Mike Tyson might be one of the most famous boxers in the history of the sport, but he’s also a huge wrestling fan.
As a result the former World Champion has made numerous appearances with both WWE and more recently AEW. However, Tyson’s most famous role came at WrestleMania XIV when he served as the special enforcer for the WWF Championship match between Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. In the lead up to the event there were numerous confrontations between Tyson and Austin who were both arguably at the peak of their popularity at the time.
Jim Ross Lifts The Lid On Working With Mike Tyson
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, veteran announcer Jim Ross recalled working with Mike Tyson during this period. JR said that he actually struck up a good relationship with the star as he was often left to look after him. Ross also revealed that Tyson was never considered for a match of his own, despite the huge interest this would have generated.
“No, I thought he’d be a body guard type, one punch knockout kind of a guy. And that’s all I needed to see until the right hand, and I’m good. So we negotiated and discussed this opportunity with Mike seemingly forever. Because I had a lot of time with Mike because Vince, whoever brought Tyson in, because Shane McMahon babysat Tyson a lot. And when he wasn’t available, or he was busy doing something, whatever the case may be, JR got that distinction.
And so we’ve developed a good relationship. And he’s been back with his occasional appearances in AEW. I’ve always enjoyed it because we talk about the old times. Mike, a lot of fans don’t realise Mike Tyson could win a lot of trivia contests from wrestling, in New York wrestling in the 60s and the 70s. He’s really really brilliant and he loved it. It meant something to him. He remembers it, he studied it. So he was he was legit a fan and I was respecting Mike for that.”
In the run up to WrestleMania it was believed that Tyson had sided with D-X and Michaels after appearing wearing a D-X shit. However, come the big night the star delivered the count which won Austin the WWF Championship before laying HBK out after the match.
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