Pro wrestling was kept together for decades by preserving the rule of "kayfabe," with wrestlers often going to extreme lengths to keep the scripted nature of the industry secret. Since then, most wrestling fans have learned the hard way that many aspects of wrestling was always kayfabe and even grown wrestling fans, like Shaquille O'Neal, had the proverbial band-aid ripped off when he discovered the truth.
"So, I did a WWE event at my house in Orlando, and said, 'Hey, all the wrestlers come by. So, Hulk Hogan came in, a couple of other guys came in, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan... and Macho Man," O'Neal recalled during an episode of his "The Big Podcast with Shaq.""And all these [guys] start eating my hors d'oeuvres and talking with each other. Growing up, I always thought they hated each other."
"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." Despite the rude awakening, Shaq has been involved in wrestling several times over the years, appearing at 1994's WCW Bash at the Beach pay-per-view, competing in the 2016 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.Shaq also had a match in AEW back in 2020alongside Jade Cargill, taking onCody and Brandi Rhodes.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Big Podcast withShaq" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
