Ken Shamrock should have been a main eventer

[psychokiller]

I still to this day think he should have been a main eventer in WWE. The guy was so incredibly over. I was watching SummerSlam 1997 & the entire arena was behind him after the match. As a kid watching back in the day I thought the same thing. I feel they dropped the ball with him since they had the opportunity to have a new main event star. Obviously he wouldn’t have been as big as Austin or Rock but he could have been one of the top faces, only behind Austin, Rock & Foley in 1998 & 1999.

[The Rick Jericho]

Austin vs. Shamrock in 1998 would've been a fantastic feud.

[Mozenrath]

He sorta was, or at the least, he spent a good deal of time facing off with some of those guys and being portrayed credibly, like the triple threat in the cage or Mankind giving himself the Mandible Claw to not submit to the ankle lock.

I think he did fine, but I don't know if he was smooth enough or charismatic enough to go further. He was more equipped for it than Bulldog's brief main event status around the time of the "Six Pack Challenge".

[JTG Fan]

Jan 7, 2018 17:21:53 GMT -5 The Rick Jericho said:

Austin vs. Shamrock in 1998 would've been a fantastic feud.

Always thought that match would have been a much better use of both guys at either Judgment Day or Rock Bottom.

[The Rick Jericho]

Jan 7, 2018 17:22:53 GMT -5 JTG Fan said:

Jan 7, 2018 17:21:53 GMT -5 The Rick Jericho said:

Austin vs. Shamrock in 1998 would've been a fantastic feud.

Always thought that match would have been a much better use of both guys at either Judgment Day or Rock Bottom.

Yes. Have it be a "champion vs. champion" match. Then Austin moves onto Undertaker and Kane and the whole Survivor Series tournament thing that put Rock over.

It would draw for a B ppv.

[Gawk Rivers]

Shamrock main eventing in 99 would have been cool, especially after being the one good thing in the Ministry angle.

[Mid-Carder]

YES this is one of my favourite topics! Ken was great, he was over, decent wrestler, great gimmick and had just started to get the missing piece of his character together when he left. I've always thought he would have made a good placeholder top face while Austin was out.

[The Rick Jericho]

Jan 7, 2018 17:29:08 GMT -5 Gawk Rivers said:

Shamrock main eventing in 99 would have been cool, especially after being the one good thing in the Ministry angle.

Between being in the U.N.I.O.N. and then feuding with Blackman and Jericho before leaving, he was over again with the crowds. They never really wanted to boo him. Too bad Undertaker had to go over at Backlash.

[thegame415]

He just did a shoot with Vince Russo, he seems really laid back. The best is that he complains how the writers wanted him to have an affair with Ryan Shamrock, but he didn’t want his family to see. Russo says “ who wrote that crap”.

[chronocross]

I thought he did well enough in his run and made an excellent transition from UFC to WWE. I always wished he would have returned and feuded with Kurt Angle over the anklelock.

[Deleted]

He was good in his position I'd say. One of those guys who look like monsters if they go against the right person.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

I like Ken... but no.

He kinda hit his ceiling at the Upper Mid Card guy.

He wasn't particularly charismatic (this is the attitude era so specific ring skills were much less important so I'll ignore that) and I can't see a point in time where going with him over the people they did would have been an improvement.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Maybe for a one month program or something, but not a main fixture.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Nope.

Shamrock just didn't have very much to offer. There's a reason he is virtually forgotten as a talent except by people watching at the time.

[Amazing Kitsune]

There are various times Shamrock could have been transitioned to one of -the- top guys. He was always over, was intensely charismatic, and could go in the ring. If he'd stayed a little longer, there would have been a lot of interest in feuds with guys like Angle and Benoit.

I don't think he would have been a long term top guy, but he could have definitely been a bit higher than he was.

That being said, I don't think he had a bad run by any means.

[The Rick Jericho]

Ken Shamrock vs. Chris Benoit in 2000.

What a match that could've been. Completely stiff with submissions and choke holds.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

It only just dawned on me that Shamrock was around for less than three years. He wrestled his first match for the company in April '97 and his last in September '99, and yet it feels like he was around for a long time.

[Jiren]

Sure, I'd switch him for Taker in 1999.

As much as I love Taker he was AWFUL in 99, Have Shamrock win it at OTE with a screwy finish and drop it back to Austin at Fully Loaded and keep the end of an era stip (Austin fails to win the title he's gone - Austin wins Vince is gone)

[nisidhe]

Shamrock was right in the mix there, particularly post-Screwjob and with the Ministry angle - he came off as one of WWE's purest faces (if anyone could be called that) during that angle.

He served WWE well, I think, during the time he was there and was certainly good enough for a main-event push if Vince wanted to dial things back just a smidge and make him the whitemeat babyface outlier surrounded by the chaos of the Attitude Era. He had the look (attractive enough but credible), the moveset, the psychology - I talk a lot about bringing gravitas to wrestling as a good thing and I think it is, and that's precisely what he brought a lot of to WWE at the time. He was that Everyman character many fans still bought into. He was certainly not forgotten.

[Woo]

Jan 7, 2018 17:39:09 GMT -5 thegame415 said:

He just did a shoot with Vince Russo, he seems really laid back. The best is that he complains how the writers wanted him to have an affair with Ryan Shamrock, but he didn’t want his family to see. Russo says “ who wrote that crap”.

Probably McMahon.


Yes, Shamrock was amazing. He should have walked out Mania 14 as champion and then been elevated into the main event scene in 99. He never should have turned heel.