Earlier this year, Brian Shaw announced that the 2023 World’s Strongest Man contest would be the last time he competes on the biggest stage in the world. The four-time WSM winner has attempted to win the coveted fifth title for the past few years. However, at 41, age is no longer at his side. So the American decided to give it his all this year. Things were looking good until Shaw contracted a leg infection in January that put him in the hospital for over a week. Now months after recovering, his on-stage rival and off-stage best friend has poked fun at Brian Shaw on social media.

Yesterday, on April 16th, the 2017 World’s Strongest Man winner, Eddie Hall, uploaded a hilarious video of him making fun of Shaw. The former champion filmed a skit while traveling to South Carolina to attend the 2023 edition of the WSM. So how did the retired strongman make fun of his American friend? Let’s find out.

Making sure Brian Shaw doesn’t hurt himself again

Besides being a world-class strength athlete, Eddie Hall also has a penchant for humor. While Hall no longer competes, he will attend the event in South Carolina between April 19-23, 2023. So when traveling to America, the former World’s Strongest Man found the perfect opportunity to poke fun at Shaw during the journey.

The 35-year-old began filming the video he uploaded at the airport, before boarding the flight from Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport. The former champion carried an inflatable toy with Brian Shaw’s face printed on it. In the video, Shaw’s once-on-stage rival acted like the toy’s caretaker.

He put the toy on his back during check-in and boarding. While on the flight, Hall treated it as his co-passenger. He even went to the bathroom with it and while having wine pretended to share some him the Brian Shaw look-alike toy. “Getting Brian Shaw to Worlds Strongest Man safe and sound,” Hall wrote in the caption of his post. While the former champion made fun of his best friend, in January, Shaw’s condition was quite grave. 

The four-time champion’s eight-day ordeal

In his Road to WSM video series, Brian Shaw revealed that he came down with a severe leg infection in January. However, the former champion had no idea how bad the situation would become. Shaw initially thought a dose of antibiotics would solve the problem. Instead, he had to check into the hospital.

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At the hospital, the infection rapidly spread through his lower leg. At one point during his eight-day stay at the hospital, Doctors even considered amputating his leg. Fortunately, Shaw recovered and went straight to the gym two hours after getting discharged. However, only time will tell if the massive health scare had a lasting impact on his performance.

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What did you think about Eddie Hall’s skit on Brian Shaw? Do you think Shaw can clinch his fifth WSM title this year? Let us know in the comments.