By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast with Tyrus
Host: JP John Poz
Twitter: @TwoManPowerTrip
Website: www.tmptempire.com
Interview available at Tmptow.podomatic.com
On his new book: “Well, it’s really about accountability and how your reactions dictate more about you than what people say about you. And I talk about that a lot in the book. The advice my grandmother gave me once I was upset, basically got hit in the mouth. And what she said to me, it’s not what other people do to you, it’s your reaction that you’re judged by. That always kind of set home with me, and it’s oftentimes when we do get things that don’t go our way, our reaction is what people look at is the register. So it’s a lot about that. It’s about just taking accountability for yourself. And when you do have hard times and things do happen to you, blaming the other person or blaming the situation, you can’t grow. So it’s about looking at what you did and what you could have done better. And sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Dusty Rhodes: “The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, when he took me under his wing… The reason why he took me under his wing is because my mouth was as big as his. It (the Funkasaurus gimmick) got thrown to me. I was like, Can I go to Dusty for a week or two and kind of figure it out? And they said, Sure. And then I got with Dusty and he was like, you just got your mind, so you got to do it. Like, I would do it when they put the polkadots on me…. Did I complain? I had a family feed, so I did it. He’s like, So they’re putting you in a red track suit. So what are you going to do with it? Are you that good? Are you so good no matter what they throw at you, you make it work? Or are you one dimensional and all you can do is be a heel? And he threw the challenge, and I accepted it. Dusty, rest his soul, if he was here, would take full credit for everything he did, e would literally say, you owe me a check, Brodus. You should be sending me a check every week because I gave you gold, I gave you jewels, and you’re doing something with it. As he said, I painted my canvas. I still continue to do that.”
On his WWE run as The Funkasaurus: “When I was with Alberto [Del Rio], it was his time to shine, so it wasn’t my time. My work would get me to the next level. I needed to be snug. I needed to be aggressive. I needed to fall on the sword for Alberto because that’s what my role was. And I took it. I did it at a high level. I always knew that there would come a time when the mic would fall in my hand and I would be able to show my skill set so I would be ready. FCW they all knew about it because I would do Dusty-like stuff. And at practice, I was always talking trash and making jokes. It’s just who I was. And when I made jokes in the locker room one night, and apparently the boss man, Mr. McMahon, was walking by, and he heard me cracking jokes. And his thing is, he loves to dance. Vince likes to sing and dance.
“Have you seen any of his stuff coming up? When he was just when he was younger, that was his thing, and he has a real passion for it. So if he wants to, somehow he equated cracking jokes and being a smartass with dancing. Don’t tell me how you connected the two but that’s what he wanted. And when I look back at the Funkusaurus, I think that’s probably my greatest contribution to the wrestling world. It was a little bit of a rewind, a little taste for a lot of the younger fans to get a taste of what it’s like to be in the ring with Junkyard Dog or the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, Johnny Valiant. I take a lot of pride in having a character like that.
“And when the time came to put hands, Funkusaurus could do that. Old Brodus Clay could do that. But dancing with the kids and stuff in the ring, and it’s funny because time flies so fast, you’ll have people that will stop you and be like, hey, I was in the ring with you in Jacksonville, Florida. And you’re like, Oh, that’s cool, man. And that’s like you’re a happy memory for somebody who went to an event. And that’s kind of what the goal of being a professional wrestler is all about. You send them away with a memory, and you want them to come right back next week. So I’m very proud of as I talk in fourth person, I guess I’m very proud of the very proud of the Funkusaurus and Brodus Clay.”
Other topics include WWE, Vince McMahon, Dusty Rhodes, Brodus Clay, Planet Funk, The Funkasaurus gimmick, Alberto Del Rio, WrestleMania, Dana Perino, Snoop Dogg, and of course his new book “Just Tyrus, A Memoir”, and more.
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