Tyrus is parting ways with the world of wrestling after his defeat Sunday at the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) 75th Anniversary Show.
"It's bittersweet," George "Tyrus" Murdoch said of his retirement Tuesday on "Fox & Friends." "It's a happy time. But these are happy tears. It was the right decision and it was time."
The former NWA World Heavyweight Champion fought to defend his title against Ethan Carter III, known as EC3, in the Bull Rope Match at Sunday's event.
TYRUS: AMERICA LOVES WRESTLERS
Before the match Tyrus pledged to retire if he lost.
"EC3 was the better man. We fought like hell, but it was his time," the Fox News contributor said. "Although I'm retiring from in-ring life, I'll always be a part of the NWA."
Tyrus' career in professional wrestling began in the early 2000s after making his debut with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He also worked with Total Nonstop Action, renamed Impact Wrestling, before making his NWA debt in 2021.
"To be a great wrestler, you got to go 300 days a year, you got to train, you got to do those things. The NWA is growing, and they've got live events now, and they're doing all these things. My job was to promote, and I was the NWA champion. It's a small list. They can never take that away from me," Tyrus said. "It was just time and I talked to my family about it. My kids voted and I said, that's one last weekend that daddy's gone, and it was unanimous."
"I wanted to keep wrestling so all my kids could see me wrestle and wrestling for 20 years, and it opened so many doors for me."
Since rising to stardom through his athletic career, Tyrus has become a television personality, an actor, an author and comedian. He attributes his growth to the platform he was given, starting back with the WWE.
"I accomplished those things, and I was able to use that platform to establish myself," he said.
"I'm so thankful for my time in wrestling and how much it gave to me and how much hearing guys say things like, ‘Man, you changed my life…’ it's not the wrestling where you got to stay until you can't go anymore. You were able to use that platform to build other things, to leave other doors open for other guys and gals."
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In an emotional farewell, Tyrus also shared his appreciation for the fans and wrestling community.
"So many times in life you don't get to follow your dreams, and there was no mom, there was no dad in the stands, but there was the fans."
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