Shatner wasn't publicly asking to be involved in the reboot. The story Shatner told was that Abrams had asked him and Nimoy to be in the reboot in opening and closing flash-forward sequences (the movie itself taking place as a flashback). Shatner was amused that, when he told Abrams that he couldn't do the cameo because his character had been killed off in Generations, Abrams was shocked since he'd never seen the movie.
So again, I call bullshit.