Stone Cold Steve Austin was once very close to wrestling this celebrity.
Almost three decades ago, WWE was experiencing one of its highest runs. In a close weekly ratings battle against WCW Nitro, the two shows consistently produced quality content, leading to the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
27 years ago, at WrestleMania 14, Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels with Mike Tyson as the special ring enforcer. As per many fans and critics, Tyson helping Austin defeat Michaels at Mania gave rise to the ‘Attitude Era’.
Recently speaking on his ‘Grilling JR‘ podcast, veteran Jim Ross recalled the scrapped plans of having Tyson wrestle Austin, instead of The Heartbreak Kid.
“It was discussed that we’d have Austin vs. Tyson. But it just…Steve wasn’t physically up to the challenge. And Tyson wasn’t prepared yet, to be a competitor. So we did the best we could. We gave Mike a role, and a role that made people talk, and made Austin react.
It would’ve been a cool thing to have Austin vs. Tyson. But we did the next best thing we could, and made him an enforcer. And then eventually showed that Tyson was not a heel, he turned babyface with Austin. And it worked out famously.”
H/t Wrestlinginc
Further in the podcast, Ross recalled his experience of working with the boxing icon Mike Tyson. Sharing fond memories of their time, he said,
“Mike was happy. He was involved, and he was tuned in. Mike was fun to work with. I did an interview with him, kind of a lost interview, I don’t know where it is. But there was an interview where I talked to Mike…and it worked out beautifully. He was born…Mike Tyson was born for the pro wrestling business. And he did a great job for us, no question.”
Former WWE Writer Reveals This Iconic Stone Cold Steve Austin Moment’s Origin
Recently, during an episode of Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast, former WWE writer Tommy Blacha recalled that spot’s origin.
“We got a call Saturday. ‘Austin hurt his neck.’ It could have been me, it could have been Gewirtz, someone says, ‘How about Austin gets hit by a car.’ Great. Austin gets hit by a car, and we’ll do the show,” he said. “Some stunt man is coming in. I used to work at Joe Louis Arena as a kid, running hot dogs. ‘We should do it down here.’ ‘They’re doing construction. There is a chainlink fence.’ This is what’s great about wrestling.
‘Have them tear all that down.’ There is so much money and relationships with the arenas that you can do anything. The manager of the arena is there, ‘Do whatever the fuck he wants and they’ll pay for it.’ There is a stuntman, and they’re shaving his head. He came from California.
We gotta get this early and then run the tape to the truck to play it like it’s real. ‘We need this long shot.’ This guy is like, ‘I need pads. I can’t do this like this.’ Vince was there, and I said, ‘If you don’t do it, I’m going to get a flannel shirt on and put padding on. I’ll do it.’ Vince goes, ‘It’s settled. He’ll do it!’ ‘Did I just talk myself into getting hit by a car?’ I guess I would do it, I don’t know. The guy did it, and it worked out great.”
In other news: CM Punk has finally revealed his favor.