Pro wrestling is renowned for its meticulously choreographed stunts that not only entertain the fans but also ensure the safety of its athletes. Shaquille O'Neal , who never shied away from expressing his love for the sport, couldn't let go of the opportunity to step into that realm. However, despite the expectation that all moves would be carefully monitored, the production crew/trainer shockingly lied to the three-time Finals MVP in a move that could have potentially endangered his life.
What went wrong for Shaq during AEW Dynamite?
On March 3rd, 2020, O’Neal and Cargill battled against Cody Rhodes and Red Vilvert on AEW Dynamite. Throughout the contest, the 15-time All-Star showcased emotions expected of a wrestler and even fought within the rules, like a natural.
However, the match took an unexpected turn when Rhodes performed a cross-body block on the 7-foot center and forced the latter to go through a table and hit the concrete floor with some momentum. With the Lakers legend clearly looking in distress, it was apparent that something had gone off the script.
In the aftermath of that incident, QT Marshall, a professional wrestler and co-proprietor of a gym that trained aspiring athletes, faced the brunt of the criticism. As he was tasked with preparing Shaq for the fight, a significant discrepancy emerged between him and the four-time NBA Champion, wherein Marshall flat-out lied to the NBA legend.
Put simply, Marshall admitted that he misled Shaq only so that an entertaining move could be pulled off in the ring.
"I told him, 'Oh, it won’t be that bad, we’ll put a really thick pad underneath,' which was not true," Marshall said . "I just didn’t want him to back out of it."
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O’Neal got angry
Obviously, that kind of misleading information, especially when done on purpose, didn’t end well. O’Neal fell from the ring, about three feet off the floor, and crashed onto the table below. Furthermore, even the table broke, and he ended up landing on his back on the concrete floor. As a result, Shaw confronted Marshall when he got to the locker room, but the latter just welcomed him to the wrestling world.
"As he came in the back (room), right away, he said, 'You lied to me! There was no pad under there!'" Marshall added. "That’s wrestling, welcome to wrestling."
While QT’s mistake could have seriously cost Shaq, and the rest of the world would’ve made sure he realized it, he was lucky that ditching arguably the most dominant NBA big man didn’t lead to any extreme consequences.
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