[1998-01-05-WWF-Raw] Mike Tyson announcement and feature / Don King promo

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[soup23]

JR announces that negotiations are underway with Mike Tyson participating at WM 14. We then go to a video narrated by MIchael Cole of some newspaper clippings reporting this news. We are live from Don King's headquarters where he assures the audience that he will do his best to provide Tyson in a ultra exciting event.

[flyonthewall2983]

In retrospect it worked but at the time and on this night I felt it was a really bad attempt to make people look away from the whole Bret debacle. WCW did it better by burying him.

[stomperspc]

I thought the slow build with Tyson that started with this segment was very well done and refreshing. Don King was Don King but his involvement added a sense of authenticity to the entire thing. I loved how King pointed out that the deal was not done yet, but that they hoped to finalize something soon. I think all too often in wrestling history, the promotion would have immediately telegraphed that they were building to Austin vs. Tyson in some capacity. Instead, there is no hint of that in the initial hype and no hint at all of what Tyson might be doing in the WWF. Tyson being involved with WWF was more than enough for the initial segment without having to set up or tease anything else.

[Kevin Ridge]

Don King hypes up Tyson being involved at WrestleMania but the negotiations are still ongoing. Him and McMahon will get a deal done though and Don will see us all at WrestleMania. I think he was ditched by Tyson shortly after this.

[Loss]

Michael Cole narrates a package showing some of the media coverage related to Mike Tyson at Wrestlemania wrapping up with Don King showing lots of excitement over the prospects of Tyson at Wrestlemania.

[Zenjo]

Don King, a man who makes Vince McMahon look like Mother Teresa in comparison.

[PeteF3]

I agree with flyonthewall--at the time, this seemed pretty desperate and Tyson was perceived as being past his prime. It seemed like less of a coup than WCW landing Dennis Rodman--of course, that wouldn't actually be the case and one of Tyson's appeals is the idea that he was capable of doing absolutely anything. Don King hypes up Tyson's potential appearance. What a meeting of minds that must have been. Of course, these negotiations would end up playing a pivotal role in the Tyson/King split, as it was Vince who discovered discrepancies in Tyson's books that led to the discovery that King was cheating Tyson out of money.

[TravJ1979]

Wasn't excited for this at all. If it would have happened right after the release from prison in 95/96 I would have been more invested. But it wasn't quite the attitude era yet and Iron Mike definitely wasn't representative of the new generation. Even the payoff was sub-par.

 

Rating: Ludicrous

[Exposer]

The Tyson hype is in full swing. Don King basically cuts a promo about Tyson & WrestleMania coming together. Negotiations are almost complete. Fun hype job.