Tyrus, formerly Brodus Clay in WWE, recalls working with Dusty Rhodes to perfect the mannerisms of "The Funkasaurus" character.
At one point, Brodus Clay seemed destined to be a monstrous heel in WWE. However, in 2012, Brodus emerged as "The Funkasaurus." Flanked by Naomi and Cameron, Brodus was now a jovial babyface that was better suited to dance with Dude Love than win a World Championship at WrestleMania.
Speaking with the Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Tyrus recalls asking to work directly with Dusty Rhodes, who knows a thing or two about being saddled with a character and presentation that starkly contrasts with one's own vision of their WWE persona, in order to best prepare for his debut.
"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? They said, Sure. 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 polka dots on me... Did I complain? I had a family to feed, so I did it. He's like, So they're putting you in a red tracksuit. 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? 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," he recalled.
These days, Tyrus is holding the NWA television championship a lineage that also has a close association with Dusty. We have full results of NWA Powerrr every Tuesday.
