Brian Cage walked away from the MUSCLECONTEST International Nevada Championship as Mr. Nevada, but don’t expect him to suddenly become a full-time bodybuilding guy. The AEW star made it pretty clear after the show that this was likely a one-and-done return to the stage.
Cage won the overall championship in the open heavyweight division and added another title to his already ridiculous list of nicknames and accomplishments. He had not competed in bodybuilding in over 12 years, but still showed up looking like a lab-created monster and walked out with the win.
After the event, Cage spoke about what pushed him to do the show and explained that bodybuilding is not his main lane anymore. Wrestling is.
“I haven’t competed in bodybuilding for over 12 years. What I do is I’m a pro wrestler. I fly around the country in a different time zone every day, day. I get my stuff and I own the spotlight. I have the match of the night. I do it time and time and time again.”
Cage said the fire came from everything he went through physically last year, including a torn quad tendon, knee replacement, and revision knee replacement. He said he kept working, got back in the gym, and ended up in the best shape of his life. Then he explained that the bodybuilding show was never some big career pivot. It was basically a side quest.
“This was a side quest. I wasn’t trying to do a bodybuilding show to everybody was looks at me. I stay in top tier condition for tv, for wrestling, just for me. I live the lifestyle.”
Cage said people kept asking if he was going to do a show, so he told himself that if there was one in Las Vegas on a day he was not booked, he would do it. He admitted that was basically his way of getting out of it, until the Nevada show popped up five weeks out.
“I said, listen, if there’s a show in town, I live here in Las Vegas. If there’s a show in town on a day that I’m not booked, I’ll do it. That was me setting up a way for me not to have to do it. And then I saw this show five weeks ago and I said, why not?”
Even after winning, Cage said this was probably the end of the road for him when it comes to bodybuilding competitions. He made it clear he loves the lifestyle, but the schedule took a toll, especially with his family involved.
“This is probably it for me. I don’t think I’m gonna do another show.”
When the interviewer pushed back and said she wanted to see him go for the national stage, Cage explained that doing bodybuilding on top of wrestling, travel, signings, conventions, movies, and everything else was a lot. He also said he has no real ambition to chase pro bodybuilding because he is already living his dream as a pro wrestler.
“But it definitely took a toll. My family back here and it’s just, it’s not fair to them. And I love lifestyle. I have no ambitions of being a pro. I would love to be a pro, but I’m a pro wrestler. It’s my dream since I was 10 years old. I’ve been living the dream for 20 years now.”
Cage did leave the door open a little bit. He said “never say never,” especially since he also once thought he was done before coming back 12 years later. Still, his message was pretty obvious: he wanted to prove he could still do it, and he did.
He also pointed out that he had a lot going on outside the bodybuilding stage. Cage noted that he was on TNT for AEW Collision, while also promoting a movie tied to Steven Spielberg that dropped in theaters the same weekend.
“We were on the bodybuilding stage tonight, right? I’m on TNT on Collision on TV and my movie just dropped on my disclosure day, Steven Spielberg’s movie that’s in theaters this weekend. So, I mean, shout outs. We’re doing the damn thing.”
Brian Cage may have just won Mr. Nevada, but he does not sound like someone planning a long bodybuilding comeback. He showed up, proved the point, grabbed the overall title, and reminded everyone that wrestling is still the dream he is living.
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Do you think Brian Cage should compete in bodybuilding again, or should he leave it as one big side quest win? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
