10 Wrestlers Punished In-Ring For Their Behaviour

The World’s Most Dangerous Man was among the hottest prospects in wrestling when he joined the WWF in 1997. Refereeing the classic WrestleMania 13 clash between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart, Ken Shamrock made his in-ring debut two months later. While UFC was not yet the mainstream phenomenon we know today, it had garnered enough press (much of it polarised) that the general public were aware of the biggest fighters. Shamrock’s wrestling debut was a major draw for the Cold Day In Hell pay per view in 1997. The MMA hard man’s first opponent was Vader.

Inspired by the old UWF style, the match could only be won via knockout or submission. While Shamrock had pro wrestling experience before his MMA career took off, his job now was not to wrestle like a wrestler- he was there to wrestle like a fighter.

With that in mind, Shamrock worked dangerously stiff against the big man, eventually breaking his nose. While Vader himself was known for hitting a bit hard between the ropes, this was too much. Twice Vader asked mid match for Shamrock to ease up to no avail. In pain and out of options, Vader rattled Shamrock with what may’ve been the hardest lariat of all time.

Bell to bell, this remains the stiffest match in WWE history.