At NWA Hard Times 3 on November 12th, Tyrus was crowned the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, defeating former champion Trevor Murdoch and Matt Cardona in triple threat action. While this marks the star’s first World Heavyweight Championship reign, it is also historic for the fact that Tyrus, who stands at 6’7″ and weighs over 350lbs, is the largest man in history to win the prestigious title.
Speaking in an interview with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald, Tyrus commented on his historic win and said that he took a moment to thank the men who’ve held the title previously. The belt’s lineage includes such legendary wrestlers as Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, and Dusty Rhodes.
“I was elated, I was shocked, I didn’t realize the historic…you know you make history, but only 100 guys, now 101 guys, have held this championship. To find out I’m the largest NWA Champion of all-time is pretty cool. Although, Andre The Giant could have won it anytime he wanted to, he just chose not to. I took a moment after I won the match to take a knee and thank the champions before me.” (h/t Fightful)
Booker T Burst Out Laughing When He Found Out Tyrus Was The New NWA Champion
One man who didn’t seem as elated by Tyrus’ big win was WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. On a recent edition of his ‘Hall Of Fame’ podcast, Booker and co-host Brad Gilmore discussed the recent stories coming out of NWA, with Booker T saying:
“I don’t know a whole lot about NWA other than I see it sporadically, and I know they’ve got that studio feel of wrestling like the old Crockett promotion from back in the day” (h/t WrestlingInc)
The former WCW Champion then asked who the current NWA Champion is. Upon learning that it was Tyrus, Booker T commented, “Okay, that tells me everything I need to know” before bursting into laughter.
Booker T then asked Gilmore to name his favorite Tyrus match, to which the co-host responded with “whichever one was the quickest.”