Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal addressed the reasons he did not wrestle as teased at WrestleMania 33 during his latest podcast. “They kept playing,” O’Neal said. “First, they said it was me and Big Show. Then, they said it was going to be three-on-three. Then, they canceled it so when they canceled it, I made other arrangements.” O’Neal said the company reached out to him again with the hopes of getting him in the ring, but at this point he declined. “I just said, ‘I’m not going to do it.’ They messed it up.” You can check out audio from the show at TMZ.com. Listen to the full podcast at PodcastOne.com.
Powell’s POV: O’Neal also denied his co-host’s suspicions that he didn’t want to lose the match. He indicated that pro wrestling his for kids and said he would have lost the match. More than anything, I feel bad for Big Show, who got himself into tremendous shape and has indicated that it may have been his last WrestleMania.
Thank god that match didn’t happen. No one wanted to see Shaquille O’Neal of all people bumble his way through a wrestling match and win.