How was Shawn Ray never Mr. Olympia?

[Hulkster]

Narrow and has DLB type quads...No sweep what so ever...Standing alone he looks great. Next to people he gets eaten up...

what do you mean no quad sweep?:

[Hulkster]

ps does he look like he is getting eaten up standing next to Nasser and Dorian?

no, he is owning them, even if his lats are narrow.

he destroys them everywhere else.

[njflex]

killer ..

[Weedlejuice]

He had an excellent back , but it lacked width. His lat spreads sucked. His clavicles were narrow ( Heath anyone? ) Oh and he was a MAJOR douch who wore make-up   

he promised to beat Haney , that failed
he promised to beat Yates , that failed
he promised to beat Coleman , that failed.

He SUCKED as a competitive bodybuilder , he was consistent I'll give you that but he's so overrated it's not funny

I personally prefer shawn from the back in this particular shot, better symmetry, more width to his thigh, better condition in his glutes, smaller waist with impressively full and round muscle bellies that taper off in size away from his torso with very aesthetic proportions.

Depends on what you value though I suppose.

[LittleJ]

I'd rather look like Shawn. Dorian looks a bloated mess.

[doriancutlerman]

No , Labrada has more career wins and in my opinion a better physique. Lee has 7 career wins ( in 10 years as a pro ) compared to Ray's 2 in 14 years as a pro. Lee never finished below 5th place in a professional contest

I can respect that.

I would say Shawn was superior, but I don't put a ton of stock in career wins; by that criterion, Ronnie, Kevin and V. Taylor are the best bodybuilders ever.  (Aside:  I do think Kevin and Ronnie are easily some of the best, but more for the best shapes they brought to the stage rather than sheer number of wins.)  

But speaking of contest wins ... Shawn did win the second-biggest title in bodybuilding, twice if you count the win that was taken away from him.  The best Labrada ever did was place second at the Olympia.  Shawn did that, too, albeit not as many times (?).

Also, Shawn repeatedly beat a bunch of guys Lee didn't.  For example, Ray took Levrone in '93, '94, '96 and '97, didn't he?  Lee whipped Kevin in '93 but that was it.

I also like Shawn on a per-part basis better (all homo).  Better pecs, arms, delts.  Lee looked like he was carved from stone but Shawn seemed more detailed.

It's really up to what you're looking for, I guess ... and going back to contest placings/wins, FWIW, I thought Shawn was jobbed during some of the early Ronnie wins.  He was incredible in '99.  I easily had him third instead of Flex Oiler (ironically, Ray thinks FLEX should've won that show!  LOL).  And I thought he was better than Kevin in '01, too, by simple virtue of the fact Levrone didn't have good quads anymore.

[Parker]

I'd rather look like Shawn. Dorian looks a bloated mess.

yeah...Alq Gurley called Shawn, "Mr. Bodybuilding".

Dude had great aesthetics.

[El Diablo Blanco]

Yates in his late years was branch warren 1.0

[Royalty]

Yates in his late years was branch warren 1.0

Thankfully, Yates had enough sense to retire

Branch will keep going until he is dead

[Ronnie Rep]

yeah...Alq Gurley called Shawn, "Mr. Bodybuilding".

Dude had great aesthetics.

Alq was no slouch in the aesthetics dept either.

[disco_stu]

No , Labrada has more career wins and in my opinion a better physique. Lee has 7 career wins ( in 10 years as a pro ) compared to Ray's 2 in 14 years as a pro. Lee never finished below 5th place in a professional contest

good post. i had labrada as the mr o in at least one year, and shouldve been 2. (90,91).

next to haney and yates in 91 labrada more than held his own. he had the most appealing physique and was not at all smashed by mass. but you know how it goes- the judges had shit in their eyes and wanted a knock out blow for haney to lose, and had been influenced by Yate's momentum and hype as the only big guy to challenge haney ever. meanwhile labrada came in better than ever, almost perfect and with a mind blowing posing routine (as usual). AND, even in comparisons it was hard to not put him in first. it was a "hmmm, best, or bigger?" type thing. and "does being bigger and not quite perfect outweigh being smaller and more perfect"

[Hulkster]

this is one of the greatest bb pics ever IMO:

[Hulkster]

its also worth noting that at the 93 olympia, Labrada was arguably in his career best shape

problem was, his best wasn't good enough to handle Flex, Dorian or Shawn when they were dialed.

Ray is always better than Labrada if Ray is spot on

esp 93 onwards because thats when Ray's back double bi really improved.

you can't look at the 89 or 90 olympia because ray's back was shit then.

but by 93 it looked like this:

[Hulkster]

so as usual, ND's silly argument of using contest wins means nothing.

peak physique vs peak physique, shawn is better:

[disco_stu]

comapre shawn to lee labrada
shawn won light heavy and overall nationals in 1987. teenage nationals in 1985.
1988 mr o. 13th.
1989 no competitions
1990 mr.o  3rd.
1991 mr o. 5th.
1992 mr.o 4th
1993 mr o. 3rd.
1994 mr o 2nd
1995 mr.o 4th
1996 mr. o 2nd.
1997 mr.o 3rd.
1998 mr o. 5th.
1999 mr.o 6th
2000 mr o. 4th.
2001 mr. o. 4th.

labrada.
1985 NPC nationals 1st, middleweight.
1986 night of champions 1st.
1987 mr.o 3rd.
1988 mr. o. 4th.
1989 mr. o. 2nd.
1990 mr. o . 2nd.
1991 mr.o. 4th.
1992 mr.o. 3rd..
1993 mr.o . 4th.


lee beat shawn 3 times out of 5 in mr.o's. In 2 mr.o's, lee shouldve won the show. (does that count?)

the times lee lost to shawn were when lee was close to finishing...and his placings were sliding (just like anyone else's do when they approach the end).

lee averaged 3.1 st place over his 7 mr.o's.

shawn averaged 3.75 st place over 12 mr.o's. (not including his 13th place)

it seems to me that LL was superior to SR. any way you look at it.

[Hulkster]

In 2 mr.o's, lee shouldve won the show.

but had shawn showed up to those same Mr. O's looking like he did in 94 for example, he would have won.

lee has a better contest record than shawn,

but shawn didn't peak until literally the end of Lee's career and hit his career peak (94) after lee was retired.

don't forget this.

[Royalty]

I could be wrong; but I think that Alq Gurley and Lee Labrada took less drugs than many other competitors.

[MCWAY]

Because he was the ONLY ifbb bodybuilder to test positive for Steroids and disqualified from a competition

Not quite. Others were DQed as well. His just sticks out because it happened after he won a show.

[NarcissisticDeity]

comapre shawn to lee labrada
shawn won light heavy and overall nationals in 1987. teenage nationals in 1985.
1988 mr o. 13th.
1989 no competitions
1990 mr.o  3rd.
1991 mr o. 5th.
1992 mr.o 4th
1993 mr o. 3rd.
1994 mr o 2nd
1995 mr.o 4th
1996 mr. o 2nd.
1997 mr.o 3rd.
1998 mr o. 5th.
1999 mr.o 6th
2000 mr o. 4th.
2001 mr. o. 4th.

labrada.
1985 NPC nationals 1st, middleweight.
1986 night of champions 1st.
1987 mr.o 3rd.
1988 mr. o. 4th.
1989 mr. o. 2nd.
1990 mr. o . 2nd.
1991 mr.o. 4th.
1992 mr.o. 3rd..
1993 mr.o . 4th.


lee beat shawn 3 times out of 5 in mr.o's. In 2 mr.o's, lee shouldve won the show. (does that count?)

the times lee lost to shawn were when lee was close to finishing...and his placings were sliding (just like anyone else's do when they approach the end).

lee averaged 3.1 st place over his 7 mr.o's.

shawn averaged 3.75 st place over 12 mr.o's. (not including his 13th place)

it seems to me that LL was superior to SR. any way you look at it.

Great post.

Of course Lee smoke Shawn it's not debatable. More career wins , never placed below 5th in a pro contest  more consistent and in my opinion a better physique

[MCWAY]

That still only would have given him 3 pro contest wins lol in 14 years as a pro  

He was one of those Olympia-to-Olympia guys for most of his career.

Except for his rookie year, he never placed lower than 5th at the O. And back then, placing top ten qualified you for next year's O. Placing top 5 at the O was more prestigious than winning lower shows. With that said, he did win the Arnold Classic.

[Hulkster]

shawn attained a level far above what Lee ever brought to the stage.

problem was, it was AFTER lee retired:

[NarcissisticDeity]

but had shawn showed up to those same Mr. O's looking like he did in 94 for example, he would have won.

lee has a better contest record than shawn,

but shawn didn't peak until literally the end of Lee's career and hit his career peak (94) after lee was retired.

don't forget this.

wait are you honestly trying to claim Shawn Ray would beat Lee Haney?   

Shawn NEVER improved that was the rub on him ( no homo ) he was 196lbs when he won the nationals and his best he was 205lbs , same old Shawn for his entire career , he tried to compete heavier at 215lbs and his famous conditioning suffered for it.

Lee Haney is EONS better than Ray it's NOT even debatable, in all the years I've been on here I don't I've EVER saw anyone stupid enough to claim Shawn Ray could beat Lee Haney LMAO only you

[NarcissisticDeity]

this is one of the greatest bb pics ever IMO:

yeah really exceptional 

Shawn looks good standing alone

[MCWAY]

wait are you honestly trying to claim Shawn Ray would beat Lee Haney?   

Shawn NEVER improved that was the rub on him ( no homo ) he was 196lbs when he won the nationals and his best he was 205lbs , same old Shawn for his entire career , he tried to compete heavier at 215lbs and his famous conditioning suffered for it.

Lee Haney is EONS better than Ray it's NOT even debatable, in all the years I've been on here I don't I've EVER saw anyone stupid enough to claim Shawn Ray could beat Lee Haney LMAO only you

Ray did improve, going up the placing during the 90s and getting second twice. Personally, I think he got robbed in '94. He nailed it, while Dorian was WAAAAAY off (smoothed, waterlogged, and torn bicep).

With Ray, there wasn't a lot he had to improve. He looked terrific and a top 5 spot was practically a lock for him.

[NarcissisticDeity]

Ray did improve, going up the placing during the 90s and getting second twice. Personally, I think he got robbed in '94. He nailed it, while Dorian was WAAAAAY off (smoothed, waterlogged, and torn bicep).

With Ray, there wasn't a lot he had to improve. He looked terrific and a top 5 spot was practically a lock for him.

I'm not talking about his contest placements , I'm talking physique wise. He gained 6 pounds in 14 years?

in 1994 he was BEHIND Kevin Levrone after the prejudging and was lucking to ' beat ' Kevin for second place. Dorian was way off from 93 and still eons better , torn bicep , bloated and a runny tan but his conditioning wasn't off he was still dry & hard