WWE legend Booker T has named a few stars he believes were the best shoot fighters in pro wrestling, unsurprisingly including names like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle — stars who could cause serious damage if things got real in the ring.
On a recent edition of his "Hall of Fame" show, Booker T was asked by a fan the five toughest wrestlers who could hold their own in a shoot fight.
"Kurt Angle, of course, definitely got to be in there. Brock Lesnar ... I'm trying to think of someone — probably Ken Shamrock, definitely falls into that category," began Booker T. "One guy that would definitely fall into that category was Bad News Brown, Bad News Allen. Olympic caliber Judo practitioner — bad, bad dude. I don't know who would be the fifth one."
Angle and Lesnar are both renowned for their abilities inside a pro wrestling ring, but they were, famously, successful in amateur wrestling, prior to them becoming pro wrestlers. The two even had a shoot match during their time together in WWE, with the Olympic gold medalist claiming that he took down "The Beast Incarnate" once in their 15-minute match. Shamrock, like Lesnar, achieved success in the MMA ring as well, holding the UFC Superfight Championship in the '90s, before his run in WWE. The last man mentioned in Booker T's list, Bad News Allen, was also an Olympic medalist, winning bronze in Judo at the 1976 Olympic Games and later featured in WWE.
Booker T has previously recalled a memorable shoot fight that he witnessed which involved Ernest Miller and Buff Bagwell during his time in WCW, where the former got the better of the latter.