Its unfortunate the weiders had such sway over the results of their contests. I feel bodybuilding really missed out.
Could not agree more. If Weider had played it differently, instead of a relative lull with duds like Columbu, Dickerson and Bannout winning, BB could have been filled with rivalries between greats from the late-70s through the 80s. Deserving BBs like Robinson, Fox, Padilla, Mentzer, Szkalak, etc., all of whom instead left.
IMO had some of them been allowed to win, Haney might not have won as many, and wouldn't have been accorded such reverence amongst some.