Mike Tyson Is About to Really Upset WWE Owner Vince McMahon
Mike Tyson once said that the most fun he’s ever had was being in a WWE ring. The former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world made multiple appearances for Vince McMahon’s empire and was inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
However, Mike Tyson’s next appearance in a wrestling ring won’t be for WWE, but for All Elite Wrestling, and Vince McMahon likely isn’t pleased.
Mike Tyson’s appearances in WWE were always entertaining
A guy like Mike Tyson was made for WWE and Vince McMahon knew it. So when Iron Mike was serving his suspension for biting Evander Holyfield, Vince took advantage and brought the “Baddest Man on the Planet” into the hottest storyline the pro wrestling world has ever seen involving McMahon himself and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Austin was set to face WWE Champion Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV and Tyson was brought in as the special enforcer for the match. On Tyson’s first night in WWE, he got into an amazing brawl with Austin that had a very real feel to it. But he then joined up with Michaels and Triple H in DX, which stacked the odds against Austin. However, Iron Mike had a change of heart at WrestleMania and made the three count when Austin won his first title and then knocked out HBK, which sent the Boston crowd into a frenzy.
Mike Tyson returned to WWE in 2010 to team with Chris Jericho against DX. But in yet another shirt reveal, Tyson turned on Jericho and knocked him out, which gave Michaels and Triple H the win in another fun segment. Tyson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
Vince McMahon certainly can’t enjoy seeing his former guys succeed in AEW
When Cody Rhodes, who spent years working for Vince McMahon, left WWE to pursue a new dream, it was hard to know what to make of it. Well, we all know now that the result of that dream was All Elite Wrestling. Cody partnered up with the Khan family, who own the Jacksonville Jaguars, and created the first promotion to be looked at as a true competitor to WWE since the “Monday Night War” with WCW in the ’90s. And AEW has been doing quite well, so well that Vince McMahon has been doing whatever he can to keep certain people from jumping ship.
But that hasn’t kept AEW from signing some of WWE’s former stars. Getting Chris Jericho was huge, as was stealing Jon Moxley. Vince threw a ton of money at Moxley, who was Dean Ambrose in WWE, to stay and it wasn’t enough. Vince handed out big contracts to guys just to ensure they stayed, Randy Orton being a big example after he teased going to AEW on social media.
The general rule around Vince McMahon is that you’re simply not allowed to talk about anyone in AEW, who has been beating WWE’s NXT brand in the ratings every Wednesday night. He pretty much disowns anyone that chooses AEW over WWE, which now includes Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson will be at AEW’s next pay-per-view
With Mike Tyson once again being a hot topic in the sports world as he considers a comeback, Vince McMahon likely would have loved to bring him into WWE in some capacity, especially at a time when “Monday Night RAW” is putting up historically low ratings.
But the next time Tyson steps foot in a wrestling ring, it will be for AEW at their “Double or Nothing” pay-per-view in Las Vegas on May 23. Tyson will be on hand to present the winner of the Cody vs. Lance Archer match with the inaugural AEW TNT Championship and Vince has to be fuming about this. This is yet another WWE Hall of Famer to appear in an AEW ring, a list that includes Bret Hart and Jake “The Snake” Roberts, both of whom are likely personae non gratae in WWE now, much like Mike Tyson might be from here on out.
