What boxer's stint in the WWE was the greatest?

[CM Steel]

We all saw at the very first Wrestlemania boxing icon Muhammad Ali as the special guess ref for the main event that night in New York City. And ever since then we've seen various pro boxers come in to the WWE for a quick stint in the pro wrestling/sports entertainment business. Like WWE Hall of Famer Iron Mike Tyson making waves during the beginning of the attitude era with Stone Cold Steve Austin & D Generation-X. And toughman boxer Butterbean knocking out Bart Gunn at Wrestlemania 15.

Evander Holyfield went a few rounds against Matt Hardy on a special WWE showing on NBC. And how can we forget Floyd "Money" Mayweather. The guy who co-headlined Wrestlemania 24 against the Big Show. There were many boxers who made appearances in wrestling over the years, like in the 70's where Muhammad Ali confronted the late Gorilla Monsoon in the middle of a wrestling ring.

But in your opinion though. What boxer's stint in the WWE was the greatest?
I gotta go with the current WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson's stint. And he came back too.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

The only one that actually did anything of note was Mayweather. By all accounts a really nice guy as well, willing to learn the fundamentals of stages combat. His match at Wrestlemania 24 was surprisingly very good (and drew a good reaction live, I was there). And who can forget the build, inadvertently cracking Big Show's nose at No Way Out!

The others you mentioned were in WWE for the proverbial cup of coffee. Mayweather's short run actually meant something

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Unquestionably the Mike Tyson involvement in WM 14. He brough star power to the WWF when it desparetely needed press exposure on a large scale. The WWF product had been heating up for about 16 months; but the audience was watching WCW too. They had to find a way back and the Austin/Tyson angle was a brilliant concept; and excellently executed by all those involved. The two swerves; one where Tyson joined DX, then turned on them at the end of the WM main event was perfect and logical and Austin hitting the stunner on HBK who, at the time was known to be difficult to deal with, put Austin over like a pro. Worth noting HBK had a very bad back and could barely move without serious pain. This was the top angle; and whilst I appreciate Ali's contributions as a referee and WM1, the angle where Mayweather punched Big Show in the nose would stand out more for me. But the Austin and Tyson storyline was brilliant.

 

[Bobbywoodhogan]

Gotta be Tyson his had the most impact

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Tyson in 1997-1998 was a bigger mainstream name than Mayweather was in 2008. The timing for Tyson to come in to WWF was perfect for Vince, coming off of the Holyfield rematch and being stripped of his license to box in America. Boxing in general was bigger in the late 90's than 00's, plus Tyson was a heavyweight unlike Mayweather. You can't underestimate how hyped that Holyfield/Tyson rematch was, and the fact that the ear-biting incident happened on such a huge stage really put Tyson into another level of infamy, which Vince ultimately capitalized on.

Mayweather is no question a big PPV draw, and will indeed go down as the best in his division and weight class. But Tyson is a magnet for controversy and it was a perfect storm in 1998 as he was arguably at his peak of controversy at the time. Add in his bad ass attitude and how perfectly it fit in with WWF's characters at the time (D-X, Austin), Mayweather/Big Show couldn't come close.

 

[Pedigree1]

Oh without a doubt had to be the Baddest Man On The Planet!! Iron Mike Tyson.. Who could forget he kept calling SCSA Cold Stone! Funny stuff.. Tyson while we all thought he was aligned with DX the Whole time turned out to be betraying them!!

The Whole buildup for him as special enforcer at WM14 even SCSA and Tyon got in each others faces.. Truly classic memories right there

 

[The Butcher]

Hard to go against Tyson, but I'll shout out Butterbean. Short, sweet, and hilarious. The perfect end boss for the Brawl for All, who provided the perfect ending to it.

 

[Slash-LN]

Mike Tyson for sure. It was believable. Usually when you think of a world class boxer you don't think a non fighter would be able to take them in a fight.

With the Steve Austin stuff it made me feel like even if Austin couldn't take him in a fight he'd at least try and would probably get some good shots in.

Floyd and Big Show was a joke. Total waste of time. I'm probably being biased because I can't stand Floyd but I couldn't get into it at all.

Butterbean vs Bart Gunn was funny for the most part even though it wasn't intended to be. It did nothing to help anyone.

I guess Matt vs. Evander may have gotten Matt some sympathy or respect but in the long run it didn't do much to help anyone either.

 

[TheLittleOne]

I believe Evander Holyfield's first WWE appearance was as special guest ref for a SAVAGE/HOGAN rematch on Main Event back in 89/90... this is a random memory which i have not confirmed so sum1 please remind me..too many chairshots to the head brother!..

anywhoo, Vince, Tyson, Austin, HBK drugged off his rocker, Jim Ross foaming at the mouth " TYSON AND AUSTIN, TYSON AND AUSTIN!!".... tyson at the rumble " cold stone man cold stone!"...

"i'll whoop your ass 7 days a week, twice on Sunday!"

could go on for hour or two!

the best was IRON MIKE TYSON in 1998! by far..although loved watchin big show get his nose broken, and respect the lengths mayweather went too in order to perform at WM24....

 

[Slash-LN]

I believe Evander Holyfield's first WWE appearance was as special guest ref for a SAVAGE/HOGAN rematch on Main Event back in 89/90... this is a random memory which i have not confirmed so sum1 please remind me..too many chairshots to the head brother!..

anywhoo, Vince, Tyson, Austin, HBK drugged off his rocker, Jim Ross foaming at the mouth " TYSON AND AUSTIN, TYSON AND AUSTIN!!".... tyson at the rumble " cold stone man cold stone!"...

"i'll whoop your ass 7 days a week, twice on Sunday!"

could go on for hour or two!

the best was IRON MIKE TYSON in 1998! by far..although loved watchin big show get his nose broken, and respect the lengths mayweather went too in order to perform at WM24....

I'm pretty sure that was Buster Douglas. It was supposed to be Mike Tyson but Douglas knocked him out not long before and they went with Douglas instead.

 

[Goldie]

It would have to be Tyson.
He is probably the 2nd most famous boxer in the world after Ali.... even now 10 years after retiring.

At the 98 Rumble/WM14 he was still big news, just months after the notorious ear bite on Holyfield.... and literally was world renowned as the baddest man on the planet.
He was perhaps the most notorious man in all of sports, not just boxing!

WM14 was definitely a turning point in the battle against WCW... it pulled in a monster buy rate... a record at the time (though Austin was the main draw, there was enough interest and mystique in Tysons involvement to contribute to this).
Tyson did a lot of PR work too to promote the event, appearing at the Rumble, Times square, skits with DX, confronting Austin etc... it all added hype to the WM event.

Though Tyson didn't wrestle at the time (I think he did go into a RAW tag match with Triple H in 2009 but not counted here)... it still had a bigger impact than Floyds boxer vs wrestler match vs the Big Show.

Tyson played a role as WWE gained momentum to overtake, and eventually beat WCW during one of the hottest times in company history.

It has to be Iron Mike

 

[WBL]

As far as their own personal success, IIRC, the only one I can remember ever actually holding a title was "Marvelous" Marc Mero.

 

[tdmoon]

Tyson, no question. The hype and payoff were huge. Butterbean was fun, though.

 

[bko]

Mike Tyson played a big part in boosting the biggest boom in the history of WWF/E, "The Attitude Era". His part in Wrestlemania was similar to Mr. T’s in Wrestlemania one. It mattered and actually legitimately affected the product in a in a very good way. A majority of celebrities at Wrestlemania are window dressing and don't work out like the way the company would want. Mikes precense did exactly what Vince always wants, got media attention and what real fans want a good story and actually helped change things around in the monday night wars. Not only boxer but in all celebrities in the whole history of WWF/E Mike Tyson had the biggest effect on the company. This was coming out of the whole Tyson drama with him biting that guys ear off, Boxing was hurting due to the lack of Tyson's drawing power at the time, Vince knew that everyone was in need to see Tyson preforming again in some manner and Vince took advantage of this.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Tyson in 1997-1998 was a bigger mainstream name than Mayweather was in 2008. The timing for Tyson to come in to WWF was perfect for Vince, coming off of the Holyfield rematch and being stripped of his license to box in America. Boxing in general was bigger in the late 90's than 00's, plus Tyson was a heavyweight unlike Mayweather. You can't underestimate how hyped that Holyfield/Tyson rematch was, and the fact that the ear-biting incident happened on such a huge stage really put Tyson into another level of infamy, which Vince ultimately capitalized on.

Yeah, it has to be Tyson. His working with the WWE was a much bigger deal than Mayweather facing Big Show. Tyson was probably one of the most notorious men on the planet at that point, not just with sports fans after his appalling biting of Evander Holyfield, so the mainstream publicity he brought the WWE was worth the money it cost to bring him in.

Plus, Tyson's appearances coincided with the period where Stone Cold was getting more and more popular and getting ready to become the face of the company. The WWE as a whole was beginning a huge growth period and Tyson's pull-apart with Austin is still to this day regarded as an all-time great moment in the company's history. The intensity and emotion of all involved, including JR's commentary have made it an iconic moment.

Finally, Tyson was invovled in the main event of Wrestlemania where Austin finally won the WWE title, that was the biggest stage possible, at the culmination of the hottest storyline of the year, not just a random match with a big fat man on a WM card like Mayweather v Big Show.

Tyson's involvement was BIG news and definitely gave the WWE a huge boost in both worldwide media attention and viewers. I didn't even watch wrestling at that time, but I knew who Mike Tyson was. I distinctly remember my Dad (who hates wrestling and knows very little about it) telling me that Tyson had joined wrestling. The fact a 50 y/o Englishman who doesn't watch wrestling, didn't know who Stone Cold was, was talking about Tyson working with WWE shows what a big deal it was.

 

[FromGlasgow]

Mohamed Ali had a big boxer vs wrestler match against Antonio Inoki in japan I remember hearing a lot about at the time but number 1 has to Mike Tyson build up of Wrestlemania with Steve Austin as I remember seeing that on the news at the time and I think that helped get Steve Austin and the attitude era into the mainstream again kind of similar to what Mr T and Cyndi Lauper did in the 80s.