Fans came very close to witnessing Mike Tyson wrestle Chris Jericho in a cinematic AEW match
Sadly for fans, they missed out on Mike Tyson vs. Chris Jericho in an AEW ring.
'Iron Mike' is one of the greatest boxers of all time, but has also dabbled in the wrestling ring over the years. As recently as 2020, Tyson was making regular appearances in AEW. During that time, he repeatedly went face-to-face with Chris Jericho. In tow were UFC legends Henry Cejudo as well.
In fact, in one episode, the boxer ripped off his shirt and went face-to-face with the wrestling legend. At the time, it seemed that Tyson and Jericho were building towards a potential match. However, the next time they interacted on AEW television, it was as friends.
In a recent edition of the AEW-some Pod, Chris Jericho confirmed that it was the case. The wrestling legend stated that he planned for a 'They Live' style cinematic brawl with Mike Tyson. It was going to be dubbed a 'New York Street Fight'.
For the uninitiated, 'They Live' was a beloved 80s movie featuring Roddy Piper and Keith David. In the film, they had a near-seven-minute brawl in an alleyway. If left up to Jericho, his match with Tyson would look a similar way, stating:
“Mike Tyson and I almost had a cinematic match. We were this close to doing it, Tyson vs. Jericho in a New York Street Fight, but we couldn’t make it happen. We really were deep in negotiations too. We were going to do it in New York in an alley, like an alley fight, basically. Think They Live with Tyson and Jericho. That’s what I had in mind.”
Has Mike Tyson ever had a wrestling match?
While fans missed out on Mike Tyson wrestling in AEW, he has competed in the WWE.
In fact, 'Iron Mike' famously led the company to one of their most successful events. Tyson served as the special enforcer for WrestleMania XIV's main event between Shawn Michaels and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin in 1998.
That was one of the company's most profitable events, earning over 700,000 pay-per-view buys thanks to Tyson. Over a decade later, he returned on an episode of Raw and even had a match. That night the boxing legend teamed with the aforementioned Chris Jericho against D-Generation X.
Mike Tyson famously turned on his tag team partner, leading to some long-term booking and a feud in AEW. While the two never got their scheduled singles match, the boxing legend was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.