10 Things We Learned From Bret Hart On Stone Cold’s Broken Skull Sessions Podcast

3. Ken Shamrock's Real Role At WrestleMania 13

WrestleMania 13 Bret Hart Steve Austin Ken Shamrock
WWE

It's easy to see why the WWF booked Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee for Bret vs. Austin at WrestleMania 13. His shoot-fight background added instant credibility, and he was a believable force who could handle himself (in storyline) if things got out of hand between both wrestlers.

That wasn't the only reason why he was chosen.

According to Hart, Ken was there for protection too. The WWF knew Bret and Steve were going to brawl into the Illinois crowd, and they were ever-so-slightly worried that some tanked-up native might get over-excited and intervene in the action. If they did, then a certain UFC badass wearing stripes would sort them out.

Seriously, that was part of the thinking for bringing Shamrock in. The fact he added legitimacy as a guest referee was a happy byproduct of his very-real ability to lay out invading fans who might fancy a piece of Bret or Steve.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.