Former WWE official on training Mike Tyson for huge WrestleMania moment

Former WWE referee Mike Chioda has given his thoughts on working with "Iron" Mike Tyson at WrestleMania 14.

At WrestleMania 14, Shawn Michaels defended his WWE Championship against a surging Stone Cold Steve Austin in the main event. For a match of this caliber, a big-name enforcer was needed. Enter, Iron Mike, who initially stood with Michaels and Triple H of D-Generation X. However, at the conclusion of the match, Tyson, who also had officiating duties, switched sides and knocked out HBK.

Now, former WWE official Mike Chioda has spoken about working alongside the WWE Hall of Famer at the show. As per eWrestlingNews, Chioda noted that he tried to teach the former Heavyweight Boxing Champion how to do the three-count in the match. He said the experience was a fun one, but that Tyson simply could not make the count slower, despite tireless efforts from the veteran referee.

“Mike Tyson, it was great. Believe me, I tried to teach him how to count. …He counted so fast, I was like ‘Oh sh*t.’ I must have spent like an hour with him, ‘Here, just 1-2-3,'” he said.

Mike Chioda claims Mike Tyson already knew who he was

Chioda also said that Mike Tyson knew exactly who he was, prior to his ref training.

Chioda said that he was hanging around waiting for Iron Mike to arrive when the boxing icon entered the room. According to the former WWE referee, Iron Mike already knew who he was. This, Chioda noted, was likely due to Tyson's considerable interest in professional wrestling.

“We had a fantastic time, we did some rehearsals. That’s when Mike Tyson came in, and it was funny, man. He comes up and he’s like ‘Hey, Mike Chioda.’ I [was] like ‘What the f***? You know my name?’ Obviously, he was a huge fan of wrestling,” he added.

Chioda also said that Tyson's knowing his name came as a shock to him, which he expressed with an expletive-filled sentence.

What did you think of Chioda's comments? Do you remember Iron Mike at WrestleMania 14? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.