Tonight’s the night! Shaq makes his in-ring debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). To say it’s gonna be BIG is of course an understatement. Have the popcorn popped and beverage in hand for the 8 PM Eastern time start on the TNT Network.
This is the first time for O’Neal in the ring for AEW, but not his first-ever when it comes to action inside the squared circle. O’Neal boxed Shane Mosley in 2010, and then appeared in a “battle royal” on another wrestling program (WWE). In that event, several wrestlers on the opposing squad teamed up to toss O’Neal over the ropes and eliminate him from the match.
As for tonight? “Oh, I’m winning,” O’Neal said. “Guaranteed.”
This is Shaq’s first real live, competitive match. He’ll be teaming up with AEW star Jade Cargill (herself a former college and WNBA basketball star), in a mixed tag match taking on Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. There will be a live – but not full-house – audience for the event at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida, the home arena for AEW’s “Dynamite” telecast.
As you may remember, this all started for Shaq last November when he appeared on a sit-down-and-talk segment of the “Dynamite” show. Quite a bit of trash-talking ensued when Cargill told Rhodes that Shaq would be a “giant killer” of pro wrestling. You know the usual story: Ugly words all around, leading to a “settle this in the ring” announcement.
Talking to an Associated Press reporter, Shaq said, “I’m the type, I can never back down from a challenge. I’m not a professional wrestler, but I’ve been in a match before. I’ve got a lot of moves in my arsenal. When you step inside somebody’s world, you have to stick to what you’re masterful at. I’m not acrobatic. I’m not going to be jumping off the ropes. I’m coming with the power game. When I get hands on him, I’m going to display this power.”
Training for Shaq? Not so much. He’s visited AEW’s wrestling-training facility called “Nightmare Factory” in the Norcross, Georgia, but other than that, not a lot of wrestling training.
For the record, O’Neal is now 48 years old. Winner of four NBA titles and numerous other awards, Shaq is the latest in a long line of active and retired athletes who wrestled in attraction matches. Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone wrestled for WCW in the 1990s, Lawrence Taylor wrestled in the main event of WrestleMania XI, and Mike Tyson has made appearances for WWE and AEW.
But in typical Shaq fashion, he’s already announced: “This one will top them all.” Like we said, get the popcorn ready!