Tyrus' Push & Cocaine Spot Cause NWA to Lose Out On Top-Tier Indy Talent

The decision for Tyrus to become NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion despite the controversies to his name led to Effy turning down an offer to join the promotion.

Tyrus captured the NWA's richest prize at Hard Times 3 in November 2022. Many accused the NWA of making Tyrus the champion solely because of potential mainstream exposure for the NWA thanks to Tyrus' role with FOX News. While Tyrus did appear on FOX programming with the title, Billy Corgan refuted the notion that Tyrus' push was due to his FOX affiliation.

Corgan went as far as to say that someone not willing to watch Tyrus wrestle shouldn't call themselves a wrestling fan. This comment drummed up further controversy with NWA's Kamille rejecting the idea.

Tyrus' time with the NWA has come to an end, but the negative effects of his time on top continue to haunt the promotion. During his Weekend at Effy's podcast, Efffy recalled being approached by Billy Corgan.

"I said go f**k yourself... I said 'I’m not helping you'. And they said 'Tyrus isn’t here anymore'. And you know what I said? 'You leaned into what Tyrus was doing, which was hate speech and Fox News bullshit, for such a long period that It f***ed you.'"

Effy also referenced the NWA's deal with the CW Network reportedly ending abruptly due to a spot at the Samhain pay-per-view where Father James Mitchell snorted what was presented as cocaine.

"You blow your TV deal with The CW... You want Effy to come in? All right. Well, guess what? It’s as easy as giving me $50 million, you stupid dumb-ass piece of sh*t. Go be a rat in a cage. Dumb-ass Billy Corgan, you f***ing loser.”

While Billy Corgan continues to tease a TV deal for the NWA, the CW Network has since announced a multi-year deal with WWE NXT.

While Billy Corgan's decision to make Tyrus the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion was controversial, the now-retired wrestler has controversies of his own. In 2019, FOX co-host Britt McHenry accused Tyrus of sexual harassment and filed a suit against Tyrus and FOX that December. The suit was later dropped and McHenry left FOX as part of an undisclosed settlement.

Tyrus has often used his platform with FOX to promote his anti-transgender views. In September, during his World title run, Tyrus said he'd gladly be arrested for 'snatching' a trans youth if they were swimming in the same pool as one of his daughters. The previous month, he said that he would attack his children if they shared their preferred pronouns.