Reason plans for a boxing match between Triple H and Mike Tyson in WWE had to be canceled
Mike Tyson is the biggest name in the world of boxing and he's entering a ring again at 54 years of age tonight. However, there was a time when Mike Tyson could have ended up boxing in WWE with Triple H, but the plans for the fight fell through due to the demands that Tyson had from the company.
In an interview with WWE.com (h/t TalkSPORT), Triple H talked about the reason the fight between himself and Mike Tyson fell through. The two had been supposed to face each other in a boxing fight, a few years after Mike Tyson's first appearances for WWE. Triple H had become the top heel in the company, but the two parties could not come to an agreement.
“We were going to do six rounds. I don’t remember if it was going to be full boxing rules, or whether I was wearing gloves. But it ended up being a deal where the whole thing just would have been a ludicrous amount of money, and it got pushed off.”
Mike Tyson's original run in WWE in 1998 before planned Triple H fight
Mike Tyson came to WWE for the first time in 1998. This was in the phase after he had bitten Evander Holyfield's ear off and was suspended from boxing. During this time, Tyson was not in the best phase of his career and was down to his last $150,000 before WWE called him.
The $3.5 million deal that followed between WWE and Mike Tyson saw both parties get out of a tight spot that they were in. During this time, WWE was losing to WCW regularly in the ratings, and Tyson's appearance was the moment that broke the competition.
Mike Tyson made a series of appearances in WWE leading up to WrestleMania, where he turned on D-Generation X and paired up with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, just as the latter became the WWE Champion.
Eventually, WWE went on to defeat WCW and Vince McMahon bought out his competition.