Bodybuilding Fans Shocked over Kai Greene – IronMag Bodybuilding & Fitness Blog

by Christian Duque

Okay so I’m probably going to burn in hell for starting an article with this kind of title, but I have to admit that there was a good number of bodybuilding fans this time around that really fell for it. And what do I mean by that exactly? Well Kai Greene has been the quintessential comeback teaser of his day. I don’t think anyone has hinted at a comeback more than him – without actually coming back. And the fact is he was such a great champion that bodybuilding fans will continue to fall for it. Here is a competitor who could have been Mr Olympia, who maybe should have been Mr O. He was a dominant force at the Arnold Classic, the New York Pro – really any show where he competed. Some fans believe he’s an uncrowned Mr Olympia while other fans believe he didn’t push himself hard enough. I don’t know how many of those they’re actually are because he was always ripped to shreds and always posed his heart out.

Honestly Kai is one of the few bodybuilders that has kept his size over the years, not gotten himself injured, and never totally closed the door on competing again. But the same rumors heard back in the day seem to have resurfaced today. And again I don’t know how true they are, but I am certainly up for talking about it, as people may not be aware. I also want to talk about how I think he would have done had he done the Masters Olympia or even had he done the open Olympia. Finally, I want to talk about what his comeback could have meant for the sport. At the end of the day, growing the sport that we all know and love is a priority. Or at least it should be a priority. And a comeback of this nature could have done a tremendous amount of good. So let’s dive into the action, shall we?

So the big rumor around the water cooler is that Kai did not want to return because he expected to be paid to compete. Since Kai has never made any kind of an official statement in that regard, I think it would be disadvantageous of us to believe rumors that are floating around the interwebs. Now, on the flip side, I could see where somebody on Kai’s level would want to get paid because of the vast amount of money and resources that are expended to be able to prepare adequately to get back on stage. I don’t see it as an unreasonable request. I see it as no different than competitions comping athletes that place in the top 10. The reality of the matter is that for Kai to come back it would require some financial assurances that he would not be put into debt simply to compete. Again competing is a form of business as well. If it doesn’t make business sense, there’s a reason that it’s not worth the competitors’ time. Now surely he could compete out of love, but you can’t exactly buy a lot of hot dogs with love. At the end of the day, whether he asked for sure money or not, doesn’t really matter because it’s not an unreasonable request. If he did ask for money and was turned down, I have to say that that is a bit of a blunder. I’ll get more into that in the following paragraphs.

The bottom line is that even though Kai is basically 50 years of age, he looks like he can compete with guys that are 10 or 15 years his junior. That is because Kai always trained with purpose. He wasn’t trying to be the strongest bodybuilder, he also wasn’t trying to have the highest endurance by lifting the most reps. I think the bodybuilders who truly understand the sport realize that lifting weights is not about being the strongest person around, it’s about building the physique. Fortunately for Kai, he never had any major issues when it came to injuries because he trained smart. And that is also why at the age of nearly 50 he is able to look his best. So the question becomes if he looks so good why isn’t he competing? Well it goes back to the previous paragraph. It has to make business sense. So many bodybuilding fans refuse to believe just how expensive it is for their favorite competitors to compete. If there is no money and you have obligations like Kai does, why would you risk everything just to make promoters money? Maybe you do that when you’re in your 20s and 30s because you see it as a necessary part of overall success. But Kai has already been to the mountaintop and he knows what it takes to get there. He also understands that it’s probably not the smartest business move for him to make if he can’t get any money. I will tell you that Kai looks phenomenal for his age and looks phenomenal for any age.

So now we go back to where I think Kai would place if he competed. To be honest with you, it doesn’t really matter because that’s the thing with comebacks. Look at Kevin Levrone’s comeback. He came back and may not have looked his best but looked pretty damn good. Did the judges give him a fair look over? I don’t really think so. I think that he honestly should have received higher placings. But like I said, the placing doesn’t matter. What matters is that a competitor announces a comeback and actually comes back. Someone Like Levrone inspired countless individuals to take up the weights. They’re not going to care if he wins or places third at a show 20 years after his prime. They are going to care if Kevin gets on stage. And that’s what I think a lot of people sort of missed about Kai. Kai is a competitor with real name value and who could do a tremendous amount for the contest. Think about all the videos and all of the media that could come out on his road back to the stage. It really truly is mind-boggling because of the fact that he reached so many people as a competitor and later as an actor that to see him come back to where it all started could sell better than hotcakes.

So really it doesn’t matter where Kai would have placed, but I think that when he talks about a comeback, that would be huge for the sport, The possibilities are virtually limitless. There are fans from many different age groups, from their twenties to their 40s even beyond that love Kai Greene. They love his physique and they believe he should have won at least one Mr olympia. So when people ask me if I think that Kai could have grown the sport by making a comeback, the answer is a most obvious yes. Right now everybody’s looking at the next show. Somebody wins one contest and they’re already looking at the next one. They’re not giving their body a chance to rebound, to heal, to even build new muscle tissue. And then you look at someone like Kai Greene who has basically not competed in nearly a decade and you ask yourself what could he do if he got back on the stage? What could he do in a few months, how shredded could he look on stage? These are all valid questions. And not only are they valid questions but they’re questions that honestly warrant an answer. It’s not foolish in my opinion to ask the question of what Kai could do if he got on stage. And this goes back to what a lot of the older bodybuilders say with regards to their generation. They say the nineties and 2000’s represented one of the most intense periods of the sport. And that’s precisely where Kai did his best work. During those very tough shows where he always was a cut above. I would say that his heyday was probably more competitive than today’s heyday. and I think that makes him very dangerous as well.

At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves what could have been? What could have happened if more effort was put into securing Kai as a competitor? But then we come back to whether or not Kai actually wanted to compete. Right now he is considered an uncrowned Mr Olympia and Arnold Classic champion. If he comes back and doesn’t win, his legacy may be at issue. Then again as I said earlier in the article – nobody really cares where a comeback athletes places, as long as the comeback happens. So I guess we’ll wait and see.

Are you surprised that Kai is not competing in 2025? As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag.