Exclusive Ring Rust Radio interview with TNA star and former WWE Superstar Tyrus

The hosts of Ring Rust Radio – Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin – recently had the opportunity to talk to TNA wrestler Tyrus. As a former WWE Superstar, Tyrus has a unique perspective of the professional wrestling industry and you can listen to this interview on YouTube below or continue past and read the interview here.

Ring Rust Radio: You’ve perfected the bodyguard role since you’ve done it both in TNA and WWE and even in real life, but what do you think needs to happen in order for you to eventually branch off on your own in TNA and have a run as a top singles star? How do you go about reaching that level?

Tyrus: The one thing I have learned in trying to be successful in this business is timing.  Sometimes you are a fly on the wall but really you have your own personal agenda.  You have to play the game the way that they play it.  It’s always been my plan whether it’s been to be a tag team partner and get the tag team gold or a singles championship, that’s always been my mind set and that’s what I train for and I’m willing to work my ass off to put myself in that position.  Sometimes with politics being what it is, sometimes you have to sneak in underneath their noses then all of a sudden they can’t do anything about it.  When EC3 came to me and said he needed help I said I would get his back and help him get to the championship and I have done that.  Now I am looking at things differently since I have accomplished that goal and helped my friend out.

Ring Rust Radio: One of the top wrestlers in the business today is Ethan Carter III, and your presence is a big reason his character has been successful. What do you think makes your partnership work and where does ECIII rank among people you have worked with?

Tyrus: 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 one.  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 kind of 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, we 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 guys I have worked with.  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.  Even with the invasion going on it didn’t even faze us nor have anything to do with us.  PJ Black got a title shot and he handled it well.  I don’t want to say an easy defense cause PJ Black is one of the best in the world, he definitely showed up and that was one of his defining moments.  He wrestled a guy from another place he didn’t really expect to wrestle and went out there and beat him clean.  Technically he should have both titles around his waist but I don’t make those decisions.  I have been in there with some really good guys with a lot of experience, but as far as creative I would say EC3 is definitely the most creative.

Ring Rust Radio: As a former WWE Superstar and now a top name in TNA, what was the experience like for you moving from one company to the other and what went into your decision to sign with Impact Wrestling?

Tyrus: The biggest thing to me, and I had the opportunity to sign with other companies, it was the overall professionalism.  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 said we would like to have you here and just do your thing and that was enough for me.  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.  Perfect example is I can’t stand Matt Hardy to save my life but he is one of my biggest supporters even if the night before I was bouncing him all over the ring.  As wrestlers we may hate each other in the ring but we still want each other to do well and I think that’s the difference in TNA.  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.

Ring Rust Radio: The Funkasaurus gimmick in WWE was obviously a big departure from anything you had done previously, and it was unexpected from the fan’s perspective, but it always came across on TV like you really took the ball and ran with it. Looking back, what are your impressions of that time period in your career, and do you believe it ultimately helped you or hurt you in the long run?

Tyrus: First of all, when you are a little kid and you say someday you want to be a football player and a wrestler and all this stuff.  Then your Mom looks at you and just says yea whatever, all right.  If you remember that’s what your dream was, it didn’t matter what they asked me to do or what they threw at me, I still was given the chance to go out in the ring and entertain and do what I do.  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 it’s still being talked about goes to show it was a good character and I enjoyed it.  Tyrus is what I enjoy doing and I think at some point there may be a marriage of the two but I don’t miss the dancing character as much with the character.

Exclusive Ring Rust Radio interview with TNA President Dixie Carter as TNA moves to Destination America

The hosts of Ring Rust Radio – Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin – were recently able to speak with the president of TNA wrestling, Dixie Carter, about the future of TNA now that the flagship show, Impact, is moving from SpikeTV to Destination America. During a critical time in the history of TNA, this interview provides exclusive insight to the mind of the woman in charge.

Donald Wood: The biggest piece of news from TNA was the move from SpikeTV to Destination America, beginning with the first episode on Wednesday, January 7 and switching to Friday nights starting on January 16. Do you feel the transition is good for the long-term betterment of the company and what positives has the relationship between Destination America and TNA already spawned behind the scenes?

Dixie Carter: Well I think it is critical for the company.  We were in a position where in negotiations I went to every network saying, ‘Look, we are not interested in just licensing our two hour show Impact for your network.  I am interested in a partner, someone who will help build our brand, give us more exposure, provide new programming for us,’ and that’s exactly what we have gotten and more with the support of Discovery and Destination America. We are very, very excited about all that they are giving us across all ten Discovery networks; support, print advertising, PR, radio, digital. It is everything we had hoped it would be.

Mike Chiari: Over the past week TNA has announced the re-signing of several stars, and perhaps the biggest among them is Kurt Angle. Kurt admitted that he was going to play the field a bit and considered going back to WWE, but what do you think TNA was able to offer that made Kurt decide it was the best fit for him? And also, how big is it for TNA to secure someone with Kurt's track record?

Dixie Carter: Well I think Kurt was a game changer for us when we first signed him. I think it is important at such a new beginning for us to still have him as a corner stone for our company.  Kurt looks at all the positive changes that are happening. Our signing with Destination America out in Los Angeles, the new network deal, the commitment from them, he sees the big picture and he gets it.  He is a joy to work with and a real leader for us. We are thrilled to have him.

Brandon Galvin: It's an exciting time for the company. What is the atmosphere like backstage at TNA and what are you most looking forward to with the new direction of the company?

Dixie Carter: Unfortunately, I’m not even going to see what the atmosphere is like Wednesday. I will be in Los Angeles while they are going live in New York. I am representing Discovery and Destination America at the Television and Critics Association. Again, that’s just part of what they are asking us to do. Ken Anderson, Chris Melendez and I will be there. We will be representing our show and network in front of hundreds of media representatives.  Just the whole vibe from the locker room, everyone was so supportive. They realize that this is what we have all been wanting and hoping for. This is going to be a great fresh start for us.

Donald Wood: The move to a different channel has led to speculation that the company would be hitting the reset button on many of the top storylines. Do you view the move as a chance to reboot the product or is it more important to carry over the same angles and characters to ensure a familiar Impact Wrestling for hardcore fans?

Dixie Carter: I think it’s a little bit of both quite honestly. The momentum we had in New York for those shows this past year we want to continue that on and kick it up a notch. We got some surprises planned and we’ve got some changes planned. You won’t see it as much at the live shows but there’s only so much you can do with a live television production. The shows afterwards you are going to start to see a transformation of some new technologies that we are going to use. From new productions and some new and exciting ways in which we want to showcase the show. Things we have talked about for a long time, but quite honestly, technology wasn’t where we needed it to be to fit in to how we have to shoot a wrestling show. I am really, really excited for things to start taking shape in the coming weeks. 

Mike Chiari: With TNA announcing that Lockdown will air of Destination America rather than Pay-Per-View there's been some speculation that the company might be getting out of the Pay-Per-View business. What's the plan for TNA as it relates to PPVs moving forward?

Dixie Carter: We will still have several live ones a year, but when we have them they will mean something and be worth people’s hard earned money. I think that the creative team really wanted to start the year off with a bang and something special on the network. So we decided to take the Lockdown theme live and free on Destination America. I was supportive of that and we will have a couple of live Pay-Per-Views a year and then we will still do some of the One Night Only specials that have been really successful for us.

Brandon Galvin: TNA has been doing a lot of shows in recent months in New York and is opening the year there as well before heading on an international tour. Is there a touring schedule in place for TNA beyond January or is New York expected to be TNA's new home location?

Dixie Carter: We will be looking at some different places to shoot television. We will be going back on the road and doing house shows once we feel like we have the Impact show where we want it to be. Then work on getting the tour where we want it to be and give some of our markets time to breathe. More importantly, our focus needs to go on what we are going to do on our show to make Impact that much more special. That’s really where our time and attention has been, but we will be filming television in some different places through the year and hopefully maintaining that rowdy, small, intimate kind of backdrop where the fans are a really big part of our show.

Donald Wood: Last time we spoke to you, you had just been put through a table by Bully Ray and were dealing with a broken back. How has the recovery been and when can fans expect Dixie Carter back on television?

Dixie Carter: I am doing much better actually. It was painful, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I felt it was the least I could do for everything the talent has given me and to our fans and what the fans have given me, that was the least I could do. It was a small way of showing my appreciation for the hard work everybody puts in on a week in, week out basis. As far as when I’m coming back, I don’t know. The only reason I did that angle was really to help build up everybody. Everybody looks at it as a Bully Ray angle, but that angle really built up EC3, Magnus, Rock Star Spud and a lot of other characters that got to come in and out of it. That was the purpose of me doing it. If there is a need down the road, I would consider it. Right now there is a lot of things on my plate right now that I am focused on.

Mike Chiari: Speaking of Bully Ray, he's obviously been a huge part of TNA over the years, but he's not currently listed as part of the active roster. Firstly, what is Bully's current status with TNA? And also, are there any plans to bring him back and sign him to a new deal if you haven't already?

Dixie Carter: I would love to have Bully back. I think that his contract has just expired and like many of them, we are in the process of reviewing those, picking up options, and renegotiating new ones depending upon what kind of contracts people have. He has been the corner stone of our top, top story lines for the last several years. This contract comes at the perfect time to give him a little bit of a breath and a breather. There are very few people in our business that are as good and talented as he is and I definitely hope to see him back.

Brandon Galvin: There's currently a great deal of talent on the independent scene. Do you envision sticking with the current core roster before bringing in other talent or would you like to bring in new faces sooner than later?

Dixie Carter: I think it’s going to be a combination of everything. We have a mean and lean talent roster right now and I am very excited for them to get this opportunity of being exposed with these replays and the Unlocked show and different ways then they have in the past. We maintain a big focus on younger talent and how we can continue to break in new faces, which is the thing I’m most proud of, that we have done in the last 12-18 months. We just need to continue that. We are always looking for somebody that could possibly be a game changer. Bringing one established talent in just freshens up your ability to have matches with 10 or 12 other people that are on our roster. So we are always looking to do both of those things. 

TNA star Ethan Carter III talks Impact Wrestling's move to Wednesday night, Dixie Carter going through a table and more

The team at Ring Rust Radio - Donald Wood, Michael Chiari and Brandon Galvin - is back with another big interview, this time the guys talk to TNA star Ethan Carter III. The RRR crew gets to talk with ECIII about the direction of TNA, Impact Wrestling's move to Wednesday night, Dixie Carter being put through a table and much more and you can read some of that interview below or hit the YouTube link for the entire interview and be sure to visit www.RingRustRadio.com for more great interviews.

Donald Wood: The big news of the last week was Impact Wrestling’s move to Wednesday night. From a wrestler’s perspective, what impact do you think the move will have on the company now that the show won’t be in direct competition with the NFL or potentially WWE SmackDown?

Ethan Carter III: The one thing I’ve noticed with TNA is that it has its loyal fan base and we just need to improve on that and it seems like we have these past couple of months. As far as no direct competition, I know when it comes to NBA and NFL, they kind of bite into us a little bit on Thursday nights, so it’s going to be great to be away from that.

At the end of the day, we just need to keep delivering dynamite television to keep attracting viewers, and I think Wednesday nights is a great time to do it because I seriously see nothing on Wednesday nights when I watch TV, and I watch a lot of TV. So it’s actually a personal benefit to me because I like to watch the NFL and NBA too so now I won’t miss them at work, which is nice.

Donald Wood: It’s well known that you worked for the WWE for several years before making the jump to TNA. In my opinion, you were one of the most underutilized talents in NXT during your time there. Was there satisfaction in finding success almost immediately with TNA and did you enjoy proving doubters wrong?

Ethan Carter III: I’m an extremely motivated person, regardless of negative things that happened to me, but I wouldn’t lie to you to say, ‘Look, see, told you, this is me.’ But I can’t worry about things that happened in the past or the negative things because I try to look at what’s going to be positive and on what my focus is, which is making TNA the best I possibly can make it, and whatever that takes to do, I will do. I work for my personal satisfaction and then for my bosses as well and as long as I get the thumbs up and get paid by somebody, I feel like I’m doing my job and I’m cool with that.

Being driven helps, if you look at any athlete or entertainer, they’re all going to come to times where, if it’s handed to you and it’s easy, then it’s not worth having, and it hasn’t been easy. Nothing’s really been handed to me and I’ve stayed in the game long enough to get an opportunity that I’ve been hopefully knocking it out of the park every chance I get. The only focus is to keep doing it and keep living because at the end of the day, this is the best job in the world if you’re doing it right.

Exclusive interview with TNA President Dixie Carter on the current state and future of the company

The crew from Ring Rust Radio - Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin - recently had the chance to talk to current Total Nonstop Action president Dixie Carter about numerous topics including the current state and future of TNA. Don't miss out on this exclusive interview and check out more Ring Rust Radio at their website, www.ringrustradio.com.


Donald Wood: It is now common knowledge that you will be going through a table on the Aug. 7 edition of Impact Wrestling. What should the fans expect from this week’s show?

Dixie Carter: I think if you’ve been watching lately the show has been, in my opinion, some of the best programming that we’ve been putting out. I’m so excited about it. I’m just thrilled to see how many of these young talents that we’ve debuted in the last six, eight, nine months in such a prominent role. And at the same time we’re starting to have such amazing increases in ratings, so that makes me really proud. Tomorrow night is a big night for us. I would happen to call it must-see TV and if you haven’t tuned in in a while it would definitely be a show to catch.

Mike Chiari: Having already done several tapings at the Manhattan Center and being in the midst of more currently, how significant do you believe permeating the New York market is in terms of increasing TNA's popularity and improving its profile nationally?

Dixie Carter: It’s one of those things, we wanted to play here. We’re like, ‘Let’s bring a pay-per-view,’ and then we couldn’t get the dates cleared. Do we play across the river in New Jersey? Do we play in the city? It’s like what are we waiting for? We need to bring TV there. This was such a great idea. I’m thrilled that we did it. The crowds have been phenomenal. I loved bringing back the six-sided ring here. It’s been very, very special and I think it’s really contributed to how great the shows feel.

Brandon Galvin: It always seems that at some point in a performer's career they end up wrestling a match. Given how many talented Knockouts are on the TNA roster, have you considered wrestling a match in the future?

Dixie Carter: I said I would never be on TV and I am. I don’t think I ever said I wouldn’t take a bump, but the answer is no, though. No desire to do a match, I’m going to have to draw the line somewhere. To be honest I’ve really enjoyed the last few months. I have loved working with all of these young, new talents that I get to: Rockstar Spud and Ethan (Carter III) and Magnus before that. It’s just been a lot of fun and I finally just said, ‘You know what, you don’t care, just let go and have fun with it.’ And that’s exactly what I’ve tried to do.

Donald Wood: There has been some controversy surrounding your table spot with Bully Ray from people who perceive this as endorsing violence against women. What do you say to fans and supporters who have similar concerns?

Dixie Carter: We have taken man-on-female violence I would say even more seriously from Day One than even a chair shot. That has been banned from the beginning and it took us a while, but chair shots are not right and going to be handled either. It’s very important to our network that this happened. It’s why we have done my character a certain way. It’s why we’ve treated this with the “Boss Toss” and we’ve tried to take it more tongue in cheek. And we also have a disclaimer before this show saying it’s not something that we condone. It’s a spot and it’s an end to a four-month story of something that I have continuously put myself in this position, and we’ve tried to make it as light as possible.

Mike Chiari: TNA made headlines when it was announced that Bound For Glory is going to be held in Japan this October. Why do you feel like that is a beneficial move for TNA and what are the current pay-per-view plans in terms of either tape delay or showing it at an uncommon hour in the United States?

Dixie Carter: I don’t have that exact information yet as far as the airing is concerned. I think it should be in the exact same time it always is. That’s my understanding. I feel like we’re having such tremendous global success and we really are trying to listen to the fans, and part of what they love is the Japanese-style wrestling. So, we’ve introduced the character Sanada into our show. The wonderfully talented Great Muta has honored us on our show. We thought it would be a great opportunity just to continue to show this international growth and take our biggest pay-per-view of the year on a global stage to Tokyo. I’m really excited about it.

Brandon Galvin: You've had the opportunity to work with legendary performers in the past and still work with great wrestling minds such as Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy. What have you learned from working with them that you've implemented into your own performance?

Dixie Carter: From Hulk (Hogan) and Sting and Ric Flair, all of those guys, you talk about the truly great performers, Kurt (Angle). What they do is they just let go. They don’t think about it, they don’t worry about it, they just be their character, and they do what’s right for the company. I think when you play yourself— because I’m not playing Sanada, I’m not playing Tigre Uno or The Wolves— I’m playing the president of a company. I think for so long I just felt very business, presidential about it. It did take me just a beat to say, “You know what, you’re not really playing yourself now.” This is a caricature of someone who you’re really not and you just need to have fun with it, so that’s what I’ve tried to do.

Donald Wood: There were rumors that surfaced immediately after the taping regarding your health following the table spot. Would you fill the fans in at home about how you are doing now and what, if any, injuries you suffered during the incident?

Dixie Carter: It hurt like hell. I have such mad respect for these men and women and what they do every time. I sit there as they come backstage and they’re warriors. I talk to professional football players and fighters and NBA guys, and they all tell me they could never do what these men and women do 52 weeks a year, no offseason, multiple times a week. People are like, “Is that table fake?” No, this stuff hurts, it hurts like hell. To be able to do what they do, it was just a small way of me paying respect for what they do for me personally and to our company and for the fans. So, it did hurt, you’ll just have to watch and see what really does happen and then maybe I’ll tell you how serious it was, but yes, I was injured.

Brandon Galvin: TNA has undergone many changes throughout its 12-year history, most notably with using the six-sided ring and how special events are handled. Are there any changes to the product that you would like to implement, but haven't had the opportunity to do so?

Dixie Carter: I think if you look at us over the last six-to-nine months we’ve made more changes to our company that I think are really starting to resonate with our fans. Fans who may have left at some point and some people who are just now finding us, and that is really trying to listen to what our fans and viewers want to see. Bringing back the six-sided ring, that was a change. Letting the fans decide; if it had won by one vote or another it would have gone down as the fans’ decision. Instead we got a landslide and made the change. The introductions just in the last nine months I counted almost 15 new talents, either brand new or completely repackaged characters that we’ve interviewed in the last nine months. We did not do that in the last nine years. Excuse me, not nine years, maybe five or six years. Don’t hold me to the date, I don’t know the math, but I’m just telling you it was years and years and years. To see some of them doing so well and in such amazing, great roles and just knocking it out of the park every night I just couldn’t be more proud. I think we have undergone changes from the ring to the new characters on the show, how young our talent is to the way we’re trying to tell our stories right now to the way we’re going about focusing on the wrestling. I think that those have been tremendous changes. Are there more to come? Absolutely, but I’m really proud of all that we’ve accomplished in the past few months.

Mike Chiari: Over the past week there has been a lot of talk about TNA's future on Spike TV. How do you believe negotiations are progressing with Spike and what are TNA's other options if a new deal with Spike can't be reached?

Dixie Carter: Every two years I go through this. This is just the first public negotiation I’ve ever had. I think social media has really changed this kind of thing. I’m used to every two years negotiating with Spike and negotiating with other networks. This time is absolutely not any different. We’re still talking with them, but there are other people, thank God, that are interested in our product. I want to grow this brand; I want to grow it domestically. I want us to be able to start having the kind of success domestically that we’re having internationally. I’m not going to stop and none of us are going to stop until we get there. I’m real excited to see and I think we’ll know sooner than later what’s going to happen.