- Sport
- Wrestling
- Matty Paddock
If Jake Paul is searching for omens ahead of his fight with Mike Tyson, he doesn’t have to look far as he heads for Texas' AT&T Stadium.
Paul takes on one of the most dominant boxing heavyweights in a July blockbuster that has been snapped up Netflix and will count towards their professional records.
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The 80,000 capacity stadium, which opened in 2009 and cost a reported $1.85bn to build, will be packed for the occasion, but the immediate surroundings in Arlington needn’t be cause for concern for The Problem Child.
His brother, Logan Paul, has already sampled the atmosphere of the venue for a sold-out blockbuster event, having made his wrestling debut there for WWE in 2022.
Now United States Champion for the wrestling company, he is one of the roster’s most versatile performers. This is despite incredibly having competed in just a dozen matches in his career.
The first of those came under the bright lights of WrestleMania 38, when he teamed with veteran The Miz to take on the father-son team of Rey and Dominik Mysterio.
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The Maverick immediately stood out as being extremely capable of adopting the complex craftmanship that is professional wrestling, executing moves with the accuracy of stars beyond his years.
He was on the losing end on the night as the Mysterios won out – Paul’s night getting worse post-match after The Miz promptly turned on him, attacking the influencer much to the delight of the live crowd.
Since that night in Texas, the 29-year-old has gone on to enjoy a WWE rise unlike any other – challenging Roman Reigns for the company’s top male title and gaining revenge on Rey Mysterio by snaring his United States Championship last year.
He’ll now head to the upcoming King and Queen of the Ring Premium Live Event in Saudi Arabia to meet new WWE champ Cody Rhodes.
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Logan Paul wasn’t the only major name to feature for WWE at WrestleMania in Arlington where his brother and Tyson will square off. WWE has twice staged their biggest annual spectacle there.
At Mania 32 in 2016, The Rock set a record for picking up the fastest win in WrestleMania history when he defeated Erick Rowan in the same building. The Great One paid the price, too, as the entire Wyatt Family launched an attack before another icon in John Cena made the save.
That night also saw Reigns defeat the man who went on to effectively become his boss, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.
Elsewhere, legend The Undertaker was on hand to dispatch of daredevil Shane McMahon, while Brock Lesnar was victorious in an outing against Dean Ambrose.
There was even a surprise cameo for NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal as he entered the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Shaq tossed Damien Sandow from the fray and even stepped up to The Big Show before the two giants were ganged up on by fellow combatants and eliminated.
Then, in 2022, Logan Paul was joined on the bill by a host of other legends, including Stone Cold Steve Austin who made a phenomenal return to the ring 19 years after retiring due to neck issues.
He main evented Night 1 of the epic show by defeating Kevin Owens in a street fight, rolling back the years and looking in incredible shape as he handed out Stone Cold Stunners aplenty.
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He was back again the next night, too, to hand arch nemesis Vince McMahon one of the worst Stunners in history as the two old foes squared up one final time after the former had defeated Pat McAfee in an absurd match.
Elsewhere, Ronda Rousey was handed her first singles loss in WWE by Charlotte Flair as The Queen retained her SmackDown Women’s title despite having tapped out earlier in the bout, unsighted by the referee.
WrestleMania 38 came to a close with Reigns defeating Lesnar in a Winner Takes All Match, netting Reigns what became the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship.
WWE trumpeted a company record aggregate attendance of over 156,300 for the two nights of the show, with the event said to have generated an economic boost of more than $200 million for the local area.
Truly battle tested, AT&T Stadium will again be braced for mammoth numbers as Jake Paul and Tyson lock horns.
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Their clash will be a sanctioned professional boxing bout contested over eight, two-minute rounds.
Each fighter will use 14-ounce gloves, but no headgear with knockouts allowed. The outcome will also affect their professional boxing records.
And Tyson warned his opponent to expect the worst. "I really like Jake a lot but once he's in that ring he has to fight like his life depends on it, because it will be," he said, adding the shorter rounds will mean greater action and more entertainment.
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On fighting the younger Paul brother, he said it was a 'no-brainer.'
"He was the new up and coming guy on the scene and I like shaking the sports world to it's core and I'm doing it now. It's just something I want to do."
