Former UFC Champion and professional hard case Ken Shamrock was one of the most entertaining and respected wrestlers of late 90s WWF. His arsenal of shoot-style holds, explosive martial arts kicks and hard, unforgiving slams were incredible to watch and his battles with the likes of The Rock and Vader were always thrilling displays of adrenaline and raw aggression. However, Shamrocks gimmick wasnt really a gimmick at all. He really was one of the toughest men on the face of the earth at that point and if he was p!ssed off, youd better just apologise and get out of his way. Shamrock was used to legitimate fights and sometimes, his violent past seemed all too present in the WWE. Shamrocks awesome array of take downs and slams were designed to throw people that didnt want to be thrown, so hed often lock in around an opponents waist and uproot them, bringing them down hard onto the mat in the process, amateur style. Not being a wrestler myself, its hard to say just how stiff those slams were but they certainly looked the part. If you go back and watch the Shamrock/Vader match (Shamrocks in-ring WWF debut) from 1997, a lot of the offence, on both sides, is 100% legit.
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
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Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
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Latcho Drom,
- CQ
