Chris Jericho reveals moment with Mike Tyson that scared him most in his WWE career
'Iron' Mike Tyson is all set for a huge return to the ring as he takes on Roy Jones Jr tonight in the main event of a fight that a lot of people have been waiting for. At 54 years old, Mike Tyson is still an enormous name in the world of combat sports, and even outside it. Mike Tyson is known for a lot of things, but his work with WWE was also something that certainly grabbed headlines, including his appearance alongside Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H in 2010.
During an interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal (h/t TalkSPORT), Chris Jericho talked about his experience with the famed boxer in WWE.
Mike Tyson punched Chris Jericho in a WWE ring
In 2010, Mike Tyson came into WWE teaming with Chris Jericho to face the then-unified WWE Tag Team Champions, D-Generation X's Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The tag team match was supposed to see Tyson and Jericho face Michaels and Triple H, with Mike Tyson turning on Chris Jericho and knocking him out during the match.
Chris Jericho admitted that the moment was one that terrified him as he was about to be punched by Mike Tyson.
“The moment before he swung at me, I told him, ‘Just wait until I put my hands up in the air, and swing. Time stood still. I am the craziest man on the planet right now, because I’m waiting for Iron Mike Tyson to take a swing at me."
Chris Jericho went on to admit that the precision of the punch terrified him even more. Jericho added that having agreed to be punched by Mike Tyson in WWE, there was nothing that scared him anymore.
“I thought ‘I’m going to let him do it. Hopefully, he’s going to do it the proper way. But what if he’s mad? What if he misses?’”
“He barely grazed me, but I felt a wind go by my face. That’s how fast he swung. It was like a ‘Swoosh!’ Who swings that hard and leaves a vapour trail?"
“He was so fast and so powerful. I couldn’t imagine how powerful he was 20 years earlier. Nothing could ever scare me ever again, after standing face-to-face with Mike Tyson, knowing he’s going to swing at me, and giving him 100 per cent trust he’s not going to knock me out and kill me.”
.Mike Tyson's return to the ring tonight remains one of the biggest moments for a lot of boxing fans around the world. However, his work with WWE in 1998, during his suspension after biting Evander Holyfield's ear off, helped the company to recover from possible financial ruin as they were competing with a very tough WCW at the time.