10 Wrestling Moments That Had No Right Being THIS Good

5. Shaq RULES

Roman Reigns Shocked
AEW

The rule of the celebrity match is thus: it's always fantastic because celebrities being stars are able to project their star power before they even do anything. Moreover, wrestling promotions are so concerned about terrible publicity that every step is taken to meticulously lay out a flattering, failsafe match.

At least when a celebrity athlete is involved. Jay Leno was the sh*ts.

Shaq was a celebrity athlete, but his input in the build lowered expectations quite a bit. He seemed very uninterested, didn't appear on Dynamite outside of one phoned-in pre-tape, and on 'Inside The NBA' appeared to forget Red Velvet's ring name. If he was working, it wasn't effective. Red Velvet needed more help than anybody else in the match.

It barely felt like it was happening, and then, when it happened, it was absurdly good. Shaq was incredible with his mischievous taunts, he executed a powerbomb as well as any awesome hoss destroyer, and he took a terrific bump through two tables to go above and beyond. Jade's star shone as brightly, which was the real purpose and the real achievement; her raw, jaw-dropping power game and Scott Steiner-style flexing was a brilliant contrast with Red Velvet's fire.

Shaq pummelling Austin Gunn was a delightful and barbaric use of the heat spot; so good, in fact, that he was instantly better than countless ponderous nerve hold bores.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!