Tyrus Talks TNA Impact Wrestling, WWE Tenure, Ethan Carter III and More

TNA wrestler Tyrus, formerly known as Brodus Clay in WWE, stands in the company as its most imposing force. He also stands next to TNA world heavyweight champion Ethan Carter III to ensure he has a watchful eye over TNA's most prized possession.

Since making his TNA debut last year, Tyrus has been called a manager, advocate, enforcer and bodyguard. Yet no matter what fans consider his role to be, there is no denying the behemoth is in a position of power. Some may say it's Tyrus, not EC3, who truly has control of the championship as he has played such a pivotal role during EC3's reign.

As TNA continues its journey toward Bound for Glory on Oct. 4, Tyrus spoke with Ring Rust Radio (quotes courtesy of the News of Delaware County's Joe Arcidiacono) to discuss his decision to sign with TNA, his association with EC3 and his character from his time WWE. 

His release from WWE in June 2014 came as a surprise to many considering his size, charisma, personality and in-ring skills. However, it wasn't a surprise TNA decided to scoop up the coveted free agent despite fans wondering which company he would sign with.

"The biggest thing to me, and I had the opportunity to sign with other companies, it was the overall professionalism," Tyrus said. He continued:

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A big thing to me was to be able to be in a situation where I could speak my mind freely especially when it came to my character. Get the actual right feedback and not have too many chefs in the kitchen and allow me to be me.

They didn’t plug me with a bunch of false promises and wild stories. Dixie [Carter] said we would like to have you here and just do your thing, and that was enough for me.  

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Tyrus' release may have been a surprise, but his final years with WWE were shocking. Instead of being the dominant force TNA fans are accustomed to seeing, he was a fun-loving, dancing babyface nicknamed the Funkasaurus. Though fans may have been confused by the gimmick, Tyrus saw it as a positive mark on his career:

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The Funkasaurus character was great and it taught me about being humble, about the character, about not being concerned with what people think you should be. If you're good at what you do regardless of what is thrown in front of you, you will make it work. It was a challenge for me and lucky for me, the American Dream Dusty Rhodes worked with me and helped me make that work, even to the point of working better than what people were expecting from the character.

Sometimes when things get bigger than they thought, they take it the wrong way. I enjoyed that time, and even now that’s it’s still being talked about goes to show it was a good character and I enjoyed it.

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TNA has undergone major changes in the past year. The promotion jumped to Destination America and parted ways with many of its veteran and mainstay performers in favor of younger and fresher talent. Tyrus also weighed in on the atmosphere behind the scenes at TNA throughout the overhaul:

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I enjoy the family atmosphere and everyone in back is very close with one another. I fit in right away, and the locker room is just outstanding here.

You can hear a lot of things from the outside, but it’s generally a very positive place to work with everyone pulling for each other to do great work even if you disagree with each other. ... Maybe in other companies you wouldn’t see guys so positive for each other even when they disagree or stand in the way of championships or dreams and things like that.

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It's interesting Tyrus used the word family considering he's aligned with Carter, who is the nephew of Dixie Carter. Many believed it's that familial tie that gravitated Tyrus to EC3, and he spoke about his relationship with and opinion of TNA's champ:

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For one, we are complete opposites. I talk loud and he talks loud, but he really isn’t saying anything, like he is always talking. He is pampered obviously, and I have come from a rougher upbringing. I don’t have a lot of family support, where he has been coddled from Day 1. Like if his mom and dad aren’t in the audience, then he has an aunt or uncle or cousin there. The guy's family list just goes on and on, and it doesn’t hurt that Dixie is his aunt. That kinda helps a little bit. I’m sure his job interview went a lot smoother than mine did.

At the same time, though, we both do push each other. We both train hard, work that hard-knocks style, experience the ups and downs and just handle people in different ways. As far as people I have worked with, I think he is one of the most creative.

A lot goes into being EC3 and Tyrus, and you would be surprised how some of those conversations go. We understand where we are at, and he has gone on record a lot of times saying I have taken a lot of bullets for him character wise. Overall, I would say we are the top of TNA.

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As long as Tyrus stays associated with the TNA world heavyweight champion, he will certainly remain at the top of TNA. However, Tyrus has the skills to one day hold the championship himself. Given Tyrus' comments, it's hard to see him turning on Carter, as exciting as it would be to witness. The threat of Tyrus is always looming for Carter's opponents, so should Tyrus ever leave Carter's side, fans would have to assume Carter's days as champ are numbered.

Should Carter ever lose the championship with Tyrus by his side, it would be inherently interesting and fun to see if Tyrus would look to jump in front of Carter for a title shot. Tyrus has shown throughout his career he can play a dominant heel or a fun-loving babyface, which makes him an invaluable member for any roster, but especially TNA's given the company has been with Destination America for less than one year.

Tyrus may be at the top of TNA, but he is still in Carter's shadows. It's more "when" than "if" he will look to tilt the spotlight from Carter onto himself. If he were to ever go against Carter, it could erupt into one of the most heated and personal rivalries TNA has seen in some time.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).