Shaquille O’Neal is almost always up for a challenge, especially if it comes with a check attached and a chance to further build his profile. On Wednesday night, that meant stepping into the squared circle on AEW Dynamite for an intergender tag team match with Jade Cargill against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet.
Shaq had been training for the match for awhile and had been touting how great of shape he was in on his Instagram, and he showed up and showed out in his AEW debut. He’s not the quickest in the ring, but, unsurprisingly, his power was on full display as he hit a textbook powerbomb on Rhodes.
BIG TIME powerbomb from @SHAQ with a scoop slam return by @CodyRhodes! Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama pic.twitter.com/5xbNGdOZbx
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2021
He also cleaned house ringside when Rhodes’ cronies tried to get involved and hit him with a chair shot to the back that didn’t phase the big man, as he dragged one over the barricades to hit with a vicious chop to the back and the other got scooped and slammed on the floor, which had to hurt.
.@SHAQ takes out the #NightmareFamily at ringside!
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama pic.twitter.com/I2LDPTTDcq— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2021
As for taking a bump himself, we got to see Shaq go through two tables courtesy of a flying Cody Rhodes over the top rope as he stood on the apron.
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1367283397224202241
He would be taken off in an ambulance in a pretty funny moment where they realized he was too tall to close the ambulance doors so he had to bend his knees.
Cracking up at Shaq having to bend his knees so they could close the ambulance door pic.twitter.com/T7blaZWLVY
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) March 4, 2021
You can guarantee that we’ll see the table bump about a thousand times on Inside the NBA over the next however many years he’s on the show, and for a debut match he did pretty great and putting him in tag team action kept him from having to carry a match so he could hit his spots, which he did almost perfectly, and then get out. Honestly, going through two tables isn’t even the worst thing to happen to Shaq this week, as that honor resides with Candace Parker having to give him a lesson on modern pick-and-roll defense.