wrestling / News

Ken Shamrock on Why Brock Lesnar Should Be in the UFC Hall of Fame, What Fighters and Wrestlers Can Learn From Lesnar

August 2, 2019 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Image Credit: WWE

– Speaking with Jeffrey Harris for the 411 Wrestling Interviews podcast, Ken Shamrock shared his thoughts on why Brock Lesnar should go in the UFC Hall of Fame. Lesnar shares a status with Shamrock as a veteran of both the UFC and WWE, and Shamrock said there’s no question that Lesnar should be inducted into the Hall. He also discussed what he thinks fighters and wrestlers can learn from Lesnar in terms of staying out of trouble with the media.

Highlights from the discussion are below:

On whether Brock Lesnar deserves a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame: “Absolutely, I mean — listen, you can’t talk about the UFC without mentioning Brock’s name when it comes to the heavyweight division. I mean, he’s done enough that I don’t care whether you like him or not. The guy did what he needed to do, and he was a name there and he was a force there. And so, even if he hadn’t been there that long, the time that he was there he made an impact. He literally changed the way people had to fight in order to beat him. So there’s no question he deserves to go in. There’s no question in my mind.”

On what MMA fighters or aspiring wrestlers can learn from Lesnar: “Well, I mean it’s hard to say. Because Brock isn’t the most friendliest person in the world. It’s not like he’s trying to do it on purpose, I just think that’s who he is. Like, he just doesn’t really want to be around people. And it’s not that he intentionally wants to be mean to people, he’s just not a people person. And I think if you have that kind of character and stuff like that, just look at what he does. He tries to keep himself out of those situations that would get him in trouble. Which is talking to the media, overexposing himself so that they’re able to dig into him and get him to mess up, because he doesn’t want to be around the public. So there’s just a lot of things you look at where he really shields himself off from trouble.”

In the full interview, Shamrock talks about his WWE run and memorable feuds with The Rock and Owen Hart, refereeing the Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart match at WrestleMania 13, a possible WWE Hall of Fame induction, why Brock Lesnar deserves to be in the UFC Hall of Fame, his relationship with Dana White, whether things are safer for MMA fighters today and more.

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Introduction (0:00)
On his experience at Starrcast II and if he’ll be at Starrcast III (0:44)
On AEW, the current wrestling landscape and if he’s excited as a wrestling fan (1:57)
On looking back at his time in WWE during the Attitude Era and Monday Night War (4:03)
On coming into WWE as an MMA fighter and who helped him make a smooth transition to wrestling (5:28)
On his being a referee for Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (8:06)
On his feud with The Rock his initial impressions of Rock and their match at WrestleMania 14 (9:51)
On his feud with Owen Hart and their Lion’s Den match at SummerSlam 1988 (13:13)
On the end of his run in WWE, if he felt he had hit a ceiling at the time and thinking the Screwjob was a factor (14:56)
On if he thinks Vince McMahon holds a grudge against him for leaving WWE in 1999 (17:16)
On a possible WWE Hall of Fame induction (18:56)
On his character feeling very real and believable as a dangerous guy (20:13)
On the changes in MMA over the years and whether they’ve made things safer for fighters (21:40)
On his relationship with Dana White today (29:39)
In his upcoming Tag Team Title defense at Battle Championship Wrestling in Australia in August (31:05)
On how he’s feeling physically and the importance of athletes letting their bodies have recovery time (31:36)
On why Brock Lesnar deserves a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame (33:26)
On what fighters and MMA fighters can learn from Lesnar (34:11)
On if he’d like to face Frank Mir at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport Wrestling (35:14)
Where to find him (36:44)