Did Vince hold back Ken Shamrock from winning the WWF title?

[Uncle Phatso]

Really? Ken Shamrock as the WWF champ, you got me there dude. I watched way more WCW during the time that he was in the WWF, but I do remember seeing him and he was just not that great in the ring. How can you put Ken up against people that were in that Era, great monsters in the ring. Vs a hot headed cross over fighter.

He was to my reading Knowledge an extremly stiff worker on top of that to. I'm not saying that with time he couldn't of been champ, but he would'nt of been a huge mega 10 time champ. He could of had a passing month or less run with time, he had the look and some skill. With training he could of been allright.

But to say that Ken Shamrock was held back by Vince is nuts. Ken was held back the the group of tallent that was in the Main event at the time. Because they were just better than him.

 

[TheLoneCharles]

Had Shamrock lasted till 2002 his chances of a title would have increased drastically. He wasn't as over as Rock and Austin were, but he still had a nice reaction as a face anyway. Heel Shamrock sucked.

Especially if Shamrock stayed to this day, I can see him with at least one world title win.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Why wasn't Shamrock ever WWF Champion? The chief reason was because the guy really shouldn't have been. He didn't have the talent to be WWF Champion. He came across exactly as he actually is: a lame, one dimensional MMA fighter with zero charisma or personality.

Not everybody can be World Champion, there's just simply not enough room at the top of the ladder for everybody, and there were simply far more talented guys more deserving of the spot than Shamrock. Austin, Foley, The Rock, The Undertaker, etc. are just a few examples.

 

[Dude_Love87]

Plain & simple, No Vince did not hold Shamrock back. We're talking about the greatest feud in wrestling history Austin V McMahon was going on during Shamrocks run, no way does Shamrock get close to the WWE title. Plus, from everything I read, the guy was a complete dick to everyone he had to step in the ring with. He was great IC championship material, but he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time to have the WWE championship.

 

[One to Remember]

who knows what his personal opinions were or are of wrestling. Jericho takes his long breaks to pursue things on VH1 and Celeb Dance shows but know one questions his heart, and Shamrock's tenure couldn't be any less legit then whatever the Rock calls himself doing right now and at 'Mania.. I think we need to look at it in a 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002 context. Its true that he would had taken away from Austin and the Rock but maybe Kane's reign and Undertaker's could had been given up to him? I think there is confusion. Shamrock was a champion in the UFC but the UFC of 1993 was not anything like the UFC of today. We cant retroactively apply the perception or popularity of UFC and MMA to pubic opinions of it c. 1993-7.. I am pretty sure Shamrock was TNA's first NWA champion and that was in 2002. I am thinking since he was still arounf any wrestling company after his WWF departure he obviously had some drive to stay in the wrestling world. I would have liked for him to either be the first WHC in 2002 since everything from that titles name to its belt plates were given to it to est. its legitimacy. Shamrock would have helped that. Better yet around 2004-5 I would had liked to see him compete on Raw for the title since he could use being a former champion in the UFC as a selling point and because MMA was getting hot. I wouldnt want him on SD because him destroying LESNAR MIGHT EFFECt opinions of him upon his UFC debut. I think it was good for a wrestling with a wrestler becoming UFC champ and would had balanced out the damage of a UFC champ becoming a wrestling champion. Goldberg, Benoit, Batista, Luger, Sammartino, Andre, all relied on being tough guys, not personality. I would like to had seen Shamrock come back a year or two ago on SD. As long as he returns before 50 I can accept that. But his era of employment in the WWF did him no favors, i accept that.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

I think it was a matter of timing, not any type of anti-mma conspiracy or anything.

Vince signing Ken Shamrock in January of 1997 was almost a deathblow to the UFC(and the sport of MMA as a whole). Ken Shamrock was a solidified PPV draw. The first 9 UFC PPV's(1993-1996) were very successful as far as buyrates.

Shamrock was on the verge of pushing MMA over into the mainstream. He had become a household name. After the WWF signed him, the UFC didn't have anyone left that could draw PPV numbers, and they slowly went down the toilet financially until they were ultimately forced to sell the company to Zuffa in 2001.

Ken was MMA's top draw, and he got a really good push in the WWF. He wasn't that great of a wrestler as far as exciting matches, but at the time he left for the WWF he was arguably the greatest grappler on the planet. I've heard stories that nobody could even come close to Shamrock in a legit submission wrestling match in his pre WWF days.

Shamrock got a great push in the WWF all through 97, and even through 98(I seem to remember him still being in main events on PPV's late in 98 with a triple threat cage match against the Rock, and Foley for a title shot). He never won the world strap because he just wasn't on the same level as the Rock, Austin, or Foley as an entertainer, and by the time he was ready for the title, those three guys were burning the industry up with their performances.

I don't think Vince tried to strategically devalue Ken Shamrock in an attempt to make MMA look bad.

Shamrock's tenure in the WWF destroyed his body, and left him a mere shadow of the athlete that he was before he went in.

As for me personally, I grew up watching MMA, and Pro Wrestling simultaneously. Seeing Ken Shamrock in the WWF was a big reason why I was so into wrestling during the Attitude Era. Shamrock should have gotten the same push that Taz got in the ECW as the unstoppable, unbeatable, MMA hybrid monster. I can hear the chants now "SHAMROCKS! GOING! TO! KILL! YOU!"

 

[The Idiot]

The real reason Shamrock didn't get the title is simply because not everyone can be world champion. I'm sure you didn't think he would be champion right away. By the time he had at least a little experience under his belt Austin was on top as champion. Shamrock was around during the time of Austin and Rock so when exactly should he have been champion? That's the probelm with threads like this. Everyone thinks a certain wrestler should have been champion but they never think about the guys that actually were champ at the time. By saying Ken Shamrock should have been champion in 1998 or 1999 you're saying Austin or Rock shouldn't have been.

Exactly. Look at Piper, Razor and Perfect....none of which were ever WWF champions. Why? Not because they weren't good or didn't draw, but because of who else was around during that time.

Had Shamrock lasted till 2002 his chances of a title would have increased drastically. He wasn't as over as Rock and Austin were, but he still had a nice reaction as a face anyway. Heel Shamrock sucked.

Especially if Shamrock stayed to this day, I can see him with at least one world title win.

Nah, HHH was coming into his own...along with Brock, Angle, Undertaker and Jericho. Austin and Rock were still active as well. Plus Shawn returned in late 2002. Shamrock just couldn't compete with that.