How does Brodus Clay maintain his fun, lighthearted demeanor while at the same time being taken seriously as a dangerous competitor?
I think it has a lot to do with my personality. I’m always cracking jokes and being kind of a smart aleck, so it’s sort of my thing. I find that more intimidating than going full-range because when you actually do, it means something. Plus, I enjoy what I do. It’s hard to be mad about what you enjoy doing. If you don’t like your job, you’re going to be angry. But if you do like your job, you should be able to smile a little bit. 

Does that monster we used to see still live inside The Funkasaurus?
Oh yeah! Probably if I got frustrated to a point where I thought letting it out was the only way to deal with things, because then I can’t really be responsible for my actions. That’s like going to a place you don’t like to go, though. At that point, it’s almost like Dr. Bruce Banner saying, “Don’t make me angry—you wouldn’t like me.”

Does Tons of Funk travel together? What kind of car ride is that?
Tensai and I do travel together. We usually argue over music. I’m more of a hip-hop guy. He’s more of an ’80s guy. So we butt heads about that. I’m on a strict diet, and he likes the nicer restaurants—while I’m more of an egg-white kind of guy—so we butt heads on that a little bit. But there’s a lot of fun and a lot of wrestling talk. Like, which type of old-school stuff did you like better? We talk about outfits and stuff like that. Just nonstop.

It’s been a while since a couple heavyweights controlled the tag ranks; how will Tons of Funk change the tag team scene in WWE?
We move very well for guys our size, so we’re definitely a matchup problem for different styles. We pride ourselves on having great footwork and we’re not afraid to take risks. We’re hoping at some point to be in a Ladder Match, a Tables Match or a full-on TLC Match to show what we can really do. 

Some dinosaurs are carnivores. Some are herbivores. What does a Funkasaurus eat?
He’s definitely a carnivore, but I have some omnivorous tendencies. I don’t mind eating some spinach here and there. I’m allergic to pizza, cakes and pies. It causes swelling.

It looks like we’ve seen a slimmer Funkasaurus of late; what sparked the weight loss?
At one time, when I was with Alberto Del Rio in 2011, I weighed 440 pounds. When I first re-signed with WWE, I was 489 pounds. And my last weigh-in this week, I was at 363. My goal is 335, so I’m not too far off from that. I’ve got a great trainer at Hard Knocks in Florida. We watch our carb intake and portions of food. I eat different styles and at different times. Workouts for me involve  a lot of powerlifting and supersets. With losing weight, I was still able to bench press 502 pounds, which is the No. 2 rank for bench press at Hard Knocks South.

Have you found that there are any downsides after losing so much weight?
A lot of times when guys lose weight, they lose a lot of power and strength. But I was able to keep mine. It’s a little bit trickier now: I probably would’ve been 335 a lot sooner if it wasn’t so much weight training, because you still have to eat a lot of protein. There will be times when I lose too much weight too fast, so I’ll have to put some back on, or I’ll look tired. Because you actually can see it in my face sometimes if I’ve been dieting too hard.

To read more from this exclusive interview including Tensai’s advice, their team bonding activities, and advice on how to drop some serious weight, pick up the August issue of WWE Magazine or SUBSCRIBE HERE and save 70 percent off the newsstand sale price.