Olympia 2025 Predictions

Welcome to the biggest week on the bodybuilding calendar, Olympia Week! A lot will do down this week as far as photoshoots and expos are concerned, but the main events will take place on Friday and Saturday as the best competitors of the year come together to see who is THE best of the best. And with this being the 60th anniversary of this event, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING can happen. As always, here's our predictions for the female categories as we will do top 5 and a wildcard.

Ms. Olympia

14 women will be competing for the top prize in the women's bodybuilding division, and to be honest with you, this looks like this is gonna be a battle for 2nd place as Andrea Shaw came in to the Rising Phoenix a few weeks ago looking downright unbeatable. Her biggest competitor Natalia Kovaleva was indeed bigger than Andrea at this event but Andrea's conditioning was too good to ignore. I see Andrea winning once again, which will make it her six straight Olympia title, tying the legendary Cory Everson. 2nd and 3rd is a tossup for me between Angela Yeo and Ashley Jones. Ashley had an awesome Ms. Olympia debut and I can see her as a future Ms. O but Yeo is no slouch either and I feel could potentially challenge Shaw as well. In what I feel will be a great rookie debut, I'm gonna give my 4th place spot to Melissa Teich. She looks RIDICULOUS and I feel could shake up the lineup. 5th place I'll go with Natalia Kovaleva. I have a feeling she is going to surpass her Rising Phoenix look big time. My wildcard is the 2025 Masters Ms. Olympia Tiana Flex. I expect the top masters women's bodybuilding competitor to pull out all the stops and find her way to the top 5 of the open division. But no matter what, Tiana will make history the second she steps on stage as she will be the first South African competitor EVER on the Olympia stage.

PREDICTIONS:

1. Andrea Shaw
2. Andrea Yeo
3. Ashley Jones
4. Melissa Teich
5. Natalia Kovaleva

Wildcard: Tiana Flex

All competitors (In order):

1. Alcione Santos Barreto 
2. Leyvina Barro
3. Nadia Capotosto
4. Chelsea Dion
5. Tiana Flex
6. Selyka Givan
7. Hunter Henderson
8. Ashley Lynnette Jones
9. Anastasia Korableva
10. Natalia Kovaleva
11. Martina Lopez
12. Andrea Shaw
13. Melissa Teich
14. Angela Yeo

Women's Physique Olympia

We have 18 women fighting for women's physique top honor. For a while, women's physique has been a two-women show between Sarah Villegas and Natalia Coelho, and for this year, I don't see that changing. Since 2019, they have been in the top 3 every year with them fighting for the top TWO spots since 2020. Sarah has gotten the better of Natalia every year except for 2022. One thing about Sarah, once she loses, she will fight like hell to make sure she doesn't do that again, which is a big reason for her success and I see her nabbing another title this weekend with Natalia falling to her once again. Should that be the case, Sarah will becoming the winninest Ms. Women's Physique Olympia ever, surpassing Juliana Malacarne, which just might close the women's physique GOAT case once and for all. The rest of the top 5 might be intriguing to you all. I'm gonna go with Zama Benta for 3rd, and the woman that pushed her to the brink at the Tampa Pro, Meghan Morrison (fka Santa Barbera) placing 4th (she might be the talk of the Olympia with her Amazonian height and weight, dwarfing the women's physique competitors...our one to watch over all the competitors regardless of division), with Barbara Menage rounding out the top 5. Our wildcard is Paula Ranta. Her social media has seen her put in INSANE work and I have a feeling she is going to do her best to make her presence known in Vegas.

PREDICTIONS:

1. Sarah Villegas
2. Natalia Coelho
3. Zama Benta
4. Meghan Morrison
5. Barbara Menage

Wildcard: Paula Ranta

All competitors (in order):

1. Natalia Abraham Coelho
2. Birgit Andersch
3. Elena Aviles Romero
4. Zama Benta
5. Sarah Crail
6. Julia Glazycheva
7. Sheronica Henton
8. Brittany Herrera
9. Amanda Machado
10. Robyn Mays
11. Barbara Menage
12. Meghan Morrison
13. Evon Pennington
14. Trisha Pollydore
15. Paula Ranta
16. Nana Silva
17. Karla Melissa Torres Cruz
18. Sarah Villegas

Fitness Olympia

11 women will fight for fitness's top prize and I'm very intrigued on how this one is gonna go down with no Missy Truscott, Whitney Jones, Oksana Grishina, and Ariel Khadr in the mix. Looking at the list, on paper, Jaclyn Baker seems to be the favorite to win at the reigning Miss Fitness International but Tamara Vahn has proven that she is fine wine in the fitness world. Jenny Worth is going into the Olympia as the reigning Masters Olympia Fitness Champion and would nothing more than to win the one title she's never won and cap off one of the greatest careers the fitness division has ever seen. Taylor Learmont might not be the biggest or most conditioned on stage, but she more than makes up for her with her routines, which may I remind you is 2/3rds of the overall score in fitness. Michelle Fredua-Mensah has been making serious strides in the fitness division with her physique and routines, so I easily see her in the top five. My wildcard for fitness goes to Amber Steffen. I could see her shaking up the top 5.

PREDICTIONS:

1. Jaclyn Baker
2. Tamara Vahn
3. Taylor Learmont
4. Michelle Fredua-Mensah
5. Jenny Worth

Wildcard: Amber Steffen

All competitors (in order):

1. Jaclyn Baker
2. Anna Fomina
3. Michelle Fredua-Mensah
4. Andrea Glass
5. Amy Hamilton
6. Allison Kramer
7. Taylor Learmont
8. Amber Steffen
9. Tamara Vahn
10. Jenny Worth
11. Jessica Zehr

Figure Olympia

OH BOY...this one is gonna be THE one to watch for the women...which is something I've not been able to say for the past eight years. That is NOT a diss to Cydney Gillion though. In fact, that is a testament to her dominance over the division for nearly a decade winning eight straight Olympia titles, solidifying her as arguably the greatest figure competitor of all time. The figure division is now in the post-Cydney era and it is WIDE OPEN. 28 women have a chance to write a new chapter in the figure division. Jessica Reyes Padilla, the defending Masters Figure Olympia champion, has been runner-up at the Olympia for the past three years, and with no Cydney to deal with hopes that 2025 is FINALLY the year she breaks through. But her new biggest threat to the title is a former FITNESS Olympia champion who looks to make history as the first-ever two division Olympia Champion. I'm talking about Missy Truscott. In her first two shows in figure since leaving the fitness division, she has smoked the competition and is looking to take the figure division by the throat and putting in in a chokehold much like she did in fitness. I see Lola Montez and Nicole Zenobia Graham taking 3rd and 4th while Denise Zwinger-Tynek, who I felt was the best international competitor in the figure division this year, rounds out the top 5. My wildcard for this one is the returning Sandra Grajales. She returned to the stage after many years away and didn't miss a beat, dare I say better than ever. Wouldn't surprise me one bit to see her get a high placing. Figure fans have been wanting a competitive Olympia for a while...and this year, you're finally gonna get your wish! 

PREDICTIONS:

1. Jessica Reyes Padilla
2. Missy Truscott
3. Lola Montex
4. Nicole Zenobia Graham
5. Denise Zwinger-Tynek

Wildcard: Sandra Grajales

All competitors (in order): 

1. Dorethane Agathina
2. Ayra Bahar
3. Kristina Bodnariuk
4. Anna Borin
5. Thais Cabrices Werner
6. Sherlyn Chee
7. Maria Diaz
8. Rhea Gayle
9. Rejoice Godwin
10. Nicole Zenobia Graham
11. Sandra Grajales
12. Nadine Claudia Huber
13. Sophie Jenkins
14. Manuella Lima
15. Tamera Malone
16. Lola Montez
17. Chelsea Mooney
18. Ericka Morgan
19. Adela Ondrejovicova
20. Lena Ramsteiner
21. Jessica Reyes Padilla
22. Taylor Santucci
23. Natalia Soltero
24. Missy Truscott
25. Aksana Yukhno
26. Helen Zavitsanou
27. Jennifer Zienert
28. Denise Zwinger-Tynek

Bikini Olympia

A staggering SIXTY EIGHT WOMEN will be fighting for this year's Bikini Olympia title. SIXTY EIGHT. Good Lord...that number is downright ridiculous for the biggest show of the year, and that is NOT a compliment. No wonder there are changes being made for the bikini divison (and a few others) because that is entirely too many people for one category. Many open shows don't have that many people competing with MULTIPLE divisions!!! Anywhos...back to the competition itself. Lauralie Chapados is aiming to defend her title and Ashley Kaltwasser is aiming to add another Olympia title to her already Hall-of-Fame worthy resume. Ashley is a 3-time Miss Bikini Olympia champion but she has not won the title since 2015. As much as I think Lauralie is gonna bring enough to repeat ac champion, I think Ashley could do just enough to win her first Olympia title in over a decade. She's not the winningest IFBB competitor of all time for nothing, you know. For 3rd place, I'm going with the current Bikini International Champion Vania Auguste, followed by Amiee Delgado in 4th and Jasmine Gonzalez in 5th. My wildcard is definitely a wildcard with the amount of women on here but I'll going to go with the 2022 Ms. Bikini Olympia Champion Maureen Blanquisco, who returned to the stage this year after taking 2024 off. 

PREDICTIONS:

1. Ashley Kaltwasser
2. Lauralie Chapados
3. Vania Auguste
4. Amiee Delgado
5. Jasmine Gonzalez

Wildcard: Maureen Blanquisco

All competitors (in order): 

1. Maria Acosta
2. Vania Auguste
3. Iulia Baba
4. Uyanga Bataa
5. Wu Bi
6. Liang Bin
7. Maureen Blanquisco
8. Jordan Brannon
9. Ariana Brothers
10. Nivea Campos
11. Kate Carroll
12. Lauralie Chapados
13. Xinyi Chen
14. Sara Choi
15. Lu Corzo Argentina
16. Taylor Crowell
17. Viktoria Csicsayova
18. Deanna Dang
19. Aimee Delgado
20. Wenjun Duan
21. Marie-Eve Duchesneau
22. Lawna Dunbar
23. Ivanna Escandar
24. Valeria Fedorenko
25. Jess Feeney
26. Brittany Gillespie
27. Jasmine Gonzalez
28. Gulsah Gorgulu
29. Tara Grier
30. Ashley Hampton
31. Kerryne Henich
32. Chantal Hill
33. Dahye Jeon
34. Adrianna Kaczmarek
35. Ashley Kaltwasser
36. Sally-Anne Kato
37. Nittaya Kongthun
38. Lauren Kralovec
39. Yume Kurokawa
40. Jourdanne Lee
41. Adair Libbrecht
42. Ashlyn Little
43. Jessica Liu
44. Alice Marchisio
45. Zsofia Molnar
46. Ndeye Ndour
47. Yurika Noda
48. Cristobalina Pajares Torres
49. Hye-Yeon Park
50. Ji Bin Park
51. Reyna Perez Mecalco
52. Sara Punzetti
53. Sharon Ramos
54. Lisa Reith
55. Alice Rocha
56. Lacy Rutland
57. Jil Meret Schmitz
58. Anna Setlak
59. Kerry Sexton
60. Eugenia Shatova
61. Li Shuai
62. Allison Testu
63. Patrizia Vaccaro
64. Ally Vatthauer
65. Savannah Watchman
66. Tianna Weymouth
67. Jessica Wilson
68. Mengru Zhang

Wellness Olympia

If it hasn't been obvious yet, this has become THE female division fans have been paying the most attention to these days, and can you blame them? The talent that has come through has been off-the-charts. But there is a big change for this year's event. Last year, Isabella Nunes shocked the world defeating previously unbeaten and inaugural Miss Wellness Olympia champion Francielle Mattos to win the title. As much as folks would love to see a rematch between them, that will have to wait as Francielle will not be competing this year, marking the first time since the Wellness Olympia was created that she will not be competing in this event. HOWEVER, we are going to get a rematch from earlier this year as the reigning Wellness International champion Eduarda Bezerra defeated Isabelle to win the Arnold crown and she would love nothing more than to do it again but this time capture the biggest title in wellness. I have a feeling Isabelle will be ready for Eduarda so I'm going to say AND STILL for Isabelle, but it won't be easy. For 3rd place, I'm going with an improved Rayane Fogal, who has seemingly nailed the wellness look, no longer looking like borderline figure anymore. For 4th place, I'm going to go with Shanique Grant, who (like Missy Truscott) has the opportunity to become a history-making two-division Olympia champion, with Kassandra Gillis rounding out the top 5. My wildcard for the wellness division is Tefani-Sam Genadi Razhi. The fact that Tefani was able to nail her look to win a pro show this year, when some say her look was TOO MUCH for the division, has me thinking she could shake things up. 

PREDICTIONS:

1. Isabelle Nunes
2. Eduarda Bezerra
3. Rayane Fogal
4. Shanique Grant
5. Kassandra Gillis

Wildcard: Tefani-Sam Genadi Razhi

All competitors (in order):

1. Elisa Alcantara
2. Emily Azzarello
3. Eduarda Bezerra
4. Karol Borrero
5. Leonida Ciobu
6. Jade Cristaldo
7. Klaudia Vanessza Csuri
8. Raeli Dias
9. Rayane Fogal
10. Kassandra Gillis
11. Shanique Grant
12. Michelle Ibata
13. Liza Kazanina
14. Valquiria Lopes
15. Camile Luz
16. Giselle Machado
17. Lisa Meiswinkel
18. Daniele Mendonca
19. Lilian Nava
20. Alexis Nicole
21. Isabelle Nunes
22. Maria Rita Penteado
23. Tefani-Sam Genadi Razhi
24. Rosemary Rodriguez
25. Alicia Romero
26. Nicole Salazar
27. Isamara Santos
28. Renata Soares Guaraciaba
29. Sina Maria Teresa
30. Danai Theodoropoulou

And there you have it...my Olympia predictions for this year. I've been hit and miss for the most past these past couple of years and I see this year being no exception. They all are special, but on paper, the fitness and figure divisions will definitely be the most much-anticipated as we are guaranteed new champions in both divisions. Everyone who is stepping on stage this weekend has earned that right to be on there, but only one in each division can call themselves THE ABSOUTE BEST IN THE WORLD. Who will it be? We will all find out this weekend! 

For all things Olympia (interviews, behind-the-scenes, webcast purchasing, etc.), go to https://www.olympiaproductions.com/.

Welcome to the Era of Elegance!

The Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) was sure it would never happen. The IWC was confident as hell that this would never be a reality. On Sunday, August 24, we have never been so happy to see the IWC be in such a rage...at least the ignorant folks in the IWC, not everyone there. Ash by Elegance defeated Masha Slamovich and then-champion Jacy Jayne at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Heatwave to win the Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) Wrestling Knockouts World Championship. Going into this event, most expected Jacy to retain her title and head into TNA Bound for Glory as TNA Knockouts World Champion or a slim chance of Masha winning the title back and bringing it home to TNA, with barely anyone thinking Ash had a chance in hell of winning the title. But thanks to some help by her girls of the Elegance Brand (Heather and M by Elegance) and a Rarified Air to Masha, Ash would go on to win her first-ever world championship on a major brand. Because she is also TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion, she is a double champion in TNA. The only two women to do that in TNA are Gail Kim and Madison Rayne. Also it was the first time that the TNA Knockouts World Championship was ever defended on a WWE Premium Live Event (PLE) (they were formerly known as Pay Per Views).

 

The most ELEGANT champion in wrestling right now
Credit: TNAWrestling.com

To the IWC, this is gonna hurt your underdeveloped brains, but it's time to face facts...ASH IS THE REAL DEAL. She could have just went back to fitness and been okay having a fitness career again. She could have just stuck with OnlyFans and made a career out of that. She didn't. She can STILL go back to fitness competitions if she wants to. She DOES have an OnlyFans and is doing quite well with it. But she also decide to stick with wrestling and sign with TNA and she put in the work to be better as a character and in-ring performer and the company in return put THEIR trust in her (which is all she wanted from her previous employer: trust in her and her abilities) and now she along with the entire Elegance Brand (The Personal Concierge aka George Iceman, Heather by Elegance aka Heather Reckless, M by Elegance aka Maggie Lee) is one of their top acts in the company, male or female. Make no mistake, Ash was not rewarded for her longevity in the business...she was rewarded for her hard work and dedication to the business. When you make the effort to up your game, you should be rewarded for it. That is something TNA understood for Ash in far less time than WWE did during her entire run with the company. Also, TNA is in the middle of one of the most important times in their company's history with hopes of a massive television deal in the coming weeks. Do you honestly believe they would put their entire division on Ash's back if they didn't believe in her? Spoiler alert: NO, THEY WOULD NOT! Wrestling promoters put their titles, especially their main titles, on people they TRUST, whether short-term or long-term. To put both their singles AND tag titles on her (again, only two others can claim that in that company) shows that TNA has a SERIOUS amount of trust, faith, and respect in Ash. And WWE has clearly gained some respect for her as they allowed Ash's title change on their turf rather than TNA territory and even gave a shoutout to her on their flagship show, WWE RAW, the following night, which is something they are not obligated to do whatsoever, mind you. Hell, they even did a vlog piece on their YouTube channel, so clearly Ash is doing SOMETHING right these days.

The Elegance Brand, draped in GOLD
Credit: WWE.com

It's taken a while but wrestling companies are finally seeing her value, her co-workers and colleagues see her value, and other RESPECTABLE legit wrestling outlets (not I'm not talking about the dirtsheets) see her value as well. THEIR voices matter, not a bunch of uneducated clowns with access to a social media platform like X/Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or fans that do podcasts out of their mother's basement or little boy caves thinking their voices are relevant when they are in fact the opposite. Ash will forever be known as a WORLD CHAMPION, she had EARNED the right to call herself a world champion, and no amount of crying, complaining, moaning, groaning, and bitching on social media will ever change that. Welcome to the Era of Elegance...shut up and embrace it! 

For more on Ash by 2 Belts, follow her on X/Twitter, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and OnlyFans (doing a special championship sale over there). Also click here to view more articles we've written on the Undisputed Queen of the Knockouts...and we've written quite a few over the years. 

For more on TNA, follow them on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram and go to their new-look website at https://www.tnawrestling.com. 

From Ash(a) to Ashes to...Flowers?!

In life, everyone has an acquired taste in everything. From music to places to food to muscle preference...to professional wrestlers, ESPECIALLY professional wrestlers. Everyone who is a wrestling fan has a certain type of wrestling style, company and/or wrestler they like, and it can be multiple. Again, everyone is different. But one thing most seem to love in an underdog story or a story of someone who betted on themselves and was able to reach the mountaintop, which has been the case for several lately, more noticeably Timeless Toni Storm in AEW who completely reinvented herself after walking away from WWE and Naomi this past weekend who walked out of WWE 3 years ago, signed with TNA and took a gamble (help raising their stock in the process) and is now on the run of her life in her 2nd stint with WWE. Now I've set the stage for you, let's talk about a woman who was let go by WWE after being their for a decade, doing everything asked of her (which was unfortunately not a lot because of THEM not HER), signs to a different company, completely reinvents herself, shows how good she has become in the ring AND as a character, winning some titles in the process...but no one in the wrestling world seems to care. Of course...we are talking about one half of the current TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champions, Ash by Elegance, formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE.

Ash was let go from WWE in September 2023 to the delight of a lot of folks in the dreaded and ignorant as hell IWC (internet wrestling community). She would not be gone from wrestling for long as she would sign with TNA and would appear in the first event under their rebrand to their original name (they were known as Impact Wrestling for a time) at TNA Hard to Kill. No longer Dana, she was now Ash by Elegance with her own Personal Concierge (George Iceman). She only appeared for a few seconds but folks wasted no time calling her a cheap ripoff of Timeless Toni Storm. But we would find out real quick that she was anything but a timeless ripoff. But many folks still don't buy it to this day,  so it is what it is at this point. In her first few months in TNA, they positioned her to be THE top heel for their company as it was evident that she would eventually collide with then-Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, which is exactly what happened at Slammiversary 2024 in an underrated match that should have never been underrated in the first place. This was no carry job as both ladies had their working boots on that night. Had that match been Jordynne vs just about anyone else in pro wrestling, folks would have showered it with praise and even had it a Match of the Year candidate, but because it was Ash, folks couldn't care less. The dirtsheets and bloggers who LOVE pointing out when Ash "botches" had absolutely nothing to say regarding what those who DID watch it as Ash's best match of her career. It's like that match never existed. Don't believe us? Search for yourself, Google is free, people. All they will say it Jordynne retained her title that night. Their rematch on August 24 of last year on TNA iMPACT, which was a Match by Elegance (a hardcore match with various elegant objects), was dare I say even better! Check out the match below in its entirety:

After this, Jordynne would move on to other challengers and after dropping the title to Masha Slamovich at Bound for Glory 2024 would eventually sign with WWE, while Ash would take another step in her TNA journey by having Heather Reckless (now Heather by Elegance) join her and eventually winning the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships and adding Maggie Lee (now M by Elegance) to officially form The Elegance Brand. And...as expected, folks began to call them a cheap imitation of The Beautiful People, even though both factions are different. They have clearly jelled well as a cohesive unit and have put on some very good tag team matches. The biggest issue is they seemingly only let them have a real feud with one team, Spitfire (Jody Threat and Dani Luna) who are actually not a team anymore. TNA has not done a good job in establishing a Knockouts tag division during the Elegance Brand's time as champions and but should their opponents on Sunday at Slammiversary 2025 (The Iinspiration aka Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay) become the new tag team champions, something tells me the company will put a bit more effort for THEM than they have for the Elegance Brand, which is not far to Ash, Heather, or M at all. 

Now, her TNA stint isn't the only thing that has elevated her though. She is currently the Boca Raton Championship Wrestling (BRCW) Women's Champion. BRCW is an independent wrestling promotion out of Boca Raton, Florida. But it's her run in World Series Wrestling (WSW), a wrestling promotion in Australia, that has been nothing but all hits and no misses, which includes some of the most brutal matches of her career and in WSW history. If anything, what her TNA run has done is elevated her as a character while her WSW run has elevated her as an in-ring performer. Below are two matches from her WSW run thus far, the first one was when she won the WSW Women's Championship last year for the 1st time and ended up setting the record for longest reign for that title and the 2nd one was when she would begin her 2nd run with the title after losing it (for about 24 hours) earlier this year:

As I've mentioned before, I get that everyone has their preference in pro wrestling. But for the life of me, I have no idea why the majority of fans are flat out AGAINST her. Not her character...the person herself. Seriously...BEING A FAN OF ASH DOES NOT MAKE YOU ANY LESS OF A WRESTLING FAN. IT"S OKAY TO BE A FAN OF HER OR AT BARE MINIUMN APPRECIATE HER WORK! Jordynne Grace has called her "criminally underrated" on social media. Gail Kim has showered her with nothing but praise, calling her a locker room leader and veteran for the TNA Knockouts roster. Others such as Natalya, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Fallon Henley and others have said nothing but good things about her. Yet the IWC refuses to budge. The dirtsheets, podcasters, bloggers...NONE OF THEM HAVE HER BACK despite her showing these past few years why she is one of the most improved and reliable performers in wrestling right now. We wish wrestling fans would actually THINK for themselves and actually watch her stuff and let their own eyes judge her rather than listen to wrestling podcasters and just take their word for how "bad" she is rather than form their own opinions about her.  I know, I know...I'm asking WAY too much from wrestling fans these days. But for those that actually HAVE watch Ash's career (especially these last couple of years) and can see how far she has come over the past decade, you know she has more than earned her flowers. And we at FitGems Nation are more than happy to give them to her while she is alive and still putting in that work, and we will keep those flowers as nourished and full of life as possible...even if no one in wrestling or wrestling media will. 

For more on Ash, follow her on X/Twitter, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and OnlyFans (doing free subscription right now, BTW). Also click here to view more articles we've written on Ash over the years.

For more on TNA, follow them on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram and go to https://www.tnawrestling.com and don't forget to watch TNA Slammiversary this Sunday at 8pm Eastern/7PM Central where the Elegance Brand (Ash and Heather by Elegance) will defend the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships against the Iinspiration in what many are calling the most important night in TNA history!

The Wrestlemania Debut of Trish Stratus: A Mainstream Muscle Cult Favorite

As most of you know by now, this year is the 25th anniversary of Trish Stratus being part of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, used to be known as the World Wrestling Federation, or WWF for short). Trish build her reputation as being one of the top female performers in WWE history, many say she is THE best female performer in WWE history and one of the best ever regardless of gender. Today marks the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania 2000. Since we are a female muscle platform and not a pro wrestling platform, we are not going to talk about the actual Wrestlemania event but rather talk about Trish making her first-ever appearance at Wrestlemania and why it has become a favorite mainstream muscle moment amongst some fans.

As stated before, Trish made her Wrestlemania debut 25 years ago today. Now consider Trish debuted in WWE only TWO WEEKS AGO prior. You wouldn't think someone who debuted just a couple of weeks ago would make an appearance at WWE's biggest show of the year THIS early in their career, but that's exactly what happened. And the first look of Trish we get at Wrestlemania? Her famous "puppies" front and center as she escorts Test (R.I.P.) and Albert (known as T&A) for their tag team match against Steve Blackman and Al Snow (who had their mascot Chester McCheeserton (don't ask) with them) aka Head Cheese. Head Cheese entered the match first and then T and A and Trish made their way to the ring. Here's where the muscle part comes in. 

Trish powerwalked to the ring with big boss energy accompanying her team with her soon-to-be trademark cowboy hat and trench coat, but her usual outfit of a top and skirt was replaced with a silver sports bra and booty shorts, an outfit that paid tribute to her fitness modeling days and working at expos. It was pretty obvious Trish was proud of the physique she had build for the last few years as her quads kept bulging with each step she made during the team's entrance. Pretty sure she had a quick gym session or pump similar to competitors before going out there but I can’t confirm that. Trish was definitely in Quadzilla mode that night probably more than any other night in her WWE career. The muscle jiggle is ever more impressive when the entrance is slowed down. Look below and see for yourself:

Trish's physique has not completely transitioned into wrestling mode just yet so her fitness modeling look was still there, so many fans that were not familiar with Trish from her MuscleMag magazines got to see a different type of body and this no doubt contributed to her popularity amongst male fans and it wouldn't surprise me if this help contributed to a few more women hitting the weight room. These days, a physique like Trish had back then is more acceptable and widespread (Thank God) but back then it was a rarity and I believe Trish had a small role in changing the norm with it came to strong, feminine bodies. Before muscle mommies, there was the fitness models aka the muscle mommies before muscle mommies were cool. Yet another reason to say...THANK YOU TRISH! 

For more of Trish, go to https://www.trishstratus.com and don't forget to follow her on all her platforms:

Facebook

X (Twitter)

Instagram

Threads

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Ash: From Heartbreak to Elegance...and why the journey is far from over

Ever since her WWE release exactly one year ago today (September 21, 2023), TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) Knockout Ash by Elegance (fka Dana Brooke in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)) has been putting in work in her character development and in-ring skills and has surpassed how she was portrayed in WWE, in our honest opinion. It was never made clearer than during her first-ever World Series Wrestling tour in Australia and during Slammiversary in her first opportunity at a major women's championship in her career. During her WSW tour, she would compete in a singles match on Night One, have a mixed tag match on Night Two, win the vacant World Series Wrestling Women's Championship on Night Three in a fatal-4-way match, and would defend the title in a brutal No Disqualifications (No DQ) match. At TNA Slammiversary in front of the biggest crowd TNA has had in over a decade, Ash would get her first crack at a major women's championship, the TNA Knockouts World Championship, taking on Jordynne Grace, who has been on an historic run since early January. She would fail to win but would win over a lot of folks that have hated and/or doubted her for years...or at least the folks that decided to pay attention to Ash. Yes, despite putting on a four-day, four city tour overseas and having a Match of the Year candidate a few days after, the majority of wrestling fans STILL don't view Ash as a legit performer, and quite frankly, we're getting sick and tired of how the internet fans keep devaluing her. In fact, Ash would have ANOTHER Match of the Year candidate in a Match by Elegance and rather than giving both ladies props, the focus of the majority of the IWC focused on Jordynne. In no way are we talking down on Jordynne, as she is incredible and deserves all the praise she has received this year...we just wish folks would give Ash some praise as well.

2024 was the year of an ELEGANT comeback
Photo credit: TNA Wrestling

If you have followed Ash throughout her career, it has been no secret that she has had a hard time trying to win over the IWC. They constantly putting her down in various ways, from her wrestling to her look. It's like she can't win with them no matter what she does. But we aren't that ignorant. We have seen the hard work Ash has put in in her decade-plus in pro wrestling, whether it be in WWE or now in TNA. Now, can you say she's a late bloomer? Yeah, it's fair to say that she has taken longer to pick up on wrestling that others, but no need to vilify her for that. She has been given crap and has done her best to make it as entertaining as possible. Hell, she made a silly green title in WWE (the 24/7 Championship) have some value in it before they discontinued it under the TKO regime.

We honestly have no clue why the hate for her is so deep when all she has wanted to do is prove that she belongs in pro wrestling. You would THINK that would be appreciated among wrestling fans, but NOPE! They shun her because she didn't go through the traditional way aka "paying your dues in the indies" and it's not right. She has put in the work since her WWE release last year and completely reinvented herself as Ash by Elegance. If you can look at it from a unbiased look, Ash lowkey has had one of the best breakouts years of a non-WWE wrestler due to her character development and match catalog, especially with Jordynne and the WSW tour. We don't know what will awaits her for the rest of 2024 and beyond, but we do hope that one day, folks will stop hating on Ash because it's the cool thing to do and actually THINK for themselves and come to the realization that Ash isn't as bad as dirtsheets and podcaster CLAIM she is. Among the hate and venom she gets, we are proud to give Ash her flowers right now so she has the chance to smell them. 

More elegance to come! The fight is far from over!
Photo credit: TNA Wrestling

For more on Ash, follow her on X and Instagram

Our DraftKings Wrestling Combine Preview and Predictions

8 wrestlers (4 men and 4 women) will make history tomorrow night!
Photo credit: Black Label Pro/Scott Fishman

Earlier this month, Black Label Pro announced the first-ever DraftKings Wrestling Combine, which will be taking place TOMORROW (September 4th) T 7:45PM Eastern/6:45PM Central at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago, Illinois. Four very fit female wrestlers (Xia Zhao, Jordynne Grace, Mandy Sacs, Ash by Elegance) will take part in history to determine who among them is the fittest wrestler in the game today. Not sure what the prize will be other than being called the inaugural DraftKings Wrestling Combine Champion, but it will be something to see. The four events that they will take place in is: Rope Run, Armwrestling, Tug of War (with a Pro Wrestling Twist) and Shoot Collar and Elbow Lock Up. Here's a rundown of the four events and how we THINK this will play out. 

Event 1: Rope Run

Rope Run is who can run the ropes 10 times the fastest. That's going from one end of the ring to another. This one by default, I feel this is going to go to Jordynne or Ash. Jordynne can be pretty fast when she wants to. Hell, have you SEEN her this year?! But Ash can be a speedy demon as well. The woman can book it in freaking HEELS faster than those that wear running shoes. Xia has been in the ring a BIT since her WWE release but not much, and Mandy has not been in the ring AT ALL since her WWE release. Now Xia and Mandy are in incredible shape (Mandy recently did a fitness show) but as they all know, in-ring shape is much different than bodybuilding shape, so this is gonna be a wakeup call for both Xia and Mandy, moreso Mandy. 

Predictions: Ash, Jordynne, Xia, Mandy

Event 2: Armwrestling

It's armwrestling. Nothing fancy. Real simple. I honestly don't see how Jordynne loses this event. Jordynne is SIGNIFICALLY stronger than the rest of the ladies (who are no pushover themselves, BTW). Xia is a very strong woman as well from the workouts she has posted on her social media. Mandy is sneaky strong, as in folks don't know how strong she actually is. Ash is by far the weakest of the four, but not weak by any means. Leverage will play an key role in this, but even with that, I just have a hard time seeing anyone other than Jordynne taking this.

Predictions: Jordynne, Xia, Mandy, Ash

Event 3: Tug of War w/ Surprise Pro Wrestling Twist

I have no clue what the pro wrestling twist is for the tug of war so my predictions here might be way off from what takes place. I'll just go with the tug of war part. Again, based off her fitness background, which includes powerlifting, I don't see how Jordynne loses this event either, unless this pro wrestling twist is to her disadvantage. Xia and Mandy are very strong in their own right but neither have been in the ring in a good minute so this twist could throw them off. Ash despite being the weakest of the four has been in the ring, so she can potentially be more prepared for the twist than Xia and Mandy. Again, I'm not confident in this prediction based off the surprise twist in tug of war.

Predictions: Jordynne, Ash, Xia, Mandy

Event 4: Shoot Collar and Elbow Lock Up

Lock up collar and elbow and see who can push their opponent into the ropes first. Strength advantage, Jordynne once again. In-ring advantage, Jordynne and Ash. With this being the final event of the combine, fatique is gonna set in for all four women, but I feel the women who have stayed ring shape (Jordynne and Ash) will have a significant advantage over those that haven't (Xia and Mandy). I do feel Jordynne will win but it won't be an overwhelming win as this will be about more leverage than pure strength (which will still play a key factor, BTW). 

Predictions: Jordynne, Ash, Xia, Mandy

Factoring everything together, this might be a runaway win for the current TNA Knockouts World Champion, with Ash taking the runner-up spot, followed by Xia, then Mandy based off our predictions. But as we all know, ANYTHING can happen in the world of professional wrestling so my predictions could go up in smoke. Either way, this looks to be a fun competition that I hope continues for years to come and congratulations to the history-making women (and men) that will be part of this. Good luck to all and may the fittest triumph!

To view the combine and the entire wrestling show Crowning Glory FREE on YouTube (for those that can't make it to Chicago), you can click here and set a notification. For more on Black Label Pro, go to https://blacklabelpro.com. For more on DraftKings, go to https://www.draftkings.com. BTW, new DraftKings users can use the code "COMBINE" while placing a $5 bet to get $250 instantly on Bonus Bets PLUS one month of NFL Plus Premium (yes, this is updated from earlier). Hell of a way to get ready for the NFL Kickoff on Thursday! 

1st-ever DraftKings Wrestling Combine, hosted by Black Label Pro

In what is being called a first in the independent pro wrestling world, Black Label Pro will be hosting the first-ever Wrestlers Combine, which is presented by DraftKings. On their website, Black Label Pro is an independent wrestling promotion based in Chicago, IL, bringing its eclectic brand of professional wrestling to the Midwest Wrestling scene since 2017. The wrestlers combine will be part of their next event Crowning Glory. This event will take place on September 4 at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago. Yes, there will be wrestling matches, but this combine will be something not seen in the world on professional wrestling outside of WWE, and even then that's limited to NXT and not even shown much to the public. Four men and four women will take place in this historic event. 

For the men, it's Jake Hager, Moose, Mike Rallis (who will have his wife and fellow wrestler Tenielle Dashwood in his corner), and Parker Boudreaux. But as we are a FEMALE fitness network, our focus will be on the ladies: Current TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace, former WWE Superstar Xia Zhao, former WWE Superstar and NXT Women's Champion and WBFF Bikini World Champion Mandy Sacs, and former WWE Superstar/current TNA Knockout and IFBB Fitness Pro Ash by Elegance. 

All four women are fitness freaks in their own rights (two of the competitors are fitness pro and one of them has a World Champion in the fitness world) and over the next few days we will be highlighting each woman on here individually on their wrestling careers as well as their fitness backgrounds showing why they deserve to be part of history next Wednesday. As of this writing, we do not know the format of the combine but we are going to assume it will be based off the NFL Scouting Combine that is pretty popular among sports fans. IF we are able to know how the combine will go down as far as events go before next Wednesday, we will have a preview post next Tuesday with us giving our predictions on the historic event. It will be cool to see how this unscripted competition will play out for the world to see. Who knows what this could start in the years to come! 

To view the event FREE on YouTube (for those that can't make it to Chicago), you can click here and set a notification. For more on Black Label Pro, go to https://blacklabelpro.com. For more on DraftKings, go to https://www.draftkings.com. BTW, new DraftKings users can use the code "COMBINE" while placing a $5 bet to get $200 instantly on bonus bets. 

Mandy Sacs is Coming Home...to the WBFF!

Mandy Sacs has never been shy of showing off her physique, as she as done for several years, most noticeably in the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) federation as a Bikini Pro and in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a pro wrestler. In many ways, Mandy was a muscle mommy before muscle mommies became a thing. Her strong physique combines with her Hollywood looks made her a very hot commodity within WWE, making her one of the most popular females in the company during her time there, and of course being very popular on social media. We all know how her WWE career ended so we won't get into that here, but what we WILL talk about is how she has grabbed folks' attention moreso than usual this year. 

Mandy Sacs stealing the show at Miami Swim Week last year

As we mentioned before, Mandy's physique has always seemed to be an attraction on social media, but this year, things felt a tad bit different but no one could tell exactly what it was. She was looking a bit more lean and defined than usual. Some speculated a return to wrestling (if not WWE, then somewhere else). Everything became perfectly clear on Episode 28 of Power Alphas, her podcast with fiancé Sabby Piscitelli, a former WWE Superstar himself. At the end of that particular episode, she announced that she was going to return to competition at the WBFF Worlds in Miami, 10 years after winning the WBFF Bikini Pro World title. 

From her title win in 2014 to now. A near 30lb difference!

Returning to competition after being off the stage for a decade is a pretty big deal, and for Mandy, it will be very interesting to see what kind of look she will bring on stage. We're not sure if she will do Bikini or not because of the sheer amount of muscle she has put on her body since the last time she stepped on stage. She was around 115lbs when she won the title back in 2014. She is a bit over 140lbs now, and yes, a majority of that added weight has been dense muscle. Since most of her muscle has went to her legs, we feel she will either do Wellness or Fitness Model, but that's for Mandy to speak of, not us. Heck, she just might end up staying in Bikini. We have no clue. Either way, we are extremely excited to see what kind of look Mandy is going to bring in in early August. Despite the amazing look she brought to WWE, we have a gut feeling we haven't seen anything yet and we will be looking at the hottest Mandy Sacs...EVER! IS IT AUGUST YET?! 

Oh...BTW, #MandyforVictoriaSecret (if you know, you know) 

A recent photo of Mandy. She is going to put this look to shame come August!

Follow Mandy at the following links:

Her Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/mandysacs
Her Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/mandysacs
Power Alphas Podcast: https:/www.youtube.com/@PowerAlphasPodcast
Her OnlyFans: https:/www.onlyfans.com/mandysacs
Her FREE OnlyFansTV: https:/www.of.com/mandysacstv
Her TikTok: https:/www.tiktok.com/@mandysacs
All her other links: https://amandasaccomanno.komi.io/

2024 FitGems Awards Update

As you know, I do special awards every year to highlight the best of the female muscle world each year. I only cancelled it once due to losing a family member and it wasn’t fair to do those awards with a fractured state of mine. This year, life just happened and I failed to realized that I didn’t do them and that’s 100% on me. I didn’t prioritize my time and I apologize to you all for that. With the bodybuilding season about to kick off very soon, it’s too late to get stuff together tor the past year so I’ve decided to not do the awards this year. It’s also become painfully clear that I can’t do this alone anymore due to how things in my personal life are.

That’s where YOU all come in.

I’m looking for 10 people that would be interested in joining the FitGems Awards Committee. These 10 people will help decide on the nominees for each category of the awards. These 10 will be different each year so if you don’t get selected this year, you can submit to be part of the committee in the future. VOTING IN THE AWARDS WILL NOT CHANGE…it will still be decided by the fans as it’s always been.

Although it’s early, you can send in your submissions beginning now at fitgemsnation@gmail.com. Because of how serious I take this, submissions will be done via EMAIL ONLY. Submit your name, your relationship to the bodybuilding world (competitor, fan/spectator, judge, etc.), and a very brief but detailed reasoning on why you should be selected as part of the committee. Put FGAC 2024 on the subject line. Last day to send in your committee submission will be October 9, the day before the start of the 2024 Olympia. You will be notified by email if you made the committee by October 14, the day after the Olympia. The tentative voting week will be January 5-11, with the awards to be announced beginning January 13. That is subject to change, but I will give plenty of notice on that.

Thank you all for your support of FitGems Nation and the FitGems Awards. Again, my apologies for now being able to do the awards this year, but hopefully this new format will get it back on track and preserve these awards for years to come. To all of you, have a wonderful season and here to you all achieving your goals this year!

Ash By Elegance: TNA Knockout

Credit to the original owners of the photos

 

When Ashley Sebera (formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE) was released from her WWE contact, we would hope that if she wanted to continue wrestling, she would go to Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA) as their women’s division (known as the Knockouts division) is viewed by most wrestling fans to be the best women’s division in mainstream wrestling and the REAL birthplace of the women’s revolution in pro wrestling (not WWE like they claim to be). On January 17, 2024, it was made official that Ashley did indeed sign to TNA. 

Her first appearance for the company took place at TNA Hard to Kill under the name Ash by Elegance. During the premium live event (PLE), a blonde woman (whose face was not shown) stepped out of a vehicle and walked into the arena. A lot of speculation was made, and some folks discovered the shoes the mystery woman wore were the same shows Ashley wore in an Instagram photo from her Fantime site. Because of SPECULATION ONLY, her WWE name Dana Brooke trended on Twitter/X throughout Hard to Kill, even being talked about just as much as the event itself. Right before the TNA Knockouts World Championship match between then-champion Trinity and now-champion Jordynne Grace, it was revealed that Ashley was indeed the mystery woman, now going by Ash by Elegance. She even had a manager with her now, George Iceman. For those that watched Impact Wrestling before the TNA relaunch, he was part of BTI (Before the Impact) and would give insider scoops on what to expect on Impact shows and premium events. With BTI now a thing of the past, it looks like Iceman will be Ash’s manager going forward, which could do her wonders. 

While not even making a promo or being in the ring, her look caused some folks to think she copied Timeless Toni Storm in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The problem with the comparison is folks are judging Ash by less than 30 seconds of footage from a PLE where she did not speak, nor did she get in the ring. In due time (maybe as early as tonight’s TNA iMPACT), we will get our answers. 

One thing we can say is that Ash is ready to unleash her untapped potential that WWE refused to let out. TNA has done wonders for women who wanted to take their careers to the next level: Gail Kim, Taryn Terrell, Brooke Tessmacher, Tara, Deonna Purrazzo, Mickie James, and most recently Trinity, among others. If Ash gets her way, we can very well add her to that list. We said whoever gets her was gonna get a hell of a worker. TNA is about to find out why we sing her praises and will continue to do so for as long as we can. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the era of Total Nonstop Ash by Elegance! 

Follow Ash on the following social media accounts and her own premium website:

Twitter/X

Instagram

Threads

TikTok

Fantime site

Follow Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling at https://www.tnawrestling.com