Vince Russo recently discussed the potential reason why a dream WWE match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mike Tyson never materialized.
During his short but impactful run from Royal Rumble 1998 to WrestleMania 14, Tyson became a crucial part of the feud between Austin and Shawn Michaels. Though it initially seemed like WWE was set to deliver a massive match between Mike Tyson and The Texas Rattlesnake, things turned out differently.
Austin ended up defeating The Heartbreak Kid for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 14, during which Tyson served as an official. On the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo explained why Mike Tyson never stepped inside the ring for a match. He stated that Tyson was afraid of injuring himself, which is why he stayed away from the squared circle.
"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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WWE veteran Vince Russo thinks Vince McMahon wanted to manage Mike Tyson's career
Elsewhere in the video, Vince Russo revealed how bringing in Mike Tyson was Vince McMahon's idea. However, Russo believes McMahon had an "ulterior motive," as he allegedly wanted to manage Tyson's career. He recalled how the 77-year-old made sure his son, Shane McMahon, was close to Mike Tyson.
"That was all Vince. 1000 percent. The interesting thing to me, though, was I don't know if I have told this story here on not, bro there was no doubt in my mind Vince had an ulterior motive. I think Vince really wanted to manage Mike Tyson's career. Bro, he attached Shane to Tyson. It's like wherever Tyson was, Shane was right there. I think Vince was really thinking if there was a way somehow he could represent Tyson. I really believe that," said Vince Russo. (3:08 - 3:45)
Mike Tyson made his in-ring WWE debut on an episode of RAW in 2010, where he teamed with Chris Jericho to face D-Generation X. In the end, he betrayed Y2J, allowing Triple H and Shawn Michaels to win.
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