The worlds of professional wrestling and professional boxing have mixed several times in the past and not many of those times were what you might call memorable. Many fans may remember the ill fated match between Antonio Inoki and Muhammad Ali, which was nothing short of a train wreck; a train wreck of massive proportions. But the stigma attached to wrestling/boxing crossovers all came to an end on January 19 1998 when fans witnessed Mike Tyson standing in a WWE ring being confronted by Stone Cold Steve Austin. And as with many volatile situations in Vince McMahon's company, chaos quickly ensued. Furious that Tyson would dare step into his territory, Austin cut a promo on the former boxing champ. Tyson took offense to being flipped off and shoved Stone Cold, which led to a brawl that fans thought they would never see. The moment was one of the more surreal ones that fans saw during The Attitude Era and it ultimately led to Austin winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XIV. Seeing the most controversial boxer in the most controversial pro wrestling company was like seeing a marriage made in heaven. Tyson fit in perfectly with WWE and the fact that he was not asked to actually perform in the ring had nothing to do with the impact that his presence had on the product. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5abDK1j5IE This Raw ending continues to be one of the most important ones in the career of Stone Cold Steve Austin, as it helped propel him beyond the world of WWE. He became a pop culture icon in many ways and the spot with Iron Mike Tyson only added to his fame outside of pro wrestling.
Host of Tom Clark's Main Event, WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a Contributor for the Camel Clutch Blog
http://tomclarkbr.wix.com/blog
tomclarksmainevent.libsyn.com