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Chris Jericho on a Mike Tyson Match in AEW: 'You'll Have Two Loose Cannons'
May 31, 2020
The feud began 10 years ago and with a different company, but Chris Jericho is looking forward to his upcoming program with Mike Tyson on AEW.
"What excites me most? A program with Mike. We didn't have a script for Mike; we're not giving him cues," Jericho told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. "He's going to do what he wants, and you saw that on Wednesday night. There were guys in the ring that I didn't even know were going to be in the ring. Mike wanted them to be in the ring, so OK. That's Mike Tyson. He's a loose cannon; he can go off at any time and he's dangerous. I don't care if he's 53 or 33 or 23, he looks crazy, and he is crazy. That's why we love him."
Tyson appeared at Double or Nothing earlier this month to present Cody with the TNT championship, which at the time was believed to be a one-off appearance. Instead, Iron Mike was back in an AEW ring last Wednesday for a pull-apart brawl with Jericho that also included MMA star Henry Cejudo.
Jericho said there are several plans under consideration, likely culminating at a pay-per-view event. AEW's next pay-per-view isn't until Sept. 5 at All Out.
"Whatever we decide to do, it's the buildup that needs to be great," Jericho said. "We don't know what's going to happen. We have ideas; his people have ideas. And if we're able to work something out where Mike isn't just the enforcer, and he's in the match, then people won't know what to expect. You'll have two loose cannons, because I'm just as crazy as Tyson is, putting on a great performance for everybody that wants to see it."
Tyson recently announced a planned return to the boxing ring for exhibition fights earlier this month. Several of his training videos have gone viral, with Iron Mike making it clear he still packs a knockout punch. Jericho said the timing of Tyson's boxing return was a perfect storm for AEW.
"Tyson is so hot and popular right now, having him on our show is very much a coup," Jericho said. "It just goes to show timing is everything. Had we done this a year ago, it wouldn't have been the same.
"It was very much a timely decision that paid off hugely with press coverage worldwide, with headlines from Chili to Portugal to Mexico to Italy to France, all about Mike Tyson appearing in AEW with Chris Jericho. It's great for our company, it's great for me and it's great for Mike. It puts him right back in the spotlight, right where he wants to be."
Tyson has a long history of appearing in professional wrestling, dating back to his role as special enforcer in Stone Cold Steve Austin's win over Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV. Jericho's feud with Tyson dates back to a 2010 callback to WrestleMania, with Tyson having a D-Generation X shirt under his plain black shirt and knocking out Jericho with one punch.
If Jericho and Tyson actually step into the ring, it'll be the first time Tyson has been an actual participant in a wrestling match.