Ken Shamrock’s move from the world of mixed martial arts to WWE back in 1997 was a groundbreaking crossover. Speaking on Wrestling Life with Ben Veal, the former UFC star opened up about how Bret Hart helped shape the character that defined his professional wrestling career.

Shamrock, who trained alongside Hart in Calgary, recalled how “The Hitman” played a pivotal role in teaching him how to adapt to the WWE audience without losing his identity.

“Yeah, and I credit a lot of my understanding of the character in which I was supposed to be. I credit a lot of that to Bret helped me understand that I’m not a pro wrestler, and they brought me in as this world’s most dangerous man, and to go out there and do hip tosses and leap frogs and these things. That’s just not me. That’s not who they brought me in for.”

Hart encouraged Shamrock to stay true to his background, emphasizing the hard-hitting, submission-based style that made him famous in the UFC. That approach soon became the core of his WWE persona.

“They brought me in for what I was famous for, and that was submitting guys. And so after I understood that and was able to implement those different types of holds into it, I was able to actually start feeling comfortable. But like said, with the friendship I had with Bret and all the other guys that really bond together to help me.”

That early guidance helped Shamrock find his footing in the locker room and build trust with other top stars, including The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

“Whenever I got into a match with somebody, I would always ask them, What do you think we should do? I know I got to keep to my thing. I know that some of the stuff is so unfamiliar with a lot of them that a lot of times I just did it, like I took them down, or I do whatever I did. I just got in the hold and then, and then they would do what they naturally would do to fight, to get out of it, and, and that’s kind of how the matches went.”

Reflecting on his time in WWE, Shamrock said those collaborative efforts helped him form long-lasting friendships that went far beyond the ring.

“And, I was very fortunate, like I said, to develop friendships, not only with Bret, but with Stone Cold and the Rock, and I mean, I can name John, Michael, all of them that I was able to go in the ring with. I was able to develop a friendship through being able to work on matches and understanding the psychology of it, and understanding how things were able to go when you do those kinds of things with people, you start developing relationships and friendships with them, and I was fortunate to do that.”