As we noted before, the originally planned match between Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal for WrestleMania 33 has been officially nixed because of the money that WWE offered the NBA legend.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, The Big Show talked about building to this match for a year and then it being cancelled:
“I want to do this match. It certainly isn’t on me. I’m serious and dedicated. Whether Shaq has other obligations or business, that’s on him. As far as I know, we’re still trying to make Princess Shaq happy so we can move forward with the match at WrestleMania 33. I have a lot of respect for Shaq. He’s one of the greatest NBA centers of all time. But here’s the thing, and I say this with all humility, I’m one of the greatest big men ever in the WWE.
I’m giving Shaq the opportunity to showcase himself at our biggest event of the year. He is an entertainer and he is an attraction, and he is a heck of an athlete. But he’s hemming and hawing saying it’s somebody else’s fault. If you want to do this, come do this. This is something where Shaq saw how great of shape I was in, and he decided to back out. That’s a personal thing on Shaq.”
