WWE legend explains why Ken Shamrock left pro wrestling

Ken Shamrock wrestled for WWE between 1997 and 1999 after making his name as a mixed martial artist in the UFC. Legendary commentator Jim Ross recently recalled how The World's Most Dangerous Man struggled to adjust to wrestling's hectic schedule.

Shamrock captured the tag titles with Big Boss Man and the Intercontinental Championship during his short WWE run. He also won the 1998 King of the Ring Tournament, defeating The Rock in the final.

WWE stars often spent over 300 days away from home per year in the late 1990s. On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross claimed Shamrock preferred the lighter MMA schedule:

"He had a knack for it, for pro wrestling. He had a million dollar look. I thought he had great upside. He just had issues with travel. He didn't like the travel, the pro wrestling side of it, as much as he did the MMA stuff. The MMA stuff, he could stay home. He didn't have to wrestle every day. He wasn't in an airplane every day, so Kenny always held his end of the bargain up." [20:39 – 21:18]

Shamrock wrestled for several other companies, including NJPW and TNA. In 2020, former rival The Rock inducted him into the TNA Hall of Fame.

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Jim Ross had high hopes for Ken Shamrock

Although Jim Ross is best known as a commentator, he also worked as a WWE talent relations executive in the 1990s and 2000s. He recruited several big Attitude Era names, including Ken Shamrock, Mick Foley, and The Rock.

In Ross' opinion, WWE's creative team should have utilized Shamrock better:

"He had issues with travel that were not going to allow him to be totally relaxed in the pro wrestling world, and there are some issues there. He missed some dates, so forth, but I always enjoyed working with him. I thought Ken Shamrock was probably one of the more undertapped talents that came along in my wheelhouse, as you will, that we had. I just thought he could be a big star, and at that time we were short of big stars." [21:20 – 21:57]

Shamrock's final WWE match ended in defeat against Chris Jericho on the September 23, 1999, episode of SmackDown. In 2023, the 61-year-old signed a Legends contract with the company.

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Please credit Grilling JR and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.