Dwayne Johnson has had many notable on-screen rivalries during his WWE career. His rivalry with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is legendary and made both men superstars. He also fought against The Undertaker, Triple H, Kurt Angle and many more during his time in WWE. One of his earliest rivalries in the promotion came when he was with the Nation of Domination faction and feuded with MMA fighter turned wrestler Ken Shamrock.
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Shamrock came to WWE from the UFC with a great reputation and was one of their popular names. In WWE, he became one of the first stars of the Attitude era and had an intense feud with The Rock. The two contested for the Intercontinental Championship in 1998 and had some memorable stretches.
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One of the most talked about segments of their rivalry occurred during an episode of RAW when The Great One hit Shamrock Square in the face with a steel chair during a tag team match. This brutal chair shot is one of the iconic scenes not only of their rivalry, but also of the Attitude era.
Recently, in an interview, the former UFC fighter talked about the predicament and how he himself asked The Rock to punch him in the face.
Shamrock revealed why he asked Dwayne Johnson to hit him in the face with a chair
Ken Shamrock was known worldwide as the “most dangerous man alive” due to his success in the UFC. His arrival gave WWE a boost that further fueled its rise. Initially, he appeared in non-wrestling roles and was the special guest referee for the famous Steve Austin submission match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. But soon, WWE started featuring him as a wrestler and became The Rock’s main rival in his early days.
The two wrestled for the Intercontinental Championship a few times and had a heated feud over it. In one of their infamous in-ring interactions during a tag team match on RAW, DJ blasted Shamrock right in the face with a steel chair. The live audience gasped and those watching at home couldn’t believe it. He remains one of the most vicious chair shots in WWE history.
Recently, in an interview with VladTV on YouTube, Shamrock revealed that the chair pulled in the face was his idea. In fact, he had to convince Dwayne Johnson to go through with it.
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He explained, I just told him if we were going to do it, the chair kick hit me in the face. I remember he looked at me and I know I get that reaction when I say it right. I’m like, hey, just punched me in the face. He’s like, okay, be serious. I said no, punch me in the face. It’s like I’m not punching you in the face.
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Additionally, Shamrock added“I said, swing the chair. You’re gonna punch me in the face. I said when you swing it, I’ll take care of myself. He’s like, are you sure? And I was like, yeah, I’m sure, do it.[…] It’s fine, and I said you better dump it because if you don’t, I’m not selling it. He looked at me and said oh I’m going to throw it and he threw it.
Surprisingly, the former King of Ring winner said that despite what everyone thought, he wasn’t seriously injured. According to Shamrock, the forehead is the thickest part of the head. And he could shoot straight at it rather than risk taking it in the back of the head.
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Although Ken Shamrock found a way through that brutal chair shot, the whole sequence looked vicious and fans are still talking about it today.
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