WWE WrestleMania History: 20 Greatest moments in the history of the PPV (15-11)

#11 Mike Tyson knocks out HBK as the Austin Era begins, WrestleMania XIV

Tyson punched the lights out of Michaels!

We were in the heart of the Monday Night Wars in early 1998, and WCW was kicking WWE's ass badly. They had a red-hot angle going on between Sting and Hulk Hogan, the NWO was the coolest thing going on in professional wrestling, and 5-time WWE Champion, Bret “The Hitman” Hart had just jumped ship over to WCW.

WWE knew they needed something big to turn the momentum back in their favor and they decided to do so by bringing in “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Mike Tyson for WrestleMania 14.

Tyson was only a few months removed from a controversial fight with Evander Holyfield where he bit Holyfield’s ear clear off his head. As a result of his actions during the fight, he had his boxing license abrogated.

WWE brought in Mike Tyson to Raw in January 1998 to announce his involvement in the WrestleMania 14 pay-per-view, but the ceremony was interrupted and ruined by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

The two were in a scuffle, and it was soon announced that Tyson would be the Special Guest Enforcer for the main event involving Steve Austin and WWE Champion, Shawn Michaels.

In the weeks leading up to the event, Tyson aligned himself with Michaels, and the D-Generation X faction, so it appeared to everyone that Austin would have tremendous odds against him in the main event.

Mike Tyson’s involvement in the product brought a tremendous amount of media attention, and when WrestleMania rolled around, Tyson shockingly double-crossed Shawn Michaels and scored the quick pinfall to crown Steve Austin the new WWE Champion.

After the match, Shawn Michaels went at Mike Tyson, and Tyson knocked him out in the middle of the ring for a huge response.

This remains one of the best WrestleMania moments involving a celebrity.