Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, a well-known wrestling fan who has even stepped into the ring on occasion, recently shared a story about the moment his childhood illusions about professional wrestling were shattered. According to Shaq, WWE Hall of Famers Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan were the inadvertent culprits.
Speaking on “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal recounted a WWE event he hosted at his Orlando home. He had extended an invitation to several wrestlers who were in town, including Hogan and Flair. During this gathering, the reality of the business became apparent to him as he observed the interactions between the performers.
Shaq explained, “So, I did [a] WWE event at my house in Orlando, and said, Hey, all the wrestlers was coming by. I said, yeah, they can come by. So Hulk Hogan came in, a couple of other guys came in, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan….and Macho Man (Randy Savage) and all these start eating my hors d’oeuvres and talking with each other and growing up, always thought to hate each other.”
O’Neal continued, “You know what’s crazy, it actually was a sad day for me, because I thought, even though I’m a professional, make whole bunch of money, I thought that wrestling was real.”
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