WWE had Attitude Era fantasies of putting Mike Tyson in the ring with Stone Cold Steve Austin during Tyson’s iconic stint with the wrestling company.
Boxing icon Tyson made arguably the most memorable celebrity appearance in wrestling history with WWE in 1998.
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From January to March that year Tyson was a regular on Monday Night Raw as the company built towards WrestleMania 14.
The fighter was seen cheering on Austin at the Royal Rumble, the Texan going on to win the multi-man match and earn a championship opportunity at Mania.
It’s now the stuff of legend that Tyson played the role of guest enforcer at Boston’s Fleet Center, initially siding with champion Shawn Michaels and his DX group, before eventually aiding Austin to his famous championship win.
One off-appearances aside, the controversial figure and lifelong wrestling fan never returned to WWE for a long-term storyline.
One top company producer admits no concrete plans for such a comeback were ever firmly thrust on to the planning table, but did express regret that more hadn’t been done at the time.
Speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast, Bruce Prichard admits he’d sooner have had Tyson in the ring – as a wrestler.
“I would have liked to have done it in more than just a referee capacity or a side capacity,” he bemoaned of Tyson’s nineties stint.
“I would loved to have seen Mike in the ring. He could have done a f bang-up job.”
Tyson himself, Prichard says, was more focused on reviving and reestablishing his boxing career back in 1998, meaning a long-term stay in wrestling was never likely.
But what of a potential match for the Baddest Man on the Planet, had things been different? The former wrestling champion says the answer is obvious.
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“I think the fantasy, especially at that time frame, was Tyson and Steve Austin,” he explained. That was the holy grail of outside people who could’ve worked with Steve.
“Whether or not Steve would’ve liked to have done that, I don’t know, but to me, that would be the one where I’d say: ‘I’d like to make that happen.”
For his part, Austin had good things to say about Tyson’s WWE stay when he penned his autobiography.
Mike Tyson is left visibly shocked after being told about the injuries of a certain WWE star
While admitting Tyson, who boasted 12 first round KO victories in his boxing career, had a chequered past, the Rattlesnake seemed to enjoy his company – with one noted exception.
“It was all good working with Mike Tyson,” he explained. "The first time I met Mike, he called me: ‘Cold Stone.’ He kept calling me that, even though we did several shows together.
“I used to make him mad. I'd say to him: ‘Why you gotta call me 'Cold Stone'? It's damn easy… I'd do it in character, barking at him. He'd say: ‘Okay, Steve,’ but sure enough, he'd call me ‘Cold Stone’ the next time.”
Austin went on: :”The guy I met was intelligent… you got to give the guy credit. He hasn't made the of the decisions in his life, but hey, he's owned up to all of them too. I enjoyed the guy [and] he did well for our company.
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"That whole issue with stone Cold, or ‘Cold Stone,’ as he'd say, was good stuff. The Austin-Tyson story line was super for our business.”
Tyson pocketed $3m for his short WWE run but, owing to mounting debts at the time, barely saw any of the lucrative pay-out.
