Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast Ep. 51
Host: Sam Roberts
Guest: Tyrus/Brodus Clay
Release Date: October 14, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recap by Mike Booble
– Tyrus a/k/a Brodus Clay interview on a wide array of topics including: WWE HOF, time after WWE, TNA and their perception in the wrestling world, drug addiction as it relates to the older generation of wrestlers, Suge Knight and the NWA movie, and helping Sasha Banks receive a try-out.
– State of Wrestling covering TNA World Title tournament series and the interesting booking that led to it.
– Lana/Rusev engagement and reaction to New Day comments from last week.
TOPIC SCHEDULE
Introduction – 0.00
Tyrus Interview – 2.20
Life outside WWE – 12.48
TNA – 24.08
Drug Addiction – 36.45
NWA movie – 45.21
State of Wrestling – 56.10
Sign Off – 1:04.25
PODCAST SUMMARY
– Roberts opened by talking about last week’s episode and the interviews with Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler. He mentioned the positive feedback he received from the interviews and touched on being happy about the inclusion of real life events into TV storyline.
– Roberts set up the Tyrus interview by saying unlike most of his interviews this one was slightly edited. The long-form interview was a part of his SiriusXM radio show and he wanted the podcast to focus as much as possible on the wrestling aspect, although they will touch on a few subjects during the interview.
– Roberts opened the interview by telling a story about the two of them sitting close to each other at the WWE HOF ceremony at WrestleMania XXX, specifically the Mr. T acceptance speech. He talked about exchanging odd glances with Tyrus every time Mr. T referenced his mom during the infamous speech. Tyrus mentioned having heat with Mr. T for sending out a tweet during the event saying Mr. T better call his momma, in reference to his entrance music and catchphrase at the time.
– They both agreed that along with Kane interrupting Mr. T and the oddity of Warrior’s speech, that the HOF was weird that year. Roberts said it’s an event that isn’t really made for live TV and Tyrus agreed, adding from a fans’s perspective, they can question the qualifications it takes to even get in.
– This led to Tyrus saying Sunny didn’t deserve to be in, in his opinion, and that he and C.M. Punk have a $20 bet that Rosa Mendes will be inducted before Punk. Tyrus agrees to a certain extent with Warrior in that there should only be one or two main inductees every year, and he rest should be for enhancement talent and those working behind the scenes on lighting, outfits, etc.
– Tyrus admitted to having strong opinions on everything, apparent in the comments about the HOF, adding he’s a political guy, not that he watches everything every day but he does pay attention and is not afraid to share his views. They both had the viewpoint if still with WWE, they wouldn’t have been allowed to have the conversation they did. The compared it to the Attitude Era, and the AC/DC like atmosphere that was in the arena nightly, and now the environment is far more fan-friendly, basically putting a stranglehold on self-expression.
– Roberts asked what life is like outside the WWE and if he liked being out. Tyrus explained when he was first fired, there was about 20 minutes of “what the f*** am I gonna do now?” He said they instill a mindset that there’s nowhere else to go, but you have to take a step back and catch your breath and in the end he was only unemployed for 15 minutes.
– Tyrus told a funny story about being fired on multiple occasions by Snoop Dogg, for who he once was a bodyguard. When asked why he said it was for cracking jokes and beating him at Madden, but that Snoop would often forget he fired him and he would just come back.
– Roberts asked what it was like coming to TNA? Tyrus said that it was different in that he got to decide a lot of what he wanted to do, instead of just being told what to do. He said that at the start he didn’t want to talk, he just wanted to stare at everyone and beat people up, to distance himself as far as possible from Brodus Clay.
– Roberts asked if he ever thought he would be a top guy like he is currently and he said no. He said it’s amazing what you allow yourself to be okay with and that he had a mindset that maybe he wasn’t good enough or that WWE never believed in him. He mentioned being cat-fished multiple times by WWE, referencing the undefeated start he had, only to lose his first match, and continue to lose thereafter.
– Roberts asked if he ever talked to anyone or raised any concerns, and he said no. He would often practice talking to the boss in the mirror, but when the time came, could never pull the trigger. He said often times when guys would voice concerns to Triple H or Vince McMahon they would counter by saying why do you deserve not to put this person over? He said to get ahead you have to selfish to a certain extent and not want to make everyone happy, because often times at the end of the day the only one unhappy in that scenario is you.
– Tyrus said towards the end he got mad about the lack of character progression, especially after the heel turn which he called ridiculous. He compared it to John Cena starting as an angry white rapper whose character was allowed to develop and him just wanting that same opportunity. He likened it to Ryback not getting the win over C.M. Punk at Hell in The Cell and how Cesaro should be on his third title reign already. During the Attitude Era that had seven or eight guys who were legitimate main event stars and today there’s only a couple.
– Tyrus transitioned into putting over stars from TNA, namely Eric Young, Bobby Roode, Bobby Lashley, and Tommy Dreamer. He said Dreamer was the one who initially hired him and ten years later they were finally meeting in a match at Bound For Glory. Roberts asked why more people don’t watch TNA. Tyrus answered that through all the transitions, those on the outside who hate TNA do everything in their power to get others to hate them as well, but often do not have a compelling reason for hating the product. He gives a lot of props to Dixie Carter for sticking around and taking shots when she doesn’t have to. She believes in the company and is there on the front lines with the talent trying to grow the brand.
– Tyrus said it’s important for fans to have choices like TNA and ROH. The more choices a fan has, the more companies, like WWE, have to be on top of their game to continue to put out compelling product. Roberts said no one will ever be WWE and Tyrus agreed, but that they don’t’ want to be WWE. They want to be different. When they go to Europe, they sell out shows, and that even if their audience is smaller in TV ratings, the cool thing to do is hate TNA and that the fan base they have is loyal and dedicated.
– Roberts asked about TNA TV and Tyrus said he only worries about what he can control, which is inside the ring. All the other stuff will eventually work itself out. He said he hears all the rumors about begin paid late, and checks bouncing, but if that were really the case, wrestlers wouldn’t stay. Roberts said you’re too good to work for free and he agreed, although he added if he got a chance to wrestle in the White House he would gladly do it for free.
– Roberts went away from wrestling and asked how Tyrus went from nothing to being a bodyguard for Snoop Dogg. And Tyrus said, like all things, it was luck. He said when he goes through the proper channels it never works out. But when he bumps into someone it seems to lead to opportunities. This led to a funny story about not liking New York City because of the parking and the amount of money it costs.
– Since the interview was from the radio show, they took live calls and the second one was a caller asking about drug addiction with older wrestlers and the relevance of that today. Tyrus said it was a different era, the rock & roll era. Drugs were cool. But, a lot of guys fell into the trap of taking coke to wake up and get amped for a match and taking Vicodin or other pain pills to fall asleep and repeating the cycle. He said it was a larger cultural issue. He said now with WWE being in the forefront of drug testing in wrestling, that they are tested far more than the NFL and held to a higher scrutiny. No one talks about the drug addiction in Hollywood, because it’s fake, but look at the movie “300.” He asked if anyone thought those guys could pass a Wellness Test?
– After a brief segue into hip-hop lingo, Tyrus talked about his potential role in the movie Straight Outta Compton and being called back three times to audition for the role of Suge Knight. This led to an interesting story about Suge coming up to Snoop to cause a scene while Tyrus was still a bodyguard and Suge backing down when he saw Tyrus.
– They ended the interview talking about Sasha Banks, as she is the niece of Snoop. He said he never knew her when she was little and they happened to meet at one of her earlier try-outs. She wasn’t hired on then, but when they were in Boston some time later, Tyrus talked to William Regal about giving her another try-out and that leading to her being hired.
– On the State of Wrestling, Roberts talked about the TNA Title situation with Matt Hardy relinquishing the belt after an injunction and this leading to a drawn out title tournament. Roberts said if left the impression that those who paid for the PPV might feel ripped of since 24 hours after the show, the ending was thrown out the window and a new course was taken. At first he thought the idea was “really stupid” but decided to take a “wait and see” approach as opposed to rushing to judgment.
– He briefly touched on the news of Lana and Rusev getting engaged in real-life and the story being picked up by TMZ and the impact in might have on storylines. His final point was reacting to the reaction he got about his New Day comments from last week. He clarified that although they were initially pushed as a babyface team, he doesn’t think any thought went into developing the characters at the beginning. They just threw the team together and said go.
OVERALL REVIEW & SCORE
7.5: A very short State of Wrestling made up for by a very good interview with Tyrus a/k/a Brodus Clay. Tyrus is a very outspoken interview, seemingly nothing off limits with no shortage of opinions, as evident by his comments about Sunny, which led to a very engaging conversation. A lot of life experience and a guy who has been on both sides of the WWE fence gives him an excellent viewpoint for honest critique and criticism. Roberts does a good job of keeping the listener entertained, especially with those guests with which he has a history to draw from, and can extract information I feel a lot of other interviewers would not be able to. The absence of Katie Linendoll was not felt on this episode because of the strong interview segment and the long interview vs. short State of Wrestling is a format that could work in the future to give the podcast more noteworthy takeaways.
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