By Glenn Schouw
Johannesburg - When the word giant is mentioned one thinks of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale – Jack climbs the beanstalk into the clouds where he encounters a giant.
Jack ultimately escapes from the giant by abseiling down the beanstalk and cutting it down which leads to the pursuing giant tumbling to his death.
The WWE’s giant Omos will not die from a fall from Seventh Heaven, but his career appears to be tumbling after he failed to crack the lucrative sports entertainment company’s completed draft.
The 2.2m, 183kg giant will operate as a free agent which will allow him to compete on SmackDown and Raw.
This is a setback for the Nigerian-born Omos as his paydays are not secure. The Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar, is also a free agent but this is not a surprise as his WWE career is winding down.
The heat will be on Omos to make a massive impact at this weekend’s Backlash event at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan.
This will be no easy task as he faces the highly skilled Seth Rollins who is tipped to once again become a WWE champion, particularly now that the Raw World title is up for grabs.
This came about when the WWE decided that the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, will no longer straddle both brands. Reigns, who is closing in on a thousand days rule streak, will now only represent SmackDown.
All eyes will also be on the 45-year-old Lesnar, worth $30 million, who stares down the American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes, in the showcase bout.
The 28-year-old Omos not being drafted to either the SmackDown or Raw brands has led to shock waves among his fellow wrestlers and the millions of fans.
Health concerns would have influenced the WWE in tapping out this call.
While at college in the US, Omos had two brain surgeries for a tumour that could have caused cardiac arrest or blindness. If that was not enough, Omos also had a hat-trick of rare conditions – linked no doubt to his freakish size – acromegaly, gigantism and partial Cushing’s disease.
Another massive unit, André the Giant – even bigger than Omos – also suffered from acromegaly.
Lady Luck smiled on Omos as it was a miracle that WWE put pen to paper with him in January 2019.
Since then Omos has shown great potential which has earned him over $1m – quite a feat, as he was broke before his WWE opportunity. He also had no wrestling experience.
Ahead of his bout with Rollins, Omos told CBS Sports: “My situation has put me in a state where I truly appreciate everything that I am given and do. I have a passion for life and understand that tomorrow is not promised. As an 18-year-old, I didn’t know what to do and had to take everything day by day. It gives me the perspective of appreciating the loved ones around me.”
Omos keeps his thumb on the pulse of the industry: “I see everything online and on the Internet. It strikes the core sometimes. But at the end of the day, all you need to do is go out there to perform and make them shut up. It’s as simple as that … I see screenshots from various journalists and interviews. I use it as motivation to go out there and perform.”
WWE Backlash 2023 Card
Brock Lesnar vs Cody Rhodes
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle vs. The Usos & Solo Sikoa
Bianca Belair vs Iyo Sky – Raw Women’s Championship
Bad Bunny vs Damian Priest
Rhea Ripley vs Zelina Vega – SmackDown Women’s Championship
Seth Rollins vs Omos
Austin Theory vs Bronson Reed vs Bobby Lashley – US Championship
The event will be shown live on SuperSport from 2am, Sunday (SA time).
IOL Sport