During his time in All Elite Wrestling, Cody Rhodes was one of the most prominent figures in the promotion. The American Nightmare played the company’s babyface to perfection following his feuds with Chris Jericho and MJF. However, one of his feuds was with four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal.
On Dynamite: The Crossroads, the NBA veteran teamed up with Jade Cargill to take on Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet at AEW Dynamite. On his AEW ring debut, Shaq was manhandling the American Nightmare without any trouble in the first half.
While Cargill was setting up a table at the ringside, Velvet interrupted her and set up two tables. As the match went forward, Cody Rhodes drafted an act of perfect revenge on the 7 feet giant as he hit him with a running crossbody.
The move sent both men out of the ring as they thrashed both the tables from the middle. After what happened, Cargill was standing in disbelief near the ropes. However, Velvet failed to capitalize on the opportunity as BIG Jade won the match after applying her finisher, Glam Slam.
We have a SHAQ-sized mystery on our hands here. #AEWDynamite #AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/d3juIgJncz
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_gif) March 4, 2021
The match ended in the favor of the NBA Veteran but Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t able to get up. During the commercial break, Shaq was put onto a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. Later, when announcer Tony Schiavone checked on him in the ambulance, he wasn’t there.
How many appearances have Shaquille O’Neal made in pro wrestling?
NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has always been a huge pro wrestling fan. Apart from an illustrious basketball career, the American has also made a few in-ring appearances.
His first appearance in the pro wrestling world was in WCW in 1994 when he used to play for Orlando Magic. At that time, he presented the WCW title to Hulk Hogan. For WWE, Shaq’s first appearance came in 2009. Initially, he was present at the venue as a guest host for RAW. However, he later confronted The Big Show in the ring where they grabbed each other’s throats.
Afterward, in 2016, fans erupted as they saw The Big Shamrock on the Grandest Stage of them All. He was there to take part in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. Outside of WWE, Shaq had made his appearances in Impact (in 2012) and AEW, where he wrestled his only pro wrestling match in 2021.