At this point, it’s almost comical that the much-discussed match between future WWE Hall of Famer the Big Show and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t happened yet. Their feud started way back in 2009, when Shaq appeared on Raw and ended up getting involved in a match between Cryme Tyme and the team of Big Show and Chris Jericho. There were reports of the two facing off way back at WrestleMania 28, but the match never materialized.
The story was finally moved forward at WrestleMania 32, when Shaq was a surprise entrant in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but before the two could really get hands on one another, they were both eliminated by the rest of the field.
Fast-forward to the ESPYs last month, where both athletes were once again at the same place, and through a brief exchange on the red carpet, it seemed like this match just may have gotten itself booked. Of course, WWE has been mum on whether or not it’s official, but that didn’t stop Show from spilling the beans to Shanghai Daily on a recent promo tour of China. The WWE Superstar revealed the fight was indeed confirmed for WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, going on to say:
“We’ll have one heck of a match and we’ll see what’s up. We’ll give the fans a treat.”
Assuming the match stays on the card from now until next March, the Big Show will likely become the first pro wrestler in the history of the world to have matches against a sumo wrestler, a boxer and a basketball player. That is, by far, the world’s weirdest hat trick.
