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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 14: TV personality/retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal onstage at The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber at Sony Pictures Studios on March 14, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber will air on March 30, 2015 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 14: TV personality/retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal onstage at The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber at Sony Pictures Studios on March 14, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber will air on March 30, 2015 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
After his successful debut on AEW Dynamite earlier this year, Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal would reportedly be back. He has hinted at an in-ring return this year.
On the March 21 episode of Dynamite, Shaq and Jade Cargill teamed up against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet in a mixed tag team match. Towards the end, the giant took a crossbody from Cody and went through a table at the ringside.
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Jade Cargill eventually got the pin, and their team won the iconic match. Shaq was taken to the back, as he went out for medical help in an ambulance. However, when AEW commentator and interviewer Tony Schiavone went to check on him, the legend was nowhere to be found.
With the cliffhanger in the feud, Shaq has announced he’d back in the squared circle. On the May 27 edition of NBA on TNT, when asked when he would be wrestling again, Shaq said, “Soon. This Summer.”
Fans would have to see whether Shaq faces Cody or someone else in the ring. Hopefully, Shaq would be back once the NBA season is over.
Tony Khan is all praises for Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille is among the various celebrities who have graced the AEW ring. Apart from him, Snoop Dogg and Mike Tyson have appeared on Dynamite.
AEW President Tony Khan recently revealed his fondness for the NBA legend. “Shaq is the greatest celebrity wrestler of all time,” Khan told Sports Illustrated.
“Backstage, I’ve never seen anyone come in and be more genuine, spend more time working on the craft for months, as well as paying respect to the wrestlers. This is one of the biggest stars in the world, and he came in to help us. He gave to the wrestling business in a way that was incredible, and I’d be remiss not to mention that.”
The match came to exist after Shaq tweeted at Cody. “
What happened is really what fans saw. He tweeted about me (in August 2020) and didn’t, I don’t think, particularly know me,” Cody told NYPost. “He just knew he had a show on TNT and we had seen each other at the upfront and ‘Dynamite’ was kicking ass and I think he chose an in-house professional wrestler to pick on.”
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Watch Shaquille O’Neal Get Slammed Through a Table During AEW Wrestling Match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYih440wNUE
Eventually, Tony Khan and QT Marshall arranged and trained him for the match, respectively. This time, fans would love to see more of Shaq inside the ring.
