Shaquille O’Neal & Jade Cargill vs. Cody Rhodes & Red Velvet Booked for March 3 AEW Dynamite

After teasing for months that he’ll step inside of a pro wrestling ring, All Elite Wrestling officially confirmed this week that NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal will team with Jade Cargill to face Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet on the March 3 episode of AEW Dynamite. The match was initially teased for the Revolution pay-per-view on March 7, but there were likely schedule conflicts as the NBA All-Star Game takes place that weekend and O’Neal is heavily involved in TNT’s NBA coverage.

The war of words between O’Neal and Rhodes reached a fever pitch last week when O’Neal was a presenter at the AEW Awards.

“Cody Rhodes, you little punk. You want to battle, you just name the time and the day. You little punk, with your blonde hair, you look like a little girl,” O’Neal said. “You want some of the Shaq Attack? Name the place. Matter of fact, let’s do it in March. How about that?”

Rhodes responded on Twitter by writing, “(deep breath) Let’s be serious here…with the utmost respect, I would eat this guy alive in the ring.” He then appeared on Dynamite and said he wanted to book the mixed tag match, but his wife Brandi is pregnant with their first child. Velvet then stepped in as his partner.