WWE Used a Master Plan to Hype ‘Villainous’ Mike Tyson’s WrestleMania Appearance

Iron’ Mike Tyson is inarguably a boxing legend, who has also been involved with professional wrestling. Vince McMahon once invited the heavyweight legend, Mike Tyson, to be a part of WWE. McMahon brought Tyson into the company to stack the ultimate card of WrestleMania 14.

Twenty-four years ago, WWF legend Stone Cold Steve Austin was involved in an iconic square off against Mike Tyson. The two men broke out into a brawl on an episode of Monday Night Raw in 1998.

In this particular brawl segment between the two legends, Stone Cold Steve Austin was a babyface (good guy), and Mike Tyson was a heel (villain) character.

But what do you think would have happened if the two superstars changed roles? Did the WWE ever think about doing so? Let’s find out.

Did WWE ever plan Mike Tyson for a babyface character?

On the latest episode of the Something to Wrestle podcast, co-host Conrad Thompson asked Bruce Prichard if WWE had plans to make Iron Mike a babyface. WWE Executive Bruce Prichard revealed that the company never had such plans.

“Well, no, seriously, there wasn’t! There was a concern at the beginning about trying to bring him as a baby face, and we knew that wasn’t going to work. So you had to bring him in as Mike Tyson and put him against Stone Cold, which automatically puts him as a heel, no matter what you do with him,” Prichard mentioned.

When Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mike Tyson squared off inside the ring, Tyson received “boos” from the WWE Universe. The Texas Rattlesnake was a hot topic and the WWE Universe absolutely loved him.

This was because he also feuded with the boss of the company, Vince McMahon. So naturally, the wrestling fans sided with the beer-loving Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Did Stone Cold Steve Austin and Iron Mike join forces?

Iron Mike had been slammed with a $3 million fine during that time, and his boxing license was also revoked. This was because The Baddest Man on the Planet bit a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight.

This was the reason why Tyson received a lot of boos from the wrestling fans. However, before Mike Tyson’s boxing license was revoked for three years, he had already received a massive taste of success in the boxing industry.

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According to Bruce Prichard, WWE did not find any reason to turn ‘Iron’ Mike into a good guy character. So instead, the company just put him against Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Bruce added, “So that was the idea, the hotter the heel, the hotter the babyface. So the plan that kind of spin him there at the end. But there was never really any intent to, ‘hey, let’s bring Mike Tyson in as the white meat babyface.’ That wasn’t going to happen because he was a heel in the real world.”

Ultimately, bringing Mike Tyson to the company was a build-up to WrestleMania 14. Tyson was assigned as “Special Outside Enforcer” for the battle between Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold. The Baddest Man on the Planet accompanied Shawn Michaels at first by wearing the D-Generation X t-shirt. It seemed that Iron Mike would get his revenge back on Austin and would knock him out.

READ MORE: Stone Cold Steve Austin Details His Ugly Brawl with Mike Tyson: “He Pushed the Sh*t Out of Me”

However, Mike Tyson and Steve Austin eventually joined forces and had the last laugh. The boxing legend sided with The Texas Rattlesnake and knocked Shawn Michaels in the middle of the ring. The Texas Rattlesnake, with the help of Iron Mike, successfully won the Championship over Michaels.

The WWE Universe still remembers the very team up of these two legends. Now, after 19 years, Stone Cold Steve Austin will step inside the ring to wrestle against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 on April 2nd, 2022.

Do you think WWE or Stone Cold would bring Mike Tyson to The Stupendous WrestleMania?