No he didn't wipe the floor with everyone that year. Lotta debate about it but......you're kinda saying the audience that night had no clue. Almost to a man (or woman) that audience booed Arnold's 'victory'. Yep I WAS there. Seated behind Joe Weider who for the record asked if I thought Arnold should have won.
Well, since you were there, why don’t you enlighten us as to who should have beaten Arnold? It is not uncommon for the audience to boo when the winner is announced. It is a subjective competition and many have their favorites who they want to win, but who do not. I attended the Mr. O from 2002-2005. There were boos every year....that doesn’t mean Ronnie did not dominate those years.
Based on the photos and the analysis I have seen, no one was better than Arnold that year. The Mentzer camp made a lot of noise, but he placed 5th after all. Much of the controversy was because of Arnold’s last minute entry, the fact that he trained for a short period, and he was smaller than previous years. He was still the best man on stage IMO. Reasonable minds can certainly disagree, but to me, being able to rightfully win under his circumstances in 1980 is wiping the floor with the competition. No one could beat a down-sized, but shredded, Arnold, who had moved his focus to Hollywood and essentially competed on a whim.
