MIKE TYSON and Stone Cold Steve Austin became the best sparring partners in the ring to save WWE.
In 1997, Iron Mike had just been beaten with a £2.4 million fine and had his boxing license revoked for infamous biting a piece out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.
Despite the incident that put the former heavyweight champion to shame in the boxing world, his mainstream appeal was still intact.
WWE (then called the WWF) memorably struggled that year to compete with rival promotion WCW with declining ratings and a loss of advertisers.
With the company’s top superstars also off the ship, Vince McMahon bet on the services of Tyson, whose lavish lifestyle had reportedly seen his career drop millions to his last $146,000.
The Baddest Man on the Planet was offered a huge amount of money to act as an enforcer at WrestleMania 14 in 1998 for the main match between Ice cold and Shawn Michaels.
Tyson also caused a stir with his appearance with several guest spots on RAW to give Steve Austin the mainstream platform he needed to become a megastar.
WWE ratings began to skyrocket when the two clashed in the ring and WCW chief Eric Bischoff admitted McMahon’s latest investment had been a masterstroke.
When they used Mike Tyson as effectively as they did to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon, I really knew I was in deep shit.
WCW chief Eric Bischoff
He recalled: “That was when I said, ‘OK, now these guys are, now they’re making a comeback.’ I knew then that I was in trouble at that moment.
“That was early, that was maybe January 1998, and when they used Mike Tyson as effectively as they did to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. Setting up McMahon, I really knew I was in deep trouble. ** and I had to put the pedal on the metal.
“So that was a perfect example of using probably the perfect celebrity at the time in Mike Tyson.”
Tyson’s involvement at WrestleMania 17, in which he enlisted DX for Stone Cold, ultimately proved the nail in WCW’s coffin and enabled WWE to win the Monday Night Wars.
The American boxer eventually returned to RAW in January 2010 as guest host, along with Chris Jericho against D-Generation X.
But Triple H conceded Tyson was actually supposed to appear in WWE just three years after his sensational Stone Cold team-up.
Vince McMahon was eager to use the 56-year-old’s rivalry with DX as part of a storyline where the boxer would take over the game.
But Trips has since revealed that Tyson priced himself out of a boxing match at WrestleMania 17 after the heavyweight legend demanded “ridiculous” money.
He told WWE.com: “We were going to do six rounds.
“I don’t remember if it would be full boxing rules or if I would wear gloves.
“But it ended up being a deal where the whole thing would have just been a ridiculous amount of money, and it was called off.”
Tyson’s undying role in saving WWE was enough to see him inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame wing by Triple H and Michaels in 2012.