100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments

Eric Bischoff has been rather candid with his thoughts on the WWF bagging Mike Tyson in 1998. According to 'Easy E', this was the exact moment he knew Vince McMahon's group would roar back and reclaim dominance in the North American market. Tyson was an incendiary public figure at the time - he carried an air of danger that meshed well with the newfound 'Attitude' on Vince's TV. Toss in spicy thoughts like Tyson vs. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (or "Cold Stone" if you're Mike) and it was a recipe for success.

Tyson became an honorary member of D-Generation X alongside Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Chyna in the lead up to 'Mania XIV's title showdown between HBK and Austin. The plot thickened when 'Iron' Mike was installed as a special guest enforcer for the match. In Boston, he'd get involved by counting the decisive (and rather rapid) three for Austin, then by popping an irate Michaels in the jaw post match.

This was one heck of a way for Shawn to press pause on his WWF/WWE career. He wouldn't work another lick bell to bell until 2002 due to nagging back injuries that threatened to detail his sumptuous run for good. HBK was left fuming on his way out though, because Tyson draping an Austin 3:16 t-shirt over his face as WrestleMania went dark reportedly wasn't planned in advance.

Oops.

Not to worry, 'cause it was the punch heard around the globe that people were talking about. Well, they were yakking about Austin's title win too, but a ton of mainstream coverage was given to Mike's worked right hook on the soon to be benched ex-champion.