WWE veteran reveals why Mike Tyson never wrestled - "Afraid he was going to get hurt"

According to Vince Russo, Mike Tyson was afraid of getting injured in the WWE.

'Iron Mike' is one of the biggest boxers to ever compete, so it makes sense that he would experiment in the world of professional wrestling. In 1998, both Tyson, as well as the WWE, were at their absolute peaks of popularity.

While the boxer began to decline in the ring, he was still making headlines regularly. Meanwhile, the wrestling company was getting record-high ratings thanks to what is known as the 'Attitude Era.' The era saw WWE get rid of family-friendly content for content tailored to an older demographic.

That older demographic was appealed to with names such as Steve Austin, The Rock, and D-Generation X. With that in mind, Mike Tyson coming to WWE made a lot of sense.

That year's WrestleMania saw the aforementioned 'Stone Cold' collide with Shawn Michaels in the main event with the boxer as a special guest referee. Despite feuding with Austin heading in, he instead turned face, helping the Rattlesnake win the match.

While the boxer became active in the match, he didn't wrestle during his time in the company in 1998. According to Vince Russo, who discussed the matter in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, it was due to Tyson being fearful of sustaining an injury.

Russo stated:

"Bro, bet you what it really came down to was Tyson being afraid he was going to get hurt. And bro, you know, these athletes probably have the insurance policies and all that. Because bro, I got to tell you. The way he was into it, I think he would have done it. I mean, I really do. But I feel there were legalities that he couldn't," said Vince Russo. (5:43 - 6:12)

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Did Mike Tyson ever wrestle?

While Mike Tyson didn't wrestle as an active boxer, he did so after retirement.

According to Vince Russo, 'Iron Mike' was afraid of being hurt in a legitimate match as an active boxer, which makes sense. Injuries happen all the time, and if Tyson took damage, he could miss out on several boxing paydays.

It's not something that's all uncommon either. In 2013, The Rock famously had to postpone the filming of his movie Hercules due to injuries sustained against John Cena at WrestleMania.

With that in mind, it's probably for the best that Mike Tyson didn't wrestle in the Attitude Era. However, in 2010, he returned to WWE as the guest host of Monday Night Raw. On the show, he made his debut in a tag team match.

Mike Tyson wound up turning on his partner Chris Jericho, leading to D-Generation X getting the win. Years later, the former tag partners would brawl in AEW.