MIKE TYSON and Stone Cold Steve Austin became the best sparring partners in the ring in order to save WWE.
Back in 1997, Iron Mike had just been slapped with a £2.4million fine and had his boxing license revoked for infamously biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.
Mike Tyson’s involvement in Vince McMahon’s storyline with Stone Cold helped save WWEAP:Associated Press
Iron Mike turned on Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14 in 1998Reuters
Despite the incident disgracing the former heavyweight champion in the boxing world, his mainstream appeal was still intact.
WWE (then titled the WWF) was memorably struggling to compete with rival promotion WCW that year with declining ratings and a loss of advertisers.
With the company’s top superstars also jumping ship, Vince McMahon gambled on the services of Tyson, whose lavish lifestyle had reportedly seen his career millions drop to his last $146,000.
The Baddest Man on the Planet was offered huge money to act as an enforcer at WrestleMania 14 in 1998 for the main event match between Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels.
Tyson also hyped his appearance with several guest spots on RAW to give Steve Austin the mainstream platform he needed to become a megastar.
WWE ratings began to skyrocket when the two clashed in the ring and WCW chief Eric Bischoff admitted McMahon’s last investment had been a masterstroke.
When they used Mike Tyson as effectively as they did to setup Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Mr. McMahon character, then I really knew I was in deep s***
WCW chief Eric Bischoff
He recalled: “That was the moment when I went, ‘OK, now these guys are, now they’re making a comeback.’ I knew then I was in trouble at that moment.
“That was early, that was maybe in January of ’98, and then obviously when they used Mike Tyson as effectively as they did to setup Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Mr. McMahon character, then I really knew I was in deep s*** and I had to put the pedal to the metal.
“So that was a perfect example of using probably the perfect celebrity at that time in Mike Tyson.”
Tyson’s involvement at WrestleMania 17 in which he turned on DX to side with Stone Cold ultimately proved the nail in WCW’s coffin and allowed WWE to win the Monday Night Wars.
The American boxer did eventually return to RAW in January 2010 as guest host, teaming up with Chris Jericho against D-Generation X.
But Triple H admitted Tyson was actually set to feature in WWE just three years after his sensational Stone Cold team-up.
Vince McMahon was keen to use the 56-year-old’s rivalry with DX as part of a storyline that would see the boxer take on the Game.
But Trips has since revealed Tyson priced himself out of a boxing match at WrestleMania 17 after the heavyweight legend demanded “ludicrous” money.
He told WWE.com: “We were going to do six rounds.
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“I don’t remember if it was going to be full boxing rules, or whether I was wearing gloves.
“But it ended up being a deal where the whole thing just would have been a ludicrous amount of money, and it got pushed off.”
Tyson’s immortal role in helping save WWE was enough to see him inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame celebrity wing in 2012 by Triple H and Michaels.