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WWE News: Big Show VS. Shaq At ‘WrestleMania 33’ Off?

By Evan Morgan
Published on: 11:11 PST, Mar 2, 2017

With WrestleMania 33 looming on the horizon, WWE fans are eagerly awaiting the biggest annual event in all of wrestling — the wrestling Super Bowl, if you will. All the weekly events and monthly pay-per-view events every year lead up to “the granddaddy of them all,” and this year’s festivities are no exception.

While much of the WrestleMania 33 match card is subject to rumor, speculation, and any last-minute changes that may occur, one of the most talked about potential matches leading up to the big event has been that of Big Show vs. Shaq. While Big Show has been the subject of retirement rumors in recent years, and Shaq is already several years removed from NBA competition, Big Show vs. Shaq has generated as much buzz as any other potential matches on the card. That said, however, everyone wants to know whether or not fans will get to see Big Show vs. Shaq actually happen. What’s the latest?

There has been just as much buzz recently surrounding Big Show’s incredible transformation in terms of slimming down and toning up. At 45 years of age, Paul Wight decided that it was time the Big Show dropped big weight, and, he seems to have done all of that, and more.

Speaking with WWE about his dramatic transformation, Big Show added,

“It was definitely a conscious decision. You don’t make the transformation I’ve made without a serious commitment to changing 40 years of improper diet and improper training. I wanted to make a change, and I was given the time and opportunity to make a change, so I took advantage of it. I’ve worked a hard schedule for 22 years. Five days a week, 200-plus days a year on the road. With that time off, it was a chance for me to re-evaluate what I want to do with my future, what I want to do with myself, and really take this challenge on and see if I could make a change.”

Big Show worked with Miami-based celebrity trainer Dodd Romero, who has worked with the likes of Denzel Washington and Alex Rodriguez in the past. The plan of attack for Big Show consists of swimming, cycling, and weight training, along with dropping some of his favorite foods, including pizza, ice cream, and meatball subs.

That said, however, while Big Show is easily in the best shape of his professional wrestling career (and possibly his life) after dropping more than 60lbs and counting, the latest news from Shaq is that the highly-anticipated match might not go through after all.

In a recent podcast, Shaq noted,

“It’s not going to happen? That’s probably right. It’s not my fault, that’s all you need to know. It ain’t my fault. It’s not totally off yet but it’s not looking good. But it doesn’t matter, I’m still working out and I still look better than Big Show. I’ll still meet him wherever he wants to meet me. These next 30 days, I’m about to go hard. I’m still doing it like it’s going down.”

When asked by TMZ for his thoughts on the matter, The Miz weighed in,

“I don’t think Big Show would back out. I don’t see him backing out of anything…especially WrestleMania. It’s the biggest event of the year.”

While there has been no definitive answer just yet regarding whether or not this match will be given the green light, one also has to wonder if these cancellation rumors are simply a way to hype up the match even more before an eventual reveal. Either way, this potential showdown of giants has been in the making for many years, and, if it is given the go-ahead leading up to WrestleMania 33, it’s a match that WWE fans, NBA fans, and sports fans in general are going to want to tune in for.

WrestleMania 33 goes live on April 2, 2017 from the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

[Featured Image by Lukas Schulze/Stringer/Getty Images]

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