Ken Shamrock: The Attitude Era Was Born With Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold At WrestleMania 13
The UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock joined the WWE in 1997 and was immediately put into the spotlight, as the no-non sense Special Guest Referee for the WrestleMania 13 Submission Match between Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Speaking with Lars Frederiksen of Rancid and Dennis Farrell of Fightful’s Wrestling Perspective Podcast, Farrell asked Ken Shamrock, “When you guys were getting ready for this match, did you realize the impact and change of this match would have on the industry?”
“We didn’t understand the level of what was going to happen in that ring before. It was one of those matches were they were trying to turn Stone Cold and Bret, their characters, they were switching roles. They thought it would be a great match, but I don’t think anybody truly understood the impact that match would have moving forward, because I think if you look at it, I think that kind of changed the tide of the wars (Monday Night Wars) between WWE and obviously WCW.” Shamrock said.
Ken would explain how he believes this led to the “Attitude Era” being born. “When you saw that match, you started seeing characters. The attitude era was born, then started to take hold of this vision Vince had by bringing me in, trying to make it a little more raw, rough and edgy. So putting me in that match with those two guys was just unbelievable and the way that turned things around.”
The Monday Night Wars lasted from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001. Shamrock would discuss many topics during his interview with The Wrestling Perspective Podcast, including how The Rock would induct him into the IMPACT Hall of Fame at Bound for Glory in 2020. There were multiple video messages sent in honoring Shamrock, and you can read that article by clicking here.
