What’s the story?
If the rumours from Cageside Seats are true, then the planned Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neil match at WrestleMania 33 may not actually happen.
In case you didn’t know...
At WrestleMania 32 last year, Big Show and Shaq clashed during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Both men were unsuccessful in winning the match, but the seeds had been sewn for a one-on-one showdown between the two giants.
In the last few weeks, both men have been posting challenges via Social Media. Big Show looks to have gotten himself in the best shape of his career in anticipation for the match, but perhaps now that will be for nothing and Big Show may end up with another match at the biggest show of the year.
The heart of the matter
WWE loves to bring in celebrities to make special appearances at WrestleMania. If they can be incorporated into featured matches then that is even better. In the past, we’ve seen Big Show take on Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania, with the boxer bringing a lot of new eyes to the WWE product.
A match involving NBA Legend Shaq would no doubt have brought a lot of extra publicity to the WWE product in the weeks building up to WrestleMania. If the match is now not going to happen then perhaps WWE will look for another star for Big Show to face at the biggest show of the year.
What’s next?
We are only weeks away from WrestleMania. You would think that if WWE was going to go ahead with a Big Show vs. Shaq match then they would have had Shaq on television by now. Big Show faced Braun Strowman in the main event of Raw, that could have been a perfect opportunity to have Shaq make his presence felt on the show.
If the Shaq match isn’t going to happen, then WWE will have to find another match for the Big Show, he could potentially take up a spot in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal again.
Sportskeeda’s take
Big Show is one of the most recognisable men in the entire WWE. He has been part of matches involving non-wrestlers before, so is obviously trusted to work with outside stars, but the fact that we have not seen Shaq on tv yet probably tells you that we aren’t going to see that match anytime soon.
Perhaps there just isn’t space to make the match fit in at WrestleMania, or perhaps there are other factors preventing this match from happening. It would have been an interesting clash of two giant men, but WrestleMania won’t be any poorer without this match.
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