Sami Zayn Removed From WWE SmackDown

Sami Zayn was not on WWE SmackDown tonight for ‘personal reasons’ according to Michael Cole. Zayn is one of WWE’s most popular Canadian wrestlers. No true wrestling fan can ever forget the 1997 edition of WWE’S Survivor Series in Montreal, Canada. The infamous event in which Bret Hart “lost” the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels under dubious circumstances. The event went down in history as “the Montreal screw job”. According to a former WWE employee who was working the circuit at the time, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock, the controversial title change would have looked different had Hart’s original idea been realized.

Wait. There was an original idea other than the one that played out?

Heading into the 1997 Survivor Series, Bret Hart refused point blank to lose to Michaels due to their real-life heat behind the scenes. Bret reinforced to Vince that although his (Bret’s) WWE contract was ending, under no circumstances would he lose the WWE belt the then obnoxious upstart, Michaels. This prompted the then WWE chairman, Vince McMahon, to book The Heartbreak Kid as the winner of the main event match without letting Hart how the series of events would play out.

In a recent interview on VladTV, Ken Shamrock recalled how Bret Hart, “The Excellence of Execution” wanted to drop the WWE Championship to him instead. And there we thought that Bret didn’t want to drop the strap at all. Can you imagine, if Ken Shamrock had been thrust into the world title position in November of 1997, after having barely beginning his professional wrestling career? That would have been worse than when the Rock won the belt a year later – another move that happened way too early.

Check out the video of Kenny Shamrock on VladTV. 

 


 

Speaking of Shamrock, he additionally made another statement concerning Mr. Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson.

During the WWF “Attitude Era”, Shamrock took one mighty blow to the head from a steel chair from none other than The Rock. It was pretty horrifying to watch – perhaps not as much as when The Rock blasted Mick Foley more than a dozen times in the head at Royal Rumble 1999, but significant none the less. The Rock was a little more reserved in this instance.

In an interview with VladTV Shamrock stated: 

“He’s like, ‘I’m not hitting you in the face,'” Shamrock recalled. “I said, ‘No, swing the chair, you’re gonna hit me right in the face, and when you swing it, I’ll take care of myself.’ He’s like, ‘Are you sure?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I’m sure, just do it. I don’t wanna get hit on the top of the head, I don’t wanna get hit in the back, I just wanna see it coming.'” [2:04 – 2:21]

Despite doubts, The Rock eventually agreed and delivered the chair shot with great force (relishing every moment it would appear) drawing great gasps from the crowd.

Shamrock states the shot didn’t hurt as much as you would think – but then again, would you tell the world if something hurt and you were marketed as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”? 

 

Robert Hadley
Robert Hadley
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