.

The big names in bodybuilding will now enter a much deserved offseason in anticipation for an action packed 2012. In March, of course, the Arnold Classic takes place and we surely will see the likes of Martinez, Wolf and Freeman. But there will be questions if Greene will compete in Ohio again.  It seems a given that Cutler and Heath will choose to prepare year round for the Olympia.

The final placings at the IFBB Sheru Classic were as follows:

1- Phil Heath

2- Jay Cutler

3- Kai Greene

4- Victor Martinez

5- Dennis Wolf

6- Toney Freeman

7- Michael Kefalianos

8- Alfonso Del Rio Valencia

9- Mohammed Touri

10- Ntuk Sunday

11- Varinder Singh Ghuman

The Men’s 202, Women’s Figure and Bikini will all be showcased in the show promoted by Jacksonville’s own, the man known simply as “The Blade.”

She has competed in four shows this year and has placed in the top six at each of them. LeFrancois has qualified for the Ms. Olympia and should not be overlooked by the deep line-up that will be present in Las Vegas. The Canadian comes in in top condition year in and year out and should have enough time between now and the middle of September to perfect her physique.

This was a bit of a surprise as LeFrancois finished out of the top three at the IFBB Toronto Pro Super Show only a week prior. But she apparently timed everything right and came in to the Sunshine State dried out and tight.

Now bodybuilding fans will have to wait and see what package LeFrancois will bring to the sport’s biggest stage. But the one thing that we do now for sure is that age is not a factor.

To: All IFBB Professional League Male Bodybuilders

From: IFBB Professional League

Please be advised that the 202-lb and under category is changed to 212-lb and under. This change will take effect at the Sacramento Pro on November 5, 2011.

Short and to the point, but this can have a big effect on the future of not only the lighter class, but the men’s open, as well. Competitors that were on the bubble of making the 202 can now maintain a larger physique and still go head-to-head with the likes of Kevin English and David Henry. When Eduardo Correa and Seth Feroce both announced that they intended on moving up to the open class, it was a smart move by the IFBB to keep some of the popular names back in the 202/212.

This also opens the door for someone like Hidetada Yamagishi, who has done quite well for himself in the open but has a build that can dominate as a 212 competitor. Especially in the major shows on the calendar, Hide’s diminutive stature has worked against him. It may behoove him to consider this move.

The 202 and under will still be in effect at the Olympia, but the landscape will look a whole lot different come November.

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Rockel has brought an incredible proportioned physique to the stage but had been stuck below the top three. His diminutive stature was the obvious reason why he would hear his name called after the likes of Branch Warren, Jay Cutler, Dennis Wolf and Phil Heath but that is something out of his control.

Rockel stuck to his game plan and it was a general consensus within the industry that he finally received his due. Now the question arises is how he can springboard the victory into a better placing in September at the Orleans Arena.

The line-up will be tough, as usual, but even more so now that Warren can come in flexing his first Arnold win. After finishing second and third, respectively, at the 2009 and 2010 Olympias, ‘Quadrasaurus’ is more than just a mere threat to Cutler’s reign. Speaking of the two-time defending champion, he will need to be knocked out to be dethroned and that doesn’t seem likely. Cutler learned from his mistakes in 2008 when Dexter Jackson swiped the Sandow from him and he has been in top condition ever since.

Last year, Heath took the stage looking amazing but still couldn’t defeat his close friend Cutler. ‘The Gift’ bowed out of the Arnold to concentrate on the Olympia and will need every advantage just to be the runner-up again. The ‘Big Bad Wolf’ has been on a tear since the last O and will be a tough out and Kai Greene will slip under the radar after a poor showing in Las Vegas. That may play right into his hands and ‘The Predator’ cannot be overlooked as a possible top six finisher.

So even though ‘The Rock’ can come into bodybuilding’s most prestigious show on a high note, he will have to peak again just to stand pat.

2011 IFBB Mr. Europe rand Prix Results:

1 – Ronny Rockel

2 – Roelly Winklaar

3 – Flex Lewis

4 – Robert Priotrkowitz

5 – Toney Freeman

6 – Essa Obiad

7 – Sergey Shelestov

8 – Thomas Bengali

9 – Alvin Small

10 – Marcos Chacon

This changes the playing field ten-fold. Wolf resuscitated his career back in September by placing fifth at the Mr. Olympia and Centopani has been bulking up since winning the 2009 New York Pro in his maiden pro voyage. Both will bring a great presence to the stage out west and the results here may set up a very interesting Arnold Classic a few weeks later.

Both Wolf and Centopani have already stated that they intend on being in Columbus, Ohio for the second most prestigious contest on the bodybuilding calendar and they will be joined by other big names such as Branch Warren, Victor Martinez, Ronny Rockel and Roelly Winklaar.

Will Wolf and Centopani (and to a lesser extent, Shelestov and Abiad) have a leg up on the competition? Or will their participation in a contest so close to the Arnold be detrimental? You can look at it two ways – they can tweak their physiques in the time between the two shows and perfect them. Or they can peak in February and have trouble getting dried out again.

Either way, the FLEX Pro just became a much more interesting event with the addition of two popular names.

2011 FLEX PRO COMPETITOR LIST (as of 1/7/11)

Fouad Abiad
Grigori Atoyan
Robert Belisle
Evan Centopani
Stan Efferding
Wendell Floyd
Dan Hill
Dexter Jackson
Ben Pakulski
Ben White

But then she walked away from the IFBB to join World Wrestling Entertainment.

What seemed like a shock at the time made more sense when you take into consideration that WWE mogul Vince McMahon has deep pockets and his product receives worldwide exposure on television and pay-per-view events every week and month, respectively. It’s hard to blame her for making the move.

Nary a word about Raudoniene was mentioned until this week’s Season 2 finale of NXT when the promos for the third season aired. For those unfamiliar with NXT, it is a 13-week contest of sorts between up-and-coming rookies from Florida Championship Wrestling, the farm team of WWE. Each rookie is paired with a ‘pro,’ who is a WWE superstar.

Season 3 will be the first to pit divas against one another and Raudoniene, whose stage name will be Aksana, has been assigned none other than Goldust as her pro. His real name is Dustin Runnels, and he is the son of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and the brother of “Dashing” Cody Rhodes.

Ruadoniene, 5’5″, looked as awesome as she did on stage in Columbus, Ohio and appears as if she will be able to pull this off. But there will definitely be a few roadblocks, none bigger than the 6’9″ Aloisa.

COMPETITION HISTORY

2006 Motor City Pro                       10th

2007 New York Pro                         1st

2007 Houston Pro                           2nd

2007 Olympia                                   12th

2007 Palm Beach Pro/Am            6th

2008 Olympia                                  3rd

2009 Arnold Classic                      1st

With a full year between contests, Wolf showed up at the ’09 Olympia extremely off and did not even place. That was a total shock to not only his minions but Wolf himself. But did the big German shoot up the list too fast, only to come back to relaity?

Looking over his professional career, Wolf seemed to have peaked between 2007 and 2008. He finished fifth and fourth, respectively, in those two years at the O. At the 2006 Olympia, he did not place and has won only one show overall (2007 IFBB Keystone Pro Classic). Wolf has taken third at his two New York Pro appearances (2007, 2010) and seventh at the ’06 Europa Super Show.

When you take a look at his placings from afar, they really are not that impressive. That is not a knock against Wolf, but rather just an opinion based on fact. Not taking anything away from him for those two impressive top six Olympia placings, but a legitimate contender needs to have a few wins under his belt in the secondary shows and at least one top three at the Arnold or Olympia before he can be considered a great bodybuilder. Wolf is not even close to that.

He has announced that he will in fact compete at this year’s Olympia and that may not be the wisest decision for him. At 31, Wolf is still young enough to bounce back but another bad placing at the top show may put him on the back burner. He is still a big fan favorite but after a while, that will run out.

There is an argument that Wolf would be better off getting ready for the 2011 Arnold instead of cutting up again in September. He did look fairly decent in Manhattan, but there will be plenty of questions on just what type of improvements he will be able to make in just four months. If he finished behind Roelly Winklaar (a rookie) and Hidetada Yamagishi (a much smaller competitor), then there is no way Wolf will be able to compete against the likes of Cutler, Branch Warren or Kai Greene.

Wolf will need to put on more size and then have enough time to cut up and dry out, and timing has been a major knock against him in the past. The odds of that happening are small, and the fallout will be great if Wolf falters again in Las Vegas.

DENNIS WOLF CONTEST HISTORY

2006 Europa Super Show – 7th

2006 Mr. Olympia – 16th

2007 Keystone Pro Classic – 1st

2007 Mr. Olympia – 5th

2008 Mr. Olympia – 4th

2009 Mr. Olympia – 16th

2010 NY Pro – 3rd

On hand were baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, John Balik from Iron Man magazine, Muscle Beach Director Joe Wheatley, IFBB Pro Jerome “Hollywood” Ferguson, co-founder of Muscle Beach Relna Brewer, fitness model Brenda Kelly, Eric the Trainer and many more.

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