Mike Tyson and his old rival Chris Jericho had an in-ring shoving match that ended in a mass brawl on AEW's Dynamite TV show on Wednesday.
The newly in-shape 'Iron Mike' made his wrestling return this past weekend when he was ringside for an AEW event - but now he's picked up on a rivalry that's been simmering for 10 years.
Jericho and Tyson went head-to-head in WWE in 2010 and the Canadian called the former heavyweight champ out to demand a belated apology.
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Inevitably, it escalated into Mike ripping off his T-shirt (after a battle that the T-shirt was clearly winning at one stage), then shoving Jericho, who pushed him back, leading to mass chaos.
The confrontation began with Tyson swaggering to the ring with a posse containing former UFC champions Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans and the recently retired Henry Cejudo.
Unimpressed, Jericho read Tyson the riot act.
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"I'm gonna say this to you one time Tyson: shut your mouth when I'm talking to you," he said, before demanding an apology for the 53-year-old double-crossing him, claiming he'd knock Tyson's "teeth down your damn throat."
Yikes. Pushing ensued before both men's entourages quickly broke it up. Backstage, Tyson promised: "This is not over. I'm coming back - and Jericho's getting his ass kicked!"
All Elite Wrestling clearly plan to continue this feud which began in 2010, when Tyson 'knocked out' Jericho with a right hook live on WWE's RAW show.
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Tyson was tag-teaming with Jericho against his old DX pals, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, but revealed his true colours by viciously turning on Chris mid-match.
In 2015, Jericho described the experience of taking even a staged punch from 'Iron Mike' - telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "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?!"
Tyson's involvement in a shoving match with a wrestler also harks ways back to 1997 and his famous showdown with WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin.
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Vince McMahon paid Tyson a reported $3.5 million for his run in WWE (then WWF) to help hype his new superstar Austin and build interest in WrestleMania 14.
Bringing in Tyson proved a masterstroke, as it helped WWE begin to turn the tide on the then dominant WCW in their Monday night ratings war.
Now AEW - the biggest competitor to WWE in the US - are ironically trying the same trick 23 years later, bringing in 'The Baddest Man on the Planet' to grow publicity and provide a ratings boost.
We'll see how long Tyson's stay in AEW lasts. But many boxing fans will be relieved to see 'Iron Mike' engage in predetermined shoving contests as opposed to entering the combat arena once more.
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Stories of Tyson's comeback in so-called exhibition fights persist, with his name being linked with everyone from old rival Evander Holyfield to current heavyweight champ Tyson Fury to various MMA fighters.
But boxing isn't a sport to play around with, especially for a man in his 50s. Quite frankly, in 2020, we'd rather see Tyson swing haymakers that zoom past Jericho's nose than trade full-blooded punches to the head - so have fun with it, lads.
Featured image credit: AEW
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Mike Tyson, Boxing News, Boxing, Wrestling News, WWE
