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The Undertaker allegedly disliked Vince McMahon’s bold decision to turn one of WWE’s top up-and-coming heels into a babyface in 2012.
Throughout 2011, Tyrus (formerly known as Brodus Clay) looked set to become one of the biggest villains on the WWE roster. After initially debuting as Alberto Del Rio’s bodyguard, the six-foot-eight powerhouse featured in vignettes as a monstrous heel before McMahon suddenly turned him babyface.
Speaking on Chris Van Vliet’s Insight podcast, the former WWE star recalled how The Undertaker gave his brutally honest feedback about the drastic character change.
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“‘Taker absolutely hated it,” Tyrus said. “He’s like, ‘Look at you... you’re the one guy that looks the part, so why are we doing this?’ He was always tough on me. It was always tough love with him.”
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Tyrus re-debuted in January 2012 with a fun-loving dance gimmick. He received a new nickname, The Funkasaurus, and danced with his own personal cheerleaders, The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi).
The Undertaker jokingly gave Tyrus bad advice
Described by Vince McMahon as his “most loyal performer,” The Undertaker spent 30 years in WWE as an in-ring competitor between 1990 and 2020. Due to his legendary status, the respected veteran was viewed by many as a locker room leader.
Tyrus added that the Hall of Famer once told him to purposely fall over during his entrance if he disliked his gimmick. He jokingly gave bad advice to show that superstars should do as requested even if they have doubts about their booking.
“He was like, ‘You know what, you should fall,’” Tyrus recalled. “‘Say what?!’ ‘Go out there, fall on the ramp, they’ll cut the whole gimmick, and you can get back to being what you need to be.’ I just remember saying, ‘Would you do that?’ He was like, ‘No, I’d do as I was told.’ So I did not fall, but his message was clear: you do what you’re told, no matter what you wanna do, and it will work out.”
Although he had reservations about the babyface gimmick, Tyrus still enjoyed performing as the loveable Funkasaurus character. The 49-year-old, who now wrestles in the NWA, received his release from WWE in June 2014.
Please credit Chris Van Vliet’s Insight podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
