Why Ken Shamrock Had Doubts Over Refereeing Iconic Clash Between Steve Austin And Bret Hart

Former WWE star Ken Shamrock has looked back on his role in the legendary match between Steve Austin and Bret Hart, and why he had reservations on being a part of the bout.

Taking place at WrestleMania 13 in 1997, Hart and Austin fought in a submission match that famously saw The Texas Rattlesnake pass out in a pool of his own blood while locked in Hart’s Sharpshooter.

The match received widespread recognition from fans and critics alike, and is still regarded as one of the greatest matches of all time almost 30 years later. Additionally, the match was the first to receive special recognition by WWE as it was honoured at the 2025 Hall of Fame ceremony.

Although it was Hart and Austin who went to war inside the ring, UFC fighter Ken Shamrock was put in place as the enforcer of the match. While The World’s Most Dangerous Man did his best to keep the peace in the match, it wasn’t exactly a role he was comfortable with.

“How Am I Going To Do This?”: Ken Shamrock On Refereeing Iconic WrestleMania Match

Speaking with Ben Veal for Wrestling Life Online, Shamrock admitted that it was confusing going into the match at first, but was able to relax after the opening 10 minutes:

“Yeah, actually, it was pretty confusing going into that match for me personally, because… I hadn’t had the experience to be in there with those two guys at that level. I mean, these are icons guys that are just, as we know now, just greatness, and I was just coming in. So here I was kind of pushed into that spot and I was very happy for sure. But you also have doubts in your mind. ‘Like, how am I going to do this?’ Like, ‘can I keep up with them?’ You know, there’s a lot of thoughts because (the) referee is a very, very important part of matches, and you see Hebner and many, many others that are so important on how matches can go with the way that things are done. So me being in that position, I really thought to myself, man, I just don’t know whether or not I’m able to do the things I needed to do coming from the MMA world, the fighting world, into this wrestling world now, and was I going to be able to do these guys right? So my whole time going into it, like I said, I have my doubts. But I think about 10 minutes into that match, or probably even shorter, I would say probably after they started locking up and made the first contact, it felt like I didn’t have to do anything other than just be me.”