Strength Athletes Who Were Humbled by Arm Wrestling

Over the last several years, the sport of arm wrestling has seen a massive surge in popularity thanks to the growing fan base of athletes and ambassadors such as Devin Larratt and promotions such as East vs West where we get to see all the world's best athletes come together and compete on a regular basis. This rapid growth has caused many people to take notice and get involved in the sport, including some of the strongest men on the planet. Figures like Leonidas Arcona and Brian Shaw have now stepped into the world of professional arm wrestling looking for a new exciting experience and hoping their world-class strength will carry over well into the sport. Often, there are very high expectations set for these athletes right from the get-go. After all, arm wrestling is a strength sport at the end of the day, right? While lots of these athletes could very well defeat 99% of people on the planet with ease without any arm wrestling training whatsoever, many find out the hard way that that top 1% at the professional level is a different beast. Today, we are examining elite strength sport athletes who were humbled by professional arm wrestling. I hope you enjoy. Ji Yong Ha, better known as the Korean Hulk, is a Korean powerlifter and social media personality known for his immense strength, massive physique, and lavish lifestyle. He posts frequently on Instagram where he has a video of him performing a 310kg bench press. And while he has dabbled in arm wrestling here and there, it was never his true focus, and it was clearly more just a fun activity rather than a true competitive pursuit. But on September 28th, 2024, he would compete at King of the Table 12 in a 6-round supermatch. His opponent? Auden Larratt. While Auden is obviously known for being the son of the most popular arm wrestler to ever live, he has been devoted to the sport for many years and is very serious about his training. For years he has been very consistent with arm wrestling specific training, determined to become as strong as possible on the table. But at just 19 years of age, and weighing around 35kg less than his opponent, surely the raw power of the Korean would be too much for him to handle. Well as it turned out, that was not the case at all. Right from the get-go, a flash pin top roll out of the straps was an ominous sign for Ji Yong. While he was able to get to the strap in round 2 and 4, the result would be no different. He had no answer for the complete hand control of the Canadian, and his powerlifting prowess seemed to do him no favors up on the professional arm wrestling stage. Jujimufu is one of the most popular YouTubers and influencers in the online fitness space, with millions of social media followers and over half a billion views on his YouTube since he started posting on the platform over 17 years ago. He is known for his incredible physique and overall strength, paired with crazy flexibility, as well as his entertaining and charismatic personality. Like many, Devin Larratt was someone who inspired Juji to take his curiosity of arm wrestling to the next level, and on September 25th, 2019, he would step onto the professional stage against Mike Aiello at WAL 506 in a best of 3 supermatch. And it didn't go so great for Juji. While he did technically win round 2, Aiello was very likely just putting on a show, as the WAL production was broadcast on ESPN, and while they would attempt to make good matchups, there was still much focus on entertainment value. It was clear to most people that this match wasn't even close, and despite Juji's otherwise very impressive strength, he was no match for someone with years of arm wrestling specific experience. This would be the last time we would see Juji compete in arm wrestling at the professional level. Larry Wheels is another extremely popular strength sport athlete and fitness influencer, known for performing ridiculous, almost unheard of feats of strength. He has set all time world records in powerlifting across multiple weight classes, competed in professional bodybuilding, and even shown world class strength in some strongman events, particularly the log press. Seeing as they already did an entire video dedicated to Larry Wheels' arm wrestling career, I'll give you the short and sweet version here. Larry has had 5 official arm wrestling supermatches, ending with an 0-5 record. His first loss was a very one-sided battle against the rising star schoolboy, where it was clear he lacked the arm wrestling specific strengths required. The Russian would cruise to a 6-0 victory in this match. To add insult to injury, 3 of his next 4 losses would come against people who only had a couple of years experience in the sport after transitioning from powerlifting, losing 4-2 to Brandon Allen, and being swept by the German Leonidas Arcona on both arms. His other loss was to Khaled Jashal, a man from Cameroon who had little to no arm wrestling experience whatsoever and was simply a genetic freak, and I'll talk briefly about him again later in the video. But despite Larry having a level of strength that many could only dream of, when it came to arm wrestling, he was still just an amateur. After his 5th and final loss, Larry decided to call it quits. Brian Shaw is one of the most famous men in the history of strongman, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional strongmen of all time, winning the world's strongest man competition 4 times. Year after year, he performed incredible feats of strength, dominating in several events such as the deadlift and keg toss. What made Brian a great candidate for arm wrestling was his huge frame and world class hand and grip strength. The feats of grip strength that he was able to pull off put him on a very short list of names, and when Brian announced that he was going to enter into the world of professional arm wrestling, many people were excited to see how he would fare. He was actually able to win his first two supermatches, but neither of them were against longtime arm wrestlers. His first win was against fellow strongman competitor and former world strongest man Eddie Hall at King of the Table 13 in late 2024. His next victory came against powerlifter turned arm wrestler Brandon Allen. This one proved difficult for Shaw, but he found success outside of the strap, taking advantage of his ridiculous hand strength, and was able to get victory. However, his win streak would not make it far, as his next supermatch saw him fall 3-2 against Leonidas Arcona. Despite the close scoreline, Shaw never actually achieved a pin. Both rounds awarded to him were due to elbow fouls from Leonidas. Despite some potential success with a press late in the match, Leonidas was able to keep him outside of his shoulder in the final round and take the victory. This loss was a bit discouraging for Brian, and he made a video a after the match claiming he did not have the time to dedicate his whole life to arm wrestling, as he is raising a family and has multiple businesses. While some saw this as an understandable way of keeping fans expectations in check, others were critical of Brian, saying that he is giving up and making excuses for why he will not become great in arm wrestling, especially after all the hype around his arrival to the sport. As of now, it is unclear if or when Brian will have another supermatch, but I still think many people will love to see him stick with it and see what he is truly capable of. Leonidas has already been mentioned a couple times in this video. The interesting thing is that while I do believe he belongs in this video, some could possibly make the argument that he is an exception, and we'll start with that point first. Leonidas is known for his insane physique, huge arms, and powerlifting prowess, with a best total of 925 kilos or 2039 pounds. He is also known for having ridiculously strong biceps, having strict curled 110 kilos. It seems like his strength would carry over pretty well to arm wrestling, and on April 20th, 2024, he would show that he was more than just any amateur. He was able to defeat the previously mentioned schoolboy in a very exciting match, and I've made a video in the past dedicated to this match alone. Not only did Leonidas display his incredible strength, but also some technical knowledge and ability as well. This victory was a massive upset, and Leonidas had his sights set very high for his future in arm wrestling. However, just like Icarus, Leonidas flew too high and found out that he was not quite ready to face those at the top of the sport. Four months later, at East vs West 14, he would face off against the greatest of all time, John Brzenk. Despite being 60 years old, 35 years the senior to his opponent, the veteran was still no slouch, and simply had too much experience. He was able to make adjustments as needed and figure out the winning lane against the massive Leonidas, who also outweighed him by about 20 kilos. And as if that challenge wasn't enough, in his next supermatch, Leonidas would take on Devin Larratt in a 6 round left arm supermatch. And this match wasn't even close. Devin completely dominated the whole time, and in true Devin fashion, made sure to trash talk him in German as he did so. The result would be a 4-0 loss for Leonidas, and likely a bit of a wakeup call in terms of his expectations so early in his arm wrestling career. However, unlike most of the athletes on this list, Leonidas is still very much involved in this sport, and looks to pursue it further on the professional level. Which is good news for the sport, because he is a massive figure, both literally and figuratively, and clearly has lots of potential in the sport. At the end of the day, the lesson wasn't that these athletes were weak, it's that arm wrestling is its own sport. And while having a background in other strength sports certainly can give you an advantage, nothing can replace years of sport specific training and experience on the table, and it's just another aspect that makes the sport of arm wrestling so interesting.