WWE Raw Gallery: 25 Years Of Iconic Monday Nights

20. 1998 - "TYSON & AUSTIN! TYSON & AUSTIN!"

The Rock CM Punk
WWE

Dateline: 19th January, 1998

On WWE's 'Monday Night War' vanity DVD shot back in 2003, Eric Bischoff spoke candidly about his admiration for the segment in which Vince McMahon rolled out the red carpet for Mike Tyson squarely through Stone Cold Steve Austin's front porch.

Always with an eye on increasing WCW's mainstream acceptance, Bischoff understood just how successful the relationship between 'The Baddest Man On The Planet' and his opposition was going to be.

Viewed in or out of context, the segment is an explosion of believable emotion and significant tumult. McMahon's eyes bugging out as he saw his employee's double-bird disrespect towards his highly-paid invited guest foretold of the performer long lurking within the ringside pitchman. The moment sold viewers a new headliner in Austin, a hot pay-per-view in WrestleMania 14, and a future of high risk/high reward output. It was utterly magnificent.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett