“I sacrificed what I wanted to do so I could support my family” – Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock reflects on being called a "sellout" upon leaving UFC in 1996
Ken Shamrock was the first UFC champion to successfully transition to WWE. In 1996, he was in the prime of his career and arguably the face of the UFC.
Shamrock spoke with VladTV about his decision to leave the UFC in ’96 in favor of a move to pro wrestling and a more lucrative deal with the WWE. He fought out his contract with the UFC and was offered a pay cut to stay with the promotion, but he turned it down:
“I told them, ‘In any other case, I would do it. But in this circumstance, I can’t support my family, I can’t support the gym that I had built,’ and so, I said ‘I just can’t do it. Otherwise, I’m going to lose what I built.’ And so, I sacrificed what I wanted to do so I could one, support my family 'cause that came first and two, make sure all the other stuff was running so it didn’t drop out from them either.”
While reflecting on the transition, ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ mentioned that he was labeled a "sellout" by some in the MMA community when he initially joined WWE:
“There was a lot of things going on... ‘sellout’, ‘he’s going into this fake thing.’ And so, there’s a lot of things that weren’t good because I had walked and started doing pro wrestling. The majority of the people didn’t really know about UFC yet but the ones that did, most of them didn’t like that I was going into pro wrestling.”
During his stint in WWE, Shamrock won the 1998 King of the Ring, WWE Intercontinental championship, and WWE Tag Team championship. His tenure from ’97-’99 was considered a success, and he returned to MMA in 2000.
Check out the full interview below:
Shamrock and other UFC fighters who transitioned to pro wrestling
The 1998 King of the Ring is known for Mick Foley and The Undertaker’s legendary King of the Ring. But let’s not forget Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock tearing the house down in the tournament finals that night. Great rivalry. #WWE @TheRock @ShamrockKen https://t.co/UtZz48sGQO
The perception of MMA fighters transitioning to pro wrestling has changed and is accepted a lot more now than when Shamrock made the move in '96.
Since ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’s tenure with WWE, the company has signed many other former MMA champions and fighters. In recent years, for instance, you have Valerie Loureda, Shayna Baszler, Matt Riddle, and UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey.