5 UFC fighters that can be a replacement for Shaquille O'Neal at WrestleMania 33

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Shaq vs Show may well be off the card

Shaq vs. Big Show is a match that has been rumoured for a long old time now, dating back as far as 2009 when the two man-mountains had their first altercation inside of a WWE ring. Following on from their clash in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in Dallas last year, it seemed likely that they'd face off at WrestleMania 33, but now that appears to be in jeopardy.

If that's the case, the WWE needs to look towards alternative opponents for Big Show because let's face it - the guy has worked too hard over the last few months to get into the right shape for a one-on-one match at WrestleMania.

Sticking him in the battle royal for the fourth consecutive year doesn't do anyone any favours, and even if it's on the pre-show, you need to reward Show for everything he's done both in and outside of the ring for WWE during his career.

So when examining the possible candidates, it dawned on us - why not bring in a UFC fighter? After all, some of those guys are absolute monsters in terms of their figure and size, and it would allow Show to still face off against a celebrity competitor.

Plus, it has more of a ‘Mania feel than a bout against Shaq because let's face it, the guy is just an out of shape former basketball legend.

With that being said, here are five UFC fighters that can be a replacement for Shaq at WrestleMania 33.


#5 Stipe Miocic

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Stipe is the king of the heavyweights right now

Boy oh boy, this would be a lot of fun. Stipe Miocic is one of the most intimidating figures in the UFC today, and yet he's also got bags full of charisma, which would work wonders in the world of professional wrestling.

If you combine these facts with his freakish athleticism and agility for a guy of his size, then we're on to a winner when it comes to having a viable opponent for Show.

In fact, Stipe is one of the only people that would likely come into this match as the favourite if not a very slight underdog. Show would probably carry a lot of the feud in terms of the mic work, but we're confident Miocic would come back with a few good jibes here and there as the cocky yet heroic babyface.

Let's make this happen at some point if not this year, WWE. Now to a guy who would almost certainly be a heel.

#4 Alistair Overeem

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Just imagine the boos

Alistair Overeem is one of the most natural bad guys you're ever likely to meet in your life. His appearance, attitude and general bad boy reputation makes him one of the most hated men in UFC history and rightly so.

With that in mind, why not utilise all of that heat and therefore turn everyone in the WWE Universe against the incoming MMA guy - it's genius.

Many casual fans may then choose to view a lot of mixed martial artists that way, and wouldn't that be the greatest evil plan that Vince has ever pulled off? Yes, yes it would. In terms of the actual match, Overeem is a mountain of a man and it'd be a lot of fun to see him and Show throwing bombs at one another, mainly because we can see Overeem going completely off script and hitting him for real.

Now to a known fan of the business.

#3 Daniel Cormier

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Cormier would be a great heat magnet

Daniel Cormier may be slightly smaller, okay a lot smaller than Big Show but that's never stopped them before. Yes, we're looking at you, Floyd Mayweather. The Light Heavyweight Champion is a known fan of professional wrestling and has expressed interest in crossing over in the past, if only for a one-off appearance of some sort.

Well, we've decided on behalf of WWE that this is the appearance we want to see. Cormier has that whiny heel attitude that would work perfectly opposite Big Show just like it did with Mayweather. Who knows, maybe Cormier will end up carving out a whole new career path for himself much like Kurt Angle did when he transitioned into the business.

Oh, it's true.

We fear for The World's Largest Athlete in this next instance.

#2 Mark Hunt

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Hunt is a warrior

We'll get the obviously incorrect assumption out of the way first - Mark Hunt isn't boring outside of the ring and he actually does have a pretty solid personality. As such, we believe he could carry himself quite well inside of the squared circle - with a big helping hand from Big Show of course, with the main attraction being his formidable knock-out power.

It'd be like the whole Floyd storyline turned up a notch, with the Heavyweight claiming he doesn't need to call his knockout punch a finishing move in order to feel good about himself.

That would obviously be a reference to Big Show's finisher, which would add a certain element of realism to the feud that would leave many people interested in watching the match.

We conclude with a match purely designed for the spectacle of it all.

#1 Stefan Struve

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Skyscraper would draw money

Stefan Struve is an extremely tall man and we've covered why we believe he should enter the world of professional wrestling extensively in the past. So wouldn't it be great to have him square off against Big Show at the biggest show of the year?

Also, can you tell how many 'big' puns we're cramming into this section to make the match feel even grander then it should?

They could bill this as the literal biggest match in WWE history, which would automatically draw a lot of mainstream attention from many news outlets. Sure it may not be the most subtle of ways to promote a fight, but then again subtlety has never been something that Vince McMahon has been good at and at least we know it's a guaranteed winner in terms of getting people to subscribe.


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Edited by Staff Editor