Rate The Gimmick: Ken Shamrock - Dangerous MMA Figther

[Ferbian]

It's time for another installment in the weekly Rate The Gimmick thread series. The purpose of this thread is for me to come up with a gimmick (However, not this week, this will be my one and only requested gimmick) and for you to rate it between 1 to 10. 1 being awful, 10 being awesome. Pretty simple right?

Anyway, this week we'll look into a request by our own Blue Cardinal. And really, it's a rather fine choice.

Yep, that's right. Ken Shamrock, the worlds most dangerous man as the WWE liked to call him. The innovator of the Ankle Lock in professional wrestling, which has gone on to be used by Kurt Angle and Jack Swagger regularly, and I believe I saw someone else use it as well.

As we all know, not only is Ken Shamrock a.. Somewhat decorated WWE wrestler, he is also a very decorated MMA fighter, who have gone into the UFC Hall of Fame.

However, we won't be talking about Ken Shamrock's MMA career, we'll be talking about his time within the WWE, or back then, WWF. Ken debuted in early 1997, not doing much until he refereed the famous submission match between Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin. However, briefly after Wrestlemania, Ken would make his return to debut against Vernon White.

Ken Shamrock's first noticeable feud became that of his feud with the Hart Foundation, more exactly The British Bulldog, which he lost when he refused to let go of a chokehold on Davey Boy Smith.

Ken received quite the push, as he was given the number one contendership against WWE champion Shawn Michaels, at the December In Your House Pay Per View in 1997, only to loose by disqualification after the interference from D-Generation X. However, he never did win the WWE championship, but managed to hold the Tag Team Championship and the Intercontinental championship during his time with WWF.

Eventually the career in professional wrestling for Ken Shamrock came to an end, as he in late 1999 decided to leave WWF, to continue his MMA fighting career.

I'm certain there's a lot more to be said about Ken Shamrock, and while I probably could pull out a few more factorials about him, I'm gonna leave you all to rate this gimmick. Will it be a 1? Or a 10?

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

You don't know to watch MMA to know that a lot of the heavily hyped matches end in a very short time. And for some reason, the only matches I remember of Shamrock have been some 10-15 matches, like with Taker. So, how exactly is he dangerous if he can't just knock someone the heck out within minutes? Maybe it could work with better booking or a guy with a little more charisma, but it never clicked for me. A "real" fighting style in a predetermined sport just confuses me. I understand the logic of Wade Barrett's bare-knuckle thing despite his bad standing punching spots way more than I understand an MMA fighter fighting someone like Goldust.


I am going to go with a 3.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Shamrock's gimmick was an interesting one. Shamrock had something that a lot people never have when they debut; a reputation. Shamrock was known as an MMA fighter, and a good one at that. Shamrock was considered to be a legit tough man and someone who could hang in there with the best of them. He was called 'The World's Most Dangerous Man' for a reason.

Shamrock's initial debut as the Guest referee in the Austin vs. Hart Submission match at WrestleMania 13 was nothing more than a nice, subtle touch to the match. Shamrock’s real career was going out there and hurting people. He innovated the use of the Ankle Lock in WWF/E and he didn't half slap that bad boy on. Shamrock was thought of as a scary dude and that helped him to no end. He was to put it simply; a bad-ass.

He was a man who lived his part in his real life. I give Shamrock's Gimmick an 8/10.

 

[Kiefer-Zeus]

Interesting character to the point where you would think, would he lose his temper in the ring and legit knock someone out, had some good feuds most notably The Rock, won a couple of championships and had some decent matches, digged his theme music to, i give it 8/10 also!

And the other guy who used a ankle lock was Batista in 2009 when he returned to Smackdown on Big Show and Jericho but stopped using it after he was told Jack Swagger was getting it in the year!!!

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

ohhhhh...this was the perfect gimmick for a tough guy! and Ken played this role to the fullest, you look at this guy and you think mean fuck! He was crazy in the ring and I was actually scared of him back in them days..He was a good fighter, and I think his background helped him out aswell, plus his entrance music was gooooood..

I give it at 8/10!!

 

[Judah's Lion]

i'll stick with the trend and also give an 8/10.

to add to his credentials already listed by Ferb, but Shamrock also won the King of the Ring which, at the time, was a much bigger deal then. he won it after guys like Bret and Owen Hart, Triple H and Stone Cold. most guys that won the KOTR got major pushes and Shamrock was no exception at the time.

he co-held the IC and Tag Team Belts (with Big Boss Man) as part of the Corporation during a time when there weren't as many belts and both were very prestegious. plus, there were great divisions for both.

his feuds with the Ministry of Darkness, DX and then eventually the Corporation itself (while a part of the Union) were very entertaining.

his triple threat cage match against Rock and Mankind for the #1 contendership to the heavyweight title was amazing and his matches inside the Lion's Den were always cool to watch, especially against the late great Owen Hart.

all in all, i say 8/10. the reason his score is not higher is because he never had multiple reigns with his titles, never got the WHC and because of the shortness of his stint with the WWF. solid 8 but could have been a 9 with some more time in the ring.

 

[ScruffDog]

I give him a 7.5

When he was in the WWF he really was one of the Most Dangerous Man. He was one of the few people in the WWF that if every superstar were to fight for real, he would be one of the favorites to win.

He was also part of one of my favorite stables, The Union. He is also responsible for the Lion Den match, which wasn't used very much, but I'll still give him credit

Ken is one of the few people in wrestling, Like Angle, Swagger, even Lesner, who came in with a reputation already for being a Champ in real fighting, and used that as a gimmick in the ring.

And in this business, that works

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Thank you Ferbs.

I give Ken a 9 out of 10 for his gimmick, sure he didn't do a whole lot in wrestling but his short time in the WWF and later in TNA/NWA was pretty cool while it lasted. Ken was one of the only guys to just come right into the WWF and do something. He was pushed almost to the moon and became part of the Corporation. I would have loved to see him actually get a short run as a bad ass heel with the title, but shit happens. One of my favorite gimmicks from back then, too bad it was short lived. 9/10

 

[iamthegame]

Being a massive fan of the attitude era i had an enourmous repsect and admiration for Shamrock. His gimmick worked well and his entrance music was fantastic. He continously portrayed the bad-ass image with poise and had the moves to back it up. He really brought the belly to back suplex back to sports entertainment. I spent some time following him after his WWF career because i wanted him to return. However, he did not achieve WHC status and was never considered a serious ME wrestler.
7/10, from a massive Shamrock fan at the time.

 

[PhantomGhost]

I'll go 7/10. He had a great moveset and cool character. Though while I remember everything he did because I have alot of old Raws and PPV's that I watch from time to time, I cant remember him doing anything incredibly memorable or that stood out. He never had a defining moment/s. He was good and I liked him. He brought in a cool style and presence, just never fully reached his potential (Doesnt matter why) to be truly one of the greats im my opinion.

 

[zaculeh]

Shamrock was an amazing athlete. He actually had the third highest paid salary in the Attitude era right behind Steve Austin (who had the first) and The Rock (who had the second). Being the third highest paid entertainer in WWF at the time was pretty big considering you also had the likes of HHH, Foley, Taker, Kane & other top main eventers at the time. I think the reason Shamrock was paid so highly was because he was easily one of the best ring workers at the time due to his proper reign as the first ever UFC Superfight (Heavyweight) Champion and for his prominent use of technicality. The major problem for Shamrock however,

#1 He was only on TV for around 2-3 years in the WWF and he never lived up to his great feud with Jericho because he departed during that time.

#2 Although easily worthy of carrying the World Title, he was always screwed out of a proper victory and put over other guys like The Rock, Austin and Michaels. One of the prominent memories are DX In Your House 1997 PPV which had HBK retain the title due to DQ (interference by HHH & Chyna). If Ken was WWF Champion (which he damn deserved to be), his gimmick would have been completely put in place.

#3 Shamrock was not the best mic worker, but as with Bret Hart and Chris Benoit, he didnt have to be. Shamrock was just himself really and was known for his REAL wrestling skills. However, some would argue that if Shamrock was over on the mic he probably would have had a World Title reign, but then again 'The World's Dangerous Man' is better off having a quiet gimmick. He is the type of guy you'd wanna be scared of getting in the ring with because he doesn't talk much so you don't know what to expect.

I have a photo of Shamrock and I from around 2 months ago or so when he came to Australia. He is a really nice guy in real life, but has aged a whole heap now.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I am going to have to give this gimmick the full 10/10, it was PERFECT for the Attitude era, and 100% suited Ken Shamrock. He WAS a legitimate hard-man, a UFC legend and one mean SOB.

He had the look to make you believe he was as tough as they said, the anklelock submission was a fantastic, painful looking move (I'm pretty sure it was announced Shamrock snapped peoples ankles in MMA with this move?), and he had a great moveset overall.

I always loved to see Shamrock in the ring, I found everything about him entertaining, although his promo skills could have been improved. But the gimmick as a whole was fantastic, he was a scary looking jacked up dude who you knew was gonna kick someones ass whenever he "snapped"!

Plus, I am gonna agree with everyone else and say Shamrock had one of the best entrance musics of all time, I still blast that tune out when I'm in the car sometimes, I love it

 

[bannedfromheaven]

i really liked ken shamrock and his worlds most dangerous man gimmick.

i don't really remember any memorable matches this guy was in besides his fued with dan severn but i remember his intensity.
shamrock would make every move look good because he was just so explosive.
i loved when he grabbed someone for a belly to belly suplex, crazy scream and then throw them down, his ankle lock looked a lot more devastating because of his facial expressions as well.

8/10