“Who’s the King of LA?”: Shaquille O’Neal Gets a WrestleMania 39 Challenge From a 8x NBA All Star

WrestleMania is a highly-awaited spectacle every year. The event features the culmination of many rivalries and mega entrances. It also features celebrity involvement, whether in a match or just a segment. ‘The Grand Daddy of ‘Em’ All’ as it is so famously dubbed, has historically featured iconic celebrity encounters. Recently a former opponent challenged NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to a match at WrestleMania 39. 

O’Neal incidentally is neither a stranger to the squared circle nor Wrestlemania. He surprised everyone by appearing at WrestleMania 32 to take part in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Additionally, he also appeared in AEW in 2021, teaming up with Jade Cargill to take on Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet.

Former opponent throws down the gauntlet to Shaquille O’Neal

Former Orlando Magic player, Dwight Howard is counted among the NBA greats. A self-proclaimed wrestling enthusiast Howard, even attended a WWE tryout earlier this year. He recently appeared on the Club Shay Shay podcast and discussed his love for wrestling in detail. He even expressed a desire to appear in the ‘Showcase Of The Immortals’ next year.

Howard said, “WrestleMania is in LA this year, who’s the king of LA? Let’s go Shaq, Let’s go, Let’s go. {Imitating O’Neal} Hey, I’m ready, I’m ready to go right now. Shay Shay, you be the referee, you and Skip. I’m taking you down, Dwight.”

WWE WrestleMania always features celebrity action

The WrestleMania event has had an insane influx of celebrities trying their hand at wrestling. While rapper Bad Bunny featured in the event in 2021, YouTuber Logan Paul appeared in the event earlier this year. He even went on to sign a contract with the WWE and recently impressed everyone with his in-ring skills at the Crown Jewel event.

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Coming back to the NBA legends, Howard and O’Neal were said to have a long-standing beef with each other. Howard, however, cleared the air on the said issues in interaction with All Smoke Podcast last month. He said, “I don’t know why he was like that. I never had no issues with Shaq, I never wanted to be like Shaq. I enjoy watching him do what he do, I think he’s the most dominant player to ever play. There’s no player as dominant as Shaq”

Both NBA players have overseen stellar careers. There’s no doubt that Shaq trumps the trophy count with 6 Championships to his name along with 15 NBA All-Star appearances. While Howard has a solitary Championship and 8- NBA All-Star appearances to his name.

Beef or no beef it will be quite interesting to see if the NBA legends do choose to fight it out in the squared circle. It’ll not only be an appealing prospect for the wrestling audience but would also evoke nostalgia among NBA faithful. If the WWE does go ahead and book this monumental clash at WrestleMania, it’ll be a huge addition to an already growing star-studded match card.

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