Notes on Shaquille O’Neal-Big Show, Ricky Ortiz
WWE reportedly is discussing the possibility of putting together a match between Shaquille O’Neal and The Big Show.
Surprisingly, the proposed match would not take place on pay-per-view, but on a three-hour edition of Raw next month, according to wrestlingobserver.com.
There’s no doubt that a Shaq-Big Show match would pop a huge rating, but wouldn’t it be better to pop a huge buy rate? I’m willing to bet that Shaq doing a match at WrestleMania would surpass the WWE-record 1.2 million buys that WrestleMania 23, which featured the Donald Trump-Vince McMahon hair match, did.
After seeing how well Shaq performed when he was the guest host of Raw two weeks ago, I felt certain that he would don the tights one day, but I assumed it wouldn’t take place until after he retired from playing in the NBA. I can’t imagine the Cleveland Cavaliers would be too thrilled over Shaq participating in something in which he could suffer an injury so close to the start of the season.
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In case anyone missed it (or cares), Ricky Ortiz was released by WWE over the weekend. The move is not a surprise based on how he has been used as of late.
I liked Ortiz because of his look and quirky personality and thought he could be a solid mid-card act, but he never got over.
Comments
If the match ever happens, Shaq, despite not being a wrestler and being a bigger jerk than Show, will gain John Cena's superpower, overcome interference from "Christina" and squash "fat boy". Can't wait for it.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 10, 2009 4:21 PM
My guess is that no one at ESPN, etc. buys wrestling ppv's, but they'd have an intern watch Raw to cut something together. I'd question the logic too, but someome making more money than me probably can justify it.
Plus, if it ends up being a clunker, at least it was free.
Posted by: James C | August 10, 2009 4:55 PM
There is no way the Cavs will allow Shaq to wrestle while he is under contract. These athletes aren't allowed to ride motorcycles or go skiing, much less wrestle Big Show. It would be interesting, though. Maybe some day.
Ortiz had potential, it just never worked. Too much time on the mic combined with very few wins is a guaranteed way to annoy fans and bury a rookie.
Posted by: Michael in Virginia | August 10, 2009 5:17 PM
i think that having shaq participate in a three hour edition of raw could be better than having him at WM (for the business, of course).
just think about it: what wwe is trying to do with the guest hosts is to get new viewers, not to get more buy rates. i agree that the buy rates would be incredibly high, but what better way to have new viewers than to have a free show featuring shaq
Posted by: Chiskabob | August 10, 2009 6:01 PM
I did not like Ortiz' look nor his quirky personality, and I would have had no interest in him, at all, had he not been a Saskatchewan Roughrider alumnus.
Posted by: Christopher | August 10, 2009 7:01 PM
I was reading that the Shaq v. Big Show match being on free TV has to do with them wanting to please some lady from NBC. They said the entire celebrity host angle is due to a little pressure from her.
I believe her name is Bonnie Hammer, and I've read about her a few times before. She supports the WWE big time and they said that she very well could be the president of NBC one day.
Posted by: Killer Tofu | August 10, 2009 8:29 PM
Ortiz was hard to watch. He didn't do anything special with his gimmick other then wave a stupid towel around and he looked clumsy in the ring. The dude had no heart.
Posted by: Cliff | August 10, 2009 10:19 PM
WWE needs a huge night to help leverage a better deal with USA Network. Shaq/Show would boost ratings.
Posted by: Jerry | August 10, 2009 10:57 PM
Hi Kev,
I would really like the Shaq vs. Big Show match but I don't know if it will happen for a while. I doubt Cleveland will allow Shaq to wrestle. Wrestling may be a work but Shaq still runs the risk of getting injured in the ring and Cleveland doesn't want to lose one of their star players for the season.
By the way, Dr. Ken was on the Jimmy Fallon show last week talking trash about John Cena after Monday Night RAW. Man I hope Vince isn't considering bringing him back. I don't care how funny people think he is in "The Hangover"...I don't want to see that guy on RAW or in the WWE again!
Posted by: jeff | August 11, 2009 12:02 AM
The Problem with having a Shaq/Show match is that Wrestlemania happens during the season, and in late march/early april it will be right in the middle of the playoff push. I don't think Shaq or the Cavs would allow that to happen.
If it was to happen at a PPV it would have to be SummerSlam
Posted by: B.Vic | August 11, 2009 9:04 AM
I don't think that Wrestlemania would work for Shaq since it is in the middle of the Basketball Season.
Posted by: Anon | August 11, 2009 10:19 AM