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Former WWE star Ken Shamrock has revealed when he discovered he could transition from mixed martial arts to professional wrestling.
Shamrock made his WWE debut during the Attitude Era, wrestling between 1997 and 1999, where he was able to capture two titles in the Intercontinental Championship as well as the World Tag Team Championships with The Big Bossman and also wrestled The Rock at WrestleMania 14. Speaking on "Busted Open Radio," Shamrock went into detail about when he knew he could succeed in pro wrestling, revealing that being a referee helped him realize he could be a part of WWE.
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"It probably wasn't until I actually reffed a match with Stone Cold and Bret Hart, 'cause I didn't know if I could do it, man. I knew these guys were at an another level and I knew what I had wrestled before was nowhere near at what these guys were doing and I was thinking to myself I didn't even realize if I could even do it. 'Cause it's different from when you watch it on TV than when you actually get in there and you actually have to do it. It's a whole different ball game ... I was reffing a pro wrestling match, because they were so aggressive and so vicious to one another while I was inside that ring, that I at that point, said, 'Oh sh*t, this is no different than MMA."
Shamrock explained that he was nervous to be the referee for Steve Austin and Hart because he was afraid he would mess up the entire match. But he was proud to have been in the same ring with two of the greatest of all time.
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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.