At NWA Hard Times in New Orleans, NWA head booker Billy Corgan made the controversial decision to take the strap off of Trevor Murdoch, who was in his second reign with the 10 Pounds of Gold, and give it to Tyrus, the NWA staple who WWE fans might remember as Brodus Clay.
Needless to say, fans weren't excited to see the 49-year-old author/GLOW actor/former Fox News host who was previously accused of harassment secure the win over Murdoch and Matt Cardona, another former WWE-turned-NWA Champion who was also in the match. Some pointed out how poorly Tyrus moved in the ring during the match, while others were shocked by his physique, and others still questioned the reason why Corgan would continue to go back to the same old “Funkasaurus” well when he has access to so many quality performers in the greater NWA Universe, with Davey Richards, Kerry Morton, Dak Draper, and EC3 all working the Hard Times In New Orleans card.
Had Corgan completely flipped on his previous booking philosophy, as the Smashing Pumpkins frontman suggested that NWA could become a developmental system for WWE or AEW if either promotion wanted to play ball? Or did he simply want to throw a bone to a friend in order to get some additional eyes on the NWA's product, believing that Tyrus' first reign at the World Championship could be a lightning rod for controversy?
Fortunately, Corgan sat down with Gerald Brisco and John Bradshaw Layfield on an episode of ‘Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw’ podcast and explained why the decision presents a new style of NWA positioning, as transcribed by Wrestling Purists.
“Well first of all and it’s been very hard for the general wrestling community to understand is to me, the NWA is a mainstream product,” Corgan said. “I want to bring back a traditional mainstream product to television, national television or international television. It’s not complicated. In terms of the vibe, I like that old shooter vibe. I want you to watch people who you believe can beat your a–. That’s it and I want the toughest to win and I want the toughest to feel like they’re the stars of our company and it’s interesting because as I’ve pivoted to that over the last 18 months and really built the company around the toughest people, not always the biggest but the toughest people. I really see how it’s starting to really click. In essence, I finally connected that passion that I had for Bruiser [Brody] when I was a kid to the modern version of the NWA. A lot of people in the wrestling community and I know it’s a highly debated topic, you know, they like what’s going on with… I call it the ‘eight-star Meltzer matches’ and all that stuff and I like that stuff too but if we’re just talking business, just straight business, not fan stuff, I still believe in Brock Lesnar versus Bobby Lashley and in this [main event at Hard Times 3], Matt Cardona who’s recast himself on the independent scene as the star that he is versus Tyrus who’s, you know, 6’8, 375 pounds versus Trevor Murdoch who’s 6’3 and another 350, I wanna see that match… If you don’t wanna see stuff like that, don’t watch the NWA because that’s what I’m going to give you, more and more of that and as we climb and I’m kind of able to develop younger talent in the mold of the NWA, we will be the toughest, hardest-hitting wrestling promotion in the world. I know there’s the strong style in Japan but to me, that’s a different psychological — it’s hard to explain. I don’t mean it disrespectfully. It’s just a different psychology.“
Alright, so if I'm reading this correctly, Corgan wants to book NWA in such a way that the in-ring performers look like they can kick fans in the audiences' behinds because they are so big and physically imposing, comparing Murdoch-Tyrus to… Brock Lesnar-Bobby Lashley from WWE Crown Jewel 2022. On paper, that's a solid idea; every wrestling promotion since the dawn of time has wanted to book bouts between giants for the fans at home and in attendance to watch in awe. The only issue with that booking philosophy, and why every wrestling match isn't Hulk Hogan-Andre The Giant, is because there just aren't that many 6-foot-4, 350-pound guys who can move well enough to craft a compelling match. If he had Lashley and Lesnar, that would be one thing, but let's just say Tyrus doesn't really work like “The Allmighty” or “The Best Incarnate.”
Ex-WWE wrestler Tyrus commented on his controversial championship win.
Never one to avoid controversy, Tyrus took to Twitter to let fans know that he not only welcomes the hate from “woke hater trolls” but actually feeds off of it.
Welp, there you go folks; no one expected Tyrus to take the controversy as an opportunity for humility, and he did not disappoint.
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