AEW has been building towards a Shaquille O’Neal match for several months, and the former NBA star is set to team with Jade Cargill against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet on the March 3rd episode of Dynamite. However, there is some concern for the match after it was revealed at the end of Arn Anderson’s Coach’s Corner segment that Rhodes is dealing with a shoulder injury.
The belief is that when Cezar Bononi gave Cody an overhead slam on last night’s Dynamite (taped the week prior) that The American Nightmare landed awkwardly and suffered a slight left rotator cuff tear. A rotator cuff tear for those unaware is a rip to the muscles and tendons that stabilize someone’s shoulder joint.
If Cody could not wrestle, it would be a blow to AEW as the match is expected to do great in the ratings. Shaq is a proven ratings draw, after 1.22 million people tuned in to watch Brandi Rhodes throw water in his face back in December. Hopefully, though with it being described as a slight tear, a mixture of physiotherapy, and wrestlers’ well-known ability to battle through pain, Shaq’s in-ring AEW debut can occur as currently scheduled.
The much-hyped match has already seen two changes since it was initially planned. Firstly, Brandi Rhodes had to step aside as Cody’s partner due to pregnancy. Then the match had to be moved off AEW’s Revolution PPV due to the date being the same as the NBA’s rescheduled All-Star game.
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