Exclusive interview with former WWE star and current TNA World Champion EC3, Ethan Carter the 3rd

The hosts of Ring Rust Radio – Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin – recently had the chance to speak with former WWE star and current TNA World Champion, Ethan Carter the 3^rd – also known as EC3. Having won the title from Olympic gold medalist and wrestling legend Kurt Angle, EC3 has been a dominant force in TNA. EC3 defends his title against Drew Galloway in the main event of Bound for Glory and you can hear his opinion on his opponent, the current state of TNA as well as its future in the YouTube link below or continue past to read the entire interview here!

Ring Rust Radio: It was just announced that you will be defending the world title against Drew Galloway in the main event of Bound for Glory on October 4. How are you approaching a match of this magnitude and what does it mean to you to be main eventing the company’s biggest PPV?

Ethan Carter III: Well I just mentioned how my sports car is European, and that is the extent of how I like Europeans, is in my cars.  Professional wrestlers that are European I don’t care for.  Drew Galloway hails from Scotland, he is six foot 5, weighs 260, and is one of the toughest guys in wrestling. For me to have the chance to main event Bound for Glory with him is a huge opportunity and I couldn’t be more excited for it.  It is the biggest show of the year for TNA and I am the biggest thing in TNA, seeing it as I am the world heavyweight champion, I am unbendable, unbreakable, unbeatable, undefeated, and undisputed it only makes sense.  It’s only fitting that I main event Bound for Glory but it is still a great honor and responsibility to deliver.

Ring Rust Radio: Many fans felt yourself and Drew Galloway didn't get a fair shot in WWE, so heading into the Bound for Glory main event, so have you two spoken about the faith and support you've received from TNA to give you two the chance many feel you deserve?

ECIII: Yes, I would say that.  You caught me off guard with a serious question of that nature.  This has been an opportunity for us and we have proved our detractors wrong since we stepped foot in TNA.  It’s just another opportunity to exploit that chip on your shoulder that helps make you great in this business.  I think you need the angst and energy to motivate your performance.  Not that that would motivate me more than I was previously motivated, but it’s there and real and we are ready for that chance.

Ring Rust Radio: You still haven’t lost a televised singles match in TNA by pinfall or submission. Long undefeated streaks can lead to some backlash from fans from time to time, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for you as a heel, but how do you go about keeping things fresh and ensuring that the streak doesn’t become a detriment?

ECIII: Man, this is a championship caliber question!  There has not been a pinfall or submission on me since my debut with TNA as a singles wrestler.  It was kind of happenstance and also unique what we have going on.  As an antagonist, it’s a great boasting point for me to constantly refer to me as being undefeated while most of my wins come at dastardly deeds.  As far as a detriment, I could see that more so if I was being portrayed as an unconquerable world beater like a Bill Goldberg when he was undefeated.  As far as me, I think there is an opportunity for when that time does come; they must absolutely create a brand new star out of that.

Ring Rust Radio: During your run with TNA, you have worked against Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley and some of the top talents in the business. Who have you enjoyed working with the most and how has the talent around you helped elevate your game?

ECIII: You mentioned three names that are pretty significant in the industry.  Kurt Angle definitely, that title match with him and being able to defeat him was a dream match come true to me.  One guy you didn’t mention is Matt Hardy.  Matt came over to TNA and he was the first credible challenger for my title.  He helped bring the best out of me in different way from working a full metal mayhem match to other natures.  Being able to be in the ring with those guys and TNA giving me the chance has helped in making me great.

Ring Rust Radio: I say it on this show all the time, but I consider you a top talent in the wrestling industry due to your mic skills and ability to generate heat. Why do you think WWE never gave you the proper chance to shine and what has TNA done to help you become a top star in the business?

ECIII: As far as what happened in the past, there is an old saying, “I heard from someone over there” and it is what it is.  Why didn’t I get the chance?  Maybe I did something wrong, maybe I didn’t hold up my end, or maybe I held in a little too much as opposed to being more who I am.  TNA has given me the opportunity to creatively express myself and the freedom to go out there and try something whether it fails or succeeds.  I’m the first one to know if I did something good or bad out there.  Having the ability to go out there and do that, coming to the back and it’s not something you’re being modest about. That’s where constructive criticism helps.  Basically I feel you get better in wrestling through having more confidence and TNA has done everything to give me great confidence by giving me a great opportunity and the best opponents.  Everything they have given to me has been so good, pure, pristine, and awesome to where if it didn’t succeed it would be because I suck, and clearly I don’t.

Ring Rust Radio: There’s been a lot written and said about TNA regarding its future, specifically with Destination America. As the world champion and top guy in the company right now, how do the rumors and speculation impact you, and what are your overall thoughts on them?

ECIII: They are just rumors and speculation, my only problem is when people portray those as facts.  I do not know our future besides Aunt Dixie telling me we are on Destination America through the end of the year, I have full confidence in the higher ups and the office and my sweet Aunt D that we will be well taken care of and somewhere on television.

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.