One of the big matches that was supposed to occur during WrestleMania 33 was The Big Show taking on NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The two men have had a long history between them and the feud was supposed to come to a head that Sunday night.

Unfortunately for fans, that plan got scrapped and Big Show ended up in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal earlier in the evening. He was eliminated along with Braun Strowman by the combined might of the other superstars competing in the match.

He was reportedly very unhappy with how that went down backstage as there was supposed to be a lingering moment between him and Strowman during their time in the ring together. This all served to tie up earlier beats from the feud in previous weeks.

Until now, no one had an explanation of why exactly the match fell apart. Shaq recently went on his podcast to clear the air surrounding the planning of the match and it is no real surprise that he doesn’t feel like the one at fault for how it all went down.

He told his co-hosts: “"Because they kept playing. First, they said it was me and Big Show. Then, they said it was going to be 3 and 3. Then, they cancelled it so when they cancelled it, I made other arrangements. And then they tried to call back and tried to get it done, and I just said, 'I'm not going to do it.' They messed it up."

And when one of the co-hosts asked about the possibility of taking a loss O’Neal replied: "So you're saying I didn't want to lose? It's for the kids, John. I would have lost for the kids. For the kids."

It seems like The Diesel just wanted to put on a show for the younger fans in the audience, but indecision caused him to abandon the whole thing. He even made a joke about him being in Kazaam, knowing it wasn’t good and still releasing it for younger fans.

Still, this doesn’t exactly make up for the no-show after he agreed to the challenge Big Show a year earlier at WrestleMania 32. With the different match changes though, it would be hard to blame him for deciding that it was more trouble than it was worth.

One silver lining is that The World’s Largest Athlete got himself into prime condition while he was expecting the match and that physique has been put to good use in his post Mania appearances. His match with Braun Strowman on last week’s RAW was a particular highlight.

With WrestleMania 33 reportedly being Big Show’s last, we may never see these two titans clash one-on-one in a WWE ring, but it may not have been meant to be.

The second episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here! Check out the inside info from our coverage in Orlando. https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/givemesport-inside-wrestlemania-33