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Welcome back to another exciting edition of the Devon of the Duke podcast. This is a limited edition series hosted by your main man. Duke loves wrestling and of course the five time Hall of Famer, the YouTube sensation, the man who trended during WWE Summer Slam, which is just fascinating to me all these years later in the in in this man 1/2 of the Dudley boys still trending above current stars which is wow the one the only brother Devon Dudley.
How you doing there Devon? I'm doing good, not bad, not bad at all. Very eventful last couple of weeks for me and enjoyed every bit of it trending. I didn't know until you said something about it. So, you know, I mean, hey, God is good. That's all I'm going to say. Like you said, there's so many current superstars that probably blow me away. And I say that in terms of blow me away because they're current right now. Remember, I decide out of mind.
And when you're not in the public eye in the wrestling business like you used to be and you take on a different role, chances are you twit chance of you trending more than the people that are currently out there doing what they're doing. That says something. So, you know, again, I'm very humble and very grateful to God that you know that that happened
and I can't be more happier. You know, respect to, to Bubba, respect to your brother, your brother, you know, he, he's, he manages to get himself on TV every year pretty often, whether he's doing stuff with TNA or, you know, WWELFG or interviews, whatever he, he's Bubba is always in front of a camera. So, you know, kudos to him because in his own way, he's keeping the brand alive by doing that.
But with that said, the pop that you got when they, they put the camera on the both of you, and especially when, when, when you know, Bubba said Devon and you like what people were just going crazy. Could you feel that energy when when you guys were doing that? Because on TV it came across? Oh yeah, absolutely. 56,000 people screaming. It was great. Even when we walked out with the Hardys, the Hardys with the Hardys were like maybe 25 feet on the side of us and ahead of us.
So, you know, you got there, they got there pop. But then as we started walking, we got ours. So you can definitely tell the difference and you know the pops and it was, it was, it was, it was overwhelming. It was so special to see Bro. And then again on X, you guys trended for for the next couple of matches, which was amazing. So, so not just trending above whoever else is on the card, but of all the topics happening in the world, the Dudley boys were
trending. So it's like, man, you know, you again, that that brand is still something that people care about, still something that people like talking about. And most importantly, you guys are still people that they want to see, especially together. So, you know, I got to tip my hat to you, man, to, to remain relevant for so long and to be able to to still in this modern day with so much going on, to be able to capture people's attention and hold it like that.
That's good stuff, man. That's, that's really good stuff, you know? You know, I again, I can only thank God. I know people probably try to try to hear me saying this, but I do. I just thank God because I don't care if they're tired of me saying this or not. Nothing happens without God's approval. I mean, and you know, things like that is, is all I need to hear and, and see, you know, because again, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be in this
position that I'm in right now. You know, and I, and I brought this up and I was going to say this to somebody that pretty much was talking about when wrestlers leave the business or they're not as relevant as they used to be. And I say, and I'm, I'm bringing this up because here it is, you know, even during the Attitude era, not so much the Hogan and Andre era, because we know back then there was no social media. There wasn't anything for these guys go make money.
If they didn't do the right thing with their money or they working though they wasn't working behind the scenes in some capacity, you can make money. The Attitude ever that generation, we were lucky to stumble upon social media when it came out because now a lot of us are being able to make money outside of the wrestling business. Although so many of us that left during the time of the end of the Attitude ever how to get a regular nine to five job and go out there and work.
And believe me when I say it, there's nothing wrong with that. But when you're so used to being in front of the camera and entertainment business and making money that way, it's hard for an individual to go back to another a nine to five job. It's very hard and sometimes mentally it plays a huge play in
your mind thought process. And so for me to be able not only to make money at the autograph signings and I do the legends deal that WWE has given Bubba and myself, the things that you know, with fanatics, the signing of the autographs, the baseball cards and everything. Like I said, the legends deal with the royalty checks and things like that. And not to mention with my businesses, the detailing business, the wrestling school,
which is doing very well. And on top of that, the YouTube channel, you know, making money off the YouTube channel and then with the sponsorships that come in. I've been blessed in every way, shape or form to continue this Devon brand going. And it's only through the grace of God that this is happening. So people who that don't believe in the Bible don't believe in God. And I get that every once in a while when I go on my Instagram at Testify Devon and I put biblical things up there.
You have the devil working in full capacity because you'll get some idiot that'll say the Bible ain't real, God ain't real. Tell Satan. I don't even respond. I just block them. And it's not worth talking to ignorant people like that. If you don't believe what I believe, then that's that's you. OK, But my belief is God and what I believe. I believe that book that we called the Bible. So if you don't believe it,
that's on you. I'm not saying you going to hell, not that you believe in hell and in heaven, but in my opinion, that's your opinion. You're not going to persuade me in any way, shape or form. My mother and father raise me to believe in God, to believe in the Bible and to study the Word and that's what I do. I don't study the word the way I should, but I study it and I and I take Bible quotes and I listen and I listen to preaching all the time.
Am IA Christian that is going to say I'm going to heaven because I do all that. No, because I fall just like the next man. I've done things that I'm not proud of even to this day. You know, I go through my own trials and tribulations, but doesn't mean I'm going to give up on God. That old saying in the church, he may not come when you want him, but I'm going to tell you he's always on time. And instead of looking for vengeance in myself, I try to get the person back for what
that done me wrong. I sit back with popcorn, put my feet up on my desk, and I watch God at work. That's what I do. Here, here. I I love that. It's funny you say that because that's one of my my mom's favorite things to say to me all the time. Don't try to get seek vengeance on your own. God will sort it out, you just got to be patient. You certainly will. You have to be patient and wait because we're so impatient because we want it right then and now.
When something's done wrong to us, we want it taken care of right then and now. Which is why you see so many times when people say things wrong to us or you go on social media and people start getting the best verbally of somebody and that other person feel like they got to come back and say something back to them. For what? Because just cuz you say what you say is not going to get through their head. What you're what you're thinking is how it hurts your feelings or it hurts you.
They're still going to feel the same way. It's only when Dodd pointed out to them that they realize that they screwed. Up Speaking of screwing up, I I got to tell you man, the the dirt sheets have really put a bad taste in my mouth through the years. Just for, you know, misinformation, blatant lies, spinning narratives to try to put themselves over, digging into the, you know, digging into the personal life. You guys, What what? What do they do now?
Here's a great example. There is A and I'm not going to name, I'm not going to say their name because all that does is give them press. I can tell you offline who I'm talking about specifically, but you know it's a lowlife scumbag that has gone out of their way. They've lied about you before. One of their big things that they've been whispering to people and and posting about is that Devon Dudley will never be cleared again to wrestle. It'll never happen.
His health is too bad. He he'll never wrestle again. Trust me, it's not. It's not going to happen. This, this, this, this. This complete and utter goofball who has never spoken to you before, by the way, has never directly spoken to you, acts as if they're your doctor or something like that. And they've been telling anyone and everyone that'll listen that you will never perform again.
Which is ironic, because coming up in October, you and your brother are going to be in Lowell, MA, wrestling. What could be the final Dudley Boys match in history? And you're going up against the Hardy Boys, folks, This is going to be for TNA once again, right? What is it? Bound for glory. Huge pay-per-view event. The president of TNA has been talking about it. He's excited for the match. He can't wait to see it. Carlos Silva, shout out to him and he said something
interesting. He said, look, we're not going to put anybody out there who can't physically be out there. We're not going to risk anybody's lives or anything like that. So if we put the match together, there's a reason for that. So so so Devon, for the dirt chic goofballs who've been misleading people and talking this nonsense. Are you able to wrestle this match? Yes or no? Yes. What they fail to understand too is I have a wrestling school in in not Kissimmee anymore.
So I went to park and I get in the ring and I teach and I, you know, teach these students. I take bumps, I do everything in this ring. So before you start running your mouth, if you don't know me, reach out to me. Ask me. I'll tell you. I don't have any feelings. If I didn't think I couldn't. If I don't think I could, I wouldn't. If I felt that my body wasn't going to be able to take it and I wouldn't. Here's the deal. The only people I do trust is Matt and Jeff.
I'm going off a script and I'll say hi. It's Matt and Jeff that I trust. And I say that because those are the only two that I would put my body on the line with just because of our history and what we've done and how we feel about each other. Not saying that somebody's going to go easy or anything like that, but again, if I felt like I didn't, I couldn't do it, then I wouldn't do it. It's as simple as that. No one's making me. I'm not doing it because I need the money or anything.
I said it on my YouTube channel. You know, when Bubba left the company in 2016 and didn't want to resign, I felt that I still had something left in this tank. And when I went to Triple H and asked him, I said, what happens if I don't take this producer role? What does that mean? And he says, well, unfortunately, the old man wants both of you. He doesn't just want 1. He doesn't want just Bubba and he doesn't want just Devon. You're kind of like in the same scenario with Animal and Hawk.
You know, we didn't want one without the other. So if you don't take this deal with being a producer, then we're going to have to let you go. I had a family to feed. I had to do it. There was benefits involved. There was a large amount of money that was put on the table as a producer that I didn't have to wrestle anymore. So I took the producer's role and I was always trying to give little scenarios here and there how I can come back and help out the younger talent.
And then the stroke happened and I couldn't do it. But it was always an itch that I was needing to scratch. And that was the itch in the 1000 episode. Remind you, I was about maybe seven months out of back surgery and did what I did at the 1000 episode. Was I in pain? Yes. Did this have anything to do with the stroke?
No, the stroke was cleared me a year after that if I wanted to get back in the rain, you know, and I said OK, but now it was the back surgery that was causing me the problems because you have to get used to all of that. You know, you get used to the bolts and screws. The fusion, what was it, 8 months? I think it was after it, eight months, almost a year. That's not going to work that quick.
I'm going on now almost three years and not to mention I keep saying that DDP yoga it works working with DDP, his wife Paige Bobby Fish, who I just did a who I just did a session with yesterday at my school and I get in the ring, I hit the ropes and start bumping, taking bumps. I don't do leg drops anymore. And believe me when I say this, I want I was telling, I was telling my lady, I said I want to do leg drops so bad and this match with the Hardee's, but I'm afraid, I'm afraid because of
the compression. This is what happened with Hogan and Hogan admitted it to me and he and he said it in interviews. All the years of doing that leg drop. The easiest move to possibly do is what caused them. They they're going to have those back problems because you're compressing your vertebrates. You know, you're jumping up in the air and you come crashing down. For as many years as Hogan has wrestled, he did a leg drop every single time. Not to mention all the other
stuff he probably did too. But the leg drop was what really, really did it for him. And I wanted to pay tribute to Hogan. I did. But then I thought about it. I said I can't take that chance. I can't take that chance of doing a leg drop and messing up something and chance, No, I might not mess up anything, but I just don't want to take that chance. So to go back to the original question, can I, can I still go? Yes, I can still go. If I didn't think so, I
wouldn't. And besides, I'm not going to be flying off with ladders and jumping off the tables or through tables. We're going to have a nice, we'll have a nice nostalgia match where we're going to get people happy jumping out of their seats. Devon, get the tables, you know, version 1, Matt Hardy, you know, get them doing everything, you know, delete, delete, delete. We're going to entertain the people and still give them what they want. We're going to show them that we
have not lost the step. And if I went in that ring at the wrestling school with those students and I couldn't do what I was doing, then I would say I can't do this match. But that's not the case. I'm in that ring and I'm doing it. Just because you don't see me doing it don't mean that I'm not doing it. And I think a lot of people are going to regret what they're saying. Come bound for glory.
Well, that that's the best part. It did you know these goofballs, they know they're fans of yours and and they're always trying to come up with something in order to talk about you. But the fact that they want to act as if that, you know, they play the doctor on TV, so that makes that makes them feel like they could say whatever they want. It's just silly. It's it's all silly.
I don't understand it. A bunch of people have asked me to ask you directly from a a mental and physical standpoint. I guess you kind of answered this question already, but I'll ask you this phrase a little differently from a mental and physical standpoint as it relates to this match against the Hardys, the retirement match. How are you feeling? Feel great, you know, Nor am I looking at this as being something where I'm scared to do anything like that. No, listen, I've, again, I've
still been in the ring. I've still been doing things after the 1000 episode. Am I going to do a leg drop? No. Am I going to do anything that's going to compress my vertebrae? No, I'm not. And even if I didn't have the surgery and I was healthy as an ox, I shouldn't be doing that anyway. So I'm not going to sit here and do things that's going to, you know, hurt me or injure me. Listen, Bubba and I have never been guys that have been high Flyers.
We've been on the ground punching, kicking and doing a shoulder tackle, my spinning elbow 3D, you know, things like that. The what's up. Hell, I may, may not do the what's up. I don't know. I know when that adrenaline is going through my body, I might go, OK, let's do it. Then again, I might say no, I don't want to. You know, I've done everything that I was supposed to do in this wrestling business for me. Did I win a world title?
No, I didn't. Did some of my, you know, people that I was with one yes, And that's fine with them. I was happy with the tag team division. I was happy with my singles run in TNA with the television title. I'm good. This will put the final nail in the coffin of what I need to do. So I'm good. I don't need to. Go out there and be the ECWD behind. I didn't care about his body. I'm going to protect my body. Like Randy Orton told me when I had that talk with him.
And I said this in an interview, Yvonne, you got to think smart. And he said he goes, I know it's kind of weird coming from me because you kind of helped me through the ranks coming up in the business when you were vet and I was a rookie. But now I'm going to tell you what you used to tell me. Think smart, go in there and and entertain, but go in there and do it smart, he said. That's what I do.
And I've been looking at Randy's, Orton, Randy Orton's matches since he's been back from the back surgery. And what is it that crazy that Randy does? He really doesn't do anything crazy. He goes out there, he entertains, he does what he has to do and the matches are success. The bottom line is you put a story behind what you're doing and that's what we should be doing. That's what was taught to us back during the Attitude Era when we were growing up in the business or the ECW era.
You don't have to go out there and kill yourself and maim yourself. Just go out there and think smart. There's a reason why Dusty Rose and Rick Flay and all of them lasted as long as they didn't have the successful career that they had. They did a smart, They told a story in their match. Every move, every hit, every everything meant something. And that's what you have to do now.
You have to think realistically, not egotistically, because it's suicide if you even think of doing it any other way. So for those that want to know, I'm fine, I'm good. I'm not going to be one of those guys that, you know, regret it later. No, because I'm going to go out there and do things smaller and I'm going to go out there with two guys that I know that will take care of me and won't do anything stupid Jeff to, you know, injure me.
And again, guys, I love Jeff. Don't think that I'm scared the death to Jeff because I'm not he's he's a little off his rock at times, but Jeff knows what he's doing. Jeff is crazy. I love him just as much as he loves me. And I wouldn't have it any other way but to be in there with Matt and Jeff, the Hardy Boys. I would love to have Christian and Edge in the mix.
But, you know, and just and after I almost forgot, think about Edge with his neck, you know, I mean, that's even more dangerous than my back, you know, Edge going in there and doing things smart, you know, with the exception of jumping off the. Page Yeah, I. Remember, I remember I called them up. I said, bro, what are you doing? He goes, Devon, I don't know what I was thinking. I was caught up in the moment. I was feeling good. I said, you know, we too damn
old to be doing that shit. I said even, I said even when we were 20s, we shouldn't have been doing that because it takes a toll on the body. You know, I did a thing on my YouTube channel about bumps being taken and how Debbie Allen took this bump through a glass table on the outside and I was like, damn bro. I was like, I love you to death. We've met you a great guy, but man, take care of your body.
Don't let these knucklehead promoters talk you into doing stuff that you have to wow the crowd and then pay for it 20 years down the line. Freaking take care of your body, man. So there could be you could have a 5060 year career as opposed to only a 20. You know, just take care of your body. Well said. Well said.
Once again folks, TNA wrestling presents Bound for Glory 2025 That's Sunday October 12th at the Songus Center in Lowell, MA. Now mind you, this is the biggest TNA pay-per-view of the year, but in addition to that, it's the 20th anniversary of Bound For Glory. So of course they got to do it big, with two of the greatest tag teams of all time squaring off other than the Road Warriors to see who the greatest tag team is once and for all, 'cause you know, Devon, the Hardys keep
trying to take that crown from y'all. So that's why you got to slap them around a little bit and remind them, you know, tickets. Tickets are on sale at the Songas center.evenue.net, folks. So definitely get your tickets. They're going to sell out quick. You want to be there. It is going to be a celebration, no doubt about it. And clearly the Hardys and the and the Dudleys are going to be playing all the greatest hits. Play free bird, play free bird.
They can be playing all the greatest hits, folks. So you don't want to miss this way, man, I'll tell you, listen, you, you posted a, a photo on your Instagram, Speaking of your Instagram. And I was blown away. Dixie Carter. Now, mind you, and and I hate to date her like this, but she's coming up on her 61st birthday here. So in October, she's going to turn 61 years old, and damn it, she looks at least 20 years younger than that. Incredible. She looks great. She looks great.
And you know, my hat goes off to Dixie. Dixie always looked good, I thought. I didn't think there was a time when Dixie ever looked bad or too old, you know, And you know, I've gone public in saying that during the Dixie regime that I was very unhappy with TNA because of how I felt I was being treated at the time. But Dixie and I talked and since then and you know, so it's water under the well. You move on.
Business is business. I am where I am in life and nothing really hurt me to that point where I can sit there and hold the grudge because I'm not. But I will say, like I said, I will say this, they helped me during the time when I left WWE and you know, I'm just very grateful for the 10 years that I spent with them and had some good times.
Whether it be wrestling in the very beginning to help the tag team division, whether it had been the television title run or even the Aces and Eights. I have a great time. Were there a lot of bad times in between? Sure there were. But we got through it, we became successful, and that's all that matters. You know, it's, I'm going to ask you an interesting question that you've probably never been asked before, but let me set this up here because you're very close with your mom.
I'm very close with my mom. I know for me personally, I've been fortunate enough, and this is kind of unusual, I've had in terms of, of leadership in every job that I've had for the most part, at some point I had a woman for a boss. So if I were to tally it up, I would say, I would say almost half of the, the, the people I've ever had to report through to through the years, even to this day were women.
So, so I got a unique perspective on what women can do, how they are as leaders, etcetera, etcetera. And, and I got to tell you, you know, me personally, I've always preferred if I have to report to anybody women because I've, I've gotten along with women so well just in life in general. So it's, you know, we, we just flow not to say is anything wrong with working for a man, but you know how we are. We, we can, we can be a little much, especially the other men.
We tell you to do it. You better get it done, get in your face, want to smack you around and stuff. You know, women is there's a different approach there that I respect. So you're somebody who you you had Dixie as as really one of the final bosses in that company, but you in WWE, you also had Stephanie McMahon, who was very high up there throughout your time in the company. How did it feel to work in the wrestling industry with women who were in charge and Stephanie
and Dixie in particular? What were some of the differences, if any, to the way that they would manage their leadership compared to all the different men that you worked for in wrestling? Let me see if I understand the question before I answer, because I don't want to mess this up in detail. What do you mean? What what are some of the differences between the way that Dixie and Stephanie would manage, give direction, hold people accountable, and all that?
I'm going to say this. I got you. I'm going to say this. With Dixie, there was a level of forgiveness to a sense where you could play on Dixie's heartstrings, I believe, and chances are she would break because I think a lot of times Dixie didn't realize how conniving that the people in this business could be. And I believe that there were a lot of people that took advantage of Dixie that knew that, that were able to talk her into not standing her ground and, and things like that.
Now, Stephanie, on the other hand, you ain't playing with her man. Stephanie was so much like dance in a sense where you couldn't pull anything over her head, which was good because, you know, with the ego that were in WWE at that time, you couldn't do that to Stephanie. Stephanie learned from her dad. Stephanie learned from Hannah, you know, Stephanie learned, you know, from Pat Patterson.
I mean, there were people there that groomed Stephanie to be in a position during that time that she was in. And while she was able to handle it, you couldn't sit up there and manipulate Stephanie. Stephanie was too smart for that. And again, she, she would take a
page out of her father's book. And that sometimes I used to always say that Stephanie was probably more ruthless than Vince if ever given the, the, the, the, the full, the full booking or what have you on or the ownership of the company. Because you know, as a woman, you have a lot to prove that you're not a pushover and things like that, because a lot of men would probably want to take advantage of that.
But you couldn't. Again, I got to say you could not do that with Stephanie, you know, and she was taught by Triple H as well. So as Hannah was learning through Vince, Stephanie was learning through Vince and Hannah. Yeah, well said. Well said. Stephanie also has a business degree from Boston. That was Boston College. Oh, OK. Yeah, actually, she's a very, she's a very intelligent woman. Yeah, Boston University, excuse me, Boston University, but she, she, like you said, she's nobody
to play with, excellent leader. And she has a new podcast and I'm just putting it out there. I I would love to see Devon Dudley be interviewed by Stephanie McMahon so that you can tell her yourself, Devon, that when you said that she was a beautiful woman and all that good stuff there in the dirt sheets ran with it. You, you weren't trying to flirt or do anything like that. So.
So we need you on that show to clear that up so Stephanie can look you in your eye 'cause you know she'll snatch you up if you say the wrong thing to look you in your eye as she. Man, you know you make me not want to be on her show. You scared the hell out of me right now. Listen, you don't know, man. I would. I would. I would. I would. I'm going to fix you with everything. Yeah, I know. I see that. No, but you know, the word, the wording was messed up during that time.
And instead of saying I admired, I said I was infatuated with her. And of course, infatuation and admire are two different meanings, two different definitions. But again, it was one of those things where I was talking and not really paying attention to what I was saying. And I used the word infatuated, but I was only trying to say that, you know, I admired her a lot for what she had been through coming up. Look, she grew up in this business.
She knew, you know, the Andre and Hogan era, she knew the Brett and Shawn era, and of course she knew the The Rock and Austin era, She knew the Attitude era. So I was, I was basically putting over how smart she was in the business. And then they got turned around and said that, oh, well, Devon has a crush. Watch out, Triple H No, no, watch out. Watch out for what you know, that woman is madly in love with her husband and her husband's madly in love with her.
Ain't nobody trying to disrupt that. Ain't nobody trying to start no controversy. So, you know, all of those knuckleheads that try to run with that. And there were people that I was in the ring with that try to do a try to do a thing on that too. And I made it publicly known they can go F off because you know damn well that wasn't the case. And I didn't mean it that way, but people ran with it and it
was what it was. And at the time I was home recovering from the back surgery, so I was like, thank God I didn't have to go into work and go into those meetings. I can only imagine. Well. What my fellow you know other producers and people would have said. I would tell you something funny, man, because she just put out a new episode where she
interviewed Naomi and Jimmy USO. And at one point, I don't know how they even got there, but they were talking about Trish Stratus and and how she's everyone's first crush and what have you. And Jimmy was saying how he had Trish Stratus's poster up on his wall. That was like the first poster. His mom would let him hang. And Stephanie was like, wait a second, you had Trish on your wall. You didn't have me on your wall.
And Jimmy started blushing and and laughing it, man, it was so the first thing I thought to myself, I was, oh, we got to get Devon on this show. Now, if if she started to bust chops like that, I want to hear her do that to Devon. Because this, this is, this is gold right here. Well, I listen, I know Stephanie. I know Stephanie would run with it and make me feel so uncomfortable. I know she would.
And she would be laughing underneath her breath hysterically because of it, because she's very good with her words and she knows how to make you stumble. And I just be like, no, but that, that's not what I meant, Devon, you know. But you know, what I loved about what I loved about Stephanie was when I had my stroke, she called me and I was in the middle of going through some procedures at the time when she called because she called twice.
The first time I think I was being wheeled in for surgery and the second time I think I was in the recovery room. And she, I, I saved it to this day. She was just like, you know, hey, Devon, it's Steph. I just want to say that, you know, we're all pulling for you and things like that. And you're going to be the true rock star that you are. You're going to bounce back from this. And I know you're going to be
better than ever. And while prayers and thoughts are with you, and I just want you to know that me and Hunter were thinking about you and we know that you're going to make a full recovery. And that was one of the things. One of the voice messages she left in the second one was somewhat similar. And she said, you know, Devon, I
called you the first time. I know you're going through some stuff, but I just wanted to call the second time to make sure you know that I will not relax until I speak to you. And I know that it's you that I'm talking to. So when she did that and then I finally got to speak to her and talk to her, I was so overwhelmed with joy because she didn't have to do that, but she did it.
And that showed the relationship that Stephanie and I had during the Attitude Era where it was a mutual respect, where, you know, she thought enough to want to hear my voice, to make sure that I was OK and that not taking it from the doctors or whatever, because she was very sincerely, she cared about what was going on. And, you know, that was just one thing that I would always be grateful for, for her for doing
that. Her and Hunter both, they were true champions when I was going through what I was going through. And they made sure to know that I was OK. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe Stephanie and Hunter sent me flowers to the house. I remember when I talked to Stephanie, I said, well damn Steph, I ain't dead. She started laughing. Devon, I know we were just one. I said, no, I know I'm joking with you. I said thank you so much.
I really appreciate the sincerely the sincere of you guys trying to reach out to me and this really, really trying to make sure I was OK. I said, but you know me, I'll be better than ever and I'm going to bounce back and I'm going to be back producing and doing what I do in no time. And sure enough, I was. I was back. I love that story. I love it.
It's it's not the first time you told it on the show, but I love to hearing it because it's a reminder that all of you are human beings and all the time that you speak you spent together. There are some true bonds that go beyond Co workers. You guys are family, so to hear humanity being shared amongst each other like that, because you, you hear all the negative stuff all the time to, to hear that humanity, that's the word that I'm going to stick with on this. I love it, man, I love it.
It's it's, it's really cool. And shout out to Steph. You know, like I said, she got her new podcast and what have you. I, I appreciate seeing her involved in WWE in some capacity again. I always felt that it was rotten that she wasn't with the company anymore and all that good stuff there. So to see her back and doing something and, and, you know, watching these interviews and seeing how much everyone really enjoys talking to her, I can tell that she's treated people
really well. You know which, kudos to that. Yes, she did. She's a true champ. Yep, she was a true champ. Kudos to that. Listen, I, I, I asked you about the Dixie Carter photo and we can kind of end on this here. The photo was taken at, at Hulk Hogan's going home service, his, his, his funeral, just about anyone and everyone was there, yourself included. So, so let me just ask you directly, man, and I'm not
trying to, I'm not trying to bring you down the wrong Rd. so to speak, But overall, I mean, how was that experience? Did do you feel like the send off was, was appropriate for the Hulkster and all that good stuff there? How did it go, man? Well, yeah, I thought the send off was was great for Hulk, you know, not wanting to touch on anything and start trending stupidly again for stuff that shouldn't be trending in the 1st place. But you know, I mean, a lot of people were there and they paid
their respects. Names that I haven't seen in a long time, names that I grew up watching that I had never met. And it's always sad that there are times like that that brings you to either meeting someone or associating yourself again with
people you know again. But it's just sad that it took that to do it. And that's what me and Dixie were talking about because I hadn't seen Dixie in years, I think since I left and walked out of TNA's doors right after I got pinned with the Loser Leaves town match with Aces and Eights and the TNA guys. I hadn't seen Dixie since then.
So we had said little things to each other here and there in text and said little things to each other during post that I would post on about the kids and stuff. Other than that, we had never really, we hadn't seen each other in a while. So it was kind of like a reunion. And, you know, the, it was the, the, the, what was the word I'm looking for? The hard feelings that I might have had for the company during that time was all washed away, you know, and again I say it
wasn't the new regime of TNA. It was the old regime that I had problems letting go of my feelings with them and you know, I was just happy that I was able to let that go and to be good with Dixie again because I really enjoyed Dixie. I really enjoyed her company and what she did for Bubba and myself during the time when we couldn't come to an agreement with the contract with WWEI was just very happy that we buried
or that I buried. I should say everything because I don't think Dixie really knew how I felt, you know, because I was very hurt by the company and what they were doing with me at the time. Before the Aces and Eights and before the television run with the television title. You know, it was, it was like after me and Bubba did our little feud in TNA where the Motor City Machine Guns had beat us and we started into retirement. Then of course we started a feud with Bubba.
That was when things went sour for me in TNA and I felt a certain way about it and why it went that way. So I was able to let go finally when I saw Dixie and we talked, we laughed, we joked and we said, you know, we shouldn't. It shouldn't be things like this that brings us together. We had more good times than we have then we did bad times. So that's what these dirt sheet riders and all of these clowns out there that write things that have no business writing, that's
what you should think about. We're family. I'm sorry you couldn't be a part of that and all you did was watch it on TV. But there was a sense of closeness between us when we work together, put each other's lives in each other's hands. But you just want to focus on the drama. You want to focus on if we have fights or say something inappropriate and we don't get along, you want to focus on that.
And that's wrong. You know, just like I tell the story about New Jack. Sure, there were things that was said that I said and that he said. But you know what? Before that feud even happened between Jack and I, we were family. We hung out. He slept at my house, I slept at his house. He knew my kids, you know, my wife at the time, you know, we were family. But all you do is harvest over the disagreement or what we're going through at that particular point in time with each other.
You don't look at the other stuff that we went through as friends, as family, the only one look at the bad things. And if that's how you're going to live your life, then that's you. But don't put me in that category. And again, I can't express enough how happy I am that me and Dixie got the talk. And it was sad that it was on that day, but we got the talk and we let things go. We move on. And that was the that was the whole thing I was saying about
the whole Hogan thing. We got to move on. We have to have some type of clarity on things that might have hurt us. How do we move on from it? How do we learn to forgive, not forget? Because history proves that when you forget, you tend to repeat it. We can forgive, Hogan. We don't have to forget, but we can forgive, especially when
it's sincere, if it is sincere. So, you know, I've learned to forgive people over the years for things that I felt that was done wrong to me. And I'm not going to sit there and let hurt or anger consume me because you feel as an individual that I should hold on to that. And I'm just not going to do that. To check out Zencaster ZENCASTR that is my favorite program to use for all my recording needs and the great part is not only do they have audio, but they also have video options as well.
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You will not regret it. I'm telling you right now, once again, ZENCASTR made on Zencaster. That's right. Eric had let me know that he was very, very appreciative of what you said because you didn't have to say it and it went a long way. You know, when people are talking about Bischoff, most of the time they're saying something negative, kicking the
guy. Half of these fans, more than half, most of these fans, they they're just regurgitating stuff that Meltzer and some of these other dirt cheap people that have a bone to pick with Eric because Eric wouldn't give them the access that they wanted. You know, there's a lot of behind the scenes reasons why Eric gets the negative attention that he gets. And I think it's unfair, quite frankly, not to say that he was perfect.
He definitely earns some of the heat that some of the wrestlers give him who worked under him and all that good stuff. But how many years ago was that? You know what I mean? So, so again, for you on your platform to shout Eric out the way that you did and to talk about how much he helped you and your family, just going to bat for you and sticking up for you, it was a big deal. So I'm telling you that I know you and Eric will speak at some point soon and he'll he'll relay
that to you himself. But any thoughts on that just from a general standpoint? Well, I meant every word I said. You know, listen, I wasn't there during the whole NWO run. I wasn't in WCWI, was in ECW, but I didn't know Eric then. And so by the time Eric got to CNA, all these horrible things were said about him. Now, did he do some people wrong? Probably. Was some of the things justified with some people? Probably. You know, this business has big
egos sometimes. You got to put these guys in place. Listen, Bennis McMahon did the same thing. A lot of guys hated Vince who worked for him because Vince wasn't going to allow anybody to step on him. It's his vision, it's his company. He's going to do what he feels is best for his company. And if that's how it works, then guess what? He's paying a paycheck. So boom. Same thing in WCW.
Might have been Turner, who was the head boss in terms of financially, but it was Eric who was the boss at that time. Could Eric have made some wrong decisions along the way? Absolutely, but Eric, I heard in an interview said it best. He was like, you know, I know I must might have messed up a few times, you know, and I did it wrong and some people haven't forgiven me for what I have done. I said, but I truly am sorry. But business was business back
then. Look, it was a doggy dog world back then and you either swam or you sank. That's just the way it was back then. So, you know, visual, you know, carrying the company the way he did it with Hall, Kevin and Hogan, you know, it was big back then. So who's the saying that you wouldn't mess up along the way? All I know is that the Eric Bischoff that I met in TNA. No. What if that same person that some of these guys who badmouth him saw, I didn't see that. I saw what he gave to me when I
first met him. You know, it was funny. I will tell this story. I didn't know Bischoff then, and I'm only hearing things that I had heard from other people. So they were doing a backstage promo with somebody. I might have been AJ Styles and somebody I don't remember, but he announced quiet on the set and I was back there and my phone rang. It was all silent and I was talk and I answered it and I was talking as I'm talking. I'm thinking that he couldn't hear me and he said damn it.
I said quiet on the set and I said let me call you back. I hung up the phone and I looked at him and he looked at me. He was like I'm I'm trying to do this. I'm trying to this. We got to get this done. I said, OK man, not a problem. And I remember that was the first interaction that me and Eric had. I don't know if he remembers that, but you know, I was like, all right, man, whatever, I'll keep quiet. And that way it was funny. And then I remember that as
clear as day. I don't know if he does. But then, you know, like I said, time had went on and I started working with him and doing things with him. And I was like, this ain't the same Eric that everybody's talking about. And I was like, this is something different about this Eric. I was like, I see the change. I see everything. I see the opposite of what everybody's saying and I came to the conclusion that maybe he was a different person back then,
but he's not that same Eric now. And you know, as far as I'm concerned, I have no ill feelings whatsoever towards that man. Like I said before, he helped me and my family and I've got nothing but respect for him.
Every time I see him, whether my back is turned and I don't know he's in the room, he makes it an effort to come and say hello to Devon. Where certain times when your back is turned and someone you think is your friend doesn't acknowledge you or says hello to you, even when your back is turned to me, that speaks volumes. But Eric made the point. Every time I'm in a room and my back is turned, I don't know he's there. He's like, Yvonne, how you doing?
I turn around and it's like, I'm like, hey, we know. We embrace, we hug, we say hello, how you doing? How's the family and all of that? You know, and me and his son Garrett, we hit it off great when he was in Aces and Eights. We hung out all the time. All the time we hung out and we were hanging out even after Ace and Eights was done, after I left TNA. So him and I had a great relationship. And, you know, it was just one of those things where, again, we're family, man. We're family.
That's all I could say. We we, we saw each other more than we saw our own families. We had we worked together, we did what we did. We made magic. We we had fun and we made money in the process. So I've got nothing but love and respect for Eric and thank him all the time. You got to know me a little bit. You got to know a little bit about my background and how I was raised. And he was impressed. He was like, Devon, I never knew that about you. He goes, that's why I like you. That's it.
Thank you, Eric. I appreciate that, you know, because you know me coming from a biblical family and how I am, you know, he really respected that. So again, I got nothing but love for Eric, man. You know, folks listening, we all can, can fall into the trap of speaking ill and negatively about people, especially people piss us off and, and generally do something that warrants us to express ill feelings towards them and what have you.
And that's always loud and, and, and boisterous and what have you. I beg of you, everybody out there, please be as loud and as boisterous about the positive things about people, especially people who don't necessarily always get shouted out. You'd never know how that can affect somebody because we're all going through something. We're all carrying the weight of the world in our own ways. We're all one banana peel away from, from losing it all.
Whatever you got, it's nice to to be acknowledged. It's nice when somebody has something positive to say about you, especially when you're not expecting it. So, you know, I'm going to, I'm just going to put that out there in the in the, in the atmosphere, so to speak. Don't hesitate to shout somebody out and let them know how they've impacted your life and how you feel about them.
That's my take, the big man. What's the best way everyone can keep up with you and all the great things you got going on? Yeah, well, you know, I have my YouTube channel which is doing extremely well, very proud of it. Been going since December, I believe of 2024 and I'm already at a 175,577 subscribers on my YouTube channel. I want to thank the fans and everybody that subscribes and writes their likes and comments down below. Thank you. We do read them and we do
understand what you're saying. So thank you very much. That's one way you can find out what I'm doing. Also. I'm also on Instagram and that Instagram is testified. Vivon, you know, it's D-V ONWDUDLEY, it's testified Devon Dudley on Instagram and of course on Twitter. My Facebook is private only friends and family all out on them. Sorry guys, but that's just the way it is. We also, I also have any website which is Devon Dudley Academy
for my wrestling school. And if you're interested in wrestling and you want to see if you got what it takes to become a professional wrestler, and by all means, give us a call at D Von W Academy. We can definitely try to make your dreams come true. And you can contact us at 407. Hold on, I'm getting beside myself here. We're at 4074. I'm getting messed up here. Hold on, hold on, I'm getting confused. I got some ABM numbers 407790 7800. We're located at 2720 Forsyth Rd.
Unit 318 Buena Park, Florida. We are literally 2 minutes away from the performance center. So when you get your butt in my school and you're working out and getting to where you need to be, we want to take your behind Irish, strip you into the performance center and get you up and going and get your dreams coming true. So give us a call again 4/07 790-7800. Well said, well said folks, definitely make sure you check out Devon Academy.
All of you aspiring wrestlers and even all you wrestlers who need a tune up you, you, you know you're on the you're on the the second-half of your career would have you where you you need to sharpen up. It is amazing the names that you see that that come through Devon Academy folks that you see on TV regularly. It's, it's, it's the truth. And there's a reason why those folks are are stopping by and, and getting some extra training and what have you.
It's worth it for sure. Duke loves wrestling on Facebook on twitter.dukeloveswrestling@gmail.com. As always, let me know what you think of the show. All that good stuff there and you know, leading up to Bound for Glory. I'm going to put this out here, Devon, for all of you, you folks who have shows, if you would like to interview Devon, obviously reach out to Devon directly. You can also reach out to me and I'll make sure he gets the information.
He has a very tight schedule. Can't get to everybody, but you know, some of you out there may be able to land yourself an interview with with the Hall of Famer here is it's amazing. It's amazing the demand that's out there for Devon Dudley and there's a good reason for that. So certainly don't hesitate, get your requests in as soon as possible because especially with that match going on, there's a lot of requests out there. Everyone wants to pick your brain, Devon.
That's that's the way it is now, man. Oh yeah, I'm happy for it. You know, I was happy to be at Summer Slam, the 26th anniversary of the TLC match and that TLC match that was done at Summer Slam. Excellent. Everybody's part excellent. So many bodies. They told a great story. They did some hell of a bumps. Thank God it was them and not me. That's all I'm going to say. I would. Think I said, man, Can you imagine beating that match? That match was crazy.
No, I cannot no and the dirt sheet riders want to put that out, Devon said. He ain't doing no damn TLC match. Hell to the no. I'll be like Medea and have my Glock in my pocket. Yeah, I have my I have my Glock in my purse like Medea does. I wish your mother would ask if you could like that. Listen, Tyler Perry, you call Devon, man. I know you got a role for him. You call Devon up now. Come on. Please. Please, please. All right, It's that time of the
week now, brother. What is your word of the week to take us out? Well, I'm going to say this and it's something I've said before and I might even have said it in the interview today because it holds so true. You know, let it's biblical. So let go and let God let God handle your situation. Let him fight your battles. And always remember, He may not come when you want them, but He's always on time. Sit back, relax, eat that popcorn, and watch His glory work. Testify. My brother.
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