Love this podcast? Support this show through the A
Cast Supporter feature. It's up to you how much you give
and there's no regular commitment.
Just click the link in the show description to support.
Now Strictly for the Culture Brothers and sisters, you have
seen the T-shirts, the hats, the hoodies, the mugs in the hands
of some of your favorite pro wrestling stars, podcasters and
influencers out there and now it's time.
Visit strictlyfortheculture.ca and you too can be part of the
movement. Bigger than sweatshirts and
commercial success. Strictly for the Culture aims to
build with like minded people and elevate their position in
the world through knowledge, self love and desire to unite.
So what are you waiting on? Visit strictlyfortheculture.ca.
Do it for the love, do it for the knowledge.
Most importantly, folks, do it strictly for the culture you are
locked in Look at. What we have here, folks.
You're the only show that matters.
The queen of the crop do gloves 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, welcome
back to another wonderful edition of the Devon and the
Duke Show. It's a limited podcast series
hosted by your main man. Duke loves wrestling and of
course the Hall of Famer, the five time Hall of Famer himself,
Mr. Devon Dudley. How you doing there Devon?
I'm good. How you doing buddy?
I'm doing fantastic, man. I'll tell you.
Thank goodness we had a nice holiday weekend, you know, Labor
Day and all that good stuff there because, man, I needed
some rest, man, I needed some rest.
I needed some BBQ ribs. I I just needed an extra day to
just chill out, you know? How did your weekend go there?
Devon IT. Went great.
I spent it all day with my kids. I mean, we had a blast and we
went to the jump house. We went grocery shopping with
all three of my kids, the infant who was who was eight months, my
4 year old and five and six year old.
Good God. But it was fun.
I'm telling you this, this this guy right here, you know, daddy
daycare, so to speak, Devon Dudley.
He brings the kids everywhere, always with the kids.
Sometimes you hear the kids in the background of the show.
It's it's really special. It's really special it Devon's a
family man and we appreciate all you fans out there reach out,
talk about how much you enjoy hearing about the family man.
Devon Dudley, for sure. That's awesome stuff there.
And Speaking of awesome stuff, Ottawa Comic Con, it's time.
Don't forget Devon Dudley's going to be there September 7th
and 8th for the Ottawa Comic Con.
He's bringing some great merchandise for all of you
wonderful fans out there. So definitely make sure you get
your tickets. Bring the whole family, everyone
from grandma to the babies and everyone in between.
Devon is ready to see you up in Ottawa.
Ain't that right, big man? Absolutely.
I'm ready to kiss some babies, maybe even run for president or
Prime Minister. They don't have a president up
there, but they have a Prime Minister.
Maybe I'll run for that. Well, listen, we, we, we, you
could become the, the, the 1st president up there.
Maybe, maybe they'll have to make a position for you.
You never know. You know what I mean?
Hey, you never know. But certainly our fans up in
Canada, especially Ottawa, make sure you come out and see Devon
Dudley. Absolutely.
Please come on down. Love to meet all of the fans
that basically showed their support over the years.
And, you know, let's just testify.
I love it. Now, folks, unfortunately, and I
don't know, this is becoming a theme, unfortunately here,
Devon, week after week, we have lost a few other folks in the
pro wrestling fraternity. First and foremost, you know,
rest in peace and condolences to the loved ones of Sonny King.
Sonny King was the boxer turned pro wrestler.
He won the WWWF tag team championship with Chief J
Strongbow. So this is a man who, you know,
he, he, he was a pioneer in his own right, one of the, I think
he might have been the first black wrestler to win a www.f
championship. So that's a pretty big deal
there. And, you know, certainly rest in
peace, Mr. Sonny King. Any thoughts on that there,
Devon? Well, you know, for somebody to
make the transition from boxing to pro wrestling, that's huge.
And you know, to be African American, especially during that
time, is even bigger. You know, I just want to say
thank you to Sonny for all his accomplishments and everything
that he's done for this business, and not only the
business, but African Americans around the world setting the
stage for us to be able to do what we've done and what we
still do in the middle of that ring.
I don't think we pay homage enough to people like him that
have set the way for us to be able to go out there and to do
what we do best and that's entertain.
My condolences go out to him and his family and the time and
needs. And God bless you, Sonny, for
everything you've done. I didn't really think about it
until now, Devon, but man, this guy walked so you could run.
You know, if if Sonny King is the first black person to hold
the championship in the WWWF and and his championship was A tag
team championship. We Fast forward to your career
and it's like, wow, that's amazing, man.
That's that's that's amazing right there.
Wow. OK, another sad thing to report
there, folks. We we lost Sid Vicious AKA
psycho Sid, AKA Sid Justice Sid Udi.
He passed away according to his son, it was cancer complications
with cancer. So you know, we got it directly
from the family on that front there the cause of death.
But man, Sid, definitely heartbreaking to hear that one
of the most popular wrestlers of the past 40 years legitimately
and a guy who pretty much worked on top everywhere he's been.
Devon, you knew Sid, you, you wrestled against Sid.
And including that match where the Dudley Boys took on Spike
Dudley and Sid at the ECW Living Dangerously 1999.
What are your thoughts on Sid? You know, Sid scared me.
He he actually scared me. He was a big, large man at the
height of his career. And to see him come into the ECW
locker room, number one, I was a big fan of his.
You know, I watched him, you know, in my teenage years, going
into junior high and high school and just being fascinated at
some of the things he could do as a big man really, really made
me admire his work in the ring. You know, Sid was, he was a
gentle giant. He really was.
But when that camera came on, he was something, He turned it on.
And I just remember him coming down the aisle way in Asbury
Park, NJ, getting ready to step in the ring with me and Bubba.
And I'm just looking at this huge mass of man that is coming
down the aisle way. And I'm like, good God, this man
is huge, bigger than life, and probably one of the most
gentlest souls I think I've ever been in the ring with.
I was very honored to be in there with him.
He really took care of Bubba, myself and you know, we made
beautiful music together, although he beat the hell out of
us, but still we made beautiful music together.
And he's going to be missed very, very much so.
His contributions to this business was like no other.
Thank you, Sid, for everything that you did for this business
and for us and for entertaining us the way you did.
There will only be one Sid Vicious, one Sid Justice, and
it'll just he'll never be duplicated.
For sure, it'll never be duplicated.
And and it's interesting, you know, for a guy like Sid,
intimidation was such an important aspect of the aura.
You know, he's one of the few people that just walking to the
ring, you already knew that it was going to be a rough night.
There was only one other guy that did that to me and that was
the warlord. I mean, that man was huge,
bigger than life. I mean, it was incredible on how
big these guys were. And again, this was the time of
the land of the giants, you know?
And so for me to be able to bend in the rain with guys like that
was just an honor and a privilege.
And I was just so happy to be a part of that.
Even though they were on their last hurrah on their way out, I
was just very happy to be a part of some sort of working with
them in the ring in that capacity.
I mean, again, huge, just bigger than life.
And you know, my hat goes out to them.
I can't express enough. You know, that's interesting.
So you, you were in the ring with the warlord.
Was it was it warlord and barbarian or or who was the
warlord teaming with? It was just the warlord.
It was like, it was like an indie guy.
Gotcha. Yeah.
This wasn't in a major promotion, you know, This was,
you know, an indie promotion. But I was happy to be able to do
that with him. That's wild, man.
You talk about a big dude. I mean, the Warlord, my
goodness, what a monster he was. You know, he could have done
anything that he wanted to do and there was nothing anybody
else could do about it. So nothing, man.
It's it's interesting tag team wrestling when we start talking
about the greats. I mean, obviously the Dudley
Boys, you know, ARN and, and Tully, the Midnight Express, you
know, but even going through guys like the, the Powers of
Pain and, and the Heart Foundation and Demolition and
the Steiner Brothers, you know, we've had so many great tag
teams through the years. But it seems like there's been a
period over the last decade where tag team wrestling has
been less emphasized overall. What are your thoughts on that,
Devon? I mean for for pro wrestling
promotion, do you feel that tag team wrestling can still draw in
2024 and beyond? Well, you have to understand
during the Hogan and Andre era, you had teams like the Heart
Foundation, the British Bulldogs.
You know, you had those teams that the Islanders, the list
goes on, the Killer Bees, the list goes on and on.
Demolition, trying to make sure I don't omit anybody, but you
had so many teams that was so special back then that it made
tag team wrestling what it was for that time.
And even during the Attitude Era, you know, the Dudley's
edging Christian, the Hardy Boys, too cool.
The, you know, Undertaker and Kane, even though they were
singles and they got put together, they were still a
force to be reckoned with. Lorries and stunts, I put them
in the same category as well. You know, again, balls and axle,
you know, Tanaka in balls, Spike in balls, Sandman and Dreamer.
I mean, this goes on and on. You had these bigger than life
personalities that stood out, which is what made tag team
wrestling so special because both parties in that team had
such a unique presence that it was kind of hard to over shout
to to to out what's the word I'm looking for?
It was kind of hard not to give them they're they're just do.
These guys were large and in charge.
They knew what they were doing. They were seasoned and they knew
how to work the people. They knew how to work the crowd.
They knew how to entertain. And that's what you need
nowadays. You need teams like that that I
just mentioned that will be able to go out there and to captivate
an audience and make you believe and invest in what they're
doing. That's the biggest thing.
There's room in the industry for variation from top to bottom,
including in tag team division. So you could have your giants,
you can have your smaller guys, you can have in between, but
that that variety matters. And and I agree.
I mean, as a fan who, you know, I'm a consumer of this stuff.
I spend money and time to consume this stuff.
I want to see solid tag team wrestling like the stuff I grew
up on. Absolutely.
So if you give me two great teams, I remember when the Usos
and The New Day were having their feuds, then the Dudley
Boys come back to the WWE and you guys get inserted in there.
You know the Wyatts were doing their thing and and mixed in
there as well. Tag team wrestling can work if
you give us great teams, but real teams, people who really
are a team that paired up together, not just two singles
wrestlers who are going to be together temporarily.
Give me teams, man, and I will definitely pay attention.
So you know, well said. They're literally the Hall of
Famer, one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time.
Devon Dudley for sure. But this past weekend, Devon, we
had two PL. ES NXT no Mercy, which was
Sunday and WWE bash at the at Berlin, which was on Saturday.
So I'm going to work backwards here.
I'm going to start with NXT because I'm going to tell you
right now, this young lady, Jada Parker, in my opinion, she pound
for pound is, is, is probably one of the best young prospects
to come around in the entire industry over the past five
years. I mean, this young lady is in
great shape. She has incredible presence.
When she walks out to the ring, she cuts a promo that's better
than 90% of the people out there with experience.
And she's only been wrestling for less than two years.
So it's not and she and she comes from the WWE system.
She's not some, some indie kid, literally she's one of the NIL
prospects because she was a soccer player before WWE, but
she battled Roxanne Perez, who Roxanne is doing a very good job
as NXT Women's Champion, very credible, knows what she's doing
in the ring, gets it done. This Jada Parker, although she
lost the match, in my opinion, she was made a star in this
match because she she looked like she could have won.
What are your thoughts on Jada Parker and, and really just her
and Roxanne in general, you know?
Again, the one thing I like about WWE is that they're always
fishing for new and younger talent.
You know, back in the day, they would just put their emphasis on
the older talent and stay there for years.
And then all of a sudden when the younger talent, I mean when
the older talent couldn't do it no more, then they were stuck.
They didn't know how to produce the new talent.
WWE is doing a great job in that and it shows with her.
And you know, she's very good on the mic.
She's strong, she's athletic, she's holding her own and she's
only going to get better. The NXT brand, when I was there,
I loved it and I praised it just because I knew that farm system
really worked. It was something that really
generated, and the sad part about it is I don't think Vince
really knew how to understand what Hunter was doing down there
because there were so many times where there were people that
should have been brought up a long time ago in that system
that weren't. And now, you know, Hunter and
Sean and Matt Bloom are doing great with picking the time and
knowing when talent is ready to come up to the main roster.
And it's working. I don't think they really had
any bad prospects that have come up that hasn't really done
something now. Yeah, they might be teams that
are on the back, back burner for now, but they're trying to find
something for them to do. And I say that because I've been
in the backstage area and I know how that works.
So that is something that I'm sure that they are trying to
figure out what those that they have brought up and maybe
they're not doing that much with, but eventually they will.
And that's the thing. So I think people got to be
patient and understanding and know that just because you think
you have the answer doesn't necessarily mean that that's the
right answer. And the WWE is doing everything
that they're doing everything right.
You know, look at the attendance, look at the ratings,
look at everything. Are there going to be some
people that's not going to like Hunter's regime or like what
he's doing? Absolutely.
Just like there was a lot of people that didn't like Vince's
regime. Somebody is not going to be
liked all the time, and there are a lot of people that do like
him. So apparently Hunter's doing
something right. You're going to have that
percentage, and it's a very small percentage that doesn't
like what Hunter's doing. But that's OK.
Business still has to go on. And trust me when I say it.
After being in TNA, you know, when Jeff Jarrett stepped down
for a little bit because of his personal problems and Dixie
Carter took over, it was a sad day in TNA, in my opinion,
because Dixie wasn't a wrestling mind.
She didn't know how to think like you should think, you know,
when you're running a business like she was running, it was
totally different and no one was there to tell her differently.
And I just felt like the company went downhill when that
happened. And by the time Jeff Jarrett
came back and was able to do what he had to do, I thought it
was too late. And that part of TNA fell until,
you know, Scott the Moore came in, changed the whole landscape
of everything and really brought TNA and put them back on the map
because we thought the final nail was in the coffin for a
long time. And then they just, they just
came out of nowhere and we renovated themselves.
So good for them. But again, you know, people got
to understand, they got to wait and be patient.
So Hunter's doing the right thing with what he's doing in
NXT. And again, people would say what
they want. I'm not kissing his ass or, you
know, trying to look for a job. I'm just saying what the truth
is. I've been backstage.
I know how it works and I know what they say.
And a lot of times people react when they shouldn't react about
certain things. So it's like, keep quiet and let
the people who are in the position do what they do best
and you will be happy eventually in the long run.
And if you're not, you just want those percentage that people
that that that just never going to be happy.
Top to bottom NXT, they're just they're getting it done.
People are tuning in, they are making money at their live
events. There's no two ways about that.
They they have the move over that's that's coming where they
got that big contract to now be on CW.
So it's just it. Man, I said.
All this money being mean, I need to get back over there.
Damn, damn. Listen, listen, you better be
careful, man. They might throw you back in the
ring. Yeah, I said go back behind the
stage. Ain't ain't crazy enough to get
back in the ring. Shout out to NXT, the whole team
out there. Listen, HPK, come on now.
Devon Dudley, he's ready to help you, you know, guide some of
those young minds, so to speak, for sure.
It's good stuff there. Hey, HPK is like, get the hell
out of here, Devon. So so that was no mercy.
I mean, that was definitely my favorite match of the card.
Overall, the card was was entertaining.
It was fun to see, but that match in particular was just
tremendous and I and I won't be surprised if we see that main
eventing an episode of Smack Down or Raw, even main eventing
pay per views of the not too distant future.
That's how great a solid both of those young ladies are.
Good stuff. Now we had Bash and Berlin,
which happened on Saturday and keep in mind because of the time
difference, it was 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time that it
kicked off there. Cody Rhodes and and Kevin Owens,
they had their match to start the night off, which was great.
Cody ended up coming out on top, of course, but I want to get
your take on this here, Devon. We we had Gunther and and Randy
Orton. They were the main event and
Gunther ends up winning the championship.
I mean, who ends up retaining the championship against Orton.
So Orton doesn't get his, you know, his next victory.
You know, if he has any any chance of taking on Ric Flair's
record of 16 time world champion or even surpassing it.
It didn't happen this go round. What are your thoughts on on
Gunther being the champion over there on raw?
Well, I. Love it.
You know, Gunther is definitely the future of the WWE and he has
proven that over and over again. You know, Randy Orton is called
passing the torch and sometimes you got to do that.
I was very surprised about them being the main event, but they
took a chance and it and it and it worked.
It really didn't work because I was for sure that Cody was going
to be the main event, him and Kevin, but it wasn't.
And I was very happy to see that them making that decision to do
that really paid off for them because that match between
Gunter and Randy was very, very good.
And I was happy to see that Randy, you know, was able to,
you know, pass the torch to Gunter.
And the handshake at the end of it was really, really cool.
I really, really liked it in terms of in terms of Cody, Rose
and Kevin, I mean, it was great. They weren't, they were having
an excellent match. They weren't killing each other.
They weren't overdoing it. They were having a great, solid
match and the fans were chanting.
This is awesome. I mean, it was great to see guys
like that, you know, take the basic and make it mean something
without having to kill themselves.
And yet the fans appreciated it. I thought that was great.
Absolutely, absolutely. And the card itself was great.
I mean, of course Jade and Bianca Bellaire, they ended up
getting the tag team titles back.
Congratulations to them. They defeated Alba Fire and Isle
of Dawn. Listen, I like that, that of
course Jade and Bianca, they're fantastic.
And we know that eventually those two ladies will probably
end up feuding with each other. But that Alba Fire and that Isle
of Dawn, I like those two young ladies, man.
What do you think of that tag team?
I mean, they were great. I remember when they went to NXT
and they were really trying to find a niche and they finally
found it. I think they're great together.
I think they're really going to see a lot more from them and the
weeks and months to come, and I'm just looking forward to it.
Again, this is all stuff that Triple H has created and he's
done, and I think it's an excellent thing that now you're
seeing what he has created, which has been phenomenal.
My hat again goes off The Hunter and the WWENXT, Shawn Michaels
and Matt Bloom. You know, I mean, great job and
just a hell of a pay-per-view top to bottom.
I'm still watching it. I have not watched it fully, but
I'm still watching it. And some of the matches that
we're talking about, I have seen it and that's why I'm able to
talk about them. But again, fantastic show and I
think I got like two or three more matches left.
And from what? Again, the beginning from the
beginning, from what I saw to the to the from what I saw from
the beginning to where I'm at now.
Excellent pay-per-view. Absolutely, absolutely.
I I do want to give it an honorable mention to CM Punk and
Drew McIntyre. They they had their strap match
and beyond the match itself, the feud where they've introduced
this bracelet, this fan brick made bracelet that was given the
Punk and that Punk wears and McIntyre taking it from Punk and
then they're fighting over it and Punk wants to get his
bracelet back and all that good stuff.
It is so amazing. And I want to get your take on
this, Devon, because for me as a fan, I've never been a wrestler.
I'm never going to be a wrestler.
I have no desire. I don't want to be put to a
table. But I love watching it and I
love seeing you do it. That's great.
But the whole notion that you can get me interested in a feud
about a bracelet, a literally something that probably cost
less than 10 to put together, right?
You can get me into a feud about who is going to have that
bracelet and and McIntyre taunting Punk and taking the fan
made bracelet from something that Punk has stated matters to
him. One of his adoring fans gave it
to him and it has his wife's name on the bracelet.
I think it has his dog's name. Whatever you know, it matters to
him. This is a piece of something.
It's it's like a championship. You just you just elevated that
to the level of this matters enough to fight for and the fact
that McIntyre is going to put it all on the line just to take
this thing that matters so much for Punk.
It's brilliant and it's pro wrestling in my opinion.
What are your thoughts on that? Because again, there's no
there's no official championship.
It's literally this fan made bracelet that they're fighting
over Devon. All I can say is storytelling.
That's what it is. It's storytelling, true at its
best. And you know, when you have a
storyline like that that people can invest in over a bracelet, I
mean, come on, think about it. It's not about a title.
It's not about anything else other than this bracelet.
And I mean, that's great storytelling.
It's storytelling one-on-one. And that's what I think the rest
of the business is missing so much of is great storytelling.
And to be able to take a bracelet as simple as a bracelet
and to make it mean more than anything and Punk fighting for
that bracelet as if it's the world heavyweight title and
people are actually invested in that and reacting, that's
incredible. I mean, what can you possibly
say? How?
I mean, it's just totally. It's incredible.
It sure is. It sure is.
And again, kudos to those two professionals there because
that's a lot of work to put in to get fans to care about
something that quite frankly, is, is a very simple, you know,
some would even say a trivial thing.
But when it's yours and you have sentimental value and you
express that to the world and then some bully is coming to
take it from you. Oh man, I'm in.
Relatable. Wonderful.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
Now, unfortunately, and I know you out there, this is your
favorite part of each episode here, when we have to report on
the other side of the fence, our friends over an AEW, the
turnstile. Yeah, always right, Because Tony
and I know you're listening. Tony, you have some splainin to
do. As Ricky Ricardo would say to
Lucy, I'm dating myself now. The turnstile count for AEW all
in was 46,476, and that's according to Brandon Howard
Thurston, the third over at Russell Nomics.
So, you know, Tony Kahn was claiming that they sold over
50,000 tickets for this event, which is a far cry from what he
claimed last year, which was 81,000.
But the turnstile last year was 72,265 S, no matter how you
slice it. I mean, goodness gracious, 36%
down. Tremendous, tremendous downturn
in business there. Same venue, by the way, one year
apart. Any thoughts on that?
Devon the 1st. Time they went out there, it was
a big thing. AW had never been there before,
so people who are intrigued, the hype was there.
I mean, everything was good. So that might have been the
reason why the number was so high the first time.
You know, I don't know. I mean, again, maybe the
promoting wasn't as good as it was the first time.
I don't know. All I know is Tony has to do
something to get it back. He has a tremendous roster.
He has to do something to get the people to come out and
support his product. He's got people coming out, but
not to the numbers that he should be.
To be able to compete with the likes of AWWE.
That's where he needs to step it up a little bit.
I don't know what it's going to take.
I really don't and and I'm hurt to hear those numbers because
again, I have friends in AEW, I've met people for the first
time that will, you know, great, restless, great, great
individuals in AW and I would love to see them prosper on the
same level as a WWEI think that they have every right to be able
to. They bust their asses every week
to do that. There's something that is
missing and I don't know have the key or the cue to say what
it is. I just think something is
missing and Tony has to figure that out fast.
Yeah, he's got to figure that out fast, because here we go
again. And I know that I keep bringing
this up, but folks, that the clock is ticking.
AEW does not have a United States television airing rights
deal. They don't have a contract to
air on any TV in the United States come 2025, which is only
a few short months away. That's a big deal.
That's a that's a very, very big deal concerning deal.
And you can't look at the downturn in business and not
wonder if networks are looking at that and saying, well, why
would I pay you what you want when you're not even drawing
what you used to draw? Doesn't make any sense.
You know what, what am I getting in return?
If, if we're going to pay you a whole heap of money to air your
program. So I don't know, man, I, I hope
they figure it out, but it, it just doesn't look good.
There's no other way to describe it.
It just does not look good at all.
And you know, folks took a, a story and ran with it and our
friend Swerve commented on it. There was a claim that the WWE
are quote UN quote contract tampering with AEW talent and,
and swerve, somebody had said they don't know if that's true
or not Swerve, So I could show you the text messages.
I could show you the text messages.
Uh oh. So it's interesting.
I, I, you know, I, I've been digging around a little bit,
Devon, doing my research. Contract tampering is
technically not a thing, especially in, in pro wrestling,
right? That that term is not a term
that's utilized. It's not a legal term in as it
relates to something that's outside of regular sports.
And even in regular sports, you may have some of that language
within the rules and regulations, but from a legal
perspective, it's not a real thing.
I don't even know where contract tampering even came from because
of that. So to throw that around and make
that claim, it's weird. So, So let me pose this question
to you, Devon. I'm putting you on the spot on
this one. You're under contract in ECWI,
am representing WCW. And I say to you, hey, Devon
Dudley, are you still under contract?
And if so, when is your contract up?
Because we're interested in you, as far as you know, when you
were an active wrestler back then.
Would that conversation, would that exchange be somehow, some
way against the rules or even against the law?
I don't think so. I do know that there was some
contract tampering when I was in ECWWCW.
Tried to raid the locker room of ECW and was successful with some
talent. They were using people that were
ready to jump ship and that were angry with Paul to talk to
people with inside of the company.
So that back then that was considered contract tampering
because you just can't do that in terms of if somebody's under
contract, try to negotiate a deal to leave and then go
another company. And WCW did that.
And which is why I believe there was bad blood between Eric and
Paul at one point, because Paul felt like Eric was trying to
take down his company. And, you know, that was
something that was very real back then because of everything
that WCW was doing, offering the big contracts to lure people
away from WWE and so forth and so on.
So, you know, it's just one of those things to where it's a
fine line. You have to be careful, you
know, talking to say, hey, is your contract up, You know?
Yeah, it'll be up in July and we're in April.
OK, when your contracts up, come see, come talk to me if you
like. I don't think that is.
But again, there's a thin line and I don't know what the law
says in terms of that, but it could be considered.
So, so this is an interesting point that you bring up because
when back back then, when WCW was quote UN quote, raiding the
ECW locker room, Paul Heyman did threaten to sue.
And you know, Turner, Turner definitely they were adverse to,
to lawsuits. They wanted to settle as many
things as they could to avoid having to waste money in court
about different things and what have you.
So they actually did settle with him.
And I remember Heyman doing various documentaries stating
that, which is why you had certain crossovers and things
like that that eventually happened.
But that's an interesting thing. They settled before it could
even reach the heights of case law in pro wrestling where
someone would literally say you tampered with such and such
contract. I'm suing you for this.
Now a judge has to rule on it. There's there's nothing, there's
no rulings where a court has stated that this is a real
thing, which is why it's tricky. Now there are other terms that
you could use. And certainly the scenario that
you just stated, Devon, where they're telling you to get out
of your current deal so you can come work for them.
That's an interesting premise, which is different from when you
contract up, come talk to me when it's up.
So that's, that's an interesting premise there.
That's an interesting premise. I mean, at this point, do you
think that's something that WWE needs to do with all the money
and all the success that they have going on?
In your opinion, do you think WWE needs to be quote UN quote
contract tampering with any AE W talent?
I really don't think so. I mean WW, ES, locker, locker
room is stacked. I mean we all see what they're
doing in terms of numbers and things like that.
I just don't see it happening. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't
think it happening. Again, they have the talent
there, so it's not like they don't and they definitely are
not struggling. They're not hurting.
So again, unless there is something else that we don't
know about, that's the only thing I can think of.
Well said, Well said. We don't know.
But what I will say is, look,
Swerve, congratulations to you. Allegedly, he just signed one of
the biggest singles wrestlers contracts in wrestling today to
stay in AEW. Congratulations on that Swerve.
And I just hope and I pray that come 2025 and beyond, at least
the life of your contract that that company is still around so
they can pay you out that money. Because if you talk to those
poor folks over at the Black News Channel, that 24 hour
conservative news from a black perspective, that Channel that
Shad Khan, the owner of ATW used to own, he bankrupted that
company and did not pay those folks.
He paid them barely pennies on the dollar in the end.
And that's been his business MO in a lot of instances.
I hope that doesn't happen to you and others in ATW swear
because that would be unfortunate.
Get your money, do what you got to do.
Props to that. I just hope it works out man.
Devon, what do you think about Swerve becoming one of the the
higher, higher paid wrestlers in the industry right now?
Allegedly. Well, I think I have to be part
of his entourage. No, I think it's great.
I mean, you know, if you can get that money, get the money, do
what you got to do. I mean, you know, I think it's
great for Swerve to be able to do that.
Listen, Swerve has worked his butt off to get to where he is
today. I love the guy.
I think he's great. I think he's great as a wrestler
and I also think that he is excellent as a performer.
I, I do think the WWE might have dropped the ball on letting him
go, but you know what, everything happens for a reason.
Maybe he would have stayed in the in WWE and maybe still
wouldn't have become the Swerve that we see today.
So maybe he needed to go and leave the WWE to go somewhere
else to find what he needed to do.
Listen, Cody Rose did that. You know, when when Vince let
Cody go, Cody went out and made something of himself outside of
the giant, outside of the company.
So in my opinion, it was a good idea for that to happen to Cody,
because who's to say that Cody would be the Cody Rose now that
you see today? So he had to have done that.
And again, my hat goes off to to guys like that, that can, you
know, have something like that happen to them, like getting
fired, you know, let go and then making a name outside.
Look at Zack Ryder. He's another one.
Curt Hawkins. I mean, they're doing an
excellent job out there on their own without the giant behind
them, you know, And that just goes to show you you can do
anything you want if you put your mind to it.
And those guys are doing that just that.
So again, kudos to those guys. Kudos the swerve.
Congratulations on that contract.
Hey, next time we go out to dinner, I'm I'm going to give
you the bill. OK?
I'm just joking. I'm just going.
You're going. To have to pick up a tab for the
next couple of years, not just a bill, the bill going forward,
right? I'm joking W fans and get all up
in the bunch. And you know Devon, pay all
goddamn bills goddamnit. It's a joke guys, relax.
Go back in your mother and wait for that apple pie to get there.
Good. Congratulations, Swerve, and
congratulations to anyone else who's able to build off of where
he leaves off with this. I mean, certainly if Swerb is
going to get that kind of money, that definitely opens up the
door for more black and brown talent for sure to get that kind
of money and beyond, which is not something traditionally
we've seen in the industry as a whole.
So if if we can keep driving these contracts up in that
regard, then so be it. The other side of that though,
too is, hey, you got to actually produce, you got to actually pay
that contract out in your production, and Swerve is
definitely talented enough so we know that that's not the issue.
So then it's it comes back around to who's writing these
storylines, who is developing this creative, who's out there
putting out the merch. I think for an AW champion,
Swerve had the least amount of merch available compared to
others who held that belt. That's a mistake.
That's a big fat mistake. You put the belt on the guy.
He's supposed to be the face of the company.
He should have merch. He should have as much merch, if
not more merch than everybody else in the company.
Quite frankly, that's your biggest title.
So you know, Tony, in that case, you're only hurting yourself,
Tony, You know what I mean? Because it's not like people
don't want to support Swerve. You heard what Devon just said.
So it's it's got to make sense. It's it's certainly got to make
sense. But certainly happy for the guy.
There was another report, another claim that WWE were were
upset that AEW was driving up the contracts and and you know,
WWE is not going to pay these types of prices.
They were upset that people getting paid so much money.
Again, I got to ask you, Devon, you're the expert.
You're the man who worked with the company for many, many
years. You're the man who's had, you
know, many contracts in wrestling Is that the sort of
thing that the WWE be upset with another company spending more
money for talent than maybe they are willing to spend I.
Don't see that happening. WWE, you know, again, the the
Hunter regime might be a little different, but I do know the
Vince regime didn't care. That was his mentality.
He did not care. He was going to do whatever he
wanted to do and pay whatever he wanted to pay.
Now, again, during the attitude of a different story, you know,
he had to pay money in order to lure the people back from
Bischoff and, and, and Ted, but he was competing on a much
smaller basis because, you know, of course, Ted Turner was a
billionaire and he was throwing that money around left and
right. So I, I, I don't know, it's hard
for me to say. I don't think WWE is worried
about what type of money that they are pushing out there.
And if again, if they did, they were not going to tell you about
it. Well said.
So so, you know, I don't know
folks, Vince McMahon said that, hey, we, we got plenty of talent
that we can give them in relation to AEW getting former
WWE talent. So I don't, you know, that that
philosophy I think still carries in that company.
They're doing too well for one individual wrestler to matter so
much that they're upset that somebody else is going to pay
that wrestler more. If you're going to, if you're
going to drive up your own bills, so to speak, then so be
it. Keep doing that.
You know, you can only do that for so long before it starts not
making sense anymore. So we'll just leave it at that.
But again, I think Swerve is is he is talented enough to pay for
that contract and then some? Does he have the right
leadership to set him up, put him in a position where he can
shine on that level? And you know, that's yet to be
determined because thus far it has not happened, unfortunately.
Well, that's. He that's the key right there.
And I also, you know, and it's funny because I think with the
success that Swerve is having now, if he was in the WWEI think
they would know how to use him correctly and know how to
capitalize on that. And I think that's where
probably AEW isn't doing the right thing by him.
Again, Tony's got so much on his plate that it's hard for him to
just, you know, concentrate on, you know, single guys or trying
to get guys like Swerve or anybody else.
He's got so much on his plate. He needs help.
He really needs help. And maybe this is where, you
know, like the rumors said that Shane McMahon might be coming to
WWE, coming to AW, maybe this is where he gets that help from.
You know, I, I, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, correct me if
I'm wrong, I think Jeff Jarrett is there too.
Look, Jeff has a great mind as well, you know, so why not use
Jeff if he's not using Jeff already?
But, you know, to have minds like Shane McMahon or to have my
like Jeff Jarrett collaborating together and even with Dustin.
Dustin has been around the business for Lord knows for
decades. And his father, I'm sure, taught
him very well. He was under the learning tree.
Why not use those wrestling minds?
Put your pride aside, stop thinking you have to do
everything by yourself because you gotta burn yourself out.
Have those that have the right track record to be able to help
you, to be able to push the stars that you need to push and
to get them where they need to be.
I think that's the most important thing behind all of
that. So you know, Tony, if you are
listening, I'm not Downing you. I'm not putting you down, but
I'm, I'm saying you have a great company, but you need help.
Get great wrestling minds like a Jeff Jarrett, like a Dustin
Rose, or even if Shane McMahon is coming in, use Shane.
He's been on his father's learning treat for Lord knows
how long. Get these guys to come in and to
help you and to get this company where it needs to be.
Spitting fire, I'm telling you, spitting fire.
I love it. I love it.
That's good stuff there. Speaking of good stuff, you
know, we talked about some folks who have unfortunately passed
away. Let's get to the other side
here. Let's talk about some birthdays.
First and foremost, happy birthday to one of our wonderful
listeners and supporters, Larry J Winfield, AKA Just Larry.
OK, I I asked him one time, what's your nickname?
Is he you got a nickname at all? He said no, just Larry.
So I said, OK, there it is. You're just Larry.
Just Larry just celebrated his birthday.
I thought we need to put that on AT shirt.
Just. Larry, just Larry, what?
What? What do you got to say to just
Larry that diva? Listen, another trip around the
sun. Keep doing what you're doing and
just keep testifying, my brother.
Indeed, indeed. Keep testifying.
I love that. And of course, a wonderful
friend of the show. You know, she's been on numerous
times through the years. And quite frankly, she's one of
the more popular people to come on the show.
I mean, this young lady, she's got more listings than some big
name Hall of Farmers, which is really still just tremendous in
my opinion. She is a Devon Dudley Academy
graduate and someone who is having a tremendous 2024.
I mean even at the River City Wrestling Con, she was able to
main event and then she even had a match the next day on top of
that. So really this young lady is
just blossoming as a a bright young star in the pro wrestling
world. We are talking about the young
lady lady formerly known as Scotty Sparks.
Now she goes by the name Scotty Sosa.
Happy birthday Scotty Devon. You're her mentor.
She sits under your learning tree and what have you.
What are your thoughts on Scotty?
Scotty has given me more Gray hair within the first six months
and I've never had for my own kids.
No, I'm just joking, I love Scotty.
Scotty's great. She's a hell of a hand.
She has a lot of spunk. She's ready, eager, eager to
learn and doesn't give you any problems.
I hope she had a hope. She's having a great birthday
and I can't wait to see her, to give her a big hug and tell her
how proud I am of her. She's a tremendous person and my
hat goes off to her. She cuts a heck of a promo, huh?
I mean, these these little skits that she puts online and what
have you, People always cracking up, man.
I mean that that kids got some personality.
Absolutely. And that's one of the things
that we worked on our with. And she grew as time went on.
And you know, now look at that. She's blossoming like a true
rose. Indeed, and I'd like a true
rose. I like that.
So once again, happy birthday
Scotty. We're all rooting for you are
very proud of you and and you know, blessings to you and your
family as you celebrate your birthday.
Speaking of blessings once again, the Ottawa Comic Con,
it's happening this upcoming weekend here, September 7th and
8th. Devon Dudley is going to be in
the building folks. So you make sure that you get
your tickets there. In fact, the Comic Con is
actually September 6th to 8th, but the 7th and the 8th, Devon
will be there personally there. So get your tickets, make sure
you show up, say hello to the Hall of Famer.
Beyond that, Devon, if anyone wants to reach you or check out
the wrestling school, what's the best way they can do that?
Yeah, you can reach us at Devon Dudley Academy on Instagram as
well as Twitter, same handle and every once in a while on Testify
Devon, I actually post things as well about the school.
So you can get it from all three of those accounts.
And we have a Devon Dudley on Facebook as well.
So check it out. You'll see all the new students
that are coming in. Some of the things that we
basically I'd like to introduce to the students, so you know,
those that do come and basically check out our website, they can
see what we're doing and then maybe they want to be a part of
the Devon Dudley Academy. We also have a website at
www.devondudleyacademy.com. It has all the pricing, the
times and days that we operate and you can become part of that
part of that as well. Great stuff and of course, Duke
loves wrestling on on Twitter or on Instagram, Duke loves
wrestling@gmail.com. Send in your questions, birthday
shout outs, any comments that you have about the show.
You know, we appreciate you folks out there, including you,
you AE W faithfuls who are so upset that we have an opinion.
And and that's an expert like Devon Dudley is able to share
insight. He has historical insight that
he's not only lived, but also has been able to to experience
first hand beyond just applying it.
So when he talks about what makes a successful company, what
makes a successful wrestler, who else could even speak about that
other than a guy who is A5 time Hall of Famer?
I think he knows just a little bit about what he's talking
about folks. So I'm going to leave it at
that. Devon, you get the last word,
bro. Well, hold on.
I'm not to mention also no one's burying in the company.
You know, they take constructive criticism as we're burying them
no where. We want the company to strive.
We want them to get better. So please stop thinking that
we're trying to bury the company because we're not.
We want Tony to get the help that he needs to help be a
successful company, and that's all we're saying.
So please stop thinking that the criticism or the constructive
criticism that we give is negative because it's not.
We want to see them strive because they have great talent
in that locker room. We just want to see them be
produced and pushed the right way.
That's it. The great word of the day is,
and again, I can't say this enough, do unto others as you
want others to do unto you. Treat them with respect and
they'll treat you with respect. And if they don't put their
asses through a table, definitely out of time on Duke
Love Wrestling.