Shaq .vs. Show : Stick A Fork In It

After weeks of uncertainty, I guess it's now safe to state that Big Show versus Shaquille O'Neal is absolutely off the WrestleMania 33 card.

Big Show was the first person from the Raw brand to be added to this year's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal participant list on last night's edition of WWE's flagship show. This was enough of a sign that the company has moved on from the match that had been in the works for many years and was building - via the Internet - since the spring of 2016.

As a result of Show now being listed as a participant in the battle royal, the oddsmakers at Betfair.com have removed their WrestleMania 33 special where customers could wager on Shaquille O'Neal being in an official match on April 2nd.

The market - which opened in April - had the 'Yes' at 3/1 and the 'No' in at 1/5 when I last recorded the prices yesterday evening.

As for Big Show - the PaddyPower.com traders have now cut his odds to win the battle royal from 12/1 into 8/1 since the announcement was made. As noted in yesterday's post, Show opened at 20/1 in early February so the punters had been wagering on him long before the early hours of this morning.

For what it's worth, Coral.co.uk and Ladbrokes.com still have Show at the 33/1 the two firms put him up at when their respective markets were first published.

Betting aside, I can't help but feel bad for Big Show. He put a lot of effort into getting himself ready for the Shaquille O'Neal match. If it were my call, I'd have him win the battle royal as a make good. The company obviously has other plans, however.