TheXtremisT
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Post by TheXtremisT on Jan 23, 2021 5:43:57 GMT -5
Been watching 1998 Raws on the Network, and historically Mike Tyson was a huge draw for them. It all worked out and created a lot of buzz. Did what they intended.
But I just feel he was too much of a "fanboy" and acted like he was so happy to be there, rather than act like a badass or the baddest man on the planet that he was supposed to be. He didn't look like his nickname. I would have preferred him to be angry, mean and cocky rather than just laughing and smiling.
Anyone else feel this?
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nibs92
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Post by nibs92 on Jan 23, 2021 6:49:26 GMT -5
Tyson had the reputation as the baddest man on the planet, to me, he didn’t need to act up to it.
It worked perfectly in my opinion. To launch the “Cold Stone” juggernaut, Austin had to be the antagonist in the situation. Tyson was happy to be there and was getting a lot of attention showered on him. Austin took umbrage with it and comes out to confront him and it all kicks off. Austin’s character was anti authority and a loner and really couldn’t care less who he mixes it up with.
If Tyson came out with an attitude, it would make Austin more of a hero than an antihero to come out and challenge him and that wouldn’t fit the mould.
One of the greatest angles in the history of wrestling. When it came to the celebrity rub, the WWF were untouchable. And at $3.5 million, Tyson’s contract was an absolute steal.
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TheXtremisT
Main Eventer
10 Year Member
This is the way
Joined on: May 3, 2008 8:03:15 GMT -5
Posts: 3,875
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Post by TheXtremisT on Jan 23, 2021 9:37:21 GMT -5
Tyson had the reputation as the baddest man on the planet, to me, he didn’t need to act up to it. It worked perfectly in my opinion. To launch the “Cold Stone” juggernaut, Austin had to be the antagonist in the situation. Tyson was happy to be there and was getting a lot of attention showered on him. Austin took umbrage with it and comes out to confront him and it all kicks off. Austin’s character was anti authority and a loner and really couldn’t care less who he mixes it up with. If Tyson came out with an attitude, it would make Austin more of a hero than an antihero to come out and challenge him and that wouldn’t fit the mould. One of the greatest angles in the history of wrestling. When it came to the celebrity rub, the WWF were untouchable. And at $3.5 million, Tyson’s contract was an absolute steal. That may have been the case in his first in-ring appearance, but from then on, it would have made sense for him to be confrontational to Austin and be cocky, mean and not look goofy liek he did. Whether or not you knew he was "the baddest man on the planet", there were millions who did not know what he was like nor watch boxing, so seeing him act the fool just took from his moniker. |
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jason1980s
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Post by jason1980s on Jan 23, 2021 9:51:00 GMT -5
He was a true fan growing up and maybe as an adult. Despite his fame, it was probably hard not to mark out being a part of wrestling at the time. I would rather see him being happy to be there rather than someone who just is there for the paycheck doesn't know the wrestlers and has no intention of anything but getting the pay day.
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Post by The Brain on Jan 23, 2021 9:55:26 GMT -5
Still cracks me up 23 years later....
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Jackass Pacific
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Joined on: Dec 22, 2001 22:58:55 GMT -5
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Post by Jackass Pacific on Jan 23, 2021 10:22:34 GMT -5
Tyson had the reputation as the baddest man on the planet, to me, he didn’t need to act up to it. It worked perfectly in my opinion. To launch the “Cold Stone” juggernaut, Austin had to be the antagonist in the situation. Tyson was happy to be there and was getting a lot of attention showered on him. Austin took umbrage with it and comes out to confront him and it all kicks off. Austin’s character was anti authority and a loner and really couldn’t care less who he mixes it up with. If Tyson came out with an attitude, it would make Austin more of a hero than an antihero to come out and challenge him and that wouldn’t fit the mould. One of the greatest angles in the history of wrestling. When it came to the celebrity rub, the WWF were untouchable. And at $3.5 million, Tyson’s contract was an absolute steal. That may have been the case in his first in-ring appearance, but from then on, it would have made sense for him to be confrontational to Austin and be cocky, mean and not look goofy liek he did. Whether or not you knew he was "the baddest man on the planet", there were millions who did not know what he was like nor watch boxing, so seeing him act the fool just took from his moniker. back in 1998, it would be hard to find a wrestling fan that didn’t know what mike tyson was like previous to appearing in the wwf |
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Post by k5 on Jan 23, 2021 11:30:12 GMT -5
I mean, that might be how you feel, but there's no doubt really that on a business level they pulled it off perfectly. perhaps the details on execution can be debated, but people bought into Austin/Tyson
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,240
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Post by nibs92 on Jan 23, 2021 12:28:21 GMT -5
Tyson had the reputation as the baddest man on the planet, to me, he didn’t need to act up to it. It worked perfectly in my opinion. To launch the “Cold Stone” juggernaut, Austin had to be the antagonist in the situation. Tyson was happy to be there and was getting a lot of attention showered on him. Austin took umbrage with it and comes out to confront him and it all kicks off. Austin’s character was anti authority and a loner and really couldn’t care less who he mixes it up with. If Tyson came out with an attitude, it would make Austin more of a hero than an antihero to come out and challenge him and that wouldn’t fit the mould. One of the greatest angles in the history of wrestling. When it came to the celebrity rub, the WWF were untouchable. And at $3.5 million, Tyson’s contract was an absolute steal. That may have been the case in his first in-ring appearance, but from then on, it would have made sense for him to be confrontational to Austin and be cocky, mean and not look goofy liek he did. Whether or not you knew he was "the baddest man on the planet", there were millions who did not know what he was like nor watch boxing, so seeing him act the fool just took from his moniker. Perhaps, but the whole objective was to get fresh eyes on to the product. If I remember rightly, Tyson was all over the news for his latest suspension (the ear biting incident I believe). I do think that you would be hard pushed to find anyone at that period of time that wasn’t aware of Tyson’s reputation. But I’ll concede that it would have been cool to watch Tyson knock out a couple of expendable midcarders along the way. |
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TheXtremisT
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Post by TheXtremisT on Jan 24, 2021 5:48:48 GMT -5
There still were plenty of people watching wrestling without much knowledge of Tyson's demeanour back then, such as myself.
I had only heard of him and what he did. I'd never seen him.
It's very easy to say things like "very few people didn't know him" when you yourselves did know him.
But I'll say again - he looked like a goof and didn't embody the "baddest man on the planet" moniker that he had earned. Regardless of whether the angle played out fine as it did (which is what I said in my OP), it could have highlighted his mean and unpredictable nature and would have made for more compelling watching.
He could have been more of an antagonist rather than just slightly more than a bystander.
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Post by Mongo Bears on Jan 24, 2021 8:44:49 GMT -5
It would have been cool. But for some reason, Tyson being in wwf wasn’t a big deal to me.
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Post by PJ on Jan 25, 2021 7:42:02 GMT -5
But from what I remember about him back then that wasn’t Tyson. He was kind of a shy, quite happy go lucky guy outside of the ring. But in a fight that changed to the baddest man alive. So what he did in his wwe appearances was in his character.
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teammadness
Mid-Carder
Joined on: May 10, 2020 8:09:29 GMT -5
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Post by teammadness on Jan 25, 2021 23:56:29 GMT -5
Cold Stone! Cold Stone!
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 27, 2021 7:31:51 GMT -5
Tyson being there wasn't a huge deal for me....I was already 100% invested in SCSA. They could have brought in the f*ckin Golden Girls to have a pushing match with Austin & I would have marked...LOL
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ClassicFan2
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 22, 2010 15:25:00 GMT -5
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Post by ClassicFan2 on Jan 28, 2021 14:20:33 GMT -5
i agree OP, being a HUGE fan of tyson back then and WWF, i didnt like him acting all star struck or like it was a joke almost to be there it seemed. i know he was just giddy, but they coulda helped teach him to act the part a bit better. but ti all worked out.
my biggest complaint is the tease of austin vs tyson on raw that one week. i had friends over and ordered pizza and everything. my dad was watching. everyone was pissed at me after that lol!
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