OK, let's talk about this insane lineup coming to River City Wrestling Con 2025, because it is stacked. First of all, Mr. Style and Profile and the Nature Boy himself, Ric Flair will be there for the first time ever. Then you've got Bret Hart, literally one of the greatest to ever do it. Kane is pulling up too. So yeah, you have Hellfire and brimstone energy coming in hot. And if that wasn't enough, we've got Kurt Angle. Olympic gold medalist, icon, Legend.
It's true, It's damn true. Let's not forget the almighty Bobby Lashley will be in the building as well. And the Big show, Literally a giant part of wrestling history. Plus a whole bunch more like Rob Van Damme, Katie Forbes, Tay Melo, Sergeant Slaughter and still more names to come. River City Wrestling Con 2025 is going to be wild.
There will be live wrestling meet and greets, Q&A sessions, all of it. Tickets are flying, so if you don't have yours yet, don't wait or you're going to be sitting at home all sad with FOMO while all of your friends are meeting the legends. It's all going down in the historic city of Saint Augustine, June 7th and 8th, so see you there wrestling. Tails knock you off your seat, TuneIn. Now don't you be lame. Wrestling Punk has never felt this great.
Tables, ladders, chairs, they tell it all. From the highest highs to the lowest fall. Great glory tails from the ring, Every chain, every cheer. They'll bring team on and the Duke bring the heat. Wrestling tails knock you off your seat, TuneIn. Now don't you be late Wrestling podcast never felt this crazy. Brothers and sisters, welcome back. 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, one of the greatest of all time. The man that is the YouTube sensation Mr. Devon Dudley. What's going on, brother? Same old, same old, just still living the dream and trying to at. Least trying to listen you you got you got a big booking coming up man with the River City Wrestling Con next week, huh? Yes, you know, we, my, my sons will be there. They'll be wrestling, you know,
things like that. And you know, I'm excited about it. And there's a lot of things going on that week and, you know, I'm very excited about it. It's, it's interesting to be at these conventions and your sons are there as well. So it's really a family affair. I mean, how does that feel to have them out there and, and, and you get to see all your, your brothers from yesterday and today and what have you. Just it's almost like everybody's in the same place, right?
I mean, that's what it is. I mean, it really is. It's anytime you can go to these these events, you know, we basically, you know, have really a good time because it's one of those things where, you know, we, we know we're going to see each other. We haven't seen each other in a long time. We're prepared and we're happy about it. So, you know, I'm very excited to be able to say that, you know, I'm going to go there and have some fun. I think that's the main thing.
I'm going to have fun talking with the fans, doing all of that. So it's going to be pretty good, man. I'm excited about it. Yeah, it's going to be a fantastic weekend once again, folks. June 7th and 8th, World Golf Village, the River City Wrestling Con, you know, it's the big one. Every year there just keeps
getting bigger and better. And of course, TNT, Terrence and Terrell Hughes, of course, Devon Sons, they're going to be there in action, by the way, So they're going to be kicking some ass there. Devon is going to be there meeting all the friends, signing autographs, the whole 9 yards there. Ric Flair, Brett the Hitman, Heart Thunderosa, Sylvia Sanchez from Wild Women of Wrestling. We even have Scotty Sosa, who is one of Devon Dudley's students taking on the pride of the United Kingdom.
We're talking about Aaliyah James and those two are on a collision course. It's going to main event, so keep this abide folks. These ladies are going to be kicking some ass. Devon, who you got in that match? Well, I don't know because you know, Aliyah, she basically, you know, James, she basically trained with me as well. So you know, I don't want to take favoritism, but I got to say, you know, you're not going to put me on the spot, man. These.
These are basically your two daughters here, man. And they, they put the fight now. All right. That's, that's basically what we got going on now. Yeah, man, you trying to put me? You trying to put me in the lions then? So you told me you don't want to be the special guest referee? Hell no. Listen, your mother, my mother, my mother then raised no fool, man, I ain't going to sit up there and get in between two women that are ready to go at each other's throats and and this and that.
And you know, that's exactly what's going to happen, you know, at this event. And when they when they step in the ring with each other, it's going to be a war. You know, some words were said on the show and you know, words were said on social media. So it's going to be a happening.
It's definitely going to be happening and and I got to tell you, I got to tip my hat to you deep on you have TNT, Terrence and Terrell. Those are those are your boys there their main event in one night, one day. And then you have Scotty and Aaliyah James main event in one day. So this is like a Devon Wrestling Academy showcase, so to speak here. How the hell you got main events both days brother?
So. Well, you know that's what happened when you're a 24 time world tag team champion, the most decorated tag team champion. I know people tired of him. You say that, but guess what? I can say it because I've done it and I've lived it. You see that folks, so if you want to live your dream of becoming the next pro wrestling superstar, you definitely got to check out Devon Dudley Wrestling Academy.
Devon, what's the best way folks can reach out to to get involved with the Wrestling Academy and learn from one of the greatest of all time? Absolutely, and you can go to my website, devondudley.com, devondudley.com, look at the information there, or you want Instagram at Devon Dudley Academy and inbox me and come on down, check it out. And, you know, let's get your future started right in
professional wrestling. It definitely folks, two years in a row, students from the Devon Academy main eventing. There's something to be said about that. When you have all these big stars in the building and yet you know folks who are getting the right kind of training, they managed to earn spots like that. You could be next, so definitely check out Devon Wrestling Academy. Something strange happened this week, Devon. You had former two time WWENXT champion Trick Williams.
He just won the TNA World Championship by defeating Joe Hendry. You're a guy who's in both Hall of Fame's WWE and TNA. You're a guy is decorated in both companies. Did you ever imagine in your wildest dreams, first of all, that the TNA World Championship would would actually be defended on a WWEPLE and then not only that, that AWWE contracted wrestler would win the TNA World Championship? Did you ever think that something like that would ever happen?
No, and I never thought I knew. I knew it never was going to happen in the Vince's machine because Vince, you know, put the illusion out there, not just to the public but to us, that no other wrestling organization existed but the WWE. Of course, we all knew that wasn't true, but that's what he projected. And so do I think that this would have happened under the Vince regime? No. Do I see it happen on the under the Hunter's regime? Absolutely.
You know, everybody has to understand Vince for the 80s, nineties, the Attitude Era and leading up to the PG era. And of course to him leaving the company. You know, in my opinion, you know, you have to be irrelevant with the times and you have to kind of go with the punches and sometimes a change is needed. And he was big on that, especially with talent. You know, he would like to keep it fresh and new, you know, new and and all of that.
But I don't think Vince realized the scenarity of actually joining forces with their with an organization like CNA and how good that would have been for business. Yeah, I also feel that, you know, he he just wasn't stealing that, and I don't think he would have if Vince was still in charge. I don't think you would have seen the collaboration between TNA and WWE.
Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right, but I just don't see it because I know how the organization was run not only from a talent standpoint, but from behind the scenes. And I know things that were said. So, you know, it's it's almost weird too, because it was almost like NXT was hit was his as well, even though it was Triple H's baby. But you know, it was his company
as well. And, you know, there were times when guys would come up from NXT and, you know, he would say things like, well, will they be over? Do the fans even know who they are? And some of us would look at each other and go, yeah, they do. Are you not familiar with what's going on on social media and how the people are projecting these people? There was one. I could be wrong. Don't quote me on this.
I could be wrong. But I think I know it was said about could have been said about Oscar at the time. I'm I might be wrong. So I don't want the dirt sheets to start quoting me and saying that Vince didn't think Oscar was going to get over. It was one of those things where I think was said was will she get the response that she that they want her to get? And I remember we all looked at him and goes, yeah, she will, you know. And sure enough, we were right about that.
I basically, I do know for a fact that it was said about Enzo and Cass, because, you know, of course, they basically started a program with us and they got over like 1,000,000 bucks, you know, they got over like 1,000,000 bucks. So it was something that Vince was out of tune with.
He didn't know, and you know, Vince only concentrated on the WWE and that was it. He might have heard rumblings about different people and organizations to bring them in, but I don't think Vince really fully understand the magnitude of how other wrestlers were getting over and other companies. I just don't think he did.
Which is so interesting. It's so interesting that a guy could be that successful only focusing on what's happening in his wheelhouse and not really looking outside of that most of the time. That it's not possible for you to be successful without understanding the overall marketplace. Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, and at one point in time, I got to think in the 80s and 90s, he wasn't like that.
It was only until he got older and it seemed like he became out of touch with how the public was perceiving pro wrestling at the time. We always said this, everybody that worked behind the scenes or even talent. Vince is the type of person where he really doesn't care about, I don't know. And I hate to say that word doesn't care. I'm not. I'm sure he cared, but he really, it didn't interest him to actually, you know, want to indulge in other companies like
that. You know, he felt that the WWE was his baby and that was the only thing that was going to shine and be worthy enough to get over. And that's just the way it was with him. But again, in the 80s and 90s, you know, you hear, I saw a documentary on A and EI believe it was. I just don't remember which one it was.
But where Hunter and Sean when they started doing the DX, Vince didn't like it. And you know, it was at that time when, you know, people were being rebellious, rebellious and they were actually, you know, the the bad guys were being cheered, the good guys were being booed, pointing K Stone Cold Steve Austin, you know, he came in as a bad guy, you know, and all of a sudden he got over like 1,000,000 bucks as a babyface and you know, Steve Austin was born.
It's just hard for me to believe that Vince actually looked at other companies that being anything but successful if they weren't in the WWE or getting over. And again, I'm sure if he was on this radio, if he was, I'm sorry, if he was on this podcast, he would probably say I
was wrong. But when you look at things that had transpired after the Attitude Era, you know, how many people fell from the wayside because, you know, he just woke up that morning and said, ah, well, they're not getting over, so we're not going to use them anymore. You know, it was just, it was a weird, weird thing when you actually looked at it. And like you said, you would think a man of his knowledge and you know, what he has for professional wrestling would see that.
But at that time, he really didn't. And This is why you needed fresh people in there to actually tell Vince no and not have a bunch of yes man telling them, yeah, you're right, Vince, you're right. But Hunter was the one that actually was like, no, this is works. That's works. And Hunter had a fight. You know, Hunter had to fight to get a lot of things that he wanted.
But again, to actually sit there and to say that the DX, you know, gimmick wasn't going to work and it wasn't society wasn't ready for it. We all know that wasn't true because DX blew up and it was one of the most over things in the world. Hell, people, you know, my, my little brothers were getting in trouble for going to school going suck it, suck it, you know, with the hand just and all
that. And you hear in these documentaries how all these kids were getting sent to the principal's office because of that. Not to mention grown people were doing that as well, you know, So it's one of those things where you needed a fresh mind, you needed a fresh talent, and that's the way it is.
Let me. Tell you something as as somebody who was part of that age group you know middle school high school, what have you during the whole suck it era so to speak yeah everybody was running around doing that and doing it in school and getting getting detention for doing it so oh that was so blessing listen I'm. Glad I was already done with school at that point because. You would have been going crazy. Oh, I would have been going down the hall. Suck it, suck it.
And you know, God forbid if a young, if a young girl was walking by me and I went suck it. You know, you, you definitely going to the principal's office at that point and it had nothing. And you're not and you're not telling them to suck it like in a sexual. You're just doing the BX thing. And you know, that's the way it was back then.
Yeah, it's true. And and listen, the way that you be doing your tests, you do the cross, you spin around it all when you really feel that you start spinning around and stuff. I could only you'd be jumping around like Xbox doing the suck it if you were if you were in my age group back then. And you know, The funny thing about it was I was at DDTS house, he invited me to his house and it was a fantastic
experience. And it was one of those things where I, you know, getting my, you know, body back to where it needs to be. And he was tweaking. He was tweaking, you know, all the stuff that I was doing on my own and the things that I was doing with Bobby Fish Fisher. He basically was tweaking it. And, you know, it was like one of those things where I finally had the nerve to tell him, you know, when I did that little spin around in a circle, it was,
I got it from you. You know, I got it from you. I got it from DDP. It was in ECWI, don't know if you remember in WCW when Dallas used to come to the ring, he would get in the ring and then kind of like go around in a circle pointing to the people, you know, and then go bang. And one day I think we did a run in on Balls Mahoney and Axelrodden, and I was feeling it so much and the crowd was like booing us, you know? Of course, something that we
wanted because we were heels. And I, I felt this energy in me and I remember just feeling it and didn't even realize I was doing it. And I started doing what he was doing in the ring and, you know, I would go F you as opposed to, you know, the diamond thing. And I watched it back on TV and I went, I like that, you know, So every time we did a run in, I
would go in there and do that. And then it got to the point where towards the end of my ECW run, going into my WWE run, that was when I made it my own and just did a little dance, you know, in between after the what's up and then we'll do the sign of the cross. And here I was thinking you were getting the Holy Ghost all right, and you over here just milking Dallas. What the Hell's going on? Yeah, when I told Dallas that he, he was like, really? I was like, yeah. I said no, no BS, man.
I was like, I'm serious. I got it from you, but I just took it and made it my own. And you know, it's, it's weird. I said, you know, when I remember when I first started the DDP Yoga or right before I'd started it, you know, because my back was in so much turmoil that I remember trying to do it and I couldn't do it anymore. Because the one leg, you know, with the knees and stuff, when they cut through the nerves and the tendons and all of that, you lose a lot.
And I had lost a lot. So trying to, you know, turn on that one leg was very, very hard. It was only until I started the the DVP Yoga where I was able to do it again and not have that pain and had and I built up the nerves and the tendons enough to where I was able to go in there and do it. You know, again, I'm not trying to get on this whole DDP thing because we've done this before
and other episodes. But if you are hurt in any way, shape or form and you are dreading surgery or anything like that, I think you should try it, try to DDP Yoga. It could probably save and change your life in a way that you could never imagine, you know, And at 52 years old right now and having the back surgery and the things that they were doing to correct the problems that I have with my back, it helped tremendously. So, you know, again, all hats
off the DDP. Thank you very much for giving me where I am. And again, I can't stress being with him. We did the cold plunge. We documented everything. We did the cold plunge. We I mean, it was weird because after I did the cold plunge, then he goes, all right, we're going to go to the weights.
And he had these like, power cuffs that he put on my arms where normally, you know, if you're doing biceps, you know, you probably working out or starting off with 25 and probably end up with like, you know, 100 LB dumbbell curling. And you put those power cuffs on, brother, just do 20 and you'll be, you'll probably be able to do 10 because in the power cuffs helps you to really your strict form and this and
that. And it sends the blood flow through the arms, which allows the muscles to breathe. And it, it gives a, a longer pump. So it was one of those things where I'm up there going, we're only going to use 10 lbs. And he goes, oh, yeah, watch. He goes, we'll, we'll go up as much as 25 to 30. I go, I'm going to ace this man. After the first set, I was like, OK, Dallas, I'm breathing heavy. I'm like, God, my arms are tired. They are ripped.
But he found the science to be able to help the body to get to where it needs to be. So my hat's goes off to Dallas. That goes off to Dallas. We've said it a bunch of times, folks, DDP Yoga, you got to check it out. You got to check out DDP Yoga, regardless of what level of fitness you're, you're in. Literally. Butter Bean is a great example too that this guy couldn't even walk anymore. I felt so bad.
Yeah, I felt. So bad when I saw him, I felt so bad in terms of watching him walk because, you know, it was it was, it was terrible, man. He was, he was trying to walk and he was barely moving. He was hunched over and this and that. I saw him in Vegas Brothers walking tall, he's walking straight. I mean, this is the man that was on his way out, you know, And when you ask him about it, he's almost in tears because he knew where he was before he started the yoga.
So, you know, you just got to make time if you want your body to feel right, if you want to get back on the track that you used to be on, then take the 1520 minutes to do it. There's nothing that that there's nothing out there that's more important than getting your health back to where it needs to be, especially if you have kids. And I've got young kids. So, you know, I want to be able to still go out there and play basketball. I want to still go out there and
run. Now, I haven't been able to beat my 17 year old in a race in a long time, but I'm I'm working my way up to it. That's my goal. Are you getting there, brother? I mean you, you lost all that weight and now your mobility is back. So well, I'm telling you man, you it it say whatever you want out there and Devon, I know you, you keep going back and forth on this, but I still believe that you could step in the ring right now. You, you could main event APLE
right now. OK, that's that's how fresh and nimble you are, especially compared to the last couple of years. Man, you you, you got it back bro. I got it back. But, you know, one of the things that I'm fearful of, and I told you this, it's two things actually, you know, I'm fearful of is the fact that, you know, I don't want other, you know, discs to start to collapse and this and that.
So I'm not saying that, you know, I wouldn't go in and do a match and this and that 'cause there's already talks about me and Bubba getting back in the ring, doing a match with one of our rivals from the past. But you know, to be on a full time basis. I don't know if I want to do that. I like the nostalgia. I like going in there, you know, like, say you're going here today and then you don't see the ring again from the six months to a year. I like doing stuff like that.
But man, that schedule, that grind, going in and out of airports and and out of planes and in and out of rental cars? Oof, that beats your body up more than actual wrestling. Sure, sure. Yeah. That that extended travel, that's a young man's sport in and of itself. Absolutely. Yes, Lord. Absolutely. Well, you know, we got off the path. Let me let me bring this bring it home for a second with with the final point. Congratulations, Trick Williams,
the first, yes ever in history. WWE contracted Superstar to win the TNA World Championship. It's never been done before. This is groundbreaking, historic, huge. So congratulations, Trick. And I like Trick, man. I, I really, really like Trick. He has a bright future in my opinion. I love Trick, and, you know, he was Carmelo's sidekick for a long time, but then he worked his way up to where he is now, and I'm so happy for him.
You know, you know, some people don't understand that sometimes the position that you're in doesn't necessarily mean that you have to stay in that position. You know, you can work your way to where you want to be, but you just got to put the time and the effort and the fighting there to go and do it. And that's exactly what he did. So again, like you said, my hat goes off to him. Very proud of that young man. Very good friends with him.
He allowed me in his video against, I know with boy when he was wrestling against Ethan Page. I mean, it was one of those things where, you know, I was very honored to be a reverend in that one and was hoping that it will revive the Reverend Yvon gimmick. So I was so I'll be able to come back and and not wrestle as Reverend Yvonne, but just go in there and start preaching to the masses of people and and the arenas. Well, sure trick might need you to come back and and and preach
again soon. Now come on I. Told them I told that brother. I said whenever you want me, the caller will come back on in no time. I love it. I love testify to that brother. I love my brother. I love it. You know, something interesting happened that has become top news and there's a lot of speculation and, you know, the dirt sheets and everybody, they, they want to give their opinions. And you and I were talking about
this offline. It's always interesting when fans give their opinion about stuff when they really don't have enough information to even have a proper opinion, at least an informed opinion. And I always tell people, hey, pro wrestling is a business before anything else, even though you get wrapped up in the storylines and the and the good versus evil. And you want to punish this one
for doing that. You know, I I want to, I want to punish Devon Dudley because I can't believe what he did to balls Mahoney and and and he should he should lose his job over that. It's like, OK, that that's come on, you know what I mean? That's it. That's a storyline. Like, we take it easy, you know?
Listen, I don't, I don't mean to cut you off, but I hear some people on certain radio stations that you know, and I'm not saying any names, but they get all invested into the storyline where if they get so riled up and they get so upset, it's like, dude, it's a work. Come on now. It's a work. I understand you have passion of always saying, but come on, man, it's a work. This is what we do. Come on.
And if you're on the other side of the microphone, if you're on the side of the microphone and you should know that. So to get that heavily invested with you start, you know, going off. I'm just like, come on man, gets to be a little much. It gets to be a little much, right? It really does it. Really does, yeah. Because then you start wondering, wait, I don't think this guy is in on the joke here. Like what the hell is wrong with him? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.
That's that's a whole other story to go down, but but let me throw this at you. WWE announced that they are moving WrestleMania from the original place that it was announced to take place. So New Orleans, LA 2026 WrestleMania, it's already been booked. You know, they, they, they have all the information out there
marketing the whole 9 yards. WrestleMania is happening in New Orleans in 2026. Well, last week that changed and it was announced that it's being pulled out of New Orleans and being brought back to Las Vegas, NV. So before I give my perspective on that, let me just ask you Devon, from a, a city to city standpoint, 'cause I'm a Vegas guy. I love Vegas. It's one of the places I love to vacation in. I've never been to New Orleans, no disrespect.
I've heard it's very nice. I heard the food is great, the culture is great. From your perspective, not only as a as a as a talent and as a superstar, but even as a tourist, how are the two cities compare for you in terms of experience? Well, there's no. Comparison and I and I, again, I'm with you. I love New Orleans, the food, the culture, the people. It's great. But Vegas is in a different world. You know, it really is. It's in a different world of its own.
And in my opinion, you know, I don't think anything compares to Vegas. I mean, the, the, the, the party life, the entertainment life, so many things that you hear, you know, that goes on in Vegas. It's true, as Kurt would say, it's damn true. But you know, it really is. But, you know, to me, you know, back-to-back, I think it's good. It reminds me of WrestleMania 4:00 and 5:00. So if I'm correct, yes, WrestleMania four and five in Atlantic City at the Trump Plasma.
You know, you did. You had the first one. You had the tournament where Savage won the title, you know, after Hogan left to go do no holds barred. So they needed somebody to come in and to actually be able to carry the company. And it was, it was Macho Man at the time, you know, to do that. And they drew huge numbers in Atlantic City. And in my opinion, Atlantic City was kind of like dying. I mean, you always heard of Atlantic City being. The next best? Thing if you can't get the Vegas.
And somewhere along the line. It started to die, the economy started to really fizzle out. WrestleMania comes and it just brings new life to it. You know, Now, I don't know why Vince went back-to-back with Trump Plaza, the the host wrestle Mania there, you know, two years in a row. But it worked because the next year was Hogan versus Savage. And, you know, I yeah. And I thought it was really
good. So this might be on the same line on along the same lines is is what happened back in 88 and 89. You know, you having back-to-back venues being used for WrestleMania. I mean, again, you know, they can do huge numbers. You know it will attract the people, but you better save up and because it's going to be expensive. It's not going to be some. Walk in the park. Yeah, those. Resort fees, they hit you with that and it's like, whoa, where did that come from exactly?
Here's the thing I've been seeing all. The the discussion about it and, and the consensus is WWE just wants to make more money. So they pulled out and they brought us to Vegas and, and. People in their In their. Narrow understanding of how things work, They just leave it at that. And I know better than that personally. Now Full disclosure, I didn't, I didn't talk to anybody in WWEI didn't. I didn't ask you either, Devon, if you knew any inside scoop on
or anything like that. But I do have experience not only in state, but as it relates to this in municipal government. And I'm a person that is well versed in understanding budgets, in understanding trends and understanding what can and cannot happen from a financial standpoint and why A lot of times you just got to dig into the budget and you'll you'll get a very good understanding of where a city is AT and what their capacity is for everything, including hosting
major worldwide events. And WrestleMania is a worldwide spectacle. People from all over the world are showing up on a city now for a week and they're going to spend money and they're going to use resources. They're going to generate a lot of tax revenue. But it also requires a lot of support from that city. You got to have enough police officers, you got to have enough EMEMTS, you got to have enough firefighters. You know, your your roads have to be in certain shape in order
for transportation. Your public transportation has to be on a certain level do. You have enough. Uber and cab drivers. You know what I mean? It, it's, it's, there's so much that do you have enough people working in that city or will you have enough people working in that city to handle the services such as food, transportation, cleaning, things of that nature, Right.
So all that stuff is boring. And you know, a lot of people say, oh, I don't get into politics, but it's like when you understand how a, a city is funded and what can happen when they don't have proper funding, that can give you some insight on, on whether or not they can host major events. So I, I want to just throw this out there in relation to New Orleans. The, the current situation there, New Orleans is, is considered what's what's called
a, a sinkhole city. So what that means is because they have more bills than available assets, literally they're they're $2.1 billion in the hole right now. Devon, think about that. 2.1 billion. There are most cities in this entire country where $2.1 billion would allow you to pay every bill for the city to operate. Your trash, your police, your EMS, all that stuff. You know $2.1 billion can cover most cities in the in the country. New Orleans is short that amount.
It would cost. Every taxpayer $18,300 a piece extra in order to make up for that shortfall. Like that's how bad it is right now. Do do you have an extra 20 grand laying around, Devon? Probably not right? At least not for that. Listen, I. Got 7. I got 7 kids So what did that tell you exactly? Exactly. Really the the, the pensions, right. That's one of the major contributing factors to this. So you're talking firefighters, police, educators, the pension, they're $1.5 billion in the
hole. 380. Six point $388.6 million of unfunded retiree health care obligations. So all those. Folks who were retired and who were still alive. They're not even paying for. Their health care right now, or or at least the bill is, is almost half a a billion dollars, brother. That's how bad they are financially. And you know, unfortunately it ain't going to get any better anytime soon. So, so there's a lot of tightening of the belt. Their bond rating as a city has
gone down. There used to be an A+, they've gone down to an A and it may actually drop even more than that. So what that means is when they go out to borrow money, just like any, any of us go out for a loan or something like that. Cities go out and they borrow money in order to take care of major capital projects. If your bond rating drops, you're going to be borrowing money at a much higher interest rate, which means it's going to cost you more money. So you're, so you're still going
to remain in the hole, right? So. I say all that to say this, it is very possible and not only possible, it's likely that New Orleans wasn't able to to even cover the site fee for WWE to exist in their city for a whole week and put on something like WrestleMania. They probably, they probably aren't even able to cover the site fee. And my assumption, no one told me this, but this is just based on my professional experience.
My assumption is they let WWE know that and WW is like, hey, if you can't handle this this year, then we'll push it off for a year and we'll take it back to Las Vegas because we can do that, you know what I mean? But we're not going to take less from you. So either you can handle it or you can't. And New Orleans is like, yeah, man, let's put it off for you, OK, no problem. And that's the end of it. But this isn't a a WWE pulls out
just out of nowhere like that. And, and, and what happened when you make a deal with the city to host a major event? There's a lot of paperwork that's involved in that. If WWE pulled out of the deal, I'm pretty sure they would have to pay in order to pull out of the deal. There'll be some kind of penalty for that. And since WWE is part of a publicly traded company, we would know that there would have to be a disclosure about that. So for all of you out there, step outside of your bubble.
Come into the real world for a second and understand it's bigger than what's in front of you. New Orleans crime. Rate is through the roof right now. How are their airports doing right now? Do they have enough people staffing their airports? You see what's going on in New Jersey with their issue with air traffic controllers.
There's a trickle down effect to that because if flights are getting canceled because you don't have the right people staffing, handling the airport needs, ain't nobody coming in and getting out of your city, at least not through the air. So all of. That, yeah, Yeah. So all that is infrastructure, and if your infrastructure isn't right, you damn sure shouldn't be bringing in major events. Now here's the last part that I'll say to you, Dean, because I
always check myself. I went back and I did a complete search of every major event that is scheduled to happen for the rest of 2025 and for the year 2026 in New Orleans, LA. And guess what? Not a. Single major international events, like a big sporting event or anything like that. It's mostly food festivals and and you know, minor things like that Mardi Gras season, which you know, it's going to bring some tourists, but nothing big.
There's literally UFC is running literally for one day, Holloway versus Poirier on July 19th of this year, that's UFC 318. The running of the bulls is happening. Essence Festival, which I think they do every year, New Orleans food, wine and food experience. These are all nice events, but they're not as big as WrestleMania. So I don't think any, I don't think. Anything is as big as WrestleMania. Well, you got it. You got to go.
Super Bowl. But even then, WrestleMania is probably generating more over the week, right? Absolutely. So so. Absolutely. I mean the. Money that's coming in from WrestleMania is ridiculous, yeah. Yeah, hundreds of. Millions of dollars easily in tax revenue, which can help a city, but in order to get that, you first have to have a certain level of infrastructure in place. You got to have enough people to work.
The other thing is with people getting deported and all this other stuff, what does their workforce look like? They may not have the bodies to handle some of these jobs that, you know, you and I may not necessarily want to do unless we have to do it. That all contributes, man. So I just say that to say this, folks, step outside of your box for a change and and think beyond what's in front of you because there's usually more to the story than the easiest
answer, so to speak. Anything to add to that, Eva? Well, even. If the WWE did pull out even let's just say they pulled out because of money wise, well, guess what, they're allowed to do that. Why would you? If you don't think the company's going to generate the money that you feel that it should, why? Why stay on a sink and ship in terms of that?
You know, if it's just hard to believe that some people just don't understand or get it and if there's certain things behind the scenes that you don't know about and nor should you know about. Of why they changed. The venue, the way they did, I mean, again, it's one of those things where we don't know what's going on behind the scenes, so. Just wait till the. Ena special comes on or AME special comes on.
You'll learn exactly. But but everybody doesn't doesn't have to have an opinion either. And I think sometimes these goofballs who don't know what they're talking about and I, and I'm going to call a name out. Dave Meltzer is a great example of that. He he acts as if he has to always have an answer to everything. And it's strange to me because what we don't you, you hardly ever hear Meltzer bringing on an expert to educate him on something that he doesn't know
about. He always positions himself as the expert on everything. He's he knows TV, he knows business, he knows everything about wrestling. He knows what's happening behind the scenes. He knows what Devon Dudley had for breakfast last night or yesterday morning. It's like this. This guy's the expert on everything, right? Which is, whenever a person presents themselves like that, then you know they're full of crap. It's just ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, no one
knows everything. You got her, and if you heard what I said, I did the research. I looked it up. I'm giving you numbers that you can go back and verify yourself. This is not an opinion. These are all public record numbers based on a a city and their financial situation, which helps inform my opinion on the situation. But it it, you know it's. Just one of those things though, man, Everybody doesn't have to have an opinion.
No, it's not because, you know, Triple H doesn't like New Orleans. He, he, he prefers Las Vegas. So he's gonna, you know, stupid. You see, you see the stuff that people say, Devon, it's, it's ridiculous and they think they know. Everything. And they don't. They don't know they. They don't even know the year from their elbow half the damn time, but that that's a whole other story.
Before I let you go, man, I, I, I wanted to give some room to discuss the passing of Sabu A, a guy who you spent many years sharing locker rooms with and, and someone that you've been in the ring with and what have you. Just however you want to talk about it, man. I mean, what's your initial feelings on on the passing of one of your brothers? It's very hard. Because it's never easy, especially when you've worked for with them for so long.
You've had memories, you've had laughter, you've even had sad moments, you know. And you know, the unfortunate part is, you know, that brother's no longer with us, you know, but man, if he leave a legacy in his business, especially in CW, you know, if it wasn't for him, Bubba and I wouldn't have the tables. You know, he was the original guy that did the tables. We just put it our own twist to it and went to the deal with it. Sabu was so influential on so
many different people. I didn't realize he was the one that really inspired you guys to get the tables, but it makes sense. No. Yeah. Because, you know, he was doing it in ECW, he was doing it way before me and Bubba even started to do tables. So we've always given Sabu credit. We never said we were the inventive of the tables. We just took it and made it fun.
Sabu, when he did it, he made it Oh my God moment, you know, like he somebody's going to die from this, you know, because of, you know, the stuff that Sabu would do with these tables. It was just man, it, it was, it was something man. It really was. He was a great guy. I always said you. Know when I was in the ring with him, he would hit you when he would punch you. He'd punch you in threes. You know, the first, the first punch he would hit, you know, he wouldn't hit you.
The second one he wouldn't hit. And right before he do the third one, he'd be like, sorry. And he'd be like, what did he say sorry for Bang? And he hit you right in the nose. And I was like, Oh my God, I'm like Sabu. He said, I said sorry. I said you said it before you swung. He's like, yeah, that's just me. He was a different kind of. Cat, then he he really, really. Was, you know, he was trained by his uncle, the original Sheik. He was he. He. Grew up in this business, very
very old school. You know, and he kept. That with him until the end, you know, he didn't tolerate no nonsense. He couldn't have no young boy come to him and go, you know, well, we're going to do this this, you know, can we do this, this have like no, shut up, sit
down, you know, respect. That was just the way Sabu was and every right to be like that, you know, because again, he was taught by his uncle, the original Sheik, who was big on respect and you had to respect him or if not, he was going to kill you, you know. But Sabu, man, I love tremendously. He was a good guy.
And when we started. Doing these autograph signings, I started seeing him on the road at these autograph signings and something said, you know, pick up, take pictures with them, you know, show memories. And that's exactly what I did. You can see a lot of the pictures of me and and Sabu on Instagram, you know, hanging out with Rob Van Dam. We did so many good matches, not only in ECW, but we did great matches, you know, in Japan together, you know, where we
made history. So, you know, now I'm going to miss that brother something awful. It's going to feel weird not going. It's going to feel weird going to the shows now and not seeing him there because I was so used to seeing him all the time and now we're not going to see him anymore. If if sabu. Was in his prime in 2025 with the way that the wrestling landscape is today. He'd probably. Be the biggest star in the business, right? I would think so, but.
Sabu, you know, he did what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it, with respect, of course, but if he didn't agree with the powers to be the upper, you know, the office, so to speak, he would speak his mind. No, I ain't doing that. Fuck you. That was Sabu, you know.
If he believed. In if he believed in something passionate and he would do it. He didn't care if he got fired, he didn't care if he got reprimanded for it, he would just Nope. The way it's got to be done is the way I like to do it. But he did it in a respectful way. It was never in a disrespectful way. But again, some of these clown. Promoters, you know think. They're the Vince McMahon or what have you, and they're not, and Sabu will let them know.
That's just the. Type of person Sambu was, if he didn't like you, you knew it because he would tell you. You wouldn't have to guess on it. You know he would just let you. Know and that was the way Sambu was and I always respected him to always speaking his mind and never letting anybody change it if he felt passionate about it. And you know, not that. And again, I retract that statement. Not that he did whatever he wanted to do, in a sense he did, but he always did what was best
for business. Deep, deep. You know, a lot of information has come out about Sabu. We all knew he was banged up. You see him at that, live events and stuff like that, signings. We know he was banged up. Everybody's banged up at this point. Getting him to that last match that he wrestled for, for GCW and you know, the circumstances surrounding that. Joey Janella put out some information that definitely caused some controversy and what have you.
I'm not going to get too deep into that, but I just want to speak from a general standpoint in 2025. Devon, where's the line? Where is the line when you know a guy? Like say you know a guy is not going to pass a physical, let's say if you do a physical to him. Where's the line where you say? You know what, man, I I just can't have you in the ring as opposed to we got 2000 fans out there. It's the biggest house we ever drew. You got to wrestle. We got to get you out there somehow.
Where's the line in that man? Well, you know, it's hard, man, because we're old school guys. You know, when I when I tore my Achilles heel, I was in the ring five days later. Wow. You take me up. And I'll be out there. That's what all of us from the Attitude Era and the ECW era. We just went out there and. Did it? We didn't care. Not saying it was the smartest thing to do, because a lot of times it wasn't. And a lot of us are paying.
For it now, because we never let the body heal, you know, but. It was just one of those. Things where that's what we did, that's what we knew, that's how we grew up in the business. You know, nowadays, like for instance, the whole thing with the NXT and me not being able to do anything, you know, WWE was very, very. Adamant about not.
Letting me even be up on the ring because I wouldn't get clearance to get in the ring and it wasn't clearance because the doctor said no. It's because we never went to the doctor. I was never told that I had to go to the doctor to get cleared in order to be able to do whatever little bit that I was going to do in annex team. And you know, they apologized and said, you know, they dropped
the ball. They should have told me and this and that because we could have did more stuff, you know, in that match with Trick and Bubba and Ethan Carter and you know, we could have did more. We could have made it even more exciting, but. You know. WWE is just being, you know, careful. They don't want a death in the ring because we've had deaths in the ring, you know, within the past, what, 10-15 years you've had people dying in the ring because they're health wise.
This wasn't good and nobody knew. So I like the fact that they take a precaution now to make sure that we're in the shape that we're supposed to be in, you know, but even back in the day with WWE. You know, back. During the Attitude Era, you know, you broke your arm, you wore a cast, and you did something to protect your opponent in the ring so the cast wouldn't affect them and, you know, it would protect you. So, you know, it's hard to say, man, it was a different time,
different era. It's just sad that I wouldn't say sad. Maybe again, the wrong choice of words, but it was just that once you got to the new era, they weren't doing that anymore. And us, you know, old guys from that era, you know, we didn't want to accept that. You know, hell, I'm, I'm fine. I'm fine. Just take me up, you know, don't worry about it. You know, I remember getting busted open, you know, in my head, on top of my head, they had.
Five stitches. In the cut and 13 to close me up, you know, and it was like right in a really soft it. Was like right in a really. Prominent place in my head where you know I could have been gushing blood if I got hit. You know, but I went. Out there they they me up, they take me up, they put as much cushion, you know, to protect myself. But nowadays they won't do that. They don't want to take the. Chance of you getting hurt and everything going bad. They don't want to do that.
And you know, I can't blame them, You know, I understand their way of thinking. But I do know I was upset and, you know, pissed off when I couldn't do anything in NXT. And again, it wasn't because my back said no, I couldn't do it. It was the fact that I didn't go to the doctor and get clear. But again, no one told me to do that because again, you know this error, what is crawling error and you're learning it.
And that was something that should have been discussed when we decided to add me to that match. And it wasn't. And unfortunately, I wasn't able to do anything in it. But you know what? It was OK because still got the pop, you know, and still got the reaction I was told to get. And I was able to share a moment with those brothers in the ring. So, you know, it is what it is, but it's a different time, different era, and you got to accept it. Safety and life.
Over profit. That I'll just leave it at that. Once again, rest in peace, Sabu. Heart goes out to his family, all his loved ones, including you. Devon. That's tough, man. It's tough to and and and such a young guy. You hate to see a young guy go. That's the tough part. Yeah, you know so but. Please. Tell somebody you love him out there, folks, please tell somebody you love him out there because you never know, unfortunately, Absolutely. Anyway, Devon, tell us about the
YouTube man. How how's it going over there on on the on the mean streets of YouTube? Oh man, it's going. Good man, it really is. We got some exciting ones coming up. We might even start. Using some. WWE. Guys to come in on the on the show, I'm trying to, you know, trying to get experience with that. I'm trying to make sure that everything is OK with that or in the process of working with them in order to be able to have a relationship with those guys and
things like that. I'm just very happy that. This YouTube thing is. Really taking off for me I'm just ecstatic never thought in a million years because I knew nothing about this stuff you know, I didn't know you know getting to 100,000 subscribers in a month was big. I had no idea, you know, but now you know, I'm happy to say that I'm just you know ecstatic. I'm at 152,557 subscribers right now. You know we've got. A lot of sponsors. That are coming you know.
A lot of sponsors that. Are, you know, looking to come aboard and, you know, have to be on the show to sponsor their products and things like that. So I'm happy. I'm happy about that, really happy. I'll tell you right now. Man, once again, are you convinced that the D Bond Dudley brand is is is pretty hot in 2025? Well, let's just say.
I'm convinced that people, there are some people out there or a lot of people like to say, I do like to hear what I have to say and do like to continue to see me. You know, you get your haters out there, but I haven't seen any hateful things that have been in the comments below. And I thank the people for that. I, I'm glad that they like what I'm doing. I always get compliments at the at the signings and this and that. Hey, we watch a YouTube video. Freaking excellent job and this
and that. So it feels good, you know? Listen speaking. Of which folks, you can see Devon Dudley at the River City Wrestling Con June 7th and 8th World Golf Village down there, St. Augustine, FL Head over to River City Wrestling con.com to get your tickets. It's literally what they're at, 96% sold out. I can't guarantee you'll be able to buy tickets at the doors, folks. You want to get it online just to make sure you're able to to be all right. I didn't realize this, Devon.
But last year there were no tickets sold out the door. They were sold out. So they're doing it again this year. It's it's you know, the demand is high. Folks want to see you, Ric Flair. They want to see TNT. They want to see Scotty versus Aaliyah James. They want to see the whole 9 yards, man. So definitely make sure you get your tickets so you can go see Devon Dudley, get your picture, get your autograph, share a laugh, the whole 9 yards there. Wow.
OK Birmingham, you're up, you are up. Make sure that you're ready to rock'n'roll with our men. Five time Hall of Famer Mr. Devon Dudley can't wait to see you. Of course it is always folks. Duke loves wrestling. On Facebook on twitter.dukeloveswrestling@gmail.com. Let me know what you think, share your questions, your birthday shout outs, the whole 9 yards and that's it. What do you got for our Word of the Week here, Devon? Disrespectful. Closed doors that apologies can't open.
Be careful how you treat people you don't think. Or need you testify? My brother. So define all about the perfect life. Be yourself, let your spirit lie. In this fashion you'll touch the sky strictly for the culture. And so fine dress you in prides then show your shine strictly for the culture every day visit. Www.strictlyfortheculture.ca. Backstage. Whispers and the crowds roar from matching giants to legends of your Diva's wisdom and Duke's keen view. Every episode feels like it's
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