Former WWE star Ken Shamrock revealed the invaluable advice he received from Hall of Famer Bret Hart.
After becoming a standout in the world of UFC as the World’s Most Dangerous Man, Ken Shamrock joined WWE in February of 1997. He famously served as the special guest referee in the highly-praised bout between Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13, and would go on to win King of the Ring as well as becoming an Intercontinental Champion.
Speaking in a new Q&A at For the Love Of Wrestling (via Monopoly Events), Shamrock revealed that upon his joining WWE, Bret Hart told him to use his MMA background to his advantage and not perform in the standard professional wrestling style.
“The one thing that was really beat into my head by Bret Hart was, like, you’re a mixed martial arts fighter. Don’t come here and be a pro wrestler.”
Continuing, he explained that despite wrestling’s pre-determined nature, it can be rougher on the body to be a professional wrestler due to the demanding schedule.
“When you get in there, you start thinking, oh, I’m gonna go in here and roll over and have some fun. And then you get in there and you start taking bumps day after day after day, and then about six months in, you’re going, ‘Damn, I feel a lot worse than I ever did fighting.'”
In March of 2023, Ken Shamrock insisted he wasn’t retired from professional wrestling despite not having wrestled since August of 2022.
Bret Hart Thanked CM Punk & FTR
Speaking in a February interview with Fox Sports, Bret Hart showed great admiration for CM Punk, Cash Wheeler, and Dax Harwood for bringing his name back into the modern conversation surrounding professional wrestling. He said:
“And even in my case I seem to be as revered or popular as I’ve ever been – and it’s maybe because of the salutes I’ve been getting from guys like (CM) Punk, and FTR, different wrestlers have mentioned my name, or do something that I did in the ring as a nod or a salute to me, and I appreciate all that. I think CM Punk alone has done a lot to remind wrestling fans to take a look back at some of the stuff that I was doing, and how good it was.”
h/t WrestlingInc