Shaquille O’Neal made his in-ring debut for the AEW pro wrestling promotion back on March 3, 2021, teaming with future TBS Champion Jade Cargill to beat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet in a mixed tag team match on AEW Dynamite. The former NBA Champion was praised for his ability in the ring and willingness to take bumps as he was sent through a table by Rhodes from the ring apron late in the match. O’Neal was stretchered to an ambulance after the match, then “disappeared” when Tony Schiavone tried to look for him inside the ambulance.
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Speculation of O’Neal getting back in the ring for another match has popped up now and then, and this week O’Neal played into it by tossing out the idea of another match. In a video alongside pro wrestler and celebrity jeweler The Diamond Shiek, O’Neal said “You know who I am. I’m the man who beat Cody Rhodes. You’re lucky you’re training with Cody. Anyways, I want to deliver two messages. Number one, nobody messes with The Diamond Sheik, and two, to present this new Diamond Championship belt.”
“Cody, whoever else wants it, Big Show. As a matter of fact, oh no, he’s in LA. Tell you what, Diamond Sheik and Shaq vs. Big Show and whoever else you want. Let’s go, AEW,” he later added.
It’s unclear if this will amount to a match, but O’Neal and Big Show (Paul Wight) have been calling each other out for a match for years. The closest WWE ever got to pulling it off was having the two share the ring during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal back at WrestleMania 32.
“I hear Paul Wight’s still talking trash, so I’m going to work out really hard this summer, and maybe we could do something very, very soon,” O’Neal told Pop Culture last year. “…Last time it was due out of bureaucracy and red tape, now there is no red tape. So, I’m going to go on because I’m still kind of sore from the table, so I’m going to go for it this summer, pump these muscles up here. I’ll be waiting for you, Mr. Paul.”
