Veteran pro wrestler Tyson Dux, who was one of the first round competitors in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, recently joined The Shining Wizards podcast to discuss his experience in the WWE tournament, getting signed for it, working with Zack Sabre, Jr., and more.
Was the weigh-in and 205-pound weight restriction legitimate or a work?
“Canyon Semen was in charge of talent relations, producer, all this stuff. He emails us and says, a month out, ‘Guys this is legit, we’re going to do weigh-ins. If you’re not under 205, you will be cut. We will make sure that there are people here, alternates, that will be ready and willing to take your spots on a moments notice. Fabian Aichner, and the guy from Chile, those guys were way over 230 and in that last month had to cut over 30 pounds to make this Cruiserweight Classic. That weigh-in was legit. What they put on Facebook of the weigh-in, that’s a legitimate thing where you saw actual relief, where they get up on those scales and they make 205.”
WWE agents restricting what they were allowed to do in the tournament:
“We had to deal with agents, every one of us. We had to plan it out, and do accordingly. Everybody was set to a certain type of way that they wanted things done. For me personally, I do a stalling suplex off the second rope, and they completely scrapped it. They said ‘no way can you do that’, for whatever reason. It was supposed to be me and Zack, 50/50 right up until the end, and it was more of a showcase for Zack, for his style. Which is understandable, I get it. But there were, I won’t say major handcuffs put on, but they did want to steer the ship the way they want to steer it.
Wrestlers getting in trouble for using banned moves:
“Tozawa is known for that snap German suplex before his hold, and they were adamant about saying ‘no head drops – absolutely no head drops at all.’ But when push came to shove, Tozawa did drop him directly on his bean for that snap German suplex. It’s the same as anything; it’s wrestling politics. You either bite the bullet and ask for forgiveness later, or you just do your stuff. I’m sure to god that Burning Hammer was not discussed. WWE doesn’t even let the Tombstone fly, except for Undertaker.”
Check out Tyson’s complete interview with The Shining Wizards podcast at the link above.
