20 WWE WrestleMania Matches We Almost Got (And Why We Didn't)
13. The Big Show Vs. Shaq - WrestleMania XXVIII & 33
A match that Shaquille O'Neal was so keen on, it was under the radar of two different WrestleManias.
In 2009, Shaq was the guest host of Monday Night Raw and came to blows with the Big Show. Naturally, the rumour mill started swirling regarding a potential feud between the two men, but a WrestleMania match didn't come to light until 2012, when Shaq was gearing up for a bout against the World's Largest Athlete at WrestleMania XXVIII.
Then at WrestleMania 32, Shaq and Show came to blows briefly in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale and began a Twitter feud later in the year with plans for a one-on-one confrontation at WrestleMania 33. The two would throw shade, show off their abs, all the normal macho stuff that big fellas do. It wouldn't have been a classic match, but two big chunks of beef engaging in some Shaq Fu is what classic WrestleMania is all about.
Why didn't it happen?
A different reason for each year. For XXVIII, WWE just weren't interested in the match despite Shaq's insistence that it was on. But Show fought Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship instead, with the basketball legend not being mentioned at all.
For 33, a match was all-but confirmed for the show but this time it was scheduling issues on O'Neal's part that prevented the match from happening.