Before Tyrus wrestled with political issues as a Fox Nation host and regular panelist on Fox News Channel's "The Greg Gutfeld Show," the pithy behemoth built a name for himself in another right where no holds are barred.
The 6-foot, 7-inch, 375-pound Fox News personality, whose frank and hilarious insights have made him a popular political observer, was a wrestler in the WWE, going from a hated heel to a kid-friendly hero.
“They just didn’t know what they were going to do with me,” Tyrus told the podcast "Why it Ended with Robert Strauss" of his early days wrestling for the WWE. “I really didn’t find myself… I was trying too hard to be too many things so I wasn’t really anything.”
Tyrus spoke about his early days as a bouncer, his time as a bodyguard for rapper Snoop Dogg and working with the WWE and owner Vince McMahon.
FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT TYRUS
“I already had a pretty good reputation in Hollywood as one of the top bouncers in clubs and stuff. We had a pretty good crew. A lot of fights and stuff,” Tyrus told Strauss and co-host Matt Koon of his life before pro wrestling.
Set to become a monster bad guy in WWE, McMahon changed Tyrus’ character ‘Brodus Clay’ into a fun-loving, kid-friendly, dancing spectacle nicknamed the ‘Funkasaurus.’
“[WWE superstar and executive] Triple H had me ready to go be a heel, he had no desire for me to be the ‘Funkasaurus.’” said Tyrus. “[McMahon] thought I was funny, somehow being funny in the locker room equates to dancing in the ring.”
While many political commentators have started out as politicians, political strategists or even talk radio hosts not many spent the fair amount of their professional career inside a wrestling ring or performed at Wrestlemania.
“It was some great times and some great moments… I’m proud to be a WWE alumni,” Tyrus said. “If it wasn’t for my time there, there’s no way I’d be excelling at Fox and acting.”
Given his size and flair for dramatics, Tyrus seemed destined for the wrestling business. But recently Tyrus has been able to showcase his unique political perspective on “The Greg Gutfeld Show,” has guest hosted on “The Five,” co-hosts “Un-PC” on Fox Nation with Britt McHenry and co-hosts a podcast with Kat Timpf called the “Tyrus & Timpf Podcast.”
The podcast interview turned political when Strauss, an independent professional wrestler who recently appeared on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s NBC competition show “Titan Games,” revealed he did not vote in the 2016 presidential election.
“If there was one guy who I said, ‘Stay out of it, don’t vote’... Robbie stay out of it. Don’t vote,” Tyrus told Strauss.
Strauss and Tyrus have wrestled as a team on the independent wrestling scene.
Tyrus also opened up about his time as Snoop Dogg’s bodyguard and the rapper’s eating habits.
“I had gained 120 pounds from the time I left [Snoop Dogg for the WWE],” Tyrus said. “ [Snoop Dogg] literally eats at 7-11.”
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