On a recent episode of his podcast, “83 Weeks”, Eric Bischoff expressed regret that Ken Shamrock was not more prominently featured in WWE.
Here are some key moments from that episode:
Discussing the hypothetical of Ken Shamrock as Steve Austin’s rival, Bischoff said, “I wholeheartedly agree… [Shamrock was] keenly sharp, aggressive, nimble and an exceptional athlete. Aesthetically, he’s the epitome of an MMA athlete. He possesses a striking look, impressive physique, and is a phenomenal athletic talent. His agility is exceptional. He was the full package. Though I must confess that I’m not too familiar with his skills on the microphone. That could have been one potential area of improvement. If that was the case, that could be his only shortcoming as he was exceptional in all other aspects.”
On the topic of Jim Ross’ claim that Shamrock lacked the necessary dedication to be a star, Bischoff stated, “Commitment was a major factor in WWE. Once you lost Vince’s faith in your dedication, it was a steep climb back up. I can imagine that it was particularly challenging for Ken to recover from that setback. Once Vince made up his mind on something like that, overturning his decision was an uphill battle. You had to put in a lot of effort to convince him to reconsider his opinion about you.”
Enclosed below are excerpts from the podcast episode discussed: