Santino Marella & Cody Rhodes Recall Starting Bodybuilding Competition In WWE

When wrestlers travel together so often, it's not a surprise that friendly competition arises to pass the time. On a tour in Europe one November, Cody Rhodes and Santino Marella came up with a bodybuilding competition. They have different versions of the story, so Rhodes gave Marella the opportunity to tell his version of events.

Marella was on an episode of "What Do You Wanna Talk About?" when he told the story of Muscle Mania. Rhodes called Marella fat and Marella responded that he could beat him in a weight lifting contest. They decided to have a contest ending at the WrestleMania afterparty. "It was this huge buildup for like, four months. I remember at one point, we were getting tired of it." They had shirts made of the MegaPowers and Rhodes was Randy Savage. John Cena was passing them out and everyone got a shirt except Rhodes. He got one that was XXL and he couldn't wear it. JBL got a trophy that was eight feet tall.

The competition was made up of a strength component and a bodybuilding component. Marella said it was like the tortoise and the hare with Rhodes being the hare. Marella was 233 pounds in November and at Mania, he weighed in at 203 pounds. As an athlete, dates kept him motivated, so this competition motivated him to get into shape. "I took this seriously. I got posing coaches. I got a nutritionist. I was cheating; I was dabbling in thyroid medication. I did the whole tanning thing. I got posing trunks. I had a panic attack from the thyroid medication and I stopped taking it." They didn't do the strength portion. Triple H called out the poses. Rhodes says Marella won by a landslide because they had audience votes. For the talent portion, Rhodes did a backflip and Marella did a Russian dance. Marella was being cheered, while Rhodes was booed.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit What Do You Want To Talk About and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.