The Big Show was interviewed by Sportingnews.com this week and expressed his frustration that his rumored WrestleMania match against Shaquille O’Neal probably won’t be happening.
Shaq broke the news on his podcast earlier this week that negotiations fell apart. He stated bluntly, “It’s not my fault, that’s all you need to know.”
Big Show has been gearing up for the showdown, getting himself in the best shape of his career. He questions if Shaq got cold feet about stepping in the ring after all his trash talk. Either way, he wants Shaq to own up to the situation, admit he’s scared to fight and move on. He told Sportingnews:
“It is a little frustrating because my contract ends in February 2018. So I don’t know what’s going to happen between now and then. I don’t know if there will be an opportunity for me next year at WrestleMania or not. I don’t know because there’s a lot of new Superstars breaking out and I’ve done my time. This was my perhaps my last opportunity to have a featured match at WrestleMania. And I would have had a good time working with Shaq.
But this is a situation where, obviously, it’s above my paygrade. It’s between Shaq and WWE. Whatever their situation is, who knows. Either that or he say the fact that I was starting to get in really good shape and he got scared and decided that he wants to bail out. It’s real easy to talk about stepping in the ring but once you do actually step in the ring, it takes a lot of courage and mental fortitude to do what we do. I understand the fact that if it’s something that he doesn’t want to do, that he’s scared of, that’s fine but don’t put the blame on me because it isn’t me. Just own up to it and say you’re scared and that’s that.”
Big Show added that he was just talking trash and he has a lot of respect for Shaq. If their match doesn’t wind up happening, he’s in great shape and is confident he can have a role at WrestleMania.
