Major WWE WrestleMania 33 match cancelled despite yearlong buildup

The rumoured match between basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal and The Big Show will not be taking place at WWE WrestleMania 33, contrary to earlier reports. The match was first teased during last year's WrestleMania when the two 7-foot behemoths stared down during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

After that stare down (see video below), Shaq challenged the WWE giant to a match, following which the two exchanged insults on social media for the better part of the past year. Earlier this week, Shaq confirmed that his WWE WrestleMania match with The Big Show is likely to be cancelled. "That's probably right. It's not my fault. That's all you need to know. It ain't (isn’t) my fault (that the match won't happen)," the hall-of-famer said on his weekly podcast titled The Big Podcast With Shaq.

O'Neal, who won four NBA championships during his career, stressed that he tried to make the match happen. "Oh, it ain't (isn’t) my fault. It (doesn't) matter what they (WWE) say. I'm just letting you know. It has nothing to do with The Diesel and his management. That's all I've got to say. But, but, but, it's not totally off yet. But it's not looking good. But it doesn't matter. I'm still working out. I still look way better than Big Show and I'll still meet him anywhere he wants to meet," added the former three-time NBA Finals MVP.

WWE WrestleMania 33: Shaq vs. Big Show unlikely to happen

Over the years, a number of Hollywood personalities and legendary athletes have appeared at WrestleMania, WWE's annual showpiece event. The likes of Mohammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Cyndi Lauper, Ray Charles, Pete Rose, current U.S. President Donald Trump, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Ronda Rousey have either participated in matches or appeared in promo segments. This year, the plan was to have Shaq and Big Show partake in the celebrity quotient of the event. Unfortunately, those plans are still up in the air.

Shaq said that he will continue to work out with hopes that the match would materialise before the Apr. 2 pay-per-view at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. "These next 30 days, I'm about to go hard, so I'm still doing it like it's going down. I actually start two-a-days on March 1st. Then, it's going down. I'm going on vacation from March 2nd to the 7th. And then, from the 8th to like the 29th, two-a-days, sometimes three-a-days. It's going down, Big Show. Just saying, it ain't (isn’t) me, America."

Meanwhile, Big Show told Sporting News in an interview that he was hoping for the issue to be resolved. "It's between Shaq and WWE. Whatever their situation is, who knows. Either that or he say the fact that I was starting to get in really good shape and he got scared and decided that he wants to bail out. It's really easy to talk about stepping in the ring but once you do actually step in the ring, it takes a lot of courage and mental fortitude to do what we do," said the 7-footer.

WWE WrestleMania 33 will be headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns, Triple H vs. Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton and other marquee match-ups. Stay tuned for the latest news and updates surrounding the annual sports entertainment extravaganza.