Cody Rhodes Explains How Mike Tyson Was Added to AEW's Double or Nothing Event

WWE Hall of Famer and legendary heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson will take part in AEW's Double or Nothing event this Saturday when he presents the winner of the Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer match with the company's new TNT Championship. Tyson has dabbled in the pro wrestling business before, most notably as the enforcer for Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV back in 1998, and many fans were wondering how this relationship with AEW came about. In a media conference call on Thursday, Rhodes revealed that Tyson has been a fan of AEW since the first Double or Nothing show last year and that his addition to the card was one of the last decisions the company made heading into the show.

"Mike Tyson is actually somebody we as a company met last year," Rhodes explained. "And over the course of a year we've come to really respect him as a fan of what we do. He's a hardcore AEW fan. I would say, though, that was one of the last touches that was put on Double or Nothing in terms of who will be the one to present that championship. Someone with an element of prestige, and that's what Mike is there to do on Saturday Night. Hopefully he will be handing it to me."

Elsewhere in the interview Rhodes said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic drastically changing up AEW's weekly plans since mid-March, the card for Double or Nothing has gone virtually unchanged from their original plans.

"I would say this card, just to peel the curtain back a bit, 90% of what we potentially had planned [is happening]. Obviously we were presented with a curve ball, we're at the plate and we're hoping to connect. But not a lot of things changed due to COVID-19 and the pandemic in terms of creative. One thing that's just a really bright spot in all of this, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it is during this period of time all the credit has got to go to Tony Khan. [He did a] big time, George Washington crossing the Delaware, stuff in terms of the shows we did in Norcross and the amount of matches we had and the patchwork of putting these events together."

Check out the full Double or Nothing card below:

• AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee
• AEW TNT Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer
• AEW Women's World Championship: Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida
• Casino Ladder Match (Winner gets an AEW World Championship Match): Darby Allin vs. Colt Cabana vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Rey Fenix vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Kip Sabian vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Luchasaurus vs. TBD
• Stadium Stampede Match: Matt Hardy, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson vs. Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, Ortiz
• MJF vs. Jungle Boy
• Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander
• Shawn Spears vs. Dustin Rhodes
• (Kickoff): Private Party vs. Best Friends (Winner gets an AEW World Tag Team Championship Match)