Wrestling fans have been wanting Shaquille O’Neal to step into the squared circle for years. He’s teased a rivalry with the Big Show in the past, and after the legendary wrestler made his shock announcement to join All Elite Wrestling last week, Shaq figured that he would follow suit, possibly gearing up for the long-awaited Shaq Vs. Big Show (known professionally as Paul Wight) match at an upcoming AEW pay-per-view event.
As fans wait for any announcements on that front, we got the first good look at Shaq’s skills in the ring as he teamed up with Jade Cargill for a mixed tag team match on last night’s episode of AEW: Dynamite, getting the win against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. With the way the match ended though, you wouldn’t have realized that Shaq was having his arm raised in victory.
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At a point during the match, Shaq’s teammate Jade Cargill started setting up a wooden table outside of the ring, catching her own partner by surprise. Red Velvet caught up to her though and sent her flying back into the ring, setting up a second table before joining her. After a few minutes went by, Shaq and Cody began squaring off when Shaq got hung up against the ropes. Cody took the opportunity to create a viral moment, running at him and sending himself and the basketball legend crashing through the two tables, knocking out Shaq for the rest of the bout. Cargill ended up taking over the rest of the way, winning the match for her team.
Shaq isn’t the only celebrity to join AEW this year. Snoop Dogg also made his first appearance on the show, jumping off the top rope and landing on another wrestler in January.
Do you think Shaq has a future in wrestling?