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Ken Shamrock, UFC Hall of Famer and former WWE superstar, in the last several weeks has begun continually commenting on WWE programming and it's performers. He rarely did so before. In fact, previously, most of Shamrock's opinions presented in public have all been centred around MMA, the sport in which he competed on and off until February 2016.
Ken Shamrock left a successful UFC career in late 1996 to sign with the then-WWF. Shamrock had become a mainstream celebrity based upon his "World's Most Dangerous Man" persona. His first appearance on WWF pay per view was as the guest referee for the famous Bret Hart vs Stone Cold match at Wrestlemania 13.
Shamrock made his in-ring debut for the company a month later in a hard-hitting match-up with Vader.
From there, Shamrock enjoyed a semi-successful run in the company, winning the King of the Ring 1998 title (against The Rock, no less) and also held the Intercontinental Championship and Tag Team gold, before departing the company in late 1999 to return to MMA with the Pride FC promotion in Japan.
Now almost, two full decades later, Shamrock appears closer to a WWE return than ever due to his continual comments on the company's television output.
Ken Shamrock, now at 54 years of age is highly unlikely to fight professionally again. After winning just five times in 17 MMA bouts following his MMA return in 2000, Shamrock's days as a top-line fighter are long since gone.
A WWE return is his only likely avenue to return to the public eye in a combat sports arena.
Could he finally wrestle one last match vs Kurt Angle in the long talked about ankle lock vs ankle lock match-up? Could he sign a legends deal or pop up behind the announce desk? Could he be the first man to receive induction into the UFC and WWE Hall of Fame?
One thing seems certain; there is more to Shamrock's continual WWE related tweets than just idle commentary.
In all honesty, WWE have shown precious little interest in Ken Shamrock as a performer for over a decade. During his final UFC run in 2006, when Shamrock was considering retirement, he addressed the company and said if a deal was put on the table to him, he would always consider a return.
No such deal has ever been offered. In an era, when virtually all of WWE's former performers have returned in some fashion on the glut of legend reunions on WWE television or one of the many shows on the WWE Network or even in the audience at WWE Hall of Fame ceremonies. Shamrock's exclusion from all of these, despite the fact he left the company on good terms in the autumn of 1999 makes little sense.
Perhaps, change is afoot.
Ken Shamrock announced on his Twitter recently that he had a "big announcement" that he would soon share with the world. Could a WWE return be what he meant?
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