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Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest basketball players of his time. Throughout his years in the NBA, he always put in stellar performances. Over the years, he has also shown that he is also a big wrestling fan. The 49-year-old’s most recent stint in wrestling came back in March 2021 when he made a surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite.

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In an interview on ‘The Sessions with Renee Paquette’ podcast, Charles Barkley questioned whether Shaq’s body can bear the toil of wrestling matches.

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He said, “His body probably can’t take the abuse today, but with his personality, he’s one of the most fun people I’ve ever been around.” 

Read More: Shaquille O’Neal Reveals Why He Teamed Up with Rising AEW Superstar: “I’m Honored”

“He’s a really hard-working dude. He’s on every commercial… It’s just a matter of time before he does Depends commercials… I know he’s turning 50 sometime in the next couple of weeks, so he’s close to Depends.”

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“He’s a great businessman. He does a lot of stuff, clearly. But with his personality, if he really wanted to do 25 years ago, he would have been great.”

In his limited pro-wrestling appearances, O’Neal has been exceptional.

Shaquille O’Neal: Major appearances in wrestling

Shaq is no novice to wrestling. Before appearing on AEW in March 2021, he also made appearances in WWE. The most memorable of these appearances happened at WrestleMania 32 when the NBA legend entered The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

He had a face-off with The Big Show and they eliminated some other superstars. However, just as they were about to fight, the other wrestlers teamed up and sent them over the top rope.


Shaq also appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw in 2009 where he was involved in a segment with Chris Jericho and The Big Show.

Fast forward to 2021, Shaq made his AEW debut and shocked the world. He entered a mixed tag team match, teaming up with Jade Cargill to take on Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet on AEW Dynamite. The former NBA champion took a huge bump when Rhodes cross-bodied him out of the ring and through a table. But Jade Cargill ended up winning the match for both her and Shaq.

Watch this story: Five Surprising Things Owned by Shaquille O’ Neal

It will be interesting to see if Shaq enters the squared circle again. Even more intriguing is which promotion would he return to, AEW or WWE?

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Tanmay Puri

175 Articles

Tanmay is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. He holds a Master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Delhi. He is a lifelong WWE fan and has been watching it for over 20 years. Pro-wrestling is his passion, and he loves the industry, the business, and respects the athletes. He has prior professional experience in writing research papers and articles on philosophy, law, and public policy. He has grown up as a hardcore 'Stone Cold Steve Austin' and 'The Undertaker' fan while also having a liking for 'The Rock' and 'John Cena'. In his leisure time, he relishes engaging himself in gardening.

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