Tony Khan Breaks Silence on Shaquille O’Neal’s Infamous AEW Exit and Possible Return After 4 Years
AEW President Tony Khan reveals details about Shaquille O Neal’s AEW debut, cliffhanger ending, and a possible return to the company.
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Shaquille O Neal’s sudden disappearance from an ambulance after his AEW debut match against the Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet team is still one of the biggest mystery endings in the company.
Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill both have left AEW and are part of WWE and till now, it has not been revealed where di Shaq disappeared lately while chitchatting at The Dan Le Batard Show; AEW President Tony opened up on the ending and told how’s idea was to end match like that dropped a hint that their door is still open for the return of The Big Banana.
According to Clutch Point, Tony Khan said on The Dan Le Batard Show, “I don't think it serves us well to close the loop because I think Shaq wanted to leave it open-ended for him to come back. He saw that being a really good cliffhanger to a return, and I think he's right,”
Tony Khan further expressed and opened doors for Shaq to return in AEW, “People are still talking about it, and it's been three and a half years. What he was going for clearly worked because he wanted a cliffhanger that led to his return. When Shaq is ready to wrestle again, that will be a perfect entry point for him to return to the world of professional wrestling. We loved having Shaq in AEW.”
NBA Legend Shaquille O Neal is best known for supporting emerging sports promotions and often makes cross-sports appearances. Shaquille O Neal debuted in All Elite Wrestling on the March 3, 2021, edition of the AEW Dynamite episode, where he teamed up with Jade Cargill and faced a mixed tag team of Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet.
The mixed tag team match between a team of Shaq and Jade Cargill vs Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet ended with the victory of Jade and Shaq, and fans were impressed by the in-ring ability of the Big Shamrock’s in-ring performance and athleticism.
Until now, fans talk about the cliffhanger ending when Cody Rhodes jumped on Shaquille O’Neal at the end of the match, and The Big Bannan landed on the tables. His head hit the floor, he got knocked out cold and was taken away in the ambulance, but after checking upon O Neal inside the Ambulance, he was not in there, and the show went off the air.
AEW is gearing up to host a massive international premium live event. The next major All-In event is set to take place on August 25, 2024, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, coinciding with the United Kingdom. Multiple big matches are announced for the AEW All In premium live. There are a total of nine matches on the card; take a look at the AEW All-In card.
AEW All-In Match Card
- Willow Nightingale and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway
- Casino Gauntlet Match
- Chris Jericho (c) vs Hook - FTW Championship
- The Patriarchy (c) vs. House of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang vs Wild Card Winners - AEW World Trios Championships London Ladder Match
- Jack Perry (c) vs Darby Allin - TNT Championship Coffin Match
- AEW World Tag Team Championship Match- Young Bucks (c) vs. FTR vs The Acclaimed
- Mercedes Mone (c) vs Britt Baker - AEW TBS Championship Match
- MJF (c) vs. Will Ospreay - AEW American Championship Match“Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs “The Glamour” Mariah May - AEW Women’s World Championship
- Swerve Strickland (c) vs Bryan Danielson - AEW World Championship vs Career Match
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