Frank Shamrock On Why He Turned Down ECW, His Relationship With Ken Shamrock Today
In 2013, Spike TV (now the Paramount Network) aired a documentary titled "Frank Shamrock: Bound by Blood." This documentary depicted the road to MMA superstardom by Frank Shamrock, but was heavily centered around the acrimonious relationship that he has with his foster brother, former WWE Intercontinental Champion and UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock. Frank stated in the documentary that he has not spoken with Ken in 15 years, due to feeling that he was disrespected which caused him to separate from Ken and his father.
"Ken never forgave me for that," said Frank. "And now, in order for me to find peace, I know I need to talk to Ken, face to face."
Ken was not sure why Frank was doing the documentary, speculating that it could be for selfishness, his career, or whether he needs closure. Frank stated that Ken did not have enough confidence in him regarding his MMA career, and put him in charge of the Lion's Den training facility while Ken was away doing wrestling. Frank admitted that he got lazy due to feeling that he had no kind of power as the head trainer other than giving Ken's orders.
Ken returned and "freaked out" on Frank, but stated in the documentary that Frank walked out on him without at least letting him know about it. The dissension came when Frank called his father after walking out, and was told that he had to make amends with Ken. Frank, feeling that his dad loved Ken more, felt that he could not reconnect with his brother and father, and abandoned them both.
When their father Bob died, Frank did not attend his funeral. This also made Ken furious, which made their relationship even worse. The conclusion of the documentary showed Frank and Ken reuniting, having a dialogue of why their relationship became so bitter over the years.
Frank was asked how their relationship approaching six years after the documentary, and he provided an update.
"It's just the same," Frank told The Sports Courier. "Which is, we don't really have a relationship. I see him at events. I cornered him for Royce, but I think that was more of, you know, to get some media. But yeah, the truth is we never developed, we never spent the time to develop a relationship, but now there is all this other stuff in play.
"I just don't know the guy. I know my neighbor a lot better. So it's just weird, and I think as adults we don't know how to get back to that. So, when I see him at events, we shake hands. It's weird."
Because of the 15-year timeframe of not talking, Frank stated that he feels they are on "two different islands" and have "never been able to meet up."
"It's not unpleasant in any way," Frank added. "I mean, I was excited to see him wrestle, do his thing. So, it just, yeah, it's weird."
Frank stated that because of having major back issues throughout his career, he felt that it was safer and less of a risk to pursue MMA rather than pro wrestling. He also stated that he made more many than he would have being a wrestler. Frank shared that he was recruited by Paul Heyman to join ECW, but felt that "there's no way I would survive there" after he saw the product, due to feeling that it would make his back problems worse.
Source: The Sports Courier