Eddie Hall wanted to ‘Hit’ Brian Shaw after the legend came up with a genius way to win World’s Strongest Man 2013

EXCLUSIVE: Brian Shaw left Eddie Hall nothing short of furious with the magnificent method he implemented to win World’s Strongest Man 2013.

The American, who conquered the planet on four occasions, is now taking over a new sport, with the powerhouse scheduled for a monster showdown tonight against Leonidas Arkona at East vs West Armwrestling 23 in Cologne, Germany.

Brian Shaw made friends with a waitress who brought him burgers to World’s Strongest Man 2013

After dealing with a horrifying hand injury that left him unable to tie his shoes in 2012, Brian Shaw arrived at World’s Strongest Man 2013 in Sanya, China, determined to claim his second, of an eventual four titles.

In a crazy turn of events, he ended up meeting a woman, who’d supply him with an endless supply of burgers to fuel him through the competition.

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In an exclusive interview with Sporf, he reminisced: “We were in China, and the food was not the best — a lot of guys were getting sick. The medical staff that were taking care of us, were going to this American sports bar. I found out the food was good there, so I just kept going back. One of the waitresses, because I was going so much, was like, ‘I’ll watch the events and bring you some food’. I wasn’t mad about that. It was interesting, but that’s how I got through it. I had that, I had beef jerky, I had protein powder and that’s about what I ate that whole contest.”

When asked whether Eddie Hall got to enjoy any of the burgers, the icon chuckled: “No, 100%. Not back then, he did not, because I needed it.”

During an episode of The Good, The Bad and The Beast, when the topic came up between the pair, the Englishman told Shaw: “I wanted to hit you so hard.”

While the ferocious athletes have had an amazing rivalry in strongman, their feud has transcended the sport, with the pair also going to war in arm wrestling.

Looking back at their clash, Shaw recalled: “That was crazy. Eddie is a competitor; he’s a character. Of course, we’re friends, but on the table that friendship went out of the window, and it was all competitive. Eddie is a good trash-talker, so he was trying to get into my head, but I was able to stay calm and get the job done and beat him, which was fun. It’s just a different kind of adrenaline that arm wrestling brings out when you get on the table, so it was great. Both of us, at that point, were extremely new to arm wrestling, and looking back, I did a lot of things wrong, but I was able to win, and that’s the most important thing. If I’d have lost to Eddie, I promise he’d be texting me everyday to let me know about it.”

Brian Shaw makes his East vs West Armwrestling 23 prediction

Standing at an enormous 6ft8, despite his friendly nature, Shaw is undoubtedly one of the most intimidating men on the planet. And having achieved so much, he’s more than willing to throw himself in the deep end of the arm wrestling pool, agreeing to go head-to-head with a far more seasoned competitor.

Previewing his match-up tonight, the 44-year-old explained: “Arm wrestling is something I’ve been interested in for quite some time. It doesn’t work well with strongman, so I wouldn’t be able to train for both. So, when I walked away from strongman and retired in 2023, I was like, ‘Let’s give arm wrestling a shot and see how it goes and if I like it as much as I think I’m going to’. I’ve always had a very good grip, my arm has always been strong, and I didn’t have any injuries coming from strongman, where some guys get really beat up with shoulder injuries and torn biceps. My right arm was 100% intact.

“I just got on the table and started going after it. The competitiveness carried over, so it’s an outlet that’s very fun for me. It’s combative in nature. In strongman, you’re competing, but you’re never ever physically in a combative situation. Of course, you’re lifting stones or trying to pull a truck faster than another person, which is awesome, but in arm wrestling, you physically grab another human being, and you’re either going to win or lose. It brings out a primal energy, which is why it’s fun for me and why people enjoy watching it. It draws you in. Once I got into it further, the technical components of it are massive. You can’t just be big and strong, you have to understand what you’re doing and how to do it, and I’ve levelled up.”

“I have a massive test ahead. Leonidas Arkona has been in the sport for six years, and I’m not quite two years in, so that is a serious experience gap, and he’s had more big matches than I’ve had. But I’m a lot bigger, I would argue quite a bit stronger. If I can use all of my physical advantages, I think I can do really well, but if he can put me in a bad spot, he does have that experience, which is what makes it so interesting. It’s going to be a really good battle. I didn’t fly all the way to Germany to lose.”

Featured Image Credit: Getty