Has Shaquille O’Neal ever met Andre the Giant? All you need to know
Shaquille O’Neal is a man of many talents. Besides being a basketball legend and one of the greatest centers in the league, Shaq is also a cop, a DJ and a wrestler.
Standing at 7-foot-1 and weighing over 320 pounds, O'Neal is one of the most intimidating men in the world. This is most likely why he decided to try professional wrestling.
Andre the Giant is one of O’Neal's favorite wrestlers of all time. In this article, we will take a closer look at the two and find out if they ever met.
Shaquille O’Neal, Andre the Giant and their wrestling connection
Shortly before he was drafted by the Orlando Magic, Shaquille O’Neal appeared in World Championship Wrestling. He was also a part of WWE at one point as he fought Big Show, another seven-footer.
Shaq loves to entertain people, which is why it's no surprise that he tried his hand at wrestling. He's been involved with the sport for almost three decades, with his last appearance being in March 2021.
Andre Rene Roussimoff, better known as Andre the Giant, was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Roussimoff stood at 7-4 and weighed more than 500 pounds, which is why he was also called "The Eighth Wonder of the World."
Andre began his career in 1966 and it didn't take long for him to gain popularity. Besides the United States, the wrestler was popular in Japan, Mexico and many other countries.
Unfortunately, he died of congestive heart failure at the age of 46-year-old. Andre the Giant passed in January 1993 and never got the opportunity to fight Shaquille O’Neal. Furthermore, there are no records of the two wrestlers ever meeting.
There is no doubt that Shaq would've loved to have met Andre the Giant.
Shaq claims he would have beaten Andre
One thing that O'Neal has never lacked is self-confidence. After dominating the NBA for almost two decades, Shaq has found success in many other things, including DJ-ing.
While we will never see a match between him and Andre the Giant, the four-time champion claims that he would have beaten the wrestler. Here's what the basketball legend said on the "Dan Patrick Show":
"I would have beat him like I beat Charles Barkley."
Unfortunately for millions of fans, this match will never be a reality. It would have been interesting to see how good Shaq would be against one of the most intimidating wrestlers of all time.
While we will never see this matchup, many fans would definitely love to see Shaq and Barkley in the ring.