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Queen of the crop. Duke loves wrestling.
And there is no one that does it better than your.
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gum and kick ass and I'm all out of bubble.
Brothers and sisters, welcome back.
Welcome back to another wonderful edition of the Devon
and the Duke Podcast. This is a limited edition
podcast hosted by your main man. Duke loves wrestling and of
course the Hall of Famer, the man that delivers the TV ratings
because he's one of the greatest of all time.
Brother Devon Dudley. How you doing there Devon?
Good man, how you doing? I am doing great.
Listen. Congratulations my brother.
You're on NXT this past week, and despite the fact that NXT
was preempted so it appeared on a Wednesday instead of its
normal day of Tuesday, it was going head to head with AEW
Dynamite, which was on its regular day and time.
Despite all that, you managed to crush them and the television
ratings, you managed to crush them and social media score the
whole 9 yards there. Devon Dudley, the great
equalizer delivering the ratings.
How does that feel bro? Well, I don't want to say it was
a complete effort on my part. I think it was a complete effort
on everybody's part in NXT. The whole talent, the whole
roster did an excellent job and really put it.
I was, I was scared and a little nervous just because remember,
this is the ECW Arena. It's do or die and you have to
make sure that you come correct, especially when you start
talking about hardcore matches. And the opening match really,
really did a great job. But it was a women's match, not
to sound sexist, but it was a women's match.
They did a hardcore and really stepped up to the plate.
So I congratulated both women and thought they did an
excellent job and they really got the ECW crowd going.
And again, that's hard, especially when it's women in
the ECW arena. I hate to say it, but you have
to know the history to understand.
Understand where I'm coming from when I say that.
Absolutely. I mean, there was definitely
respect and appreciation shown to both Jada Parker and Lola
Vice. They they put on an excellent
match there. They were beating the hell out
of each other. There was a brick in the match,
the whole 9 yards there. But the crowd, yeah, they
weren't chanting, you know, sexist, overtly sexual things at
the ladies, like the heyday of ECW where it was, you know, show
your, you know, what's and all kinds of, you know, slut chants
and all that crap. None of that was going on.
So it's definitely a modernized crowd who respected the two
competitors in there, those two ladies there.
But you're absolutely right. They set the tone for the entire
night, and it was just an excellent from top to bottom.
Excellent episode of NXT, excellent throwback to ECW.
You were a major surprise, man. Now you know I got a bone to
pick with you hit Devon, because you didn't even tell us last
week that you were going to be on the show.
What's up with that? Well, again, that's the
surprise. I wasn't going to tell you.
And that that was because, you know, things get out.
You know, it's not like back in the 80s and 90s when there was
no Internet. There was no spoilers or
anything like that. You had the dirt sheets, but by
the time the dirt sheets got a hold of it, the match already
happened. So it wasn't something that, you
know, we actually that we actually, you know, could ruin
anymore. And we don't have that luxury of
doing stuff like that anymore. So the bottom line with that is
being able to not let the people know that something's going to
happen. You want to make it a surprise.
I thought it was great. And that's why we try to keep it
hush hush because it spoils it. It's not like back in the day
with wrestling when you didn't know.
Like, for instance, I'll give you a prime example, Hulk Hogan
coming back from the AWA to help out Bob Backlin against the wild
Samoans, Alpha and Seeker, of course, which is Roman Reigns's
dad and uncle. You know, when Bob Backlin went
in the back to get Hogan, we had no idea what was going to
happen. You know, he comes out and the
whole arena exploded and that really started Hulkamania and
Hulk Hogan's return back to the WWE.
Now, think about it. If there were dirt sheets that
had the Internet and things like that and knew that Hogan was
going to be there, it would not have been a surprise.
We would have already have known it, especially back then when
they filmed four and five weeks of TV in one night.
Well said. Well said.
You're absolutely right. The surprise factor still
matters in pro wrestling, and fans respond to it in a positive
way. And certainly that's exactly
what happened in this case. NXT crushing AEW and the TB
ratings on social media, the buzz, the whole 9 yards.
Speaking of the dirt sheets, you were a pretty popular topic of
discussion by some of these these humanoid bastards, as I
like to call these Jelly backs, according to Corey Brennan over
at Fight For which, you know, it's a, it's a tabloid, it's a
gossip rag. They charge people and half the
time they're saying things are just completely not true.
And this Corey Brennan individual in particular, he has
a habit of just completely making stuff up, lying about
stuff. He's been caught, he's been
called out and he continues to do it.
So in this case, he states Fightful Select has learned that
the reason Devon Dudley remained out of the ring on Wednesday's
NXT is that he is not medically cleared for physicality.
NXT notes available now on Fight For Select for subscribers.
So of course, they got to get their plug in.
They got to hustle people out of their money.
This Corey Brennan person first and foremost, or anyone from
Fight For. Did they reach out and speak to
you directly, Deema? No, they didn't.
And you know, that's one of the things that really, really get
to my nerves about the dirt sheets because they're not doing
it because they think they got an accurate story.
They're doing it so people can click on to the websites and the
money and all that list. You guys can go fuck yourselves.
OK, As far as I'm concerned, each and every one of you pieces
of shit. Number one, it wasn't the fact
that I didn't get cleared because of my health.
OK, that's one. No one can just walk into AWWE
ring and get and and just wrestle anymore.
You have to go through the the protocols every time.
My son's going to be extras in WWE.
They have to get blood work and all of that done.
Well, that wasn't done. And understand one thing.
The stroke that I had and the back surgery I had was four to
five years ago. I got cleared three or four.
I got cleared about 3 or 4 years ago from the back surgery and
the stroke. The stroke is no longer an
issue. That's one.
Number two, am I lingering with the fact that I'm still feeling
a little pain here and there with the back surgery?
Absolutely. Tell me one person that had back
surgery that doesn't have a lingering effect of the back
surgery. So again, you guys go fuck
yourselves and everything that you, all the misinformation that
you've given out to the public. No, my health is not in jeopardy
and no, it wasn't because I couldn't wrestle or anything
like that. It was the fact that again, I
did not go to medical to get cleared.
And by the time I got to the arena, it was too late.
So that was the reason why it didn't happen.
There are certain people that don't get cleared because of
medical reasons, but that wasn't the case for me.
It was, again, I'll say it again, it was because I did not
do the proper screening or take the proper test to go in there
to do what I had to do, to be able to do the physicality and
the ball was dropped. So I'm not saying it was WWE's
fault, and I'm not saying it was my fault, but again, it
happened. Get over it.
Stop trending over stupid bullshit.
And I'm tired. Every time I turn around you
guys are just dragging my name in the dirt for no reason.
Every opportunity you get, you like to fuck with me.
Well, again, go fuck yourselves. Well, it's about me and Bubba
not being together anymore, or we hate each other, or it's my
health. Go fuck yourself.
You hear that straight from the source, folks, and you don't
have to go to the dirt sheets and let them lie to you for,
for, you know, 999-1299, whatever they're charging people
and robbing them on. There was no medical issue that
prevented Devon Dudley for being physical in the ring.
You just heard it from him. He just explained to you exactly
what happened. No one would know that better
than him. And if there's anyone who would
know that better than him, then they can speak up.
Put your name on it and let's hear from you.
You know, but these dirt sheets just spinning their own tails
and, you know, essentially hustling people out of their
money and lying to them, It it literally ruins the experience.
There's no integrity in this this wrestling media because you
have a bunch of bozos who are so poor at their job and they don't
realize you're affecting real lives and saying this, the way
that this Corey Brennan at Fightful has phrased this and
the way that Fightful has ran with this, this could cost
Yvonne future bookies. You know what I mean?
What, what if Devon wanted to to mix it up somewhere else and do
something and, and, and is OK to do that?
You, you saying he's not medically cleared in the WWE.
Now you're, you're hurting his brand.
And I'm just going to tell you folks right now, people get sued
for less than that. So you better start being a lot
more careful, especially when you speak on this Hall of Fame
right here, because we're not going to tolerate it.
Simple as that. Speaking of Bubba, you and and
Bubba were together again. Not only in NXT, but you also
were together this past weekend at a major convention, right?
Yes, we were the big event in Long Island, New York.
We had a great time. The fans were fantastic and they
came in droves. And you know, we made a lot of
money. I had a lot to say that, and we
really enjoyed ourselves. It was great to see the fans in
Long Island. You know, I'm from New York, I'm
from Brooklyn, NY, born and raised, but I also spent time in
Long Island. I actually grew up about 20
minutes away from where we had the event, and it was great to
see some friends and some people that I had, you know,
encountered over the years that I hadn't seen in years.
They came to say hello because they knew me and Bubba were
going to be there. And Bubba actually lived 5
minutes away from the building. And also the ECW training
facility was 10 minutes away from the building.
Me and Bubba were reminiscing about that because that's where
me and Bubba met. You know, I mean, of course,
we're brothers from different mothers, but you know, we
basically met at the ECW Arena. So we were talking about that
and it was great to see, you know, again, people from the
past from yesterday and then the great fans of today.
I love Tommy from Big Event who helped promote the show.
He's been nothing but great to me.
And any time that, you know, I want to be on the show or he had
a show, he would always invite me.
So pick up to our big event and doing everything with class.
That show went off without a hitch.
Everybody made money, everybody was happy.
The fans appreciate everything that we had did and I'm very
happy to say that, you know, next year I'll be doing Big
event again. Congratulations and of course
shout out to Big Event in the organizers there.
You knocked it out of the park and it's another example, the
Big Event River City Wrestling Con.
There were certain conventions that just get it right and it
starts with being professional and doing good business.
A lot of you other folks out there who are running
conventions or thinking about starting a convention, you
should be taking a look at the Big Event and, and taking a look
at their business model and, and listening to these, you know,
legends like Devon Dudley, who were explaining to you why they
had such a great time. And he's already saying he's
going to be back. So that tells you everything you
need to know about how well this was.
In fact, if you go on to Instagram at Testify Devon,
you'll see video of the line not just for for for Devon, but the
whole place was packed. And that's just a prime example
of great promotion. That's a prime example of
delivering on quality service, not only for the fans, but also
for the superstars, the legends, the wrestlers.
When everybody's feeling good, then there's nothing to do but
make money and make memories. So keep that in mind.
All of you convention folks out there.
There's a right way to do it. Unfortunately, so many of you do
it the wrong way. And that's where you know, you,
you create a bad rap for everybody, you know.
So that's, that's pretty interesting.
It's pretty interesting. So you got something else going
on, brother. And, and I guess we're going to
break an exclusive here. A little birdie told me that you
have some things going on with your YouTube channel, what
you're going to be revealing very, very soon.
So I'm going to put you on the spot now.
What's going on with Devon Dudley on YouTube?
Well, I'm actually on my way there now to the wrestling
school. We're going to film a few
episodes there and one of my good friends in the business,
Maven from Tough Enough, WWE, Tough Enough will be there also
to join me. We're going to be shooting a few
episodes. I've done work with him on his
YouTube show. So he wanted to come and help me
with mine and to get it started. I've never ever done had a
YouTube channel and I've always wanted to do 1.
So I was at the convention and the people that are doing it
basically came to me and asked me would I like to do it.
I said well, hell yeah. I just never had the right
producers or people to come in to me to help me to want to do
it. And so they are willing to fly
down anywhere or fly me anywhere to go.
Do you know the different episodes and things like that?
So I was very happy to hear that and I took advantage of it.
So we're going to start shooting it today.
I will announce when the first episode will be launched and
we'll definitely go from there. So it should be really good.
I'm really excited about it. So this is some type of reality
TV series basically, right? I would say yes, because my kids
are going to be involved with it as well.
We're going to do different skits to have them involved and
you know, around the house. Maybe me being dad showing that
side of me that people don't really see with people in the
limelight, you know, their life outside or whatever profession
they're, they're involved in. So it'll be in a way that be in
a different light to see me do what I do when the cameras
aren't rolling, but only this time they will be rolling.
Well, listen, shout out to the wonderful listeners here at
Devon and the Duke. You keep saying that you love
hearing about the family man Devon Dudley and and how
interesting that is to to see that that gentle side of this,
this big hulking legend here. Well, you're going to get a lot
more of it on the on the YouTube channel in the not too distant
future. And shout out to Maven.
I mean, this guy has just been everywhere.
He's on Piers Morgan. He was on Vlad TV, which he's
been getting, you know, high regard for his interviews on
Vlad Most recently. Maven is cooking man.
In fact, I'm going to put a challenge out there because I
reached out to Vlad and I put a bug in his ear.
So, you know, Devon, let's let's lean on Maven about this as
well. I believe it would be wonderful
for Devon Dudley to do an interview on Vlad TV.
It's one of the top YouTube interview shows around and a lot
of other wrestlers have been on there and have done pretty well.
Maven the most recent. And Maven actually puts you way
over during his interview on Vlad.
So, so what's up? You know, Vlad, reach out to
Devon. Let's get this going.
You got to get Devon on your show as well.
I think that would be a match made in heaven.
And Devon can open up even more about his upcoming YouTube
series during that. So I'm I'm putting the gauntlet
out there. I'm putting the challenge out
there. What do you think about that,
Devon? I'm going to do it.
You know I can't have Maven have one up on me.
Listen, there was a meme going around and I'm going to tease
baby a little bit and I mean disrespectfully, brother.
So, you know, don't come looking for me now.
Maybe come on now, I know you still got that drop kick.
Don't come looking for me, but there was a meme going around
that every time Maven does an interview, he talks as if he was
he was Ric Flair the Rock and everybody rolled up into one.
So, So let's let's get the truth from somebody who was there the
whole damn time. Now maven, where would you rank
him, especially during his career at the WW?
We know that he got a lot of TV time.
We know that he was utilized as somebody to market WW ES foray
into reality TV and it was effective.
It worked out. That's why you had Tough enough
last as long as it did. And then Total Divas eventually
spun off and things. So this is, you know, the miss
and misses. All this stuff comes from Tough
Enough originally, but from your perspective, Devon is, is Maven
this big super duper superstar or, or you know, was he just
more like a regular guy? What's what's the real story
here? I don't think Maven got his just
do. There were certain people in the
art in the office that didn't like Maven just due to the fact
that he came off a tough enough. And, you know, there were a lot
of people who were agents at the time that didn't really care for
him. And, you know, when you have
agents that don't care for you, that can be bad because they're
the ones that's going to influence the office, whether to
to use you or not to use you. And there were times when Maven
was hot. You know, Maven was able to get
the crowd where he needed to be, especially when he turned heel
and got the people that hate him.
It was really, really good and it got snatched from underneath
him. He never got the opportunity to
finish. And you hear stories like that
all the time in pro wrestling, especially in WWE, where there
might be somebody in the office who's at higher up who may not
like you because you said hello to them on a wrong day.
And that's usually the case. Maven was a tremendous athlete.
He was a school teacher before he came into professional
wrestling. And then, you know, turn pro
wrestler, you get an excellent job on a television show.
Tough Enough, which we all saw, which was the first Tough Enough
winner to be crowned, him and Lydia.
And you know, it was it was a great thing for me.
So it really skyrocketed his career because remember, being
on WWTV is special, but being on MTV is even more special.
And the ratings for MTV went through the roof.
So Maven was very light and plus Maven was extremely easy on the
eyes, you know, very good looking guy, nice body.
He basically carried himself very well on TV.
The girls loved him and that was a big plus.
So when he left the WWE and went to do, I forgot the MTV reality
show. I think it was not.
I think it might have been The Real World.
I'm not sure the name of the show that he was on, but it was
a reality show that did extremely well.
And I remember going into clubs and things like that with him
and these girls who never, you know, with a in a million years
watched wrestling or guys that never watched wrestling, but
they watched MTV and they all knew him, you know.
So he had the popularity because of WWE, but extremely because of
MTV. The Surreal Life, that's what it
was called. And, you know, he basically, he
really got a really huge fan base because of that.
So, but in terms of wrestling, he was a tremendous athlete.
Maven could go, you know, when given the opportunity, he was
very eager to learn. He was hungry.
And you know when he got in the ring and you asked him to do
something, he was able to do it. High praise, high praise for
Maven. And you're absolutely right,
this guy had that Southern charm going on and you know, to be
good looking, great shape, great communicator, which of course,
you know, working in education, certainly you have to be a great
communicator in order to do that.
All of those things were the perfect storm for this guy.
You're absolutely right. And he got over, there's no
question about it, not just in wrestling, but outside.
So, you know, definitely shout out to him.
I wonder if you take a maven, all those intangibles, exactly
who he is, same exact person, and you drop him into today's
WWE, how far do you think that guy would go?
Given the right opportunity and the chance, I think very far, I
think the Sky's the limit. And you know what also helped
Maven? I don't know if people remember,
but his mother, God rest her soul, phenomenal woman.
I loved her to death. She was a phenomenal woman.
She had cancer. And while Maven was going
through the show, you know, the WWE captured that on film where
she was going through chemo and trying to fight the battle of
cancer. It was unfortunate she lost her
battle, but, you know, and it devastated Maven.
But one of the things that Maven, you know, had always said
to me that he was going to make his mother proud and that he was
going to make it. And that's what drove Maven to
do what he was doing, you know, in the WWE.
And so, you know, that was what that was.
That was one of the biggest stories.
And tough enough out of all the stories there were, that was one
that really stood out to me. And not only because he's my
best friend, but just the story was so compelling.
And it was so it made you, it drew you in.
And it was something that people really, really could relate to
because everybody in their family, unfortunately, has to
deal with losing someone to cancer.
You know, it's a nasty disease. And, you know, hopefully one day
we can find the cure. But it's just one of those
things where that really resonated with a lot of people.
And I think that's also what got the people behind Maven during
that time. Well said.
Wow.
Yeah, That's that's a great point.
You just reminded me of that, that that journey with his mom.
Yeah. That that allowed people to see
a different side and, and, and get a glimpse of who the man is
behind the persona. And, and that certainly helped
build that fan base. That's good call.
Good call. And again, shout out to Maven.
That's a guy that I'm glad he's getting a second act, so to
speak. I'm glad that he's back in
spotlight because he has a lot to offer.
Love it listening to him talk again, guys, just a great
communicator. So he's in my opinion, he's a
great ambassador for pro wrestling as well because he's
so good at expressing whatever he has to say and telling
stories and things like that. And he's never crapping on the
business either. It's always something that you
can walk away with the newfound respect for what you've you guys
and ladies put out there. So you know, shout out for sure.
You know, it's, it's interesting, Devon, because
there's two ways to go. You can be the salty, grizzled
veteran that gives the young folks a hard time and takes
advantage of them and makes their experience miserable.
And certainly we have countless examples of those sort of things
happening throughout the history of pro wrestling.
But when it comes to Devon Dudley, all we ever hear is how
respectful and dare I say, gentle and relatable you always
are with everyone, especially people who are pretty, you know,
new in the business and just breaking in.
It's It's not a surprise that you ended up becoming a trainer
and an excellent trainer and teacher and what have you in
your own right. But even before then, where you
were still at the height of your career and being active, and you
could have been a jerk if you wanted to be, why were you so
accommodating and respectful of people who didn't have as much
experience when other folks were smacking them around and giving
them a hard time? How come you didn't do the the
grizzled veteran thing and instead you did the humanity
thing? Because I didn't like it.
I thought it was wrong. And remember, I wasn't a second
generation wrestler. My mom was not in my corner at
all when it came to wrestling. Just for the simple fact that I
had a four year scholarship to Florida and them to play
football and I turned it down, you know, I just didn't feel
that football was my passion. Although I love the contact, I
love hitting. I just did not feel that
football was my passion. So when I decided to pass up
that scholarship, you know, again, how do I say this?
And my mother's a reverend, my father's a reverend, they're
both preachers. So when I pass up that
scholarship, I was like Satan in my mother's eyes.
She boy, she called me every name but my name.
And at first she thought it was a joke when I told her, yeah,
I'm not going to wrestle. I'm not going to play football
anymore, I'm going to do pro wrestling, she laughed at 1st.
And when the scouts called and they were ready for me to go and
visit the school, and I told them no, she was irate.
She thought it was a joke. And I had to leave the house and
everything. It was bad, man.
And so I had to learn this business on my own.
I had people like Tommy Dreamer and Paul Heyman to help me along
the way. But I made mistakes and I fell,
and luckily I was able to get back up.
But I knew that it was going to be hard for me to make it.
And, you know, I didn't think I would make it to this level.
I never dreamed in a million years that I would get this far
in the business. I never saw it coming.
I also never saw me, you know, being in the same category as a
legendary tag team, the Road Warriors.
You know, I never thought that me and Bubba would reach that
height. I mean, that's huge.
And to be able to accomplish that and to be, you know, known
as the most decorated tag team in the history of the business,
I just never thought that I would ever reach that.
It was just something that I was very proud of.
Once I did accomplish it and or on my way to doing it and
knowing that I didn't have to help along the way from being a
second generation wrestler, I always knew that if I had the
opportunity to help somebody or to guide them, that I would.
And I'm not going to be like the veterans who are salty and
bitter because the career is over and they have nothing to
offer in that sense anymore. Being in the ring, there's a lot
more you can offer other than being in the spotlight and still
being number one. You know, I felt gratification
when, you know, I was a producer backstage and, you know, I felt
like I was given one of the hardest jobs.
And I say that because of who they put me to produce their
matches all the time, which was The New Day and the Usos, you
know, we wrestled both tag teams and help elevate them to get
them to another level. But for me to be a producer for
them, it was challenging for me because these guys were already
smart to the business. So to have me come in and to try
to tell them what to do, at first I thought they were like,
man, get out of here. We know what we're doing.
Besides, we wrestled your ass. You know, I didn't know if they
would take to me like that, but they did.
And you know, every time I see the new day, you know, they're
always give me, you know, that that welcome.
Every time I see the Usos, they're always telling me thank
you, you know, because I was there to really help them to get
to that next level. Because at one point in time,
you know, Jay and Jimmy were a little frustrated because it
just seemed like at the time during the Vince regime that
yes, they were good, but not at that level where they are now.
I thought they could have gotten that level a long time ago, but
it didn't seem like the office was ready for them.
Maybe they weren't. Maybe if given the opportunity
back then, they would not have been able to strike the way they
are now. And it's one of those things
where now they're like really benefited from what they are
doing now. And not to mention, you know,
sometimes you got to fall from grace in order to, you know,
succeed to where God wants to put you.
And I firmly believe that. I think Shaq said it best.
Shaq said you have to fail in order to be successful.
You just can't be successful right off the bat.
You have to fail at things. So then you learn how to be
successful, and I think the Usos did that.
And This is why they're in the position that they're in right
now, and This is why the New Day is in a position that they're in
right now. So I was very happy to be a part
of that and to be able to help them to get to that level, not
only in the ring, but outside the ring as a producer.
I mean, the proof is in the pudding.
You know, after you and, and, and Bubba had those series of
matches, those feuds with both teams, every single one of those
guys went on to be far more successful, including as singles
wrestlers. So there's no question about it.
They needed that, that passing of the torch, that stamp of
approval in the ring from you guys, from the Dudley Boys, and
that extra bit of guidance from a mentor like Devon Dudley.
I mean, it's that's, that's awesome.
Awesome. I want, I want you to also
remember it's not just Devon, it was Bubba too.
You know, I, you know, I know sometimes he likes to say and
talk a bunch of shit about me. I'm busted open.
But you know, it's brotherly love.
I don't take it personal, but Bubba was very instrumental in
in helping in that way as well. As far as I'm concerned, when it
comes to the knowledge of the business, I don't think there's
nobody better than Bubba. I think Bubba is truly the Pat
Patterson of this era. And you know, he can come up
with finishes and promos and things like that off the top of
his head without even thinking. He's just that good.
I learned a lot from Bubba, you know, because I learned
backwards. I learned how to wrestle first
and then learn the psychology and everything else about the
business after where Bubba learned the psychology and
everything else 1st and then the in ring ability.
So, you know, it was, it was different and we both, that's
why I think we gelled so well because we both played off each
other when I was weak and he was strong and when I was strong and
he was weak and we were able to counter that.
I mean, that's that's high praise.
That's high praise, no question. You hear the way the fans react
anytime you folks are together, anytime you're doing anything on
TV, at live events, the merchandise coming out.
The Dudley Boys as a brand is as strong in 2024 as it's ever
been. And that is a testament to the
hard work that you both have put in and the confidence that
you've earned from Paul Heyman, from Vince McMahon, from Triple
H, from Nick Khan, you know, from the company in general.
So, you know, kudos to you guys collectively.
And Bub, I'm going to tell you right now on that Busted open
radio, you have a you you have a habit of putting yourself over
and kind of, you know, taking your foot off the gas a little
bit when it comes to, to my man here, Devon.
Bubba, I'm just going to tell you right now, brother, come on
now. You heard the way he just put
you over. Devon ain't going to say this
because he he, he's a, he's too respectful to say this.
But I'm going to say it, Bubba. You can put your brother over a
little bit stronger than that, OK?
And I'll leave it at that, OK? I'm gonna defend you.
You know, I'm gonna defend you, brother.
You know, I'm gonna do it. You know, the smallest guy in
the room here against these giants.
I'm gonna defend you. I don't give a damn.
You know, it is what it is. But it's love.
It's love for sure. So I.
OK, now, Devon, you got to give it to a straight now because
you've been doing a lot of traveling.
You, you, you made your East Coast tour over the past two
weeks. So what was the best thing that
you ate that reminded you of the old days or what have you?
What did you, what was the thing that you couldn't wait to get
another one of those? And you haven't had it in a
while And and it was great. What do you mean within the
past? Two weeks you were in, you were
in Rhode Island, you were in Philly.
You, you were back in New York. You were all over the place.
So did you, did you get a pizza? Did you get a sandwich?
What was it? What made you think of home when
you were on your tour here? No, you know, I got to say I did
not indulge in anything, unfortunately.
I, I should have went to Gino's in Philadelphia, but I didn't,
you know, because I had been doing the DDP yoga and dieting
the way I was. I was scared to eat.
I'm really scared to eat anything that I used to eat.
Just simply fact that I don't want to gain any weight.
So it's one of those things where, you know, I, I basically
try to watch what I eat at all times, but then there's times
when I don't care because I'm not an active full time wrestler
anymore. So I just don't care.
But I, I may indulge that one time.
No, I take that back. I did.
There was a place that we went to before the show and after the
show. It was called Chickies.
It was in Philadelphia, right by the stadium, and they had some
wings that were out of sight. It was probably one of the best
wings I've ever had. Wings.
OK now Now how did you get your wings?
BBQ. OK.
Bone in right? Bone in, not the boneless.
You get the bone in. OK, now here we go.
Are are you are you drums or are you flats?
Which which Which is your favorite?
I love drums. Wow, wow.
I guess you and I would never argue because I'm a flats guy
all the way, man. I got to have my flats.
I prefer it so you could have all the drums.
That's that's straight there. I just feel, I just feel the
drums a lot easier to eat, you know, you got to eat in between
the flats. Got it, got it.
You want to get right to it, Just get it done.
I got you. I got you.
Now you, you said you should have went to Gino's.
So what's going on here, Devon? Because you know that this is a
big divide. We got Gino's, we got Pats.
You know, when it comes to a Philly cheesesteak, you're a
Gino's guy, huh? Well, I've never been to Pat's.
I've heard of Pat's, but I've never been, so I don't even know
if Pat's was there during my ECW run.
It might have been, I just didn't know about it.
So Gino's was always the place for you.
Gino's was always the place that everybody went, believe it or
not. I don't think I'm wrong.
I, I could be, I'm sure some people might dispute what I'm
saying, but I don't think I'm wrong.
That's amazing. Again, I'm not putting that.
I'm not putting Pats down. I don't.
I'm not saying Pats is not good. I just never had Pats and I
really never heard anybody really talk about it like they
do Chino's. Interesting, interesting.
Now you would go with the cheese whiz or would you get the real
cheese? What?
What are we doing here on the on the on the cheese steak?
I get the real cheese. There it is.
See. See.
Same way. See.
Listen, in Boston, we call it a steak and cheese sub, all right?
There's no cheese steak. It's a it's a steak and cheese
sub. That's what we call it.
And we use real cheese. We don't use this whatever the
hell that cheese whiz stuff is. All right, this is a big divide
that we have with Philly. I know you're a New York guy
technically, so you could be the referee here, but I maintained a
steak and cheese sub in Boston. I'll put that up against any
Philly cheese steak any day of the week.
What do you think about that? I think you should do it, but
you know, there is one place. There is one place I wanted to
go, but somebody tapped out on me and then wasn't able to make
it. I wanted to go to Kowloon's
restaurant and wasn't able to make it because a certain person
stood me up. We had all these plans, Cigar
Bar, Kowloon's, and we never did it.
Folks, this man, now this man knows that outside of this
wrestling podcasting world, you know, I'm in the political realm
and I won't get too deep into it.
But you know what I mean by that's who those of you who know
and unfortunately, you know, election weekend, Yeah, I
couldn't do it. And I was, I was so heartbroken
because I wanted to hang with my brother.
And you're right. We should have went to Kowloons.
We probably would have gotten into trouble because, you know,
you start drinking the Mai Tais. At least me, I start drinking
the Mai Tais, man, I might get, you know who.
Who knows what's going to happen?
I'll be doing karaoke after that.
Well my lady got me into Crown, apple and Cranberry so I'm into
that now. Oh boy.
OK, OK, so a little bit of sweet, little bit of tart, and
definitely strong, huh? Bro, it's good.
Now do we do it with ice or you just take it neat like that?
No, I don't know. We do some ice, do some ice, add
a little, add a little, add a little chill to it, you know?
Wow, Crown, apple and cranberry. I'm going to have to try that
next. I'm.
Telling you it's the drink she's got, she's got me drinking it.
That sounds delicious. You know, one of the things that
and and this is the pandemic was so terrible to everybody.
Everything was was shut down for for such a long period of time.
But the good part is people picked up new skills.
So I started making my own drinks and things like that.
You know what I mean? And, and one of the things that
I figured out, if you go and get an Italian ice, you can go to
the restaurant, you can go to the grocery store and pick up
Italian ice. You throw that in a blender and
then you put your rum or your vodka or your whatever, your
gin, you blend that sucker up. That's a hell of a drink right
there, brother, you know what I mean?
You got yourself a nice frozen drink right there.
Well, next time, next time we're together, we definitely have to
do it. But I'm very disappointed about
that cigar bar. I'm more I'm more disappointed
about the cigar bar than I am Caloons.
Well, listen, you didn't have any of this.
The the the new special edition Devon Dudley cigars through the
notorious cigar company there. We're still waiting on that that
batch to come in. Man, Well, it's actually, it's
actually there at Fairway Cigar in Melbourne.
I haven't gone and pick it up yet because I've been away.
So they called me and told me that it came in.
So I'm actually going to go pick it up.
I love it. I love it.
Listen folks, you got to get yourself some of these new
edition Devon Dudley cigars through the Torah Cigar Company
Fairway. They know how to how to hook it
up. So you can definitely reach out
to those folks there. But if you or anyone in your
family likes to indulge in a fine cigar, Devon Dudley has his
own special batch here. So let's get right to it, you
know what I'm saying? That's that's good stuff.
That's good stuff. Listen, Devon, we just had a
special birthday celebration for one of our loyal listeners and
she's a huge fan of yours throughout your entire career.
A young lady by the name of Cortana Rice, AKA the Silver
Fox. She is a school teacher, a
mother or grandmother. Most importantly, she is a
wonderful and cherished fan of pro wrestling.
So what do you have to say to Silver Fox Cortana Rice?
Well, happy birthday. Thank you so much for your love
and support for over the years. And I hope to continue to to
entertain you the way that I have and to be able to show you
that the Dudley Boys will and always will be the greatest tag
team in the history of this business or none.
No one has ever come close to defeating the records that we
have. Now let me put something on
record too, and I hope Xavier and Kofi hear this.
The New Day supposedly broke our record in WWE by winning 10
titles. Here's the deal with the tag
team titles. It's tag team titles, so it's
two guys. If Bubba and I got hurt, we
still had to wrestle or we had the 450 titles.
If we couldn't, I'm a little upset.
I told it. Me and Xavier had this talk one
time and you know, of course it's friendly.
This is nothing, you know, malicious or anything like that.
So The Dirty Riders can take this and run it with it however
the hell you want to run with it.
We we always laugh about this because I bring this up to them.
I'm like when Biggie got hurt, if it was Biggie and Xavier, if
Biggie got hurt, then Kofi came in and did it.
If if Xavier got hurt, you know, then Biggie would come in.
So they always had that third person to come in and be able to
substitute and defend the titles.
We didn't bring Spike in when we could have, but we never brought
Spike in if one of us got hurt. So therefore winning 10 tag team
titles? No, unless you can go the whole
run with just you and Kofi or Biggie and Xavier or Biggie and
Kofi without having a substitute come in, then you could say you
broke the Dudley's record. But until then, no.
We have this discussion all the time and they always try to
prove me wrong, especially Kofi. Kofi's like Sir, excuse me Sir.
I'm like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
We are the greatest 24 time world acting champions.
You hear that? Kofi Kingston?
You know, my, my fellow, my fellow Masshole, You know he's a
Boston guy just like I am. Kofi, your chest ain't big
enough to be talking to Devon like that.
Now come on, Woods. Oh, no.
Game Guy. Oh, hold on.
And not to mention, not to mention I would love to go on a
record and say that Kofi has never beat me in PlayStation
UFC. Wow, this is breaking news now.
I can hear Kofi. I can hear Kofi now, Sir.
Sir. Whoa, Sir.
Excuse me, Sir. You gonna get a call after this
football? Oh, I probably will, yeah.
Shout out to Kofi. I love the I love those guys to
death. I love New Day again.
I love the Usos. Those are my boys.
They always will be. And I'm glad we had not only
that history in the ring, like I said earlier, but just to be the
just to be their producers and then be able to be a part of so
many of their legendary tag matches that got them where they
are today. One of the greatest things I
loved about producing their their match was the the whole
rap battle that they did on I believe it was Smackdown with
they had what's the rapper with Wale there.
It was something I didn't know half the stuff they were going
to say. And it was it was great.
It caught us all off guard. And you know, and Vince gave
them right. You know, Vince was like, hey,
you know, go out there and do what you got to do.
So they were like diva. They were like, Dee, listen,
we're going to tell you right now we don't know half the shit
we're going to say. So I was like, listen, Vince
gave you full blunt. You guys go out there and have
fun. And that's exactly what they
did. So I was very happy to be a part
of that. And they helped produce that.
I I never knew that you were the producer of that segment.
That's one of the the greatest segments of all time.
It's something people still talk about to this day.
I mean, they put they put on a lot of the replays and all.
I mean, it's really, it was really, really good stuff
between them and you know, and one of the greatest, I think one
of the other things I love doing was the 24/7 title with Tazawa
Truth and Reggie. Vince gave me, you know, friend
of producers meeting and I said, Vince, can we do this this He
goes, Devon, I'm going to say this, this is your baby.
You do whatever you want. I said, you're giving me
permission to do whatever I want to make this correct.
He goes, have fun with it. And I remember Michael Hayes
goes, damn, Devon, Vince just gave you the, the, the go to go
ahead and do whatever you wanted.
And he did. He we get a home run every
single time. It was great.
I was happy and loved the fact that I was able to have that
24/7 and it, it, you know, produced good ratings the way it
did. I mean, of course it died down a
little bit. I had the stroke and then I
stepped down. I would, you know, I was, I was
recovering. I'm not saying that it went down
because I wasn't producing. But again, I do know that a lot
of times truth was like when you coming back, when you coming
back, I was like, I don't know the truth.
You know, I mean this, this really got me.
And he was like, well, stop faking and come on back.
But we had a really good time doing that.
You know, I really bonded with those guys, Tazawa, Reggie and
Truth. I mean, we had some memorable
moments with the 24/7, especially the thing in the
hotel with Drake and his wife and Tazawa and Truth.
It was, it was some funny stuff. So wait a second, this is this
is interesting here because again, breaking news, we never
knew that you were the lead producer for that 24/7 title,
especially during that time period.
I'm going to, I'm going to say something to you, Devon, that I
don't even know. If you realize WWE generates
roughly at least $50 million from YouTube alone.
And you know, that's a line item in the budget that started off
as nothing and has grown to something very significant.
I mean, $50 million is basically the budget for raw for the year.
You know, it cost about $1,000,000 to put on each
episode. So, you know, between 50 and $52
million you can you can fund raw for a whole year.
So the fact that on YouTube they're able to generate that
kind of money, it's a big deal. And it's helped the company a
lot that 24/7, that whole storyline and all those segments
and what have you were consistently some of the highest
rated stuff on the YouTube channel, on Facebook, on
Twitter, no question about it. It was generating the company so
much money and it was getting over more than a lot of other
things that are happening on the TV show.
The fact that you had a hand and such a big hand in that, bro, I
got to give you your flowers, man.
That's, that is a big deal, man. Congratulations on that.
I mean, you know, again, Tazawa Truth, Drake, his wife, you
know, Reggie, listen, we all when you have that many people
with so many ideas, you have to be able to click.
You have to be able to respect one another to be able to, you
know, want to use those ideas. And that's exactly what we did.
You know, we had a mutual respect for each other and we
didn't go, no, that's not going to work or no, that sucks.
You know, we took an account of everything that everybody was
saying and we made it work. We would actually go to the
playground and see where Reggie can jump off and flip off of
things. And, you know, we would create
different scenarios. I, I had probably one of the
best times as a as a producer doing that segment because it
was all mine. In other words, you know, Vince
gave me full blanch to just go ahead and do whatever I wanted
to do. I didn't have to clear anything
with him. He just said go have fun.
And that's exactly what we did. Did you realize that it was
getting over as much as it was? I think after about the third, I
think after the hotel incident, I think that's when I realized
we had something because that was funny.
And the way Truth and Tazawa and Drake played it off it was it
was really, it was really a good time.
I think that's when I knew. That is amazing man.
Why you're blowing my mind with this?
Because again, that was some of the best stuff going.
And unfortunately, when they they basically put it to rest,
that left a big hole that really did not get filled until this
Bloodline storyline started up. And that took years.
So your impact on the business, on the WWE in particular, is a
hell of a lot more than even we realized.
My goodness, bro, that that's a that's a big deal.
So I'm going to put a bug in the ears there.
We need to have something like this come back.
I mean, if Devon Dudley can combine with these wonderful
performers and come up with that type of material.
Hello, Triple H what's up? You saw what he did with Trick
Williams, You know, just the music video alone and how that
went viral. We we need to get this this
party going again, man, because that's just great stuff.
That is, that is great stuff. I can tell you what, you're
going to see a lot more of the Dudleys, you know, back home
where they belong in WWE, but you know, NXT and things like
that. So I'm sure what you saw last
week will not be the only time. There'll be many more to come
and I'll make sure that my medical is taken care of so that
way I can compete a little bit or do certain things so the ball
won't be dropped and all your dirty riders again can go to
hell. Devon, if anyone wants to keep
up with you, especially now that we know that you have this
YouTube series that's going to be dropping soon and so many
other great things. You got these live events where
you know, you got lines out the door to come meet up with you
and, and, and of course Bubble when you're together and what
have you. What's the best way everyone can
just keep track of where Devon Dudley is going to be next?
Well, all my information I like to put on is on Twitter, which
is testified Devon, but mostly Instagram testified Devon and I.
I do have a Facebook, but that's private.
Only close family and friends are on there.
But as far as finding out any information or where I'm going
to be and how all of that is, I am definitely on Instagram and
Twitter. So you can follow me there and
you'll get all the information you need.
Of course, folks, Duke loves wrestling.
On Facebook. On Twitter, Duke loves
wrestling@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of
the episodes, you got any questions, the whole 9 yards.
But, you know, we're winding down 2024 and 2025 is going to
be the biggest year ever, not just for this show, but for the
Dudley boys, not just the Dudley boys, but for Devon Dudley in
particular. So you definitely got to
continue to listen to what we have going on here so you can
stay in the loop, stay in the know on what's coming next.
All right, Devon, it's that time of the week now.
My brother, what is the Devon Dudley Word of the week to take
us out? Well, not somewhat.
A couple of sentences or a paragraph.
They're mad because they can't figure out how you're still
being blessed after they lied and built a whole team against
you. But know that God's got your
back and he will fight your battles and you will come out
victorious in the end. Oh testify.
Strictly for the Culture brothers and sisters, you have
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Visit strictlyfortheculture.ca and you too can be part of the
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So what are you waiting on? Visit strictlyfortheculture.ca.
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Most importantly folks do it strictly for the culture.
This is Tony Shivani. And we're desperately out of
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