Tyson Fury On Potential Return To WWE
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Tyson Fury on his future with WWE: “There is still a lot of opportunity there”
Tyson Fury’s immediate future is planned out.
Fury closes out the month on October 28 in a crossover pay-per-view bout against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who is making his professional boxing debut. Fury’s WBC heavyweight title will not be on the line, but it will be a spectacle to see two of the toughest men in combat sports compete against one another.
“Who’s the baddest motherf----- on the planet?” said Fury. “That’s what this fight will tell you. We’re both two heavyweights in our prime. It’s two worlds colliding.”
Following the fight against Ngannou, which should draw considerable interest, Fury (33-0) will seek to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion in boxing since 1999. That will take place in either December or January when Fury fights Oleksandr Usyk (21-0), who holds the IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
Once those two fights are finished, The Gypsy King will have some extra time on his hands.
Courtesy WWE
Fury is no stranger to WWE. Now 35, he is already contemplating his next move after he retires from boxing. Could a return to WWE, he was asked, be a possibility?
“I’ve been doing this for 15 years, which is a long time,” said Fury. “I know it won’t last forever. And it’s true, I’ve had a few good stints in WWE. There is still a lot of opportunity there.”
Fury made his first appearance in WWE four years ago. He went on to wrestle his first (and, thus far, only) match when he shared the ring with Braun Strowman at the Crown Jewel show in Saudi Arabia in November 2019, winning by countout.
Another appearance took place last year at the Clash at the Castle pay-per-view, where he defended Drew McIntyre from an attack by Austin Theory. McIntyre fell short in his quest to defeat Roman Reigns, and the show ended when he joined Fury for a rendition of “American Pie” with the crowd in Cardiff.
“It’s an amazing experience there,” said Fury. “At the moment, I’m very busy with boxing. I’m still active and on top of my chosen profession, so this is where my focus will be. After that, we’ll see.”
Fury has heard from plenty of critics who do not believe he should be fighting Ngannou, a tremendous fighter yet someone who will likely be overwhelmed by a master of the craft. But Fury believes in what he is doing, and he is disregarding the criticisms.
“They’re just jealous that I’m getting a bag and they’re not,” said Fury. “It’s a large bag. I can barely carry it. No matter who you are or the profession, haters are going to hate. Go back in history and name the critics.
“Is it good or bad for boxing? Those are opinions of sheep, and that means nothing to the king of the jungle.”
The (Online) Week in Wrestling
- SmackDown was especially compelling on Friday, led by the tense staredown between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, who remains the favorite to headline WrestleMania.
- As good as SmackDown was, Raw was even better. The advertised matches actually took place, there was an entertaining Gunther-Bronson Reed bout, and the Falls Count Anywhere match pitting Shinsuke Nakamura against Ricochet was fantastic.
- There was also some solid storytelling on Raw, where Judgment Day ran rampant–and regained the tag titles–without Kevin Owens to protect the babyfaces. Owens was the player-to-be-named later traded to SmackDown for Jey Uso, a maneuver crafted by Cody Rhodes–but now a source of controversy with Owens off the show.
- The moment between Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill on SmackDown was everything it should have been.
- Congratulations to Nick Aldis, who has worked very hard for his moment in WWE.
- If you haven’t already watched, the Bryan Danielson-Christian Cage match from Collision on Saturday night was absurdly entertaining. We’re very fortunate that both these men are wrestling in 2023.
- For those seeking more excellent wrestling: look no further than Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. from this past weekend’s NJPW Royal Quest III.
The Undertaker and LA Knight share this in common
Paul Bearer was a real-life mortician.
Courtesy WWE
Bill Moody, who later gained fame in wrestling as Bearer, became fascinated with death at the age of nine. The assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy still stands as a dark moment in America’s history, but it helped shape the future of an indispensable piece of wrestling history: it was the event that caused the nine-year-old Moody to become infatuated with death.
Moody had two dreams as a child in Mobile, Alabama. First, he wanted to become a funeral director. The second was to become a pro wrestler.
He accomplished both, as a mortician and as a wrestler–fittingly named the Masked Embalmer. Yet his lasting, enduring gift to the industry began when he embarked on a career as a wrestling manager, which he did as the cocky, fast-talking Percival “Percy” Pringle III.
As Pringle, he managed a number of wrestlers, like “Ravishing” Rick Rude and Lex Luger, that went on to become big stars in the industry. He was also serendipitously paired with a masked wrestler named Texas Red in June of 1987. The match, which took place under the World Class Championship Wrestling banner, saw the iconic Bruiser Brody make quick work of the nondescript masked big man. As fate would have it, Texas Red–perhaps better recognized later as The Undertaker–and Percy Pringle were reunited on a much grander platform, playing key roles in Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation, where Bearer was the quintessential complement to The Undertaker.
Courtesy WWE
It was impossible not to think of Moody last week during WWE’s stunning takeover of NXT, which featured, among others, John Cena, Paul Heyman, and Cody Rhodes. The show also included star cameos from the legendary Undertaker and rising star LA Knight, a 20-year wrestling veteran hungry to finally leave his footprints at the very top of wrestling’s pantheon.
WWE released photos from throughout the day of the NXT event, one of which included Knight and Taker. Incredibly, both were managed by Moody.
Moody passed away in 2013, only weeks before WrestleMania 29 (and his death, with full blessing from his family, was used as part of the CM Punk-Undertaker storyline). Three years before his death, back as Percy Pringle, he began managing a hot shot by the name of Shaun Ricker. That is the real name of LA Knight, who was wrestling at the time for NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.
As LA Knight, Ricker continues to reach new heights. He is a throwback, putting in his time in multiple promotions before getting a long-awaited opportunity in WWE. As endearing as his dedication are his ties to the past, especially his work with Paul Bearer.
Tweet of the Week
The man who brought Mojo Rawley to life is Dean Muhtadi, and he offered a somber take on all the suffering in Israel and Palestine.
