Cody Rhodes has discussed his AEW Dynamite mixed tag team match with Shaquille O’Neal and says he doesn’t know where the NBA legend disappeared from the ambulance to either!
Rhodes teamed with Red Velvet to take on Shaq and his partner Jade Cargill on the 3rd of March 2021 edition of AEW Dynamite. Cargill and O’Neal were able to claim the victory despite Rhodes planting the former LA Laker through two tables at ringside.
The first-ever TNT Champion spoke with to Inside The Ropes’ very own Kenny McIntosh for issue 11 of Inside The Ropes Magazine about the match, first claiming not to know where O’Neal went after fans saw him being loaded into an ambulance and then bizarrely seeming to vanish into thin air.
Rhodes began:
We’re still wondering where he is. I’ve been watching Dark Elevation in case I missed it . . .
I know that I keep my eyes out and my ear to the ground. I know that celebrity matches have a lot of opinions and everybody wants to be the best celebrity match. I almost don’t want to have another celebrity match ever in AEW because he did so well. He did so well and he gave a spotlight for two girls to shine. Like, if Shaq brought you there, well, then Jade and Red Velvet, hopefully you stick with them in terms of their careers and their trajectories.
Cody Rhodes then gave credit to two individuals for getting the match together, one of those being his wife Brandi who was originally supposed to be Cody’s partner before her pregnancy stopped her from competing.
Rhodes continued:
That match happening is owed entirely to two people, Tony, of course, but he’s every match, but it’s owed to Brandi and QT Marshall. One of the things about it is [Brandi] getting pregnant was not a bad thing at all—God knows, the greatest thing ever—but the timing of it was disappointing that she was not able to see that through and finish it. But she was such a good sport about it and she hand-selected Velvet to be there for it and then it ended up being such a great moment for Velvet.
Rhodes admitted he was surprised Shaq did so well but on reflection, he’s not sure why:
I don’t know why I was so surprised he would do so well. The guy played at the highest of levels, former NBA MVP. He’s played for world championships. It’s Shaq! I knew when he walked out and this random double bi that he hit, I knew he was ready. He was absolutely ready. And believe it or not, if you had been monitoring us going up to that match, his television crew was there backstage. They were all over him. He was very accommodating to everybody who wanted pictures. There was so little communication before we got to go out there to the point where it could have gone so terribly wrong and he delivered a very epic performance that does ask the question, “When do we get the Shaq-man back? Where did he go?” And I’m really a huge fan. He earned the respect of every wrestling fan with that segment. And I’m so happy that Jade and Velvet were able to benefit from it as well.
Ahead of AEW Homecoming, Cody Rhodes spoke to the media to discuss his opponent at the event Malakai Black as well as Bray Wyatt’s shock departure from WWE.