He will beat Kai (if he competes) and he will beat Dexter.
Phil will be the only person standing in his way and Rhoden will be the one to unseat Phil ultimately. Why? Because Phil has a big mouth and a shitty attitude and sewed the seeds of motivation for Rhoden to want to beat him.
Dave Bourlet aka MadMax6 has a great interview series with Shawn Rhoden. In part two of this series, Shawn goes into detail about his dealings with Heath...It shouldn't come as a surprise from what you hear.
I think Shawn has a legitimate chance to unseat Phil if he does certain things. 1. Keeps his abs and waist in check. 2. Bring in the condition he brought last year and hold it throughout the prejudging AND finals and three, continue to add density to his mid and lower back.
Many people think Rhoden is too old to beat Heath (he turned 41 in April). The thing is he's like Tony Freeman, he took 7 years off from everything bodybuilding including lifting weights so his body is still fresh and able to grow. Will Rhoden's back ever be as good as Heath's? Probably not. Will Rhoden's overall physique catch and overtake Phil's? I think so.
They've been really passive aggressive and as of late Rhoden's been aggressive toward's Phil. It's inevitably leading to these two having a rivalry towards the end of Phil's career especially with Kai not competing or being clear on if he will compete. Despite being 41, Rhoden has some time on his side and receptor freshness. Here are some video's below...
For the potion I'm referring to, start at 14:25. I suggest watching part 1 and the entire part 2 of these videos,(this will be a 6 part series) they give you a good idea about who Rhoden is.
