In regards to the story on WWE.com where Big Show talked about Shaquille O’Neal not taking his training seriously, it appears that the comments were part of the build towards the big match at WrestleMania and the match is still happening. In fact, Shaq will start training this week. WWE has wanted to do this match for years. I believe they had talks with Shaq in 2009 but they were not able to get a deal done. It would have probably been better to have done this match years ago when he was an active player but I am sure WWE will get adequate publicity since Shaq has remained a public figure during retirement. He is also part of the NBA on TNT pre-show panel so I’m sure WWE will get some publicity on there, ESPN and other outlets.
Big Show continues to shed pounds and bulk up for the upcoming match. This is a big deal to him because this year’s WrestleMania could be his last one in a heavily hyped featured match. For those of you that have emailed asking why Big Show lost to Braun Strowman on Monday if Show is getting set to face Shaq, well, the answer is simple. WWE has bigger fish to fry with Strowman and they see him as a guy they can use as a top heel for many years to come. The Shaq-Show match will still get publicity so a loss to Strowman doesn’t hurt that match.
I don’t expect Show vs. Shaq to go longer than 5 minutes at WrestleMania.
