Shaquille O’Neal would’ve been a natural in the wrestling business if he ever took it seriously, according to NBA legend and TNT colleague Charles Barkley.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley recently appeared on The Sessions with Renée Paquette and discussed his friend and fellow NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s multiple appearances in both WWE and AEW programming. Barkley would say that he thinks if Shaq decided to take pro wrestling seriously a number of years ago, he would’ve been one of the best in the business.
“That’s a perfect word—this dude is crazy. His body probably can’t take the abuse today, but his personality, he’s one of the most fun people I’ve ever been around. First of all, he’s a hard-working dude. He’s on every commercial. It’s just a matter of time before he’s doing a Depends commercial. It’s a matter of time,” Barkley quipped.
“I know he’s turning 50 sometime in the next couple weeks, so he’s close to the Depends. It’s just a matter of time, but you know, he’s a great businessman, he does a lot of stuff, clearly. But with his personality, if he really had a want to do it like 25 years ago, he would’ve been great.”
Shaq competed on the March 5, 2021 edition of AEW Dynamite alongside current TBS Champion Jade Cargill against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. The end of that match saw Shaq disappear from an ambulance, and Tony Khan said that it was set up so that Shaq could make his eventual return to AEW. Read more about how Shaq helped set the angle up at this link.
Related: Shaquille O’Neal Asks John Cena To Assess His AEW Debut
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