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Former WWE writer Vince Russo recently offered his opinion on some of the toughest men in the wrestling business, including Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman.
Shamrock established himself as a UFC great before his two-year spell in WWE between 1997 and 1999. Blackman, by contrast, appeared in WWE in the late 1980s before working for the company full-time between 1997 and 2002.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws show, Russo outlined how tough Blackman really was in real life:
"He was the real deal. I mean, he would kill you. Bro, he would kill you with his bare hands." [From 9:42 – 9:49]
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Blackman's wrestling gimmick revolved around his mixed martial arts expertise. Russo, WWE's head writer in the late 1990s, enjoyed The Lethal Weapon's work but felt he lacked Shamrock's level of charisma:
"Personality. That was the problem. You gotta understand, he was there the same time as Shamrock, so they pretty much had the same gimmick, but because Shamrock was so good on the mic, that kinda left Blackman behind a little bit. That really was the issue." [From 4:21 – 4:45]
Watch the video above to hear Russo's insight into a real-life backstage altercation that took place between Shamrock and The Big Show in the catering area.
EC3 was a big fan of Steve Blackman in WWE
Viewers of the 2011 NXT Season 4 gameshow might remember that Derrick Bateman, aka EC3, often referenced Steve Blackman on television.
EC3 appeared on the latest edition of The Wrestling Outlaws alongside Dr. Chris Featherstone and Vince Russo. The 40-year-old explained why he was a fan of the six-time Hardcore Champion:
"I remember, too, being the up-and-coming young body guy," EC3 said. "All the WWF [WWE] Superstars, 'I wanna look like this guy, I wanna look like this guy.' I'm like, Steve Blackman, he doesn't tan, he's not popping on a bunch of baby oil. He looks the best. I could just see him putting on those little black pants, grabbing his kendo stick, and just walking out there." [From 09:49 – 10:10]
EC3 also revealed why an agent once told him never to interact with Blackman.
Do you have any memories of watching Steve Blackman? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
