Even with the Ms. Olympia being brought back in 2020, the Rising Phoenix Women’s Bodybuilding World Championship is still a very prestigious title within the world of women’s bodybuilding. Jake Wood and the team at Wings of Strength go all out in making this show a contest worthy of the best female bodybuilders in the world. Wood’s team announced the roster of athletes competing in the 2023 contest in Phoenix, Arizona on September 30th in an Instagram post on May 29th, and you can see the full list below.
- Andrea Shaw*
- MayLa Ash
- Michaela Aycock
- Leah Dennie
- Reshanna Boswell
- Nicki Chartrand
- Desunka Dawson
- Chelsea Dion
- Julia Fory
- Natalia Kovaleva
- Rene Marven
- LaDawn McDay
- Kristina Mendoza
- Sheena Ohlig
- Sherry Priami
- Virginia Sanchez
- Melissa Teich
- Tina Williams
- Angela Yeo
- International Winner
*Defending champion
The last spot on this list is an interesting one. The Ms. International contest’s date has yet to be announced, but the winner of that contest will be invited to compete in this show as well.
Past Champions
Shaw is the defending three-time champion, but this contest goes back to 2015. The past four winners of this show are listed below.
- 2020-2022 – Andrea Shaw
- 2017, 2019 – Helle Trevino
- 2018 – Alina Popa
- 2015-2016 – Margie Martin
Shaw is already the winningest champion in the contest’s short history, but she clearly wants to tack onto that record by winning her fourth championship. She’s also the three-time and reigning Ms. Olympia. The Rising Phoenix show has doubled as a show that gauged how she would fare at the Olympia. This year, the two contests are a mere six weeks apart. The Olympia will be held on Nov. 2-5 in Orlando, FL. Shaw having to peak twice may make this a unique challenge.
That said, Shaw is considered the early favorite to win number four in both the Rising Phoenix and the Olympia. No other past champions are in this lineup, but Ash was the runner-up to Shaw in the Rising Phoenix show in 2022, and Yeo was the Ms. Olympia runner-up. Both ladies are in this contest. Ash has quite of experience under her belt while Yeo is considered a future superstar in the IFBB Pro League. Either competitor could potentially break Shaw’s streak and win the title, $50,000 prize money, and 2023 Ms. Olympia qualification. If they were, how would that affect the Ms. Olympia contest in Orlando?
You can get tickets or learn more about the Rising Phoenix by going to www.wingsofstrength.net .