By Nick Tylwalk
Undoubtedly Mike Tyson was both pleased and honored to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year. Soon, though, he'll be granted a rare privilege by getting enshrined in a second sport's Hall of Fame.
To be fair, that first paragraph comes with several disclaimers, because I'm talking about the recent announcement that Iron Mike will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 31 in Miami, the night before WrestleMania XXVIII. The first qualifier is whether or not you consider pro wrestling to be a sport. I do (and not just because I also cover it), though it happens to be one with predetermined outcomes. The men and women who perform it are certainly athletes.
Nitpickers will point out that it is the WWE Hall of Fame, and not the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame - and yes, those are two different things. Or you might mention that the former doesn't actually exist, at least in a physical sense. And you'd be right. Topping it all off is the fact that Tyson is getting enshrined in the "celebrity wing," which doesn't have the strictest selection criteria. Hence, he'll be joining the likes of Drew Carey.
Despite all that, Tyson definitely made an impact on the WWF (as it was known back then, before pandas became a big issue) at a time when it was very near the peak of its popularity and cultural influence. I'm talking about what wrestling fans refer to as the Attitude Era, when Stone Cold Steve Austin and his contemporaries helped make it cool to watch wrestling. Tyson was involved in a memorable angle playing special enforcer in a match between Austin and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV. In true pro wrestling fashion, he even pulled a swerve and ended up siding with Stone Cold, unleashing his fearsome right hand on Michaels and betraying D-Generation X.
The popularity of that storyline probably paved the way for the successful appearance of Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania 24, so Tyson was a trailblazer as well. One also gets the feeling that Iron Mike legitimately digs the WWE, so if all of those things don't earn him a Hall of Fame selection, I don't know what else a non-wrestler could do.
It's a little disappointing that the WWE is not planning on broadcasting the induction ceremony live this year, because Tyson's speech is sure to be entertaining. I'm also unsure about whether or not I'll make it down to South Beach, so I might not get to see him take his place among the sports entertainment greats and the celebrities who helped support them. Kudos anyway, Iron Mike, because you deserve your second Hall of Fame bust (even if it's a hypothetical one) as much as your first.
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