The legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger started making a name for himself in the Hollywood industry in the 1980s. His iconic roles like Conan The Barbarian made him a popular choice for action film directors to embody macho 80s masculinity. But he wasn’t the only one.

Sylvester Stallone, an American actor who shot to stardom in the 1970s with his title role in ‘Rambo’, possessed a very similar skill set. Quickly, a fervent rivalry sprung between the two and they constantly tried to one-up each other for about two decades.

Stallone compares their rivalry to Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier

Eventually, starring together in projects like Escape Plan and The Expendables franchise, their burning hatred for each other evolved into a kindred friendship. Promoting their film, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone shared what their rivalry meant to them.

“Rarely do you get those two kinds of personalities together, so when you see, for example, when Muhammad Ali fights anybody, eh, it’s okay,” Stallone said. “When he fights Joe Frazier, everybody has to see that because they know it’s two indomitable forces. And out of that can only become a great, great scenario. A great scene, period.”

The fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier was the biggest boxing match in history. In 1971, both Ali and Frazier had been undefeated, with legitimate claims to the title of “World Heavyweight Champion”.

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The match created tremendous hype and was arguably the single most anticipated and publicized sporting event ever. It drew interest from fans and non-fans alike, culminating in a fight that the people will never forget.

Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t stop trying to one-up Stallone

According to Variety, Stallone had claimed in the past that he and Arnold Schwarzenegger had such animosity that “Even our DNA hated each other”. However, their competitiveness did help further their careers. “Yeah, I think the competitiveness really pays off,” the former governor of California claimed.

They even argued about who had a higher body count in their latest films. “This is how it went, you know, who has more muscles, who has bigger guns, who can shoot more people, who can kill more, who can kill people in one of the most unique ways,” Schwarzenegger continued. “Who gets paid by the bullet?” Stallone chimed in.

The seven-time Mr. Olympia champion loved bringing his athlete’s competitiveness into their disputes. He said, “And who gets more at the box office, and all of this. It was just competitive all the way around.” So they would try to come up with the most drastic kills, carrying machine guns meant for helicopters just to show up the other.

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Fortunately for the fans, it just meant more action-filled drama with our favorite stars going all guns blazing with gigantic guns. And who wouldn’t want to see that?