Stone Cold Talks Mike Tyson Angle; Sting Segment Set; Booker T on Return Rumors

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Stone Cold Had Reservations About Tyson WrestleMania Program

Stone Cold Steve Austin reached the top of the wrestling world when he beat Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XIV, but The Texas Rattlesnake wasn't 100 percent sold on the storyline initially.

During an appearance on WWE's The Bump (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Brie Coder), Austin admitted he was hesitant at first about boxing superstar Mike Tyson's involvement:

"I'll never forget, I had a conversation with Vince, and he said, 'Hey, man, I'm thinking of bringing Mike Tyson in to be part of this thing.' At the time, we were busting our ass, and I said, 'Hey, man, do we need Mike Tyson?' He goes, 'Oh, GD, Steve. Tyson could bring more eyes to the product.' I said, 'Cool, man. If you think it'll work, bring him in.' Mike Tyson was phenomenal! He brought mainstream media to our product. Vince is one of the greatest promoters of all time; he was right."

Tyson was in the crowd when Austin won the 1998 Royal Rumble, and he appeared on Raw the next night. Austin and Tyson made magic in one of the most famous segments in wrestling history, as they engaged in a wild brawl in the middle of the ring.

While Tyson aligned himself with Michaels and D-Generation X, it was all a ruse, as Tyson ended up helping Austin win the title at WrestleMania.

Stone Cold recalled how he meshed with Tyson and appreciated Iron Mike's respect for the wrestling business:

"Mike and I hit it off right away. We didn't sit there and have BS sessions every time we did something together. But Mike was a historian and fan of the business, and he knew a lot more about the business than most of the guys in the locker room. I wondered at WrestleMania XIV if the moment would be too big for him; would he handle the pressure? Hell, Mike is ready for any big moment. I was glad to do business with him."

In addition to Austin, Tyson and Michaels combining for a great angle, it can be argued that Tyson's involvement in WWE during that time was the catalyst for WWE ultimately beating WCW in the Monday Night War.

Celebrity involvement was a huge deal during that time, with both WWE and WCW vying for television ratings, but Tyson hit the mark more than anyone else and set the standard for celebrity appearances in wrestling.

Sting Set for Interview on AEW Dynamite

AEW announced Monday that Sting will take part in an interview segment with Tony Schiavone on Wednesday night's episode of Dynamite:

Sting has appeared regularly on Dynamite for the past several weeks, aligning himself with TNT champion Darby Allin in his feud against Team Taz.

AEW revealed recently that Sting will make his in-ring return at the upcoming Revolution pay-per-view March 7, teaming with Allin against Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a street fight.

Sting, 61, has not wrestled in a match since WWE Night of Champions 2015. Sting suffered a neck injury during that bout against Seth Rollins, which forced him to temporarily retire.

With WWE seemingly unwilling to let Sting return to action under its watch, he jumped ship to AEW late last year and has been a constant presence on Dynamite.

Allin is scheduled to defend the TNT title against Joey Janela on Wednesday's Dynamite, and Taz made it clear that he and his group will be keeping a close eye on the match. That suggests Sting will have some level of involvement as well.

While Sting has largely been limited to cutting promos and staring menacingly, he did get physical a couple of weeks ago when he hit Starks with a bat while Starks was trying to interfere in a title match between Allin and Cage.

If Sting gets physical again Wednesday, it would make for some logical and natural progression toward the upcoming match at Revolution.

Booker T Tempers Comeback Expectations

Amid speculation that he could make his in-ring return at WrestleMania 37 in April, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T discussed his status Tuesday.

Appearing on his Hall of Fame podcast (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Sai Mohan), Booker made it clear that any talk of his competing at WrestleMania is nothing but a rumor: "While I can say that it is 100 percent—I think it came from [Dave] Meltzer [of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter]—I think it is 100 percent a rumor. No one has talked to me about it as far as having a match at WrestleMania. No one has talked to me about tag teaming with Bad Bunny to go against anyone."

The speculation began after Booker appeared alongside rapper Bad Bunny at the 2021 Royal Rumble last month. Booker was there to play a role in Bad Bunny's performance of his new song Booker T.

Since then, Bad Bunny has been appearing on Raw alongside Damian Priest in a rivalry with The Miz and John Morrison.

Per Meltzer (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Jason Ounpraseuth), Bad Bunny has been training at the WWE Performance Center, and it is believed he will have a match at WrestleMania.

As of now, it seems more likely that Priest will be Bad Bunny's tag team partner against Miz and Morrison than Booker.

Booker T acknowledged he would be open to having another match, however, and suggested he would accept a WrestleMania match: 

"As far as this thing, it's a rumor, guys. I'm not going to be at WrestleMania in any capacity other than being behind the desk as of right now. Always, though, 'card subject to change' in professional wrestling. And the thing is, if there's an outside chance of me walking the aisle at WrestleMania, I would take it."

Booker is 55 years old and hasn't had a match in WWE since 2012. He has had some matches in his Reality of Wrestling Promotion, though, including one last year.

Fans would likely welcome a Booker T match at WrestleMania, but it seems more likely that he will accompany Bad Bunny and Priest and lend a helping hand that way rather than actually wrestling.

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