AEW has been visited by several major stars from the wider world of sports, but few are able to make headlines like Mike Tyson. Iron Mike has been back in the news lately due to his highly publicized boxing match against Jake Paul, and AEW star Lance Archer has now recalled what he was like backstage during his appearances for All Elite Wrestling.
Mike Tyson linked up with AEW several times in 2020 and 2021, teaming up with both Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho. The legendary boxer helped The American Nightmare defeat Lance Archer to become the inaugural TNT Champion at Double or Nothing 2020.
The Murderhawk Monster recalled the event on the latest episode of his podcast, The Hawk's Nest. He revealed that Tyson was in good spirits, which may have been because he was enjoying some "high times."
"High times, brother. High times," Archer said about the experience. "He was just in good spirits the whole time. Like I said, the high times situation — they caught him more or less passed out at ringside, at one point." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
A top AEW star has fired back at his critics HERE.
AEW star defends Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul after fan backlash
Mike Tyson recently came out of retirement to fight Jake Paul in a blockbuster match. Unfortunately, their bout failed to deliver for many fans, and buffering issues on Netflix's streaming platform made the matter worse.
Amid the backlash from boxing fans, AEW's Anthony Bowens took to X/Twitter to defend Tyson. He reminded everyone that Iron Mike was past his prime and pointed out how many viewers the match generated for the fighters on the undercard:
"This isn’t 1988; he’s 58. [He] had [a] health scare bad enough to postpone the fight, [a] knee injury, and probably other stuff. He’s there purely for the spectacle of the match; for all involved to make money and get millions of eyes on these other boxers [Jake wants to help women’s boxing]. The undercard was THE boxing. Mission accomplished!"
Tyson lost the match to Jake Paul via unanimous decision. While the fight itself was disappointing for many, the card was ultimately a huge success, with more than 65 million viewers tuning in to watch.
