Ken Shamrock knows what you’re thinking. The 55-year-old MMA and professional wrestling legend understands the stigma that comes with someone his age re-entering the world of sports entertainment.

After all, the history is there. It isn’t hard to think of at least a few examples of performers who held on for too long or came back for “one more match” only to leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths.

“When you’re 55 years old, you always know there’s this thought process going on in peoples’ heads, and rightfully so because of what we’re used to seeing,” Shamrock told Yahoo Sports. “People will say ‘I’m back and I feel great’ but it doesn’t translate in the ring. Wrestling has done themselves bad in that sense.”

One of the staples of WWE’s famed “Attitude Era,” Shamrock has thrust himself back into the professional wrestling scene with IMPACT Wrestling. Formerly known as TNA, IMPACT is looking to capitalize on a shifting industry landscape with a new TV deal with AXS and by bringing back Shamrock after a 15-year hiatus to help continue its push.

“I don’t want to take away from anything that they’re doing or were doing,” Shamrock said. “They brought me in and that’s a credit to them seeing an opportunity to raise awareness and turn peoples’ eyes toward IMPACT. They’ve done a lot of moves to help create this buzz and generate user interest. I’m just a piece of that. The things they’re doing are definitely making it happen. It really is getting people to turn and look. People will tune in because they want to see a washed-up guy fail or they’ll say ‘Ken Shamrock’s doing this again, let me watch it.’”

“It’s time. You’re not winning.”

Shamrock says his journey back to IMPACT and professional wrestling started nearly 18 months ago. After stepping away from competition as a fighter, Shamrock says he fell into a depression. Unable to see what exactly he was going through, the UFC Hall of Famer received a harsh truth from his wife.

“I’ve always felt like I wasn’t finished,” Shamrock said. “I felt like I wanted to do more. I’ve already accomplished everything, but I wanted to do more and it felt like I kept falling short. I came to this wall. I just couldn’t seem to recover, I kept having injuries, I wasn’t at my best. I couldn’t see because I was too close to it. I remember my wife saying ‘It’s time. You’re not winning.’

“I started training again after 9 or 10 months. I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. I didn’t like how I felt. I was depressed, so I went back to the gym and started training. I didn’t have to work, but I just felt depressed and bored. Eventually, people started telling me I looked good, at Comic Cons, other appearances.”

As Shamrock continued to train and work on himself — mentally and physically — an opportunity presented itself in wrestling. On somewhat of a whim, Shamrock took up the offer from Battle Championship Wrestling in Australia to make his return to the ring last November.

“I wasn’t sure about doing it, but I said OK, it’ll be fun, I’ll challenge myself,” Shamrock said. “I really didn’t know how well I was going to do because I was pretty beat up. I remember getting in the ring and I had a great match and felt great. Because I was so close to trying to figure out ways to win and driving myself in the gym, I couldn’t see that my body needed rest, it needed to recover. When I stepped away and allowed my body to recover, I became this superhero and felt awesome again.”

Less than a year later — after a few more stints with BCW, including a main-event match with fellow UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn — Shamrock would pop up on IMPACT’s radar, and vice versa.

View photos Ken Shamrock performs in a match against Moose at IMPACT Wrestling's "Bound For Glory" event on October 20, 2019. (Photo courtesy of IMPACT Wrestling) More

A social media spat with IMPACT’s Moose — former NFL player Quinn Ojinnaka — led to Shamrock making his return during the September 5 and 6 tapings in Las Vegas and eventually a pay-per-view match at “Bound For Glory” last month.

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