Bret Hart may go by ‘The Excellence of Execution’ but ‘Hitman’ himself may give that designation to the late great Leo Burke.

Burke, a pro wrestling legend out of Canada, sadly passed away on July 24, 2024 and Hart shared a beautiful tribute on his social media, noting of the legacy Leo left on the industry and on himself.

Less than a week ago, I got to speak with Bret Hart in detail about Burke’s influence on not just him, but other wrestlers who have left an impact on the business

How Bret Hart Learned From Leo Burke

Burke made a pro wrestling name for himself wrestling for the likes of Stu Hart, The Funks, Jim Crockett and so many other names across the globe. Hart was familiar with Burke when Leo first got his start in 1966. Bret was just a kid at the time, but remembered Burke came into Calgary with a ‘Batman’ gimmick, and while the memory stuck with Bret, the gimmick didn’t for Burke, who became a big star for Stu Hart and a good in-ring rival for Bret while in Stampede. Bret noted what a master of ring psychology Burke was. He credited both Leo and the late Dynamite Kid for helping him become in-ring legend he is today.

“Like I learned so much from both Dynamite and Leo, that when I think of like my style and my career, and how I maybe blossomed as a wrestler in WWF, it was all because of both those guys.”

Hart added that it was Burke who originally came up with the famous finish at SummerSlam 1992 when Hart took on Davey Boy Smith for the Intercontinental Championship. He also credited Burke for his own psychology during the notorious submission match between he and Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13.

“”I picked up the ring bell and I’ m gonna take it over the apron and take it in the ring and I’m gonna brain Steve Austin with the bell, and I walk over and I set it on the apron and then I change my mind and then I go over and get a chair, I pick up one chair and I go, ‘Ah this one’s not good enough, it’s got padding on it,’ or something. I pick up a metal chair and go, ‘This is perfect,’ and I forget all about the bell, slide under the bottom rope and I’m going to the ring and I’ m working Steve over with a chair.

“I mean everyone forgets about the the bell then, and the bell is the key right sitting on the apron for the whole thing … that’ s a real Burke type of [move]. You know he would tell you, ‘They’ll forget all about the bell.’

“those are the kind of things that Leo taught me like to think ahead and how to think, imagine things. He WAS SUCH A MASTER CLASS.”

The ‘Master Class’ Of Leo Burke With Adam Copeland

Bret mentioned how historic names like Harley Race and Terry Funk would revere Burke’s talent in god-like fashion and Burke eventually got to instill that knowledge into major names of the late 1990s. Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, Ken Shamrock and Mark Henry all learned under Leo Burke up in Calgary while Bret worked in WWE.

“Leo would train them, and Leo got paid the same every day, he got a certain check every week, and he would just have classes. He would tell everyone what time to come, and Test was another one that was there.

“He was one of those guys I met him in Toronto; he was a bouncer at a club, and I remember the next day he was sitting in my living room.

“And Leo was training all these guys, and I remember I would come home from being on the road, and then Leo would say, ‘ Could you just work with one guy?'”

That one guy was Copeland.

“I did it with Edge, I remember wrestling Edge, I did it with a couple of guys, I remember, it might have been Mark Henry, and I remember, I’ m like, ‘I am so beat up.’

“I’ ve been on the road for six weeks or something, and I come home and Leo’ s like, ‘Can you just come in for a couple of weeks? Just a couple.’ I didn’ t even care, you know? I was the one that would do it, I’ d be so sore I’ d spend the afternoon in there taking arm drags and stuff, like that, working stuff out.”

Hart commented on how much he garnered from working with and being around Leo, who had a great sense of humor and was a big factor at making life on the road fun, pulling light-hearted, yet memorable ribs on his brothers and other workers. However, if there was one thing Hitman would want wrestlers today to take note of by studying Burke, it would be the best thing he was known for.

“I would you think if there’s a big aspect you want them to take away from him, I would say Leo was most famous for his psychology.”

You can catch the interview in full below.

Ken Shamrock has yet to be a WWE Hall of Famer, but “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” is now WWE legend on paper. An Chris Van Vliet interview with Shamrock just released this week and the former WWE Intercontinental Champion was asked if he was currently under a legends deal with the company and he confirmed that he was. Before that, he mentioned how he always remained in a relationship with the company.

“I’ve had a relationship with them forever, even since when I went away. We did a Legend’s contract and so I’ve always been apart of them. It’s one of those things where I think I spent enough time there and did enough there where I feel like I’m apart of that family forever.”

Shamrock hasn’t been on WWE television in over 20 years, but was a legend in the 2K24 video game.

During his WWE tenure, Shamrock was an intrical part in the notorious “double turn” between Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. He’d later be the first big feud of The Rock’s WWE career as a babyface Shamrock battled with the Nation of Domination.

Why Isn’t Ken Shamrock In The WWE Hall Of Fame?

Shamrock doesn’t dwell on not being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, though he would appreciate the recognition. He’s grateful for the career he’s had, and feels his body of work speaks for itself.

“Yeah! you know that’s a great question and I get asked that a lot, which I guess is a good thing, right?

“When people ask that, it’s not really something I think about a lot.”

Watch Ken Shamrock’s full discussion with Chris Van Vliet:

Here are some more highlights of what Shamrock said about:

His Infamous Chair Shot from The Rock: He famously asked The Rock to hit him square in the forehead with a chair during their iconic match, as he believed the forehead was the safest place to take the blow. This has become a notable moment in his career.

The People’s Elbow: Shamrock recalls being the first to take The Rock’s People’s Elbow, joking that The Rock took too long to execute the move when he was still refining it.

Vader Incident: Shamrock unintentionally broke Vader’s nose during a match but received praise from both Vader and Bret Hart for his performance.

The Montreal Screwjob: He expressed discomfort over the controversy due to his close relationship with Bret Hart, who had mentored him in wrestling.

Working with Chyna: Shamrock declined to participate in matches with Chyna, citing his personal belief in not hitting women, which he felt would confuse his children.

Brawl For All: Shamrock turned down the opportunity to compete in WWE’s Brawl For All, not wanting to jeopardize the trust he had built in the locker room by fighting his colleagues for real.

WWE 2K24 is coming soon, and the roster reveals are ongoing. Thanks to a recent announcement, we know that fans won’t have to create Ken Shamrock in this year’s game, because he will be included as a playable legend.

Ken Shamrock is Coming to WWE 2K24

According to the SmackDown Hotel, this is the first main-line WWE video game that Ken Shamrock has appeared in since WWE 2K16 in 2015. He was a part of the legend’s roster for that game.

Shamrock has been on the company’s Supercard game, and he also made a non-WWE affiliated appearance in The Wrestling Code. Now, he is back in a main 2k game.

WWE Games’ posted on Twitter/X to ask fans who they are most excited to see in the game. Along with Shamrock, this post also included Undertaker, The Rock, Triple H, Lita, George “The Animal” Steele, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, and Mankind.

Ken Shamrock is a WWE legend, but he is not a Hall of Famer yet. He was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. Of course, he has touted for his induction in the past, so we will have to see if his inclusion in WWE 2K24 is a sign of that being more of a possibility.

Who are you most excited for in #WWE2K24?

?? Undertaker
? The Rock
? Triple H
? Lita
?George “The Animal” Steele
?Ken Shamrock
?Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
? Mankind pic.twitter.com/0zHFSaoYXQ

— #WWE2K25 (@WWEgames) February 21, 2024

Showcase of the Immortals Mode

WWE 2K24 will present a Showcase of the Immortals mode, which allows players to replay 21 matches from five decades of WrestleMania history. Each match unlocks upon completing the previous one. The game features iconic battles like Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, alongside modern clashes such as Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair, providing a comprehensive journey through WrestleMania’s storied past.

With so many amazing moments in WrestleMania history getting a highlight in this game, we will have to see if Ken Shamrock makes an appearance in that feature.

WWE 2K24 Release Details

WWE 2K24 will offer three editions: Deluxe, Forty Years of WrestleMania, and Standard. These editions will roll out globally on March 8, 2024. Keep an eye out for updates on the game’s soundtrack, roster, Superstar ratings, and other details.

Ken Shamrock believes that he is worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame.

The World’s Most Dangerous man is best known in the wrestling world for his run with the WWE during the Attitude Era, where he is a former Intercontinental champion, a former tag team champion, and a one-time King of the Ring winner. Shamrock had just as many accomplishments with IMPACT, a promotion who inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2020.

He is also considered a legend of the Mixed Martial Arts world, and one of the greatest competitive fighters of all time. UFC honored Shamrock by inducting him into their inaugural Hall of Fame back in 2003. To this day Shamrock contributes to the MMA world as an analyst.

Why He Believes He Is Worthy Of The WWE Hall of Fame

While speaking on the Universal Wrestling Podcast Shamrock would be asked whether he even cared about joining the WWE Hall of Fame.

“Of course, I care,” he replied. “I think anybody that does anything at the highest level wants to be recognized for their greatness. It’s out of my control. Obviously, I think I did enough for me to be recognized, especially if you have seen some of the guys that went in there.”

Shamrock later explained how his shoot fighting and submission offense has been utilized in professional wrestling ever since his run with WWE.

“If you look at the stamps that are all over wrestling, it’s Ken Shamrock. Submission holds, I brought those in. I mixed them in with pro wrestling and now everybody is doing it. If you’re looking at it and you want to figure out whether or not I do or don’t belong, those are the things you look at. I look at and say absolutely, I belong in there.”

Ending his rant…Shamrock states that he will not lose any sleep if he never gets into WWE’s prestigious Hall of Fame, as it is something that is entirely out of his control.

“I was already inducted into other hall of fames for things that I have done, I’m very proud of that, but if I don’t get into WWE (Hall of Fame), it’s not something I’m going to lose sleep over. I see it as something important, but those are decisions that I cannot control, and therefore I have to move on and do other things to make sure my legacy and life and family are left in a better place.”

H/T: Fightful

Ken Shamrock was once regarded as the most dangerous man on the planet. After moving from the octagon to the squared circle in 1997, everybody was excepting big things from him. However, just two years later, in 1999, Shamrock quit the WWE (then WWF).

During a recent appearance on the Kurt Angle Show podcast, Shamrock spoke about his time in WWE and what was going through his mind when he quit the company.

Talking candidly, Ken Shamrock said it all started with the now infamous Montreal screw job, and Owen Hart’s death. Citing a lack of trust and insecurity as the main thing that brought an end to his WWE career.

“I think there was a lot of insecurity on my end when they did the thing with Bret Hart. Then the thing with Owen and then they did the little skit thing with the Road Warriors where he fell off the big screen and then we saw a body fall behind it,”

Ken Shamrock is not alone with his thoughts and feelings on things. Time passes, and old wounds can heal, but trust is something needed in the moment.

“Everything that I was taught going into the WWF was that you had to trust people and that when you went into the ring, the guy across from you, you had to trust he would do his job and you were going to do yours, the announcers were going to do their jobs and so on. It just felt like it came apart.” Ken Shamrock confessed.

During his time with WWE, Ken Shamrock held two titles and won the 1998 King of the Ring tournament. One can only wonder at what Shamrock could have achieved had he remained in WWE.

Ken Shamrock made some headlines recently when he publically asked The Rock to deliver a greeting for his Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame induction and received a reply from the great one.

The MMA legend recently had an interview with Busted Open Radio where he talked about a number of things and also explained why he wanted The Rock to be a part of his induction.

Shamrock recalled his feud with the People’s Champion and his Nation Of Domination faction in 1998. The former WWE star explained that the feud helped him tremendously in his pro wrestling career:

“I’ll never forget the things that he did for me, and the times that we spent together were special because it really did help me in my pro wrestling career, and I know he’ll tell you the same thing with me and the things that we did because that shot him up into stardom, and it wasn’t because of me.

It was because of what we were able to do together and be able to give ourselves a chance to be able to step away and do greater things at other places, but that was a start for me and for him, and he was a big part of that. So, I thought it was fitting for him to be a part of that induction because I believe that’s where it started – was with him.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Shamrock who is in both the UFC and Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame said that you shouldn’t get in the Hall Of Fame of any industry unless you have contributed to it at a high level and you are respected by the fans of the community.

Ken Shamrock’s Hall Of Fame induction was announced earlier this year and he was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame in February.

Ken Shamrock has shared his thoughts on Raw Underground while appearing on an episode of The Dropkick podcast.

Shamrock confessed he is now a fan of the concept of Raw Underground. He juxtaposed the segments intentions with MMA promotion Pancrase: 

“[…] what we wanted to find out is what wrestling would look like if it was real, and that’s what you have in the Pancrase organization where I fought over there. That’s what it looks like when you take wrestling and you turn it into a real fight, and it’s sharp.”

The former WWE Superstar promised that Raw Underground will engage fans on a different level by providing a harder-hitting alternative to its typical in-ring offerings. According to Shamrock, WWE will soon discover the same lessons Pancrase learned in how to present its product.

“When you think about what WWE is doing with [RAW] Underground, they’re going, ‘Hey, let’s find out what it’s like if we can start doing these predetermined outcomes, but yet let’s make it more physical and let’s make it more real.’ They’re gonna find out the same thing we did over in Japan: that it’s much more exciting when you’re watching a movie that you can’t tell whether it’s real or it’s not real.”

Ken Shamrock has previously shared negative comments on Raw Underground. When the segment first began airing, he invited WWE to bring him on board to help its worked shoots actually “look good.”

Impact Wrestling presented the first night of its Rebellion event last night on AXS TV and Twitch. The show featured an X-Division title match and was headlined by Sami Callihan taking on Ken Shamrock.

Impact Rebellion Night 1 Quick Results:

1. Tommy Dreamer, Rhino & Crazzy Steve defeated OVE (Madman Fulton, Dave & Jake Crist)
2. The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) defeated XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) and Fallah Bahh & TJP
3. X-Division Championship
   Willie Mack defeated Ace Austin (c) – New Champion
4. Kylie Rae defeated Kiera Hogan
5. Unsanctioned Match
   Ken Shamrock defeated Sami Callihan

Ken Shamrock Defeats Sami Callihan In Cinematic Main Event

Ken Shamrock got his hands on Sami Callihan last night to headline Night 1 of Rebellion. This unsanctioned match would spill to the outside shortly after Shamrock jumped off the stage and landed on Callihan. From there, things took a very cinematic turn. We’ve seen a lot of these matches in other promotions as of late but Impact has a fair amount of experience and history with this emerging genre of pro-wrestling. There was no magic or otherworldly powers involved here, though.

Callihan’s former OVE stablemates joined the attack and it looked as though Shamrock would be heavily outnumbered. Callihan took a baseball bat to the members of OVE, however, taking them out of the equation and confirming he is no longer aligned with the group. From there, Shamrock and Callihan agreed to take things outside to the street. Callihan had Shamrock locked in a rear-naked choke but Shamrock managed to get out. He then locked in the Ankle Lock on Callihan. The man behind the ICU videos who now claims to “see ev-ree-thing” would not tap but rather lost consciousness and the ref called for an end to the match.

Willie Mack Wins X-Division Gold

Willie Mack left Rebellion with X-Division gold after defeating Ace Austin in a match that seemed like it could go either way. Austin countered a Stunner attempt by Mack into a Fold but Mack kicked out from the champion’s finish. Mack then hit a pop-up Stunner which Austin kicked out of. As Mack went for the 6-star frog splash, Austin rolled away to an opposing corner. Mack then landed a coast-to-coast on the unsuspecting Austin. The finish of the match then came when Austin was setting Mack up for something on the turnbuckle but took a Stunner from Mack (who crotched himself on the turnbuckle in the process) and then delivered a 6-star frog splash for the win.

Mack becomes the 46th person to win the title and begins the 91st reign in its lineage.

After the title win, Rich Swann noted that there was no reason why they couldn’t still go for the tag titles. Johnny Swinger also showed up in the back and lamented the end of the “Mack and Pack Connection.”

Uncertain Impact World Title Picture

It was noted on the broadcast that neither Tessa Blanchard nor Eddie Edwards was able to attend the tapings in Tennesse. This left only Michael Elgin from the 3 wrestlers scheduled to compete for the world title at Rebellion. Elgin promised that a new world champion will be crowned next week, though it was never revealed how that will happen. Impact is advertising that the future of the world title will be revealed on next week’s show.

Kylie Rae Scores Big Win Over Kiera Hogan

Last week on Impact, Kiera Hogan made Kylie Rae stop smiling and get a little angry. Kylie snapped at Hogan that she was not very nice after Hogan noted that there were no friends in the Knockouts locker room setting up this match here.

Kylie was able to pick up the victory via submission with an STF. It was noted on commentary that when Kylie does the move, the acronym stands for “Smile, it’s The Finish.”

Tag Titles Stuck Up “North” As Rascalz Win Multi-Team Bout

Dez and Wentz from the Rascalz picked up a win in a triple threat tag match this week. While the win likely moves them up the rankings and closer to a title shot, the current champs are unable to cross the border into the United States at the moment. An interview with Ethan Page and Josh Alexander this week involved the team saying that they plan to defend the titles against Canada’s top teams as soon as possible.

Crazzy Steve Returns To Impact

Tommy Dreamer and Rhino promised a surprise partner to take on Madman Fulton and the Crist brothers this week. Their teammate turned out to be Crazzy Steve formerly of the Menagerie and Decay in TNA. Steve is a one-time tag team champion along with Abyss. Rhino would pick up the victory for his team with a Gore on Dave Crist.

Rebellion Night 2 Lineup

The Full Metal Mayhem match for the Knockouts title appears to have been scrapped. It has been replaced with Havok vs Rosemary in the same type of match but without the title on the line. It doesn’t appear as though either Taya or Jordynne Grace were able to make the tapings.

Here are the matches lined up for Night 2 of Rebellion next week:

• Joey Ryan vs Cousin Jake
• Full Metal Mayhem
  Havok vs Rosemary
• Suicide vs Chris Bey vs Trey vs Rohit Raju
• Update on the World Title situation

Ken Shamrock recently joined Chris Van Vliet on The Chris Van Vliet Show. During their conversation, Shamrock spoke about his decision to return to pro wrestling. He also discussed whether he feels he gets enough credit for being the first crossover star between MMA and wrestling. 

“[…] when I stepped away, because I was only out a year when I stepped away from MMA, because I went out of pro wrestling into MMA, so I had stepped away and it had been about a year, and I just felt like, man, I can’t live like this,” Shamrock confessed. “I need excitement, I need something to challenge me and so I said, I’m gonna start training again, I’m gonna start getting back into the gym, to see if I could get myself in a position to where I could actually wrestle and feel good about wrestling.”

He continued, “And so I think it was about a year, maybe a little less than a year, I felt pretty good. I got in, I started doing some practicing, I was like, wow, I feel pretty good.”

Shamrock detailed how he intended to wrestle one time for Battle Championship Wrestling. After the matchup, however, he was surprised at how good he felt in the ring.

“[…] it was one of those things where I really didn’t know but when I first hit the ring, then I knew, and that’s when I made the challenge on Twitter and FaceBook, that I was coming back because I felt really good about where I was at and how my body felt after taking a year off. ”

Ken Shamrock On WWE Ignoring Him

Regarding getting credit for his transition from MMA to the world of pro wrestling, Shamrock admitted: “it is what it is.” He noted how it seems that WWE has purposefully forgotten him and don’t give him due credit. Shamrock highlighted a magazine article they had listing the top submission holds. He remembered how the Ankle Lock was on the list. However, instead of Shamrock being featured, it was Kurt Angle. 

“I’m not trying to dis him or anything like that, but he’s never done one for real, like, so, sometimes when I see him put it on, it’s not even done right. But yet they use him as the picture for the finishing hold. And I’m the one that created it and did it for real. So those are the kind of things, and it’s not like they’ve corrected it, or done it and changed it, trying to make sure people understand where it came from. No, they keep trying to bury it, like they want Kurt to be the one who created it.”

He argued how, no matter how much WWE attempts to ignore him, “history always rises to the top,” and people will always know where something comes from. 

Thoughts On Modern Pro Wrestling, AEW

Turning his attention to the modern pro wrestling landscape, Ken Shamrock talked about All Elite Wrestling. He believes the promotion is very talented and that they offer a different type of wrestling for fans. 

“I mean you’re almost going back to the Japanese style but they’re putting a little more selling into it. But the moves, they’re these constant chain moves where everything is chain wrestling together.”

He juxtaposed AEW’s style with WWE, arguing how the latter doesn’t have enough chain wrestling. He noted what WWE does have in their favor, however, are storylines. 

“It’s almost like, if you could put the two together, then you would have that Attitude Era. You would have the attitude, you would have the chain wrestling, you would have the storylines, you’d have the selling, you’d have the tough guys. I think the mixture of those two is what we’re trying to get.”

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.  

At the most recent set of Impact Wrestling tapings held at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas last week, a new inductee into the promotion’s Hall of Fame was announced. Ken Shamrock will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Shamrock won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the first-ever TNA Wrestling event in 2002. He would hold the title until the 8th ever TNA Wrestling event when he lost it to Ron “The Truth” Killings (aka R-Truth).

• Jordynne Grace On How She Signed With Impact, Scott Steiner Backlash

Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame Members

Impact Wrestling’s Hall of Fame dates back to 2012 when Sting was the inaugural inductee.

1. Sting (2012)
2. Kurt Angle (2013)
3. Team 3-D (Bully Ray & Devon) (2014)
4. Jeff Jarrett (2015)
5. Earl Hebner (2015)
6. Gail Kim (2016)
7. Abyss (2018)
8. Ken Shamrock (2020)

Shamrock will be the 8th wrestler and 9th person inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. Most inductions take place around the time of Impact’s Bound For Glory PPV. The PPV is usually held around October.

Shamrock has already been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2003 as part of the Pioneer Wing.

• Impact Wrestling Results & 8 Takeaways (2/11/20)

Ken Shamrock competed in the opening bout during last night’s Impact Wrestling event, Hard to Kill. He defeated Madman Fulton. At one point in the matchup, Shamrock locked in a kimura. Whilst talking to media in a post-match press conference, he expressed concern for his opponent, confessing that Fulton’s shoulder “popped.”

Ken Shamrock’s Concern

“Yeah, there’s no question in wrestling. And even though Fulton can get under your skin and can be a jerk… you know, genuinely you’re concerned about people when you’re in there working,” Shamrock stated. “Cause it’s a way of living, right? These guys make money, and they put food on the table, and they’ve got families to support. This is no different.”

He continued, “I had him. I sunk it in, we both spoke at the same time, and his shoulder popped. There’s no question his shoulder got hurt. I thought it was over, I thought we were done. He wasn’t going to have it, so I had to do what I had to do. I didn’t feel good about it, but I did what I had to do. He wanted to keep going, so I had to finish it.”

Last night’s Hard to Kill event was headlined by Sami Callihan versus Tessa Blanchard. Blanchard made history by becoming the first woman to hold the Impact Wrestling World Championship following their heated rivalry.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

Former WWE Superstar Ken Shamrock has revealed why he didn’t participate in WWE’s Brawl for Fall competition during the ’90s. Speaking with the WINCLY podcast, Shamrock shared that, given his notable history in mixed martial arts and combat sports, it simply wouldn’t have been fair if he had competed. 

“I chose not to. I worked hard to gain trust in the wrestlers,” he said. “I just came from the world of fighting and they went me to get into this Brawl For All. I thought to myself, ‘I’m a professional fighter.’ It’s not fair to those guys to get involved because I’m at a different level.”

He continued,” I respectfully declined. They were gonna pay me $50,000 to fight for real when I make over $1 million to fight in something like that. Then I’m gonna have to fight multiple times to win it? You’re not gonna give me 50 grand. It was about me being a professional fighter and them being amateurs.”

Shamrock is currently wrestling once again for Impact Wrestling. He recently competed against Joey Ryan, where he ended up involved in the infamous spot that Ryan is known for. He reflected that he was “pleasantly surprised” working with Ryan, noting that he is a great person with a popular and unique gimmick. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

The WWE on Fox Twitter account recently posted a question to its followers, asking who else they would like to see enter the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020. Batista and the NWO were announced as the first members of the class of 2020 recently. Randy Orton responded to the WWE on Fox Twitter question, stating his belief that Ken Shamrock should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next year.

Shamrock didn’t reply directly to Orton’s tweet but he did re-tweet it.

Ken Shamrock For WWE Hall of Fame?

Shamrock recently sat down for an interview with Chris Van Vliet and noted that he feels WWE ignores his legacy.

• Ken Shamrock Says WWE Ignores His Legacy

“I know I was there and I know that I was able to be a part of something special but I just don’t know if there was ever a relationship because even after I left, it almost felt like I was this black sheep where once I left, it was never mentioned again, no credit given, no highlights or anything ever shown, nobody speaks of it, it’s weird, it’s just gone.”

Shamrock will wrestle Sami Callihan on tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

“It’s a shame, even when they did this RAW Reunion and these other reunions that they were doing. It’s like, why wouldn’t I have been there?” Shamrock continued. “I don’t understand that, I don’t know who I pissed off or what kind of bridges were blown up but I thought I did everything on a very professional level.”

Former WWF Superstar Ken Shamrock recently returned to the squared circle, competing for Impact Wrestling. In an interview with the NYPost.com, Shamrock addressed his old employer, listing the changes he believes the promotion needs to make.

“I think companies like Impact are creating an opportunity for people to work, be on TV and at the same time they have freedom to work other places if they want,” Shamrock shared. “I think all the other companies, except for WWF [WWE], is doing the same thing. I think if that doesn’t change, WWF [WWE] will be in the past because people, at least in my opinion, the future isn’t about wrestlers being locked into one company. They want to be able to have creative freedom to have an opportunity to wrestle overseas or wrestle other places without somebody telling them they can’t.”

During his time in WWE, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Shamrock also claimed the WWF Tag Team Championships with his partner, Big Boss Man. He also won the 1998 King of the Ring Tournament.

“It Just Seems Like It’s Being Done On Purpose”

Turning his attention to his impact on the Attitude Era, Shamrock spoke about how he’s left out of the conversation whenever WWE bring Attitude Era Superstars back.

“When they have a reunion, I’m not there. When they talk about the ankle lock, they put Kurt Angle in there as the great submission holds and the ankle lock at No. 2 and Kurt Angle [is] doing it.”

He continued, “So it just seems like it’s being done on purpose for whatever reason and maybe that’s why I never got shot at the title because there is a problem somewhere I don’t know about.”

Shamrock noted that he feels “blessed” to be back with Impact Wrestling and competing at a high level. He added how he feels great, crediting his current run to allowing himself a year to fully recover and heal.

Ken Shamrock has opened up about how he was convinced into taking Joey Ryan’s infamous flipping spot. He took the flip during a recent episode of Impact Wrestling.

Speaking with WINCLY, Shamrock recounted the conversations leading up to his gradual agreement to participate.

“At first, I was like, ‘no’. Then I started thinking about it and thought it would be a great match,” he said. “It was something that most people didn’t think would happen. So, I jumped in with both feet and it would be something fun for the fans. I even ran it by my kids to see what they thought and they were thumbs up.”

He added, “I wanted to kick it around [in my head] because anytime I do something that might be controversial, I wanna run it by my family. I wanna make sure they are gonna be understanding and it’s not gonna be anything that will hurt them.”

Shamrock added how he was “pleasantly surprised” working with Ryan, noting that he’s a great person with a unique gimmick that people are loving. He considered it an exciting opportunity to wrestle Ryan, stressing that the most important thing to him is that people appreciate what he’s doing in the ring.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions.

When Ken Shamrock crossed over from MMA to the WWF in 1997, he became one of the most popular stars on the roster. After he left in 1999 to return to MMA, he says the company treats his time in the company as if it never happened.

Shamrock sat down with entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet recently and spoke about his relationship with WWE, Impact, and his new bare-knuckled MMA organization, Valor BK.

“I don’t know if it is a relationship,” Shamrock said when asked what his relationship with WWE is these days. “I know I was there and I know that I was able to be a part of something special but I just don’t know if there was ever a relationship because even after I left, it almost felt like I was this black sheep where once I left, it was never mentioned again, no credit given, no highlights or anything ever shown, nobody speaks of it, it’s weird, it’s just gone.”

Shamrock also mentioned that he’s not been on any of the reunion shows WWE has done recently.

“It’s a shame, even when they did this RAW Reunion and these other reunions that they were doing. It’s like, why wouldn’t I have been there? I don’t understand that, I don’t know who I pissed off or what kind of bridges were blown up but I thought I did everything on a very professional level.”

You can watch Chris Van Vliet’s full interview with Ken Shamrock here:

Ken Shamrock On Working With Impact Wrestling

Shamrock won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the first ever TNA PPV. He’s now returned to the organization years later and is involved in an angle with Moose. Shamrock spoke positively about his time with Impact so far and had the following to say regarding his future with the company:

“Right now I think the one thing in front of me is obviously Moose. Being able to take care of business with that and then I think after we do that, we’ll take a look and see whether or not there is more for us to do here in Impact. I like what I see so far. The way I have been treated has been awesome. So yeah, I’m definitely interested in maybe looking at something a little deeper but like I said, we have to see where everything kind of lands after these first two shows.”

An update from the Wrestling Observer recently stated he will remain with the company beyond Bound for Glory.

Shamrock also spoke about his new Bare-knuckled MMA promotion, Valor BK.

“Valor BK bare-knuckled fighting, we see an opportunity there. Again, doing our homework, studying, being able to look at the different things trending outside in the social media areas. Got to see these street fights happening and all of sudden they’re getting a million or so views of these guys fighting in the backyard. So we started looking at that and going ok, well that looks like that’s interesting there and then we started seeing these other bare-knuckled organizations coming up and their numbers were getting better than some of the MMA fights. So, we realized at that time, going ok, well, now’s the time to go back and do something I fell in love with back in the beginning when I started doing the whole sport fighting myself.”

Valor BK’s first event takes place September 21st at the 4 Bears Casino and Lodge in New Town, North Dakota

Impact Wrestling 9/6 was once again from Mexico City. The promotion is building toward the 9/15 show in the Hulu Theatre with AAA and their next PPV Bound for Glory in October.

Here are 8 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 9/6:

LAX Wrestle Last Match In Impact Wrestling

This week’s main event was LAX challenging the North for the Impact tag team titles. Not only were the tag titles on the line, however, so were LAX’s Impact Wrestling careers. Josh Alexander and Ethan Page picked up the win when a blind tag from Page gave his team the advantage.

With the loss to the North, Impact’s most successful tag team of all time is gone from the promotion. Santana and Ortiz both appeared on AEW’s recent PPV All Out from Chicago’s Sears Center last weekend.

Brian Cage vs Sami Callihan at Bound For Glory – Cage Proposes To Melissa Santos

We got an update on Brian Cage’s condition this week. The world champion has not been cleared to compete and the final segment this week featured an update on Cage’s world title reign. Cage spoke about injuring his back the night he won the title and being sidelined for two months. He also mentioned that defending the title against Michael Elgin set his recovery back. Cage announced that doctors have said he’ll be cleared in the next 6 weeks and in time to take on Sami Callihan at Bound For Glory.

After addressing his match with Callihan, Cage turned his attention to Melissa Santos and asked her tomarry him. The show concluded with Santos agreeing to marry Cage.

Moose Defeats Fallah Bah

Moose defeated Fallah Bah this week for the second straight time. He got the win with his “No Jackhammer Needed” spear. After the match, Moose locked in an ankle lock submission as a message being sent to his new rival.

Moose has been building to a showdown with Ken Shamrock in Las Vegas as of late and likely has his attention on Impact’s tapings this weekend in Sin City.

Su Yung Disqualified Vs Havok

Havok vs Su Yung kicked off Impact Wrestling this week. Yung has been targeting Havok with backward sounding promos as of late and they finally clashed in Mexico City this week. The finish of the match came when Yung sprayed Havok with the red poison mist, leading to a disqualification. This rivalry is far from over.

RVD Takes Out OVE

Rob Van Dam took on OVE’s Madman Fulton this week and appeared to have the big man beat. RVD was going for the 5-Star Frog Splash when Dave Crist interfered, leading to a disqualification. The two OVE members attempted to deliver a beatdown to RVD after the match was over but the legend managed to fend them both off. Fulton was taken out to the floor with a kick and that allowed RVD to hit a 5-Star Frog Splash on Crist to end the segment.

TJP Defeats Golden Magic

Last week, Golden Magic won a fatal 4-way match which also involved TJP. This week Magic and TJP went one-on-one but it would be TJP who would secure the victory with a leg lock submission.

Rascalz A Little On Edge

The Rascalz are sometimes a little on edge depending on where Impact is holding their tapings. They seem quite relaxed anytime the promotion is in Canada, or in Las Vegas, and they seemed fine on the recent tour of California. Something about them just seems off in Mexico, or at tapings in the state of New York, however.

This week, the Rascalz were joined in the clubhouse by Rich Swann and Willie Mack. By the end of the segment, everyone was having a good time and looking forward to the tag title match between LAX and the North later in the evening.

Next Week On Impact Wrestling

• Tommy Dreamer & Tessa Blanchard vs Jake Crist and Sami Callihan
• Ace Austin vs Eddie Edwards
• Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Texano Jr.
• Michael Elgin vs TBA

Quick Results:

1. Havok defeated Su Yung via DQ
2. Moose defeated Fallah Bah
3. TJP defeated Golden Magic
4. Rob Van Dam defeated Madman Fulton via DQ
5. Impact Tag Team Championships/LAX’s Impact Careers: The North (c) defeated LAX

With Ken Shamrock already making his return to Impact Wrestling, the promotion wasted no time in getting his opponent booked for their biggest show of the year. 

Impact held a set of television tapings on Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Casino. This is where Moose vs. Shamrock was made official for the Bound for Glory pay-per-view event. 

The promotion set it up with Shamrock coming out for a promo. This led to Moose appearing on the big screen that revealed Moose was at Shamrock’s gym and beats some of the guys up. 

Spoilers: Impact Wrestling TV Taping Results (9/5/19)

Shamrock will also be appearing at Friday’s TV tapings, which we will have spoilers posted on the homepage. 

Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view event will take place on Sunday, October 20th from the Odeum Expo Center in Chicago, Illinois. As of this writing, no other matches including the main event has been announced for the show. 

The building has a maximum capacity of approximately 5,500 people. This will be the 15th installment of the event. The promotion previously held this show in the Chicago area at the Sears Center back in 2008.

The three-hour event begins October 20th at 8 p.m. ET and will be available on all major PPV distributors, including DISH, DirecTV, iN Demand, Vubiquity, Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Sasktel. Also, it will be streamed live globally on IMPACT Plus and the FITE.tv app.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has credited former WWE Superstar Ken Shamrock with helping to develop his character during the Attitude Era.

This comes off the back of Shamrock promoting his return to Impact Wrestling. He contended that he would tear through Moose, whom he is currently feuding with, before running his way through the promotion until getting to Impact Wrestling World Champion, Brian Cage.

A Twitter user then shared his feelings on Shamrock’s run in WWE (then WWF) in the ’90s. He stated that people don’t understand how underrated “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” was as a wrestler. He claimed he was a “HUGE part of the attitude era” before listing The Rock, Vader, and Owen Hart as wresters Shamrock had great matches with.

Brian Cage would subsequently get involved after seeing the opinion, sharing that he agrees wholeheartedly:

“I agree. Shamrock all around was great. And jacked!”

This led to The Rock “co-signing” Cage’s sentiment, adding that “@ShamrockKen helped build “The Rock” character. Huge #AttitudeEra influence. We tore the houses down together. I’ll always be grateful and respectful. He’s a f machine. They don’t make em like that anymore. Thanks for the house brother Ken”

Ken Shamrock returns to Impact Wrestling on September 5th and 6th for the promotion’s Las Vegas tapings.

Ken Shamrock was billed as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” during his tenure in WWF. Now, he’s getting ready to launch the new Valor Bare Knuckle boxing promotion. In a conversation with Wrestlezone, Shamrock has reflected on his time with WWE and shared a crucial lesson imparted by Bret Hart.

“One thing that I learned, and I got a lot of that from Bret Hart, was that, when WWF brought me in, they brought me in to be “The World’s Most Dangerous Man. The submission specialist,” he recalled. 

“So therefore when I was working with Bret to prepare myself to go into pro wrestling, that’s what Bret told me: ‘Don’t change. Be yourself. Go in the ring, don’t do the things – somebody tries to call a spot for you to do all these wrestling moves.’ He says people will just, they won’t register, because they’re looking at someone that they know where you come from, and they’re not going to buy anything else you’re doing. You need to be the guy you are. So you throw your ankle locks, and you throw your armbars and your chokes, and your punches and your kicks, while you’re in the pro wrestling ring.

“So I really did,” Shamrock said. “I just kind of mastered me and just put myself in that ring and just went through it like I was sparring in a match without trying to hurt somebody. I just went in there and tried to spar with guys.”

Making An Impact

By the end of his time in WWF, Shamrock had claimed numerous accolades. He had won both the WWF Tag Team Championship as well as Intercontinental Championship. He was also the winner of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament. 

Alongside competing in Valor Bare Knuckle, it was recently announced that Shamrock would be returning to Impact Wrestling. 

Ken Shamrock won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the first-ever TNA Wrestling PPV. He defeated Malice in the finals of a Gauntlet match on June 19th, 2002 in Huntsville, Alabama. Shamrock will be returning to the promotion and has been announced for Impact Wrestling’s TV tapings in Vegas next month.

Impact will tape inside Sam’s Town Casino in Vegas on the 5th and 6th of September. Shamrock was involved in an online interaction with Moose leading to the announcement of his return to Impact.

Shamrock is promoting his new bare-knuckled MMA promotion Valor BK.

Ken Shamrock Pro Wrestling and MMA Career

Shamrock most recently took part of a tour of Australia with Battle Championship Wrestling this spring. John Morrison and Taya Valkyrie were also on the tour.

The 55-year-old Shamrock was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Pioneer wing in 2003. His rivalry with Tito Ortiz was voted the “Feud of the Year” by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in both 2002 and 2006.

In WWE, Shamrock is a former Intercontinental champion, a former WWE tag-team champion (along with the Big Bossman as part of the Corporation) and won the King of the Ring tournament in 1998.

Ken Shamrock achieved some of the highest accolades of the MMA World during his career and he went on to become one of the first inductees of UFC Hall Of Fame.

While his wrestling career was not as long as his MMA stint, Shamrock still achieved a lot during the time. Due to his achievements in the wrestling world and WWE, a lot of people deem him to be worthy of a Hall Of Fame induction and it appears that Shamrock himself believes the same.

Ken Shamrock was recently a guest on Ryback’s Conversation With The Big Guy podcast where among other things he also talked about a possible WWE Hall Of Fame induction. The former UFC Star said that he obviously wants to go in and he feels like he deserves to go in. However continuing on the topic, he said that he is okay with waiting for his turn.

Explaining his comments he mentioned how it took ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage 30 years to get in and said that he is okay with waiting because he knows there are a lot of other guys who have put a lot more time than him and didn’t get in for a very long time.

Ken Shamrock was in WWE only for about two and a half years but he did make an impact in the company. During his time, he won the Intercontinental Championship and Tag Team Championship once and he also came out victorious in the 1998 version of the King Of The Ring tournament.

On last night’s (Tues. May 1, 2019) episode of SmackDown Live, the Paige-led team of Kairi Sane and Asuka continued to impress. The duo defeated a pair of enhancement talents on the blue brand. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) were on commentary for the match.

Sane and Asuka’s opponents have now been identified as local talents Queen Aminata and Jaylee. Check out some highlights from their match with Sane and Asuka here:

Ken Shamrock Calls Out Brian Cage

Ken Shamrock has been working some indy professional wrestling shows for the past several months since November. However, it looks like the former UFC and WWE star wants to take things to the next level. Shamrock took to Twitter yesterday and called out IMPACT World Champion Brian Cage.

Cage responded by saying he thinks Shamrock’s time has passed, but would be honored to share the ring with him if the opportunity presented itself:

Cage captured the IMPACT World Championship from Johnny Impact over the weekend at the Rebellion pay-per-view (PPV). Unfortunately, Cage suffered an injury during the match that forced him to be immediately hospitalized after the event.

In a recent interview, Cage sounded optimistic about making a return soon, and doesn’t anticipate being sidelined for a long time.

Former UFC Star Ken Shamrock had a good run in WWE, and he has a number of wrestling achievements under his belt from the time when he was with the company.

However, in a recent interview, the former Intercontinental Champion talked about a possible return to the company and claimed that he has some unfinished business there.

Shamrock had an interview with Adam’s Apple on YouTube, and during the talk, he was asked if he would still be interested in returning to World Wrestling Entertainment at some point.

Answering the question, the former Tag Team Champion said that WWE is something he is looking at and revealed that he has been throwing little feelers out there to get an opportunity.

Continuing on the topic, Ken said that he has achieved everything he has set out to do in every organization except for WWE where he didn’t win the World title, and so there is some unfinished business there.

Ken Shamrock debuted in WWE back in February 1997 and he feuded with stars like the Rock, Bret Hart and Chris Jericho during his time with the company.

During his stint, he won both the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team Championship once before leaving the company in late 1999 to resume his MMA career.

You can check out his full interview in the video below:

Former WWE Superstar Reacts To Bobby Lashley’s “Sister” Segment On RAW

This past Monday’s segment on RAW featuring Bobby Lashley, his three “sisters,” and Sami Zayn was very poorly received by fans. Many in the crowd were booing during the segment, and a lot of people disliked it because they interpreted it as Lashley attacking transgenders.

Former WWE Superstar Ken Shamrock recently took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on the segment. Here’s what he had to say:

When it's good, #RAW is great entertainment and unparalleled athleticism. When it's not, it can feel awkward to watch. The overall reaction to the Lashley bit makes me wonder, they had something more controversial written and the sister skit won out?

— KEN SHAMROCK (@ShamrockKen) May 22, 2018

Daniel Bryan Threatens Samoe Joe

Renee Young recently interviewed Daniel Bryan after picking up a win over Jeff Hardy on SmackDown Live. As a result of his win, he’ll challenge Samoa Joe in a Money In The Bank (MITB) qualifying match next week.

Joe recently said in an interview with Young that he’d put Bryan to sleep. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion said that Joe only says that to people who are afraid of being put to sleep – and he’s not. He then threatened to put Joe out-of-action for 6-9 months by tearing his ACL with the same heel hook he took Big Cass out with: