Brothers and sisters, we are kicking off this episode of the
Devon and the Duke Podcast with a exclusive conversation with
one of the brightest stars on the indie scene today.
Check out my conversation with. Hey, this is Lady Bird, Monica
Monroe, the sweetest thing from Texas, and you're listening to
Duke Loves Wrestling. We're locked in.
Look at. What we have here folks, to the
only show that matters, the. Queen of the Crop Duke loves
wrestling and there is no. One that does it better than
your house. I have come here to chew bubble
gum and kick ass and I'm all out of bubble.
Brothers and sisters, we have a very special guest here.
You could hear her giggling in the background because she is
full of life and positivity. But on top of that though,
she'll kick your butt if you step out of line, which you
know, you don't go messing with a Texas girl.
So without further ado, welcome to Duke Loves Wrestling.
Legitimately one of the shining stars, the up and coming stars
on the independent wrestling scene today.
Lady Bird, Monica Monroe, how you doing there?
Hello. Hey, Duke.
Thanks for having me doing great.
It is a pleasure to have you and listen, I'm not going to play
games here, OK, because I'm talking to one of my Texas
cousins, Lady Bird and we got to start talking some some some
down South stuff. I want to start with BBQ because
I am a huge BBQ fan. I make my own sauces and rubs.
I'm all into it. So.
So talk to me about BBQ. When it comes to Texas BBQ, why
the Why is it the best barbecue around?
Oh my goodness, gosh. I think there's probably a lot
of heart in Texas BBQ because a lot of gatherings and family
events are, you know, surrounded around that as being the main
kind of meal. It kind of brings people
together. So I know as cheesy as it
sounds, I think it's a lot of love and heart and good energy
around it. Of course, we have many people
around Texas who, you know, study that craft and love it
for, you know, football games and just really anything.
But that's what I would say, as cheesy as it is.
I mean, my favorite barbecues are ones, you know, in my
backyard, so. That's cool.
Well, when it comes to the food itself, like think back to the
last time you had BBQ. What did you get and and and why
did you get it? Literally yesterday I had some
brisket and I had some sausage and, you know, brisket is just
juicy and tender and it takes a lot of time to get it that
tender, you know, And obviously the sauce, you gotta slap some
sauce on it, a little spicy sauce, just good.
And it's protein, you know, as being a wrestler, I love that
protein and anytime I can get it in.
So yeah, it's just delicious and easy to eat.
I love that. Are are you a a dry rub or are
you a sauce kind of person? I'm a sauce girl.
How about you, Duke? You know, I, I, I'm, I'm not,
I'm not a sauce girl, but I'm definitely a sauce guy.
I, I love my sauce. I don't know why, you know, some
people can eat meat and they just have, you know, seasoning
on it and that's the end of it. I don't know how they do it.
I, I think that these folks, we should contact United States
Space Force and have them picked up because they may be from
another planet and we got to deal with that.
Sauce your BBQ. OK, folks, sauce your BBQ.
I don't know what kind of nonsense is going on here, but
so you agree with me? I agree but I can see why people
sometimes, you know with they get offended why isn't their
meat good enough to eat on its own essentially So they say the
sauce is kind of overpowering the flavor so I understand both
sides. But regardless, I'm still on the
sauce side for sure. I'm I'm going to tell everybody
out there right now, the only way you are going to get mussels
like Lady Bird is to eat barbecue and sauce, OK?
That's just the way it has to be, All right?
I'm I'm, I'm putting that out. There right now.
No confusion. That's right.
Yes, if you want a six pack, add the sauce.
Add the sauce. That's right, add the sauce.
So you're a very interesting person and I've been keeping an
eye on your career since the beginning because for someone
who's only been in the industry for a few years, you've managed
to be in some pretty big time spots.
And I commend you for that because it's not easy.
I mean, that's your, your career is very unusual compared to
literally 99.999% of wrestlers out there.
They're they're never. Going to make it to TV.
Seriously, that they're never going to make it to TV, they're
never going to get matches and big promotions or what have you.
And, and, and you've been checking those boxes off since
year one. What do you attribute your early
success to? Like how did how did you do
that? Yeah, that's really nice to
hear. Thank you, Duke, That that
really means a lot to just to hear you say that.
What do I contribute my success to early on training?
That's really what it comes down to and having, you know, wanting
it more than anything else, you know, you know, you know, I work
a nine to five outside. Well, I don't know if I really
should indulge in that. But, you know, I even with, you
know, my daily to do's, I have to go and train.
You know, my whole day is accounted for most days.
So I, I trained at this little gym with no AC called America's
Academy of Pro Wrestling. And that the trainer over there,
Papa Don has, you know, been in this business for 20 years.
And one thing I love about trainers is and wrestling, they
don't make a lot of money, right?
These businesses don't make lots of money when you're on the
indie scene. So you, these trainers have to
have a lot of passion. And my trainer Papadon
definitely had that. And so I was just so inspired by
that love of wrestling from him and by everyone who was training
there that, you know, I just showed up every day to train and
I wanted to be the best at this business.
I have, you know, an athletic background.
I have a cheerleading, gymnastics, soccer.
I've been doing, you know, sports since I was four years
old, right? So I think that really helped in
the beginning of me wrestling and my wrestling career.
Talk to me about that viral clip that you had where you were in
this battle to the bell. In reality, you're wrestling and
you are holding a ladder. You put it down, you did some
kind of like upside down handstand thing, you wrapped
your legs around the ladder and then you were able.
To. Ascend the ladder because of
that. Talk to me about this thing.
Here because this is pretty cool you're.
A pretty agile person, right? Yeah, I try to be, you know, in
wrestling, moments are really important, having specific
moments. You know what I learned from OVW
with Al over there was moves don't, well, moves don't sell
seats. It's characters, it's moments.
And that was really kind of a character moment for me, who
Lady Bird is, is I'm super athletic, agile, I'll do
basically anything to get the the win, any kind of creative
way. So that was just a, a really
nice moment for me to have in the ring.
And I actually have to give credit to the people at Roe
because that was actually something that someone came to
me about and they said, hey, I think this would be great if you
could do this. I think you have the athletic
ability to do it. And so I practiced it literally
probably, I don't know, 20 minutes before my match.
And then, yeah, then I'm, we put it in there.
Well, it definitely was a big hit and again, I commend you for
it because that is not easy to do.
In fact, one of these days, we're going to see you in the
the Royal Rumble and you're going to be doing some amazing
things. I'm putting that out there right
now to the universe, Lady Bird, Monica Monroe is going to be in
the Royal Rumble. She's going to be in ladder
matches. She's going to be in these
matches where she's able to show off these these amazing agility
skills. And fans are going to go nuts
for it just like they did when in reality or wrestling.
I mean, really, really cool stuff there.
So again, kudos to you. Now I know that you are Texas.
You are Texas through and through you and your family.
So we're talking cowboy hats and cowboy boots and and all that
good stuff there. So.
Talk to me about country music. Like who who?
Who are your favorite country music artists?
And really, what songs do you listen to to get yourself pumped
up before matches? Oh, that's a good question.
That's a good question. Country.
I normally like more sad country songs, unless it's like early
2000s country with like Keith Urban and Tim McGraw, Miranda
Lambert, you know, all those, those folks.
But you know, Beyoncé's a country girl and she just put
out a country album. So if I really do want to get
pumped up, I mean my Houston, TX girl, that's, you know, that's
something to get me pumped up with.
What's another good one that I really like?
Oh, Family traditions. That's a really good song, a
little honky tonk kind of song. So stuff like that.
And I hear the little birdie told me, a little birdie told me
about lady Bird that you are A2 stepper and, and in fact you've
even taken 2 step lessons and all that good stuff there.
So let's talk about it. What is 2 step?
And you know, how skilled are you at that?
I'd say I'm pretty good. I started learning back when I
was in high school. I think I was in Spanish class
and we had a substitute or something and a little country
boy, because I'm from a small town.
I grew up, you know, went to school in a small town.
A little country boy friend of mine just taught me how to two
step. It's really just kind of take
two steps forward, one step back.
But if you wanna have a little more fun, we do a half step.
You take a half step forward and A and a step back and you just,
you know, spin around and twirl on the floor.
I did that most of my, you know, when I was in my teens, you
know, I would go to clubs and two step for, you know, this is
my favorite activity to do. I would do that every weekend.
I just love being twirled around and dipped and it's just a it's
a good time. Yeah, it's it's awesome.
Have you ever 2 step Duke? I actually have, you know, I I
grew up on boot scootin boogie. OK, so I I mean I'm a real.
Country music. Fan from way back.
So yes, I've I've 2 stepped, I've I've done swing dancing,
waltz, all kinds of different. Types I I think.
Dance lessons through the years, yeah.
But I love country music and and I go back to early Garth and and
and Travis Tritt, Randy Travis and and Reba McEntire.
Like that real golden age of country in the 80s and 90s where
the music videos were starting to influence what people
actually went to the record stores and buy.
So it was really interesting to see the mix of the two and and
just how you know, everyone has YouTube today, but back then you
had to watch CMT channel country music television.
Which was the country? Version of MTV in order to
figure out what the next big song was going to be And and and
some of those songs they would show you how to dance.
You know what I mean? So those were some fun years in
country music what happened? But yes, I definitely know how
to two step. I I can't do it like you, but I
can sure so try OK. I'd love to see it.
Now what about the singing? Because you do everything else.
Can you sing as well? Oh gosh, in the shower or at a
concert when I'm tuned out by everyone else?
No, I mean, my sisters sing and they're phenomenal at it.
I kind of grew up. I did choir and all that fun
stuff. But it's definitely not
something I'm trained in in any way, you know?
But I admire the people who do May.
Maybe one day, maybe one day, I can start singing again.
You know, folks, we're talking here to Lady Bird, Monica Monroe
and and I'm telling you right now, you can hear it from her.
She is a person that is so she's infectious, you know what I
mean? Just a positive person doing
some great things out there. So many wonderful experiences.
She is the the American dream. So when it comes to a a star
that's out there, a new star who's on the hunt, on the
ascent, all the big companies out there are going to be making
big offers to her in the not too distant future.
This is somebody to get behind. You know what I mean?
She can 2 step. She can she can tell you about
the best barbecue and if she has to, she'll get a ladder and
she'll do a little flip something or other and and get
up on top of that thing and she might actually jump off of it on
you. So you got to watch yourself.
But this is really a special person that we really, you know,
here at Duke loves wrestling. We really want to highlight and
put our stamp on and say, hey, she's next.
OK. So for all of you challengers
out there, if you're looking for a great opponent, go up to your
promoter and let them know right now, Lady Bird Monica Monroe is
open for business. So let's get it on.
I'm gonna tell you that right now.
What do you think about that Lady Bird?
Am I? Am I saying it right?
Darn right. Yes, yes, absolutely.
Thank you for that, Duke. It really means a lot.
What What can folks expect when they come out and they see Lady
Bird Monica Monroe wrestle? What, what?
What can they expect to see from you?
Oh, that's a great question. Well, the first thing you're
gonna see is I dress well for you.
I like to look good when I'm out there, so I'm a a good sight for
your eyes and I don't need to Bose myself up.
But we do it for the fans, we do it for you guys.
And then you're gonna see some fun stuff.
You're gonna see me doing some flips and tricks.
And not only that, you're gonna see me kicking ass, beating up
my opponents. It's a good time.
I think I'm trying to always be unique, be a little different
with what I deliver in the ring. So you'll hopefully see
something special and unique when I'm when I'm out there
wrestling. Talk to me about tag team
wrestling 'cause that's also something that you've become
pretty experienced at as well, right?
Yeah, yeah, I actually learned that at OVW with the Doug
Basham. He was like, you know, he was in
A tag team back in his WWE days, the Basham Brothers.
So I kind of got to learn from someone who was, you know,
signed with a, a major company. I, you know, So yeah, I did, I
did that for a while at OVW for about 5 months.
And then I've come back to, to, to Texas and then started doing
it at reality of wrestling with my, my main B, my girl Gigi Ray,
me and her actually met. We were both newbies in the
business. We started writing together and
then we became best friends. So she's the perfect person to
tag with. She's, we have similar styles.
She's just a bad ass. She's delivering these big
moves. We're both studying, you know,
matches. So yeah, I, I love tag team
wrestling. It's definitely, it's definitely
different from singles, but I I really love being able to rely
on a a partner in a match. Awesome, awesome stuff.
So once again, folks, she is very versatile.
She'll give you tag matches, she'll win gauntlet matches,
everything in between. I'm telling you right now, Lady
Bird, Monica Monroe, do not forget that name.
You will be seeing her all over your TV screens, no question
about it. In fact, Lady Bird, for anyone
out there, especially promoters, if they want to reach out to you
and do some business, what's the best way they can do that?
Yeah, that'd be great. You can message me.
You can e-mail me at russellladybird@gmail.com or
find me on X or Instagram. Send me Adm.
I'd love to work all around the US.
Yeah, just message me and we can start a conversation.
Awesome stuff. Awesome, awesome.
Before I let you go, I got to ask this last question because
it's very important, OK? This is the biggest question
that you've ever been asked in your career.
So let's see where we're going to go with this year, OK?
You're you're you're Texas now and you're talking to a Yankee
here. I'm Boston.
All right, so. You know, we, we, we're cousins,
but very different in a lot of ways here, here in Boston, we
call it soda, OK? That's what we call it.
It's soda, the little fizzy drink.
We call it soda. We don't call it anything else.
We might call it by it's brand name, but it's soda, all right?
And we stand hard and firm on this.
This is the way we roll. So Lady Bird, Monica Monroe, you
got the entire state of Texas on your shoulders right now.
All right, we need to know the answer to this.
What do you call fizzy drinks down there?
Oh my goodness, we, I don't want to disappoint anyone from Texas,
but I, you know, I'm going to speak for the Texans.
I'd say we call it pop. How do you feel about that?
Does that enrage you? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I
take back everything positive I've ever said about this lady.
She has completely turned heel on me.
OK, so we're putting a bounty on the head of Lady Bird, Monica
Monroe. If there is any wrestler on the
planet who wants to straighten her out for having the audacity
to call fizzy drinks pop, I will get the Harley Race briefcase
full of money. Take the money.
I want you to straighten out Lady Bird Monica Monroe, because
clearly she's gone the opposite way during this conversation.
I can't believe she just turned on us folks.
OK, I can't believe you, Lady Bird.
I had to, I had to defend a whole state.
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Most importantly folks, do it strictly for the culture.
Brothers and sisters, welcome back.
Welcome back to another exciting episode of the Devon and the
Duke Podcast. This is a limited edition series
hosted by your main man. Duke loves wrestling.
And of course, the Hall of Famer himself.
The man that went viral once again, especially with his, with
his dance moves and his preaching.
We're talking about the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Devon
Dudley. How you doing there Devon?
I'm doing good man, not bad at all.
Just one day at a time, doing what I got to do.
So so we got to jump right into this man.
You went viral with this music video that she had with Trick
Williams and and the return of Reverend Devon.
OK, what? What was going on up there with
this video, brother? Well, Trick asked me to come and
do the video. I really don't watch the product
as much as I should because I, you know, I have kids and
businesses outside of the business, so it's very hard for
me to keep up with everything that's going on.
And so I basically got a phone call from Trick asking me to be
in the video and to do the Reverend Yvonne.
And I said, yeah, I said sure. So I'd love to do it because,
you know, Trick and I, when I was in NXT, you know, we became
friends and you know, we clicked on every cylinder and you know,
anything that he want for me, he's got it and vice versa.
So it was one of those things where when he called me, I was
very happy to be a part of it and, you know, just couldn't
wait to sit down and collaborate with him.
How talented is this trick Williams man?
I mean what, what a what a special young man he is and the
fact that he's already a two time NXT champion is just
fantastic. What are your thoughts on him as
as a as a Hall of Famer? Checking out his work,
interacting with him behind the scenes?
What are your thoughts on trick? I think trick has come a long
way. I think, you know, when he came
in and he became a part of Carmelo's stable, so to speak,
he was kind of like a side piece, you know, on the side
and, and basically, you know, he was developing his own
character. He was developing his own style
in the process of it. So becoming second to somebody
is not necessarily a bad thing. If you take advantage of it, it
can work out great for you. And I think this worked out
great for Trick. And This is why he's in the
position that he's in, because even though Carmelo really got a
lot of the press, he basically learned and was always asking
questions and he basically, you know, studied.
And now look at him now. Two time NXT champion and he's
on top of the world now. So very proud and happy for
Trick and now the Sky's the limit.
Sky's the limit. Absolutely.
And folks, don't forget we're talking November 6th, OK?
They're going to be at the the ECW Arena with some folks call
the 2300 arena in Philadelphia, PA, NXT on CW.
So this is going to be a big event.
There's going to be a lot of familiar faces who are going to
be showing up. You never know what kind of
surprises to expect there. So you definitely want to tune
in if you have an opportunity to be there live, make sure you
take your pictures, use the hashtag WWENXT, the whole 9
yards. Be part of some history there
for sure. So there was a little
controversy that happens Devon and and you know, I definitely
want to make sure that I talk about this on air because I know
folks are are waiting to hear, you know, the final word on
this. So I you know, I'm going to take
a minute here and just go over it.
First and foremost, shout out to Chris Bay from TNA and also
baking go, you know the the Mexican wrestler who also has
been doing some shots in the United States.
Both of those guys in the past few days have been injured in
the ring. Unfortunately.
Not really sure the extent of the Kingo's injury.
I know it was a leg injury and we definitely wish him a speedy
recovery. In the case of Chris Bay,
there's been some information that's come out that he had to
have emergency neck surgery and the surgery was successful.
So he's on the mend and who knows the next time he's going
to be back in the ring. And that's not really as
important as making sure that his health and safety are OK.
So definitely, you know, shout out to Chris BAE and the Kingo,
and we wish you both a speedy recovery.
Now, the interesting thing happened as soon as BAE had that
injury in it and it made its rounds online, someone, a very
close personal friend of his, set up a GoFundMe and I believe
the original goal was like $50,000.
They've they've since changed it to $100,000 because so much
money is poured in in support of Chris Bay.
So I had tweeted out a message, you know, he didn't he get
injured in the ring. Why are we soliciting funds from
fans? Shouldn't the promotion be
paying for this? This is ridiculous.
So I put that out there and you folks know me.
I, I'm not one to hold my tongue.
I share my opinion just like everybody else.
I don't swear. I don't cuss anybody out or
anything like that. You guys know that I'm, you
know, I, I don't work blue, so to speak.
I'm more of a Sinbad, if you know the, the comedian Sinbad.
I, I, I talk about life and ironic things and I'm very
specific about what I'm saying. But I, I make sure that I'm
being professional at the same time as I say it.
To my surprise, so many people jumped all over me on this.
There are definitely people who agree, but so many people, oh,
how dare you. And this is about supporting
Chris. And you can't be so negative and
all. So then I said, wait a second.
It is unsustainable to treat fans as if there's some kind of
unlimited ATM. And unfortunately, we've seen
this happen throughout the years where folks keep hitting fans up
for money. And it's not a transaction.
It's not like buy my merchandise, come out to a show
or whatever. No, this is literally give me
money to pay my bills. And hey, this is a bad economy
for everybody. The average person is working
more than one job just to make ends meet.
We're coming off of terrible hurricanes that just happened.
We're coming with, you know, we're in the midst of a possible
World War Three happening out there.
We got the holiday season coming up.
Financially, most people are pretty strapped.
And as a fan, I'm not a wrestler.
I'm not in the wrestling industry.
I do this show to highlight all the legends and and the folks
breaking into the business, everybody in between.
That's what I do. But I'm not a wrestler and I
never pretend to be. But as a fan, I'm pointing out a
reality here. Hey, it's time to stop hitting
us up for these, these, these funds.
You know, we're all human beings here.
And, and if I fall on hard times, I can't go to you and ask
you for money. So stop asking me.
Just a general point, whether you agree or disagree, just a
general point. But on top of that, I said, hey,
This is why wrestlers need to unionize so they can have these
protections in place. If I get injured at work,
there's workman's comp, right? I, if I have lost wages, that
gets covered. I got medical bills that gets
covered. Independent contractors in the
pro wrestling industry don't have those protections.
And I think there's something wrong with that.
I think you deserve it, all of you wrestlers out there.
So that was the point I was making.
Unfortunately, a lot of people took issue with that, including
former WWE referee Jimmy Corderas, which, you know,
Jimmy, you said a lot of disparaging things about me and
I'm just going to tell you right now, you don't know me.
I don't know you. If you disagree with me, that's
OK. But there was no reason for you
to to call me a douche nozzle and an idiot and cuss me and all
this other stuff. Jimmy Corderas, you, you know,
you, you Jelly back humanoid bastard.
There was no reason for you to speak to me like that.
Because if you're benefiting from the fact that the wrestling
industry is not unionized and good for you, that's not going
to stop me from saying that the wrestlers deserve it, Jimmy.
And the last time I checked, referees were employees in the
WWE. So you had benefits that the
people who are out there risking their lives every day in that
ring didn't have. I'm advocating for them.
Mr. Slapped the mat. You were completely covered.
So you, you, you take that song and dance somewhere else, Sir.
That's that's all I say to that. Listen, folks, you know me.
I'm not here to be liked about what I said.
I'm not here to be disagreed with.
I just point out the fact and I push conversation and I'm pretty
effective at it. For some reason, people can't
stop responding when I do these things because they know what
I'm saying is true. And if that forces the
conversation to come back into the forefront and so be it.
There was a point where a wrestling union almost happened
a few years ago, but unfortunately the guy who was
leading it, David Starr, he got caught up in the Me Too stuff.
And if any of that stuff was true, what was said about him,
that's unfortunate, you know, because the whole wrestling
union thing died with that moment.
And that sucks because again, the wrestlers do deserve it.
There are parts of this industry that are making money hand over
fist right now and it is wonderful.
The spoils are happening, but for the most part, people are
struggling. And if Chris Bay needs a
GoFundMe to pay his bills after getting hurt in a wrestling ring
when he is literally on TV, not only United States but also in
Japan, he got that New Japan deal as well.
Something is wrong with that in my opinion.
Have the conversation, figure it out, but the fans can't keep
supporting that. That's just my opinion.
That's what the what fans that I talk to all the time, they say
the same thing kind of hard up here.
They're the ones asking for money too, because they're in
financial turmoil. So come on, guys.
I think the the faucet is being shut off a little bit here.
But again, I wish a speedy recovery to everybody and, and I
don't wish bad on anyone. Don't want to see anyone get
injured out there. But you know, there's a right
way to do this long term and I think the industry needs needs
to take a look at it. Devon, any thoughts on that?
You know, the GoFundMe, you know, does help a lot of
wrestlers because, you know, we don't have a union.
I know Jesse Ventura talked about it in the documentary and
so many other documentaries that they did on pro wrestling where
he tried to form a union. And all of a sudden, I think it
was Hogan, I believe, that blew the whistle on him and went to
Vince and told him what they were trying to do.
It's very hard for a lot of these guys to really make, you
know, they people look at us as making millions and millions of
dollars and some, some of us are.
But then you have some guys and, you know, certain promotions
that aren't making that it's almost like it, it's like the
rap world in a sense. And what I mean by that is some
of these guys are portraying that they're, you know, got more
money than God and this and that.
But then you come to find out that they're not, they don't
have that money because the music industry, you know, robs
them blind. I think that has to do with the
case with some promotions. Some promotions do not pay the
talent what they're really entitled to pay.
But that's been for years, you know, across the board, you
know, for what we do in that ring, we should be getting paid
a lot more than what we get paid.
And, you know, that's the fight that's always been with
wrestlers for decades, well, long before I came in this
business. And it seems like the promoters
are the ones that are getting rich off our blood, sweat and
tears. So it's one of those things
where, you know, I kind of understand where it's coming
from because, again, the company should be paying for it, but
they don't. And a lot of the organization's
top organizations feel like you need to have your own insurance
just in case something like that happens.
So I'm not sure what that young man's deal is in terms of what
he's making in TNA or things like that.
I do know that when I was in TNA during the Dixie regime, a guy
named Jesse Swanton, I think it was his name, he was a student
of ours who basically made it to and made it to TNA at the time,
broke his neck in the ring. And, you know, Dixie swore that
she was going to take care of it and not to worry, told his mom,
you know, that, you know, you have nothing to worry because
the mother was sitting ringside when the accident happened, told
him that she was they were going to take care of it.
You don't have to worry about a thing.
You know, we got this. And come to find out that the
mother wound up selling, had to sell her restaurant, I believe,
or something like that to pay for the medical bills because
apparently the promise that was given to Jesse wasn't done.
The bills were not paid and he needed to pay the money, you
know, that they did for all the surgeries.
And if you know anything about broken necks and the stuff that
you have to go through, it's a lot of money.
It really, I mean, you could lose everything just to pay for
those bills. And then not to mention the
countless rehab that you have to go through just to get back to
even half the way you once was. So, you know, and that hurt me
when I heard that because, excuse me, you know, you, you
got to look at it as this man went in that ring and put his
life on the line to entertain. Yes, this is a love that he had
for the business and he knew the consequences.
I get that and understand that. But at the same token, when you
have top promoters telling you that they're going to take care
of you if something goes wrong, you know they're betting 9 out
of 10 times is not going to happen.
But it's always that one time that it does happen.
Then what? Then your ass out if they don't
keep their promise and take care of you during that time.
So it's really hard in a sense, to not understand where they're
coming from because, again, the bill for something like that can
be crazy. And I get it.
You know, the fans, you know, are tapped out to, we're all
living in an economy that it's rough right now and that we all
need that handout as well. But my thing is, if the fans are
willing to do it to help them out, then, you know, so be it.
You know, because again, we are putting our lives out there and
we are putting our bodies and things like that, taking time
away from our families and, and everything, you know, to do
this. You know, luckily when I had my
stroke and I had my back surgery, I was an employee of
the company and I was able, I had the benefits and all of that
to take care of that. You know, getting health
insurance on your own is very, very rough.
I think I was, I think I was paying almost something like
almost sixteen, $1800 a month for health insurance for me and
my family, you know, at one point.
And then all of a sudden I became an employee of the
company and you know, didn't have to worry about that in the
morning. I was paying like $100 for my
family at that point because it was employee.
But it's rough man. And again, I hope, I wish that
brother a very fast and speedy recovery.
May God with you, May God be with you.
But again, hopefully he gets back on his feet and he's able
to do what he truly loves. And you know, again, my my heart
and prayers go out to him and his family.
I believe the guy's name is Jesse Sorensen.
And I, I remember that injury. Woof, that was a tough one.
He was out for a few years because of that.
He did eventually make his return to pro wrestling, but
obviously you have a major neck injury that takes a lot out of
you and you never quite the same after that.
So definitely shout out to Jesse and shame on Dixie Carter for
not falling through, you know, leading this young person
believe that the company would support them and ultimately they
did not. That's just piss poor management
in my opinion. There's no two ways about it.
I I wonder, Devon, when it comes to management, when it comes to
the professionalism and the support that you've received
throughout your career, if you could pick one promotion that
you felt compared to everybody else, they got it done right,
especially in a particular time period in your career, when
would that be and what promotion would would you give the nod to
saying that? Yeah, out of all the ones I
dealt with, they were the best. Well, no doubt WWE, you know,
under the Vince regime, 'cause I don't know, the Hunter regime,
Vince always took care of you. He was never one of those guys
that made promises that he would do something when you got hurt
and didn't follow through with it.
If you got hurt 9, I would say 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 times
you would you were taken care of, you know.
So I never really had a problem with that.
The organization, in terms of how an office should be run, was
top of the line. So when you went to these other
organizations that were under WWE, meaning not on the same
level, you kind of saw the writing on the wall with that.
And there was a couple of times when me and Bubba was like, man,
if this was WWE, it wouldn't be run like this because that's
just the way it was. You know, we basically realized
very early when we left in 2005 and went to other organizations
how businesses should not be run, especially from an office
standpoint. I think the only thing that was
close to being top notch when it came to business in an office
was the Japan organizations. They were on top of this stuff.
They had everything running like a world oil machine.
They were very, very good when it came to stuff like that.
I don't think Hunters in terms of taking care of business is
any is that much different than the way Vince did it.
You got to understand he was under Vince for many, many
years. And you know, you can't deny the
stuff that Vince did in terms of how he ran the company.
You might not have liked him outside of the company, but when
it came to how he did business, he was a genius.
And I will always stand by that and say that because look at
where he bought the WWE from his father's company to this billion
dollar, not million, but billion dollar entity.
You know, we always hear about Pat Patterson and his
contributions, especially to match finishes and things like
that. Other than the obvious with
Vince and Pat, who else, who else would be next?
Who you would say had the most influence and their influence
had the most positive impact on things, especially when you were
in the WWE? Who?
Who was the other brain behind the scenes that helped make
things go around? Other than Patterson, I really
don't know. I mean, you had Bruce Pritchard,
you had Jr. Bruce had his hand and stuff.
But I never saw Bruce at work. I just knew that he was under
Vince and Vince liked him very much.
How much did Pritchard have in terms of having his input on
things at that? I don't know as and as well as
Jr. because again, I wasn't in the meetings to see that, nor
was it talked about. So I really don't know.
I just know that those two had their hands and a lot, but I
didn't know how much. But you always knew about Pat
Patterson. You know how much of A genius he
was. Oh, and Michael Hayes.
Michael Hayes came in as a producer, not even supposed to
be permanent for my understanding, and his ideas was
just so good that Vince said, Nope, you're in.
You know, I'm brought him in. Michael is very, very good in
terms of putting storylines together.
His knowledge for the business is, is incredible.
I think next to Pat Patterson had to have been Michael Hayes.
His ideas were just superb. Little crazy sometimes, but
again, he knew his stuff. You know, it's interesting that
you bring up Michael Hayes. Here's a guy who was with the
WWE in the late 70s, early 80s for a drink of water basically.
And you know, he went on with the Free Birds.
They set the whole Texas territory on fire.
They were working for Watts and working for the N.W.A and, you
know, working for the Von Erichs all over the place and making a
name for themselves. And then it's not until what,
the early 90s that Hayes comes back as this this Doc Hendricks
character and then eventually just settles in as a creative
guy. What a career this this man has
had in pro wrestling and in so many different hats.
He's worn at such a high level. But the fact that his time in
WWE is where he spent the most time in his career is really,
really interesting. I think it says a lot about who
Michael Hayes is and and his ability to continue to remain
relevant enough to maintain a job on the highest level.
Yeah, I started in 1999 and he was there working.
So you know, and we're now in 2015.
I'm so good. Jesus, we're in 2024 and he's
still there. So he was there during the
beginning of the Attitude Era. So let's go back even more, say
1996, maybe 95. He was there, maybe even longer
than that, and he's been there ever since.
Yeah, again, it shout out to Michael Hayes.
Staying relevant, innovating, making yourself necessary as
time goes by that that's just, it's really smart.
It's a skill. Most people don't have that
skill, unfortunately. So that just shows his value.
Speaking of value, you had your cigar unveiling events last week
and I know fans were very excited about that.
You had a great turn out from what I understand.
But most importantly for everybody who was not able to
make it. Tell us about it there.
Devon, how was the cigar event? Phenomenal.
Great turn out, you know, really had a great time.
You know, been here for 33 years in this area and the turn out
was was great. And I say that because I've been
here for so long, you know, I've seen people left and right.
So I didn't think I was like, you know, people know me, so I
don't know how to turn out. It's going to be.
And it blew me away. Yeah, when I saw it.
So I was very happy about that. You know, I'm very excited about
the cigars. They taste great.
And, you know, I'm just enjoying every bit of it.
Thanks to, you know, Dave over there at NASDAQ is not sure.
So thank you very much. And Dave Ortiz, big Poppy from
the Boston Red Sox, thank you so much for bringing me along.
And I can't wait for the ride, man, I'm enjoying this also.
I got to add in also as well as fairway cigars with Big Trey.
Thank you very much for introducing me to these guys and
you know them eager to do business with me and wanting,
you know, these cigars to really go out there.
I'm excited about it. So I'm not going to say that I'm
going to step away from the wrestling business, not saying
that at all, but I am going to do a lot of mean focus on the
cigars now and try to really branch out with that and you
know, and then, you know, come back to wrestling when I can.
Wrestling will always be my first love.
I'm not leaving the business. It's just that, you know, I am
just trying to venture off into other things.
There'll be another unveiling of the cigars and things like that
and where you can get it. I will have that information for
you very soon. I'm just excited and pretty much
overwhelmed over everything that's been going on because it
all came at me at once. Never saw this coming at all.
So, you know, it's a great feeling to know that and you
know, it's something to secure my family, you know, money wise
and and all of that. So I'm really excited about
that, you know, so hopefully this turns into something where
I can have my own yacht and, you know, a big ass mansion on top
of the hill. We'll see what happens, man.
Yeah, you go get your yacht, big man, You've you've earned it for
sure. Shout out to Notorious Cigars.
Definitely. This is a great partnership and
I can't wait to see and to sample the new Devon Dudley
cigars in partnership with Natura Cigar Company.
There big man, I know you got to run to the Rhode Island Comic
Con Day 2. So you'll be hanging out with
all the wonderful fans out there.
And I know Bubba's also there DDP whole bunch of great people,
Francine ECW original. So you go right ahead, man.
I'll I'll finish up for us here folks, if you want to keep up
with Devon and find out where he's going to be next,
definitely check out Instagram testify Devon DVON testify
Devon. You can follow him see his his
latest bookings coming up and what have you.
Some great stuff is also on X, but you know, Instagram is
really your best hookup, so to speak there.
Also, don't forget if you are somebody who is serious about
becoming a pro wrestler and you want to learn from one of the
absolute greatest of all time, the Hall of Famer himself, Mr. D
Von Dudley, then you definitely want to check out the D Von
Dudley Academy. OK, it's a pro wrestling
Academy. It's out there in Winter Park,
FL. And of course, you can either go
to D vondudleyacademy.com For more information.
You can find them on Instagram as well.
But seriously, with the holidays coming up, that'd be a great
gift to give someone, you know, training for one of the greatest
of all time. Why not chase your dreams,
achieve your dreams, do it with D von Academy.
That's right, of course, with me.
Duke close Rassen on Facebook, on
twitter.dukecloserassen@gmail.com. Let me know what you think.
It doesn't matter to me if you agree or if you want to call me
names like, you know, the former referee, Jimmy Corderas, former
WWE referee. That's OK.
I, you know, just know that I'm going to give it right back to
you. Got that right for sure.
Thank you once again to Lady Bird Monica Monroe for joining
us to kick off this episode. That was really nice.
And she's a fantastic indie wrestler that you folks got to
keep an eye on. We just got to get her stop
saying pop because we know it's soda.
It's soda. That's right.
Anyway, I am going to leave you with the word of the week.
OK, Since Steve Vaughn's running to go meet all the wonderful
fans at the Rhode Island Comic Con, here is the word of the
week. Be the change that you want to
see in others. It's as simple as that, folks.
Don't just expect everybody else to be one way if you're not
going to practice what you preach.
Got that right? Anyway, As always, be kind to
yourselves, be kind to others. Take it away.
Tony Shibani. Mr. Tony Shibani.
And we're desperately out of time on Duke Love Wrestling.