Out of all the stars of WWE’s Attitude Era, few likely would have pegged Ken Shamrock as a star who would persist decades into the future. Having already conquered the MMA world, Shamrock made many memories in WWE, but his accomplishments were lessened by an early WWF departure and an irregular schedule on the indie scene after that. Now aged 56, Shamrock is on the big stage once again in IMPACT Wrestling, competing against Eddie Edwards at tonight’s Bound for Glory PPV. He’s also being honored by IMPACT via placement in their Hall of Fame alongside big names like Sting, Kurt Angle, and Abyss.
Speaking with TV Insider, Shamrock spoke about his longevity in the ring and where this late-career renaissance came from.
Being out of any competitive sport and coming back and feeling great, it’s almost like I’ve been given the fountain of youth all over again.
I’ve been able to do things I actually haven’t done before. Now I’m diving over the top rope and doing these showstoppers. To see my body respond after the layoff and the stem cell I got from BioXcellerator—it all came together, and I felt great. That’s where I’m at today. People are watching me saying, “How can he do that?” I’m fortunate the treatments have worked well for me.
Speaking about the IMPACT locker room, Ken says that the atmosphere is exciting backstage. He said the wave of new talent stepping up to the plate reminds him of when WWF was losing all their talent to WCW. “There is a common goal to be successful at Impact but not try to push everybody down. Put on a great show with whoever you’re working with and bring the best out of them.”
Former WWF rival The Rock will be involved in Ken Shamrock’s Hall of Fame ceremony, and Shamrock felt that it only made sense to reach out to someone so vital to his career.
When Vince [McMahon] put us together, it was like iron sharpening iron. I believe we really found out who we were in pro wrestling when we were able to work our programs together.
The Rock was very significant in my journey. That’s why I reached out to him. There are several others that have also been important to the journey too. It’s going to be fun to see how it all unfolds and the people involved that night. I’m honored.
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