Chris Adonis and Tyrus are confident heading into the Crockett Cup.
Two months ago, Chris Adonis and Tyrus stood across the ring as opponents. This weekend, they head into the action as partners. On June 3 and 4, Adonis and Tyrus will join forces as they compete in the 2023 NWA Crockett Cup from the #2 seed. With their position as the second-highest seed, Adonis and Tyrus receive a first-round bye.
Ahead of their performance at the Crockett Cup, The Midnight Riders spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard. Though they might not have teamed much beforehand, Chris Adonis and Tyrus share a lot of history together through WWE, NWA, and in real life. At NWA’s 312 pay-per-view in April, Adonis challenged Tyrus for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Now, the two have pivoted to become teammates. Looking toward the Crockett Cup, Adonis explained the dynamics of their partnership.
“What was cool about Tyrus is the history goes back even farther,” Adonis began. “It goes back to like 2004, I believe, or 2005. And I remember it was like my first WrestleMania with WWE and it was out here and Tyrus and myself have a mutual friend out here. His name is Rico, and he had an alias, Flex Furious was his gimmick name. We had a mutual friend in him and so basically, I knew of him out here. He bounced some of the same spots that I did. He went on to obviously bodyguard for Snoop [Dogg] and do much, much more. Even with the WWE thing, it’s kind of like we just kind of crossed paths with each other, but we were never really kind of on a roster together until maybe the very end, I guess maybe 2010. So yeah, we go back, man.”
“Again, [Tyrus] was out here in LA and I saw him as I was in WWE and we’ve never gotten a chance to team, let alone even really work much,” he continued. “I think we maybe did one tag match in NXT back when it was a whole different thing. So, then you fast forward to the NWA 312 pay-per-view, which I thought was a hell of a competitive matchup. It was probably Tyrus’s best match since he’s become the champion. I think this is a great opportunity in front of us too. I mean, I’m not over not winning the NWA championship, and I’m still obsessed with the idea of winning it. But in the meantime, the Crockett Cup and having Tyrus watching my back sounds like a good piece of history right there that we can obtain.”
Tyrus echoed similar sentiments later in the interview. Again, while they haven’t teamed together much, Tyrus believes they may be the two most dominant men in the NWA. With their strength and personal history, Tyrus thinks they have a strong chance to pull out a victory in the Crockett Cup tournament.
“It’s just like hockey, timing is everything. You want to have home ice. You want to have home court. The ‘Greek Freak’ [Giannis Antetokounmpo] getting hurt was a big — [the Miami Heat] stole three games [from the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs] with a bad back. He got injured. So, a little bit of luck and timing is everything, and guys coming together. Chemistry wins championships. And I guess that’s going to be our biggest challenge at the [Crockett] Cup. We’ve only tagged one time,” Tyrus pointed out.
“So, obviously we have to deal with that. But [as] arguably the two most dominant men in the sport at NWA right now, we should be able to figure it out. Plus, the good news is, personally, we’ve known each other for decades. So, other than this time, I think this was the first time we ever, I can’t remember, I think we were maybe in a tag in WWE once. I think it was in NXT, I believe, but I’ve forgotten more than I remember now in wrestling. But other than that, that’s the only two times [we’ve teamed].”
Tyrus also noted that they have a mutual understanding heading into the Crockett Cup. Adonis still has his eyes on the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, but first, the two must take care of business at the Crockett Cup. Afterward, though, Tyrus says they will have a discussion about a possible rematch.
“Chris and I have an understanding,” Tyrus said. I’ll be the first one to say Chris was within an eyelash of being the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and I guarantee you — he wants a rematch. I want a rematch, but we have agreed that we will take care of business, and when it’s over, then we’ll have that conversation. That was something that we shook hands on because, just like with Trevor Murdoch, Matt Cardona had an open heat when I won the championship, he said it was unfair. He wasn’t pinned. I gave him. And that’s another reason why I think the fans are coming. If a guy says he was done wrong, I’m like, ‘Let’s make it right’. Then Matt and I, we settled it and we moved on. So, the same thing with Adonis.”
Watch the full interview with Chris Adonis and Tyrus below:
