Ken Shamrock Recalls The Pushback He Received From WWE Locker Room For Being An Outsider

November 5, 2025

Ken Shamrock says he received some pushback from the WWE locker room for being an outsider when he first signed with the company.

Ken Shamrock was already an established name in the MMA world when he made his WWE debut in 1997. During an interview on Wrestling Life Online, The World’s Most Dangerous Man revealed that there was some pushback from the WWE locker room over his signing, as some talent allegedly didn’t feel safe with the prospect of working with him.

“I think, rightfully so, there was pushback,” Ken Shamrock began. “Not necessarily on whether I was there or not there. But pushback a little bit on whether or not they felt safe. Because wrestling is really trust. And depending on people to be where they’re supposed to be in certain critical situations, because if they’re not, people get hurt.

“So, I think a lot that in the beginning, because of who I was. A big, strong guy, and I was this bada** guy. And I’m coming into this world of wrestling where there’s a lot of trust supposed to be built amongst one another, and being in the right place at the right time.

Ken Shamrock explains the trust wrestlers have in each other

“So, you know, with me having the ability that I have naturally, to go in there and put a lot of trust in me, and be able to understand I’m going to be where I’m going to be, because I could severely, severely hurt someone.

“It wouldn’t be because I just did it to do that. But it’s because their guard’s down. It’s because they’re vulnerable. You’re responsible for taking care of each of those individuals that you stepped inside those ropes with. You’re responsible for them, just as they are for you, and so there was a lot of that at first, of like, not truly being comfortable with going in there with me, not knowing whether or not I was going to be doing the things I needed to do to protect myself and them.”