WWE Never Considered Mike Tyson vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin Match, Says Jim Ross

When Mike Tyson showed up in WWE a quarter-century ago, fantasy bookers went wild with hopes that Iron Mike would try his hand at professional wrestling—particularly by going one-on-one with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

That never came to pass.

Instead, Tyson would serve as the special guest referee for Austin's win over Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14. According to former WWE commentator Jim Ross, the promotion never had plans for Tyson to compete inside the squared circle.

"The bottom line is we never considered Mike to wrestle," Ross said on his Grilling JR podcast (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Thirsty for News). "You're not going to put [someone who's untrained] in the ring with a guy that you're counting on to lead the company who has a bad neck. You're just not going to do it. It's a risk/reward scenario that's out of proportion. Mike was never considered, at least to my knowledge."

Given Tyson's reputation at the time, it's easy to see why WWE officials would be hesitant to put him in a ring with their top stars. Tyson's professional wrestling sojourn came less than a year after he famously bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear, which got Tyson banished from the sport of boxing.

Even adding Tyson to the mix as a referee was a calculated gamble, one that Vince McMahon gladly took as he attempted to win the Monday Night War.

Tyson's appearance wound up playing a pivotal role in pushing WWE to the top of the mainstream over WCW despite him never actually having a match.

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