Ken Shamrock is a legendary MMA fighter and also a former professional wrestler. He was actually one of the pioneers of modern MMA, as he competed in some of the very first UFC events, that were at the time, tournament styled. That being said, Ken has a background in various martial arts, so he could easily transition into professional wrestling.
When working for the WWE, he managed to win the Intercontinental Title once. He could, however, never reach the top of the company and actually left the world of professional wrestling to return to the world of MMA.
Ken Shamrock On Why He Decided to Leave the WWE for MMA in 1999
He left the WWE in 1999 and was billed as ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ before he left. He challenged Shawn Michaels before he left. He won the 1998 King of the Ring. On Vlad TV, he spoke about why he decided to leave the WWE and go back to the world of professional MMA.
I believe my last match was Jericho," Shamrock said. "I believe, could be wrong, but I feel like that was the last one. I already felt like I was being clumped into groups, and that I was just kind of a side thing now. Like, whatever storyline was over here, we would just do. It didn't make any sense. It just didn't feel like they knew what to do with me from that point. It just felt like I was just there."
Shamrock then went on to speak about whether he actually liked being a part of professional wrestling in general, as being an MMA fighter, the culture and way fights take place in professional wrestling is different than that of MMA.
"I ended up falling in love with it," Shamrock said. "I did, I really liked it, but where we were at that point in time, it just felt like they weren't really using me at the level that I thought I should've been used just because of where I came from."
Ken Shamrock also believes that he actually became a money-maker for the WWE, but was still being under-utilized. According to him, he was never considered a no. 1 guy and was always fighting to be no. 2 in the company. Even when he was part of a faction, he was not considered the main guy and was just used as a mid-card wrestler for most of his time in the WWE, after his initial push.