10 Times Wrestling And MMA Were A Bad Mix

3. Vernon White Vs. Shamrock

Ken Shamrock signed with the World Wrestling Federation in February 1997. Two months later he made his in-ring debut. Instead of the company going the usual route by giving him a regular old jobber to squash, he fought in a “no holds barred exhibition match" against Vernon White, a guy who had never showed up in the WWF before.

The match was booked to look like a shoot fight, with the two exchanging submission attempts and hard hitting strikes. However, it was most definitely a work. Probably the safe way to go, as it would have been pretty terrible for Ken if he lost to the relative no-namer.

It was a bizarre match, as obviously nothing else on the show looked anything like it. The company went out of its way to present the fight as legit, which was a bit of a lost cause, since it went on right after The Headbangers.

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As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at." Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week. Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com