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Vince McMahon took the WWE Championship off one of his biggest stars after refusing to fight Mike Tyson in real life
Home>Wrestling
Published 12:37 10 Apr 2023 GMT+1

Vince McMahon took the WWE Championship off one of his biggest stars after refusing to fight Mike Tyson in real life

The WWE legend was supposed to have the title for 'years' but plans changed when he refused to fight the 'baddest man on the planet.'

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

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Vince McMahon is known for some rather weird behaviour, and one legend has claimed the WWE chairman once took the title off him for refusing a fight with Mike Tyson.

Last week, McMahon boosted his bank balance by millions, as it was revealed that UFC owners Endeavour were buying WWE from him, with the news announced during WrestleMania weekend.

It concluded a hell of a year for the 76-year-old, first starting off at last year's 'Showcase of the Immortals,' when he fought at WrestleMania 38.

After that, he announced his retirement from leading the promotion, in the wake of investigations into him, over alleged payments to ex-employees.

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McMahon and his new mustachioed face were blamed for one of the worst rated shows the company have put on recently, with last Monday's 'Raw after Mania' bombing.

The former WWE champion, yeah remember that's a thing, has been called out for his weird behaviour in the past, with an epic thread about things like the fact he doesn't like sneezing and the time he ended up sh***ing his pants whilst trying to make someone gag for a prank.

But perhaps the oddest story of all comes from legendary wrestler Kevin Nash, who claimed that Vince wanted him to fight 'Iron Mike' back in 1995.

"He [Vince] had told me that I wasn’t going to lose the championship for years. No matter what, I wasn’t going to lose the championship for years," the man also known as Diesel told his podcast, Kliq this.

"Then he starts telling me about this idea he had where I’m going to box Mike Tyson in Central Park and it’s for charity. He’s going on and on about this.

"I said to him, ‘Mike Tyson will knock me the f**k out. He could conceivably kill me.’

"I’m a boxing fan. A big motherfu**er like me, he can put two or three fu**ing shots, he does the fu**ing old hook to the body, hook to the body, uppercut. Goodnight Irene. It’s not going to do me any favours."

Big Sexy had no interest in fighting Tyson. Image: Alamy
Big Sexy had no interest in fighting Tyson. Image: Alamy

The Magic Mike actor revealed that his refusal to fight the literal former heavyweight champion of the world, and a man only three years out of prison, led to him having to lose the title.

"I said, ‘I’m not fu**ing fighting him for less than five million dollars," the 63-year-old added.

"We go back and forth. Then he clears his throat and says, ‘By the way, you’re going to drop the belt to Bret at Survivor Series.’

" I said, ‘You fu**ing sat here for 45 minutes and told me this fu**ing horses*t about boxing Mike Tyson to fu**ing tell me that you want me to drop the fu**ing strap to Bret. Motherfu**er, you could have done that on a goddam telephone.’

"Like, I don’t care. You can have it. Are you kidding me?"

Nash did lose the title at Survivor Series, losing to Hart in the main event, and continued wrestling for WWE until the following year, before leaving for WCW, with his and Scott Hall's arrival really kicking off the Monday Night Wars.

Tyson on the other hand would eventually turn up in WWE, being part of the main event at WrestleMania XIV, following a legendary Raw segment with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: WWE, Wrestling, Vince McMahon, Mike Tyson

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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@Sidler28

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