Rich Fury/Associated Press
After scuffling with former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Chris Jericho revealed his hopes for the rivalry moving forward.
In an interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Jericho suggested there is more to come from he and Tyson in an AEW ring:
“Obviously, the idea is to do something more. That’s the thought process, I think between both parties. What that is at this moment, we’re thinking and discussing. Look, Chris Jericho versus Mike Tyson in a wrestling match, in a street fight, in a boxing match would be big. …
“But to me it’s the buildup and the angle and all the things we can do. That’s what wrestling is all about—the storyline. The match is the cherry on top. But it’s the build that’s really the most entertaining part, and the part that gets people really involved. So whatever it is that we decide to do as we move forward, it’ll be great. You have one of the most iconic boxers—and most iconic personalities—of all time against one of the greatest pro wrestlers and personalities of all time. It writes itself.”
Tyson presented Cody Rhodes with the TNT Championship at Saturday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view and then appeared on Dynamite four nights later. He emerged during the main event segment when Jericho called him out over the fact that Tyson knocked Jericho out 10 years earlier in WWE.
Tyson was flanked by MMA stars Henry Cejudo, Vitor Belfort and Rashad Evans, while Jericho’s Inner Circle stablemates were alongside him. A pushing and shoving match ensued, and the show ended with Jericho screaming at Tyson.
The angle paid immediate dividends for AEW, as its 827,000 viewers for Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite were its most since March 18.
While the 53-year-old Tyson is a retired boxer, he has been in the news quite a bit lately due to rumors that he is planning to return to fighting in some capacity. Tyson appears to be in great shape, and he has shown in sparring videos that he still has lightning-fast hands.
AEW has capitalized on the renewed interest in Tyson, and it is clear that Jericho hopes the company continues to do so.
If some type of match does happen between Jericho and Tyson in AEW, Le Champion is confident he will be able to get an entertaining piece of business out of Tyson:
“That’s what we do. There’s always a way to make it good. There’s bells and whistles. You just exemplify the strengths and eliminate the weaknesses. That’s the easy part. It’s just coming to some sort of a deal, or some sort of acceptance, of what we want to do if we’re going to move forward with this. The rest is easy. That’s my job. Once the deal is done or whatever we decide to do—if we decide to do more—that’s the easy part.”
Tyson’s arrival in AEW is symbolic since it was Tyson who helped turn the tide in WWE’s favor during its ratings battle with WCW in 1998. WWE involved Tyson in the rivalry between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels leading up to WrestleMania 14.
Wednesday’s angle was eerily similar to the January 1998 confrontation between Austin and Tyson on Raw, which many wrestling fans and pundits consider to be the moment that WWE seized momentum from WCW.
AEW is already beating WWE’s NXT show in the ratings on Wednesday nights consistently, but a big leap is needed in order to contend with WWE’s Raw and SmackDown shows, which consistently bring in more than double the audience that Dynamite does.
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