Basketball icon Shaquille O’Neal has always been an outspoken fan of professional wrestling, even stepping inside the squared circle himself on occasion. However, in a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the NBA Hall of Famer opened up about the moment his childhood belief in wrestling’s authenticity came crashing down — and he credits none other than Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan for it.
Shaq recalled hosting a WWE event at his home in Orlando, Florida, where several legends of the industry gathered. While he was excited to welcome them, what he witnessed left a lasting impact.
“So, I did [a] WWE event at my house in Orlando, and said, ‘Hey, all the wrestlers [can] come by,’” Shaq shared. “So Hulk Hogan came in, a couple of other guys came in, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan… and Macho Man [Randy Savage]. And all these [guys] start eating my hors d’oeuvres and talking with each other. Growing up, I always thought they hated each other.”
The surreal image of kayfabe rivals casually mingling caught the big man off guard.
“You know what’s crazy? It actually was a sad day for me,” Shaq admitted. “Because I thought — even though I’m a professional, make a whole bunch of money — I thought that wrestling was real.”
Shaq, who once appeared in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32, has long teased further involvement in WWE. His revelation adds a lighthearted and relatable note to the blurred lines between wrestling’s fiction and reality, even for one of the world’s most recognizable sports figures.
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