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The Queen of the Crop, Duke loves wrestling and there is no
one that does it better than your house.
I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass and I'm all out
of bubble. Brothers and sisters, welcome
back. Welcome back to another edition
of the Devon of the Duke podcast.
It is a limited edition show hosted by your main man.
Duke loves wrestling, of course, the Hall of Famer himself one of
the greatest of all time. Mr. Devon Dudley, how you doing
there, Devon? I'm.
Doing all right, little tired, but I'm living.
Yeah, well, listen, not only you living, you're thriving.
What is this big event that you have coming up this Sunday down
there in in Florida? Man, I'm so excited about this.
Melbourne, FL Devon Dudley is doing the what?
There's a lot of times, you know, people are saying Devon
get the tables, but it's not really Devon get the tables
anymore. It's pretty much Devon get the
cigars. So there's going to be a new
cigar coming out that they're going to, you know, it's going
to be my own line of cigars. And I'm very happy to say that
I'm very pleased this is coming out.
It's a way of doing things outside of pro wrestling, but
yet not leaving, but just wanting to be able to do things
on my own, you know, my own terms, you know, and not too
many people can honestly say they can do that.
So I'm trying to get my hands into everything outside of the
wrestling business. Not saying that I'm trying to
leave fully, but just have enough stuff to where I could
take a break for a couple of years, come back, take a break,
come back, you know, do stuff like that.
Because again, out of sight, out of mind sometimes makes the
people want to see you. But when you're there down their
throats all the time, it's like, oh, where's this guy ever going
to go away? And I'm trying to prevent that
from happening. So it's going to be on Sunday,
October 27th and we're going to be doing a Halloween contest as
well. And the win of that Halloween
contest, the prize is $500, you know, So we're going to be doing
that. There's also going to be a car
show that's going to be there as well.
So check out some of the new cars and how these guys put
these cars together and all the fun stuff.
So it's going to be a really a great moment.
The flexivity starts. It start at 3:00 PM at Fairway
Cigar Lounge in Melbourne, FL so come on out and you know, check
it out. Check it out indeed.
Once again, Fairway Cigar Lounge.
Now that's over there at 6729 Colonnade Ave.
Unit 108 in Melbourne, FL Folks, you can check out Testify Devon
over there on Instagram for the flyer and more information, but
come on, you definitely want to be there.
The fact that you can win $500.00 for that costume contest
is exciting, but more importantly, you get to see our
main man Devon Dudley and try out his own cigar line as part
of this Natura Cigar Company. So, you know, pretty cool, big
things going on for the Hall of Famer Devon Dudley, right?
In time for the holiday season, right?
Listen, I got 7 kids, I got a support so I need the money.
You know something, you just made me think of something, man.
And and and I I've been meaning to ask you this, so this is fun
because wait. Hold, hold on.
Before you go any further, just remember I'm not Nick Cannon, so
you know I don't have 14 kids. So wait, you're not trying to
populate the whole world like Genghis Khan, like like like
Nick Connor, Nick Cannon is doing there?
Yeah, know him or Bret Hart's family.
God rest, you know, Stew and Helen Hart.
And of course, my main man, Rikishi.
You know, every time I turn around, Rikishi got another kid.
I'm trying to catch up to him but he's going too fast for me.
Sure, you can say that again. Sure, absolutely.
But you got enough kids for for a lot of us put together, man,
my goodness, I'm telling you. Listen, the average now, you
know, I think it's 3 or 4 and that's saying too much for a lot
of people, you know, So, but the fact of the matter is, you know,
I had the twins when I was 2223. Then their mom and I, we had
Matthew right after that tonight.
We, we unfortunately we didn't make it.
And so we got divorced. I got remarried and, you know,
met my fourth son, Preston's mom.
And, you know, now Preston's 16. So we got the twins at 29, about
to be 30, Matthew at 23. We have Preston at 16, about to
be 17. And then, of course, you know, I
got three more kids from a third marriage and they are 6, four
and eight months. That is incredible.
That is absolutely incredible man.
God bless you. But yeah, but when people ask
me, they go 7 kids, good God, now that much where you are and
I'm like, yeah, you gotta remember half of them are
already grown. I had them all when I was in my
20s, basically the third, you know, the last three I got now.
So it wasn't as big as people, you know, when they make it out
because again, the first, the first four I had when I was like
in my 20s and in my 30, early 30s.
So and they're and they're grown.
So it's not like I can claim them anymore.
My taxes. Damn.
See, but but the other part, that too, you've never stopped
in terms of having a break. Like Yep, we we had a kid.
The kid, you know, becomes an adult now.
They leave the nest. Now we got the house to
ourselves. You you've never had that that
situation since you started. No, because I always, I always,
I love kids And when, you know when they get to crying and
screaming and all of that, sure you get frustrated.
I get frustrated, but at the same token, I look at it, you
know their first words, you know when they walk for the first
time, you know, all those first little things that just melt
your heart. And that helps me with them, you
know, So I love them. And not to mention, it makes me
the person that I am today. You know, I'm not out there
whiling out or whatever because I know that my kids are
important and they need to have a role model that's going to
show them right from wrong. Deep, very, very deep.
That's good stuff, man. And we know that you wonderful
listeners out there, you've been appreciating hearing about this
side of Devon Dudley, the family man and his philosophies on life
and what have you. It's, it's really been something
special the, the, the way that folks have taken to our
conversations on the show, especially about who you are as
a man and as a, as a husband and a father and all that good stuff
there. So that's, that's pretty cool.
That's pretty cool. I, I wanted to ask you because
I, I, I've been wondering about this, you know, I, I have a lot
of great conversations with folks in the, in the industry,
yourself included. I love talking to the folks who
are just breaking in, the folks who are on the cusp of becoming,
you know, that, that star or superstar when they signed their
first big contract and they go from having to eat tuna fish
and, and, and share hotel rooms to now they can kind of loosen
up the belt a little bit and, and enjoy life a little bit
more. If you can remember back to that
time period where you had a holiday season where it was
normal, you know you can you can afford what you can afford.
You do what you got to do. You make sure you provide for
everybody but it, but you know, you got to really still keep the
belt low tight, right? That period, that period where
you went from that, which was normal to, oh, shoot, I just
made a, a, a, a good amount of money this year and now, you
know, we can kind of loosen the belt a little bit and start
tapping into things that we want as opposed to just focusing on
our needs. Tell me about that transition
period in terms of the holidays, 'cause you were a parent by that
point. How how did that feel, man?
And, and, and, and what did you do?
What was like the real moment where you were like, yeah, I
can. I can actually really start
spending some money now because it's coming in.
You know, I had hit a little bit of a low point in my life after
I left the WWE and I remember, you know, saying to myself and
the twins, mom, you know, all the money in the world can't buy
you happiness. And it's true when they say that
because it really can't. And I was very unhappy in my
life at the time and, you know, just struggling with life
period, going through a divorce. I mean, it was rough.
But I remember looking back when I was with the twins, mom and I
used to say to myself, man, it was such good times.
I remember working at the post office, not really having money
like that. I made money to pay the bills
and stuff, but not to go out and whenever somebody wanted you
know, something in a department store, what have you, you know,
back in the day when you could look in the mid in the in the
window and see the mannequin with whatever clothes that they
were displaying. You know, back then I remember
looking and wishing that I could, you know, buy that right
away. But what I would do is I would
put things on layaway. You know, when they had layaway
programs back then, they don't have that now.
So, but that was back then. And to be able to go to WWE,
make that money, and then to be able to go into the department
store and just say, OK, here's the credit card, you know, pay
for it. Boom.
It was an amazing transformation.
But at the same token, with all that money and all that, you
know, fame that I had, I kind of missed the old days of having to
be able to work for it because you saw that little jacket in
the window of the department store.
And when your kids or your wife said they wanted it, but you
really couldn't afford it, But then when you finally put enough
money away on layaway or saved, you were able to be able to do
that. And then they how they face
would light up when you did get them that present.
And then it got to the point where the WWE, the money was
coming in and you were just able to buy it with no issues,
whatever they wanted. The presents got bigger and more
expensive. So when you got those little
things like a little jacket or something like that and you gave
it to them, it was like, oh, that's what I'm getting.
It was like it got spoiled. And I had missed those days so
much, you know, trying to have them work and work and work to
get whatever little jacket I had to get for their mom or even,
you know, them. And it was, they were never
ungrateful, but it just felt like back then it was more
appreciated, you know, because we didn't know the finer things
in life and what money could bring.
We didn't know that. That's deep.
So, so when you finally got to
that point, it was like, damn, here it is.
Wow. Yeah, it was, It was great.
It was a great feeling. You know, at the same time, you
know, you kind of miss the days when you can get like a little
wind up toy in a department store and their faces would
light up or you would get a human zirconium type of ring
that just looked good, give it to your wife or your girlfriend
and they would light up, you know, But then as the presents
got more expensive, it just didn't do that anymore.
Do you have any advice for anyone who, who is hitting that
point in life where they're about to get their first big
contract where it, it's, it's going to change their life as
opposed to living check to check and struggling.
They're going to be able to put some money away and, and you
know, eat the good. They can eat sushi now.
They don't have to stick to canned tuna and all that good
stuff. Do you have any advice for those
folks who were about to hit that moment?
Well, I will say enjoy where you are, enjoy what you're doing,
enjoy what you had before all that came in, because money's
going to change you. And you could, you know, you
could say no, but it will, It'll change you.
And you don't even realize it. You don't even see it coming,
but it will. And you know, just stay strong,
stay humbled #1 don't let it get to your head.
And when that first contract comes, put that money away
because you have to remember it's not going to last forever.
One day that contract is going to end, and so will that money.
And you won't. You don't want them to have the
cards, you know, to hold it. You want to be able to call the
shots in your life. Well said, well said.
And, and you know, sage advice, folks, you're listening to a guy
who has been there and done that right.
So the fact that he is here to deliver the message the way that
he is. So many of you wonderful
wrestlers, I, I love it when you reach out and say, hey, man, we
listen to the show. We enjoy it, especially on the
road. We like to hear with with you
and Devon have to say I'm I'm tapping into him for you.
You know what I mean? You you may not always be able
to see Devon on your own, but I'm tapping into him for you so
you can get some of this advice and you can make wise decisions
hopefully in life. Speaking of wise decisions
WWNXT, you know, for my money, I think it's the best two hours of
pro wrestling on TV today. I just I love the way the show
was formatted. I love the way that it moves and
you know it, it feels like we're getting just high quality
matches every single episode. It's like it's really
competitive and exciting and what have you to see these young
stars mixed in with some veterans.
It's it's really cool. So this week's episode started
off with Lash Legend and and Jakara.
And then the next match, Jada Parker was in that match and the
next match Oba Femi, really just an incredible mix of young stars
who I know we're going to be major players and the not too
distant future. These these will be, you know,
WrestleMania headliners and and other pay-per-view headliners
and things like that. So before we even get to
specific, what are your general thoughts on the the latest
incarnation of NXT? Well, I think it's great.
You know, you got Matt Bloom. We have Shawn Michaels and Vince
Russo. Now, again, not the Vince Russo
from WCW, but the writer that wrote for WWE, you know, back
when I was a producer about 10 years ago, he was behind the
scenes. People have always got that
mixed up. Whenever I would say, yeah,
Vince Russo, you know, told me to say this, people be like
Vince Russo's back and not that Vince Russo.
It's just a testament to what they're doing over there.
They're hitting every angle they possibly can and they're hitting
home runs with it. Every curveball, every slider,
They're doing freaking phenomenal over there.
They're taking young talent who has never been anywhere or done
anything, making them into superstars before they even get
to the main roster. I just think that's incredible.
It really is. I mean, to take somebody, let's
let's take Jada Parker for example.
Here's a young lady who had never wrestled before.
She was an NIL recruit. They bring her in, they build
her from scratch, show her how they want pro wrestling to be.
And she took to it like a, like a, a, a shark to water.
And she has these intangibles where she can cut a solid promo
and her presence, her body language, so, so confident and
serious. And when the match starts and
you see her hit somebody, it really looks like she's beating
the hell out of them 'cause she has that aggression as well,
which is is just so impressive to see.
You had said something that I thought was interesting where
you said that she reminded you of the Olympic legend, the track
and field legend. Flojo.
I want you to expand upon that a little bit because I thought
that was a really interesting call out and I agree with you
there. Yeah, you know, Cuz Flojo back
in the 80s, especially during the Olympics, was probably one
of the best female athletes of that time.
And I remember when she came in Dan XT as a recruit, she
basically had the look, she had the personality.
She just, she had the full package.
She really did. And she really is doing well for
herself. You know, I used to talk to her
from time to time and, you know, get ideas.
She loves the business. And for someone who's never been
a wrestling fan, so to speak, like Die Hard or had, like you
said, had any background in pro wrestling, you would never know
it. You would never know it.
She was just a natural. And when you find people that
are naturals like that, you have to be careful because again,
they can become your next trust Stratus, your next China, your
next big thing. So I think NXT is doing the
right thing with what they're doing.
They're taking care of her and they're just blowing it out the
water. You know, Jay, keep it up.
And remember, if you get out of line, you'll have to come back
and put you to a table. That's all I'm saying.
That's. All I'm saying, you know, you
said that on the on the previous episode, man, you going to get
us in trouble. You said that on a previous
episode and folks are like, Oh my God, is, is, is Devon going
to have to get straightened out by this Jada Parker?
Because listen, man, don't let her fool you.
Now I I'm pretty sure she could deadlift you, Devon.
Listen, I'm not foolish. I'm not taking anybody lightly.
I turn my back, she'll knock my lights out.
Shout out to Jada Parker. Yes, big shout out to you, love
your work and you're really inspiring a lot of people, so
keep it up. Keep it up indeed that's that's
the truth. It's it's really really
something man I I really I have a lot of time for that NXT show.
I think that, and I hope that the other shows, Raw and Smack
down for if, if they take anything from the way NXT is
being developed, the formatting, you gotta have these shows flow,
man. It's it's just maximize your
minutes and and really make it matter.
Now I understand, you know, if you have a three hour program,
you have to build in some segments and what have you that
will encourage people to, you know, freshen up their drink,
use the restroom, do whatever. That's real stuff.
And I don't care anybody people may be offended hearing somebody
say that, but that's real stuff, man.
That's and in old school wrestling, that was always the
case. They used to have actual
intermissions where there would be a 20. 30 minute period in the
middle of the card where you could get up, stretch your legs,
do whatever you want. So you know, in in modern times,
they're still just delivering on action, but the same concept.
I understand you got to bring people down a little bit and
then build them back up, but NXT just maximizes all of their time
and it's it's just you don't want to miss it because there's
so much going on in in a good way.
So I'm I'm really impressed with that programming.
Speaking of impressive this this bloodline civil war is is
roaring again. So the latest twists and turns
here Devon is that main event. Jay USO, he lost the
Intercontinental Championship. So you know, brown breaker got
it back. And now there's speculation that
Jay is going to join Jimmy and Roman, who need a lot of help in
going up against solo in that new version of the bloodline.
So what are your thoughts on the the the bloodline classic, so to
speak, the original bloodline, the ones?
What are your thoughts on them reforming to take on this, this
new, you know, younger version of the bloodline?
I think Jimmy and Roman need all the help they can get.
You know, Jay coming back, I think it'd be great.
I think it'd be definitely good for business.
Listen, you can't deny that what they did before the breakup
worked, you know, but then, you know, Jay became a solo artist
and really, really doing well for himself.
Very happy for Jay, very sad to see him lose the
Intercontinental title. But, you know, just because you
lose something like that doesn't mean that there's not great
things on the on the horizon, you know?
So this loss can be beneficial to him.
It can make him an even bigger star.
Just think about it. These three get back together
again. That's going to set off a world
of love. It really will, I know the fans
will love it and it's there's so many miles you're going to get
out of that. So the question is, are we going
to get this at Survivor Series or not?
This the civil war with the bloodline and, and, and really
where does the rock factor in in all this?
Is he picking a side or, or what?
What's going to happen? So, so many questions.
Where's Paul Heyman? You know, that's another
question that needs to be answered.
So it's it's it's crazy too, because my my bodyguard, she
keeps saying that where is he? And it's like, you're not even a
wrestling fan. What are you talking about?
You got me watching this stuff. I want to know where's Heyman?
Where's Heyman? So Paulie, if you listen to
Paulie, you know, there are people out here who want to know
where the hell you're at, man, because you haven't been on TV
in a long time since the summertime and, and folks are
worried about you, Paulie. So, you know, just so you know,
you, you, you're grabbing the casuals just by not even being
there, which is just fascinating to me.
But hey, whatever works, whatever gets you to the dance,
so to speak. But really exciting times with
that storyline. I'm looking forward to see where
the rock goes. Where would you put them?
Well, I think so. Sokola and those guys, I think
they would need that help to push them to that next level.
If they got the Rock on their side and you got the Usos and
Roman fighting against that, that could be that could be like
your story that you're telling where the Usos are going to get
over again with Roman this time and they're all going to be on
the same page. I think it would be a great idea
if that happens. I just think that the Rock being
with Solo, Sokola and those guys and Jacob for two, I think
that's where you should probably because that they would need
that next rub to bounce up. Now they get that.
Forget it. I, I agree, I agree and it's
funny. Solo is doing a phenomenal job
in my opinion. I, I, I really am high on his
transition and his growth. It's a It's not an easy spot to
be in to replace Roman, so to speak.
Right. That's why I said Jay losing
that title was probably good because, you know, again,
there's so many options where he can go now, him getting back
with the Usos and putting, you know, help and Roman in them.
But again, the Rock going over to Sowa Sokoa's team, that's
even better because it can help put those guys in the league in
itself. And again, they would need that.
So if Jay did get back with Jimmy and and Roman then they
would need something big on the other side to counter that.
What better counter than the Rock?
Would you bring Sami Zayn back into the fold?
Would you have him join up with the Usos in Roman and reforming
that bloodline? No, and I say that respectfully
because I think Sammy served his purpose the first time, you
know, with the whole UC OC thing and you know, him getting over
with them, you know, Sammy needed that rub and he got it.
Now, I think Sammy's doing a good job on his own.
Sammy doesn't need the bloodline.
Sammy doesn't need to go on there with with Roman and and
Jimmy. Let him do it by himself.
Let him go out and take what he got from them the first time and
just ride the wave. I think Sammy can do better on
his own. I'm not saying that he can't
make appearances and come back here and there with those guys,
help out when needed and still have those funny moments, but I
don't think he needs to be embedded into the the family
again with the Roman and the Usos.
I think let Jay coming back would be the big pop because
that's what everybody's waiting for.
And let the Usos get back together and maybe take those
titles from the two guys in source Akola's group.
So I think that's the deal right there.
Let the Usos go back as being the tag team.
Jay's doing great on his own, but at the same token to put
them back together and to do that, I think that'll be great.
Listen, there's no denying that Jay has proven himself to maybe
hold that world title one day and I hope he gets that because
I think he deserves it. All the hard work that he's
putting into things. But that can come later down the
line. But you don't want it to be too
long because then he loses his steam as a singles competitor.
So you know, with him being in the bloodline, having a singles
title match, that could probably hurt too, because remember,
Roman is the you know, the guy that should have he feels like
he should have the title and go. So to have Jade get the title,
that might cause dissension. Great point.
That's just a whole new chapter in that story.
And then of course you can run back Jay and Jimmy eventually
they you know, when they finally mixed it up in the ring with
each other, they really didn't have the match that they that we
expected them to have. Let's say it like that.
We you know, they they definitely let it left a lot of
meat on that bone. So the second time around might
work out, you know what I mean? So that's, that's, that's a
great point. That's a great point.
Something, something really interesting happens this week,
Monday Night Raw, where we saw the return of Lillian Garcia,
you know, the legendary announcer who everyone remembers
Lillian and that voice and all that good stuff there.
Always loved Lillian, but she's back replacing Samantha.
Samantha Irvin, who you know pound for pound is really the
the best commentator or the best ring announcer in the game today
and such a beloved and and wonderful addition to WWE.
She really did a good job of, of helping enhance and get over so
many talents just by announcing them the way that she does.
So what are your thoughts on that?
What are your thoughts on on Sam leaving and then bringing back
Lillian as a result? I thought it was great.
You know, I was with Lillian during the during the Attitude
Era and you know, and all of that.
And she did a great job then. So what a perfect fit to come
back and to take Sam's place. Sam is going to be missed.
She was loved by everybody. I don't think there was a bad
thing ever said about her. You know, people loved her.
She was, she did a great job. I remember before I even met
her, I started following her on Instagram and I wrote her and I
said, you know, I think you're doing a fantastic job.
I hope one day you get to announce me and Bubba coming
into the ring. I think you announcing is
fantastic. She was like, oh, thank you so
much. You know, I really appreciate
that coming from you. And you know, she does, she does
a great thing. And then, you know, with her
coming in and basically doing what she was doing, I thought it
was just great. And then me and Bubba went to
Monday Night Raw and Smack Down where we did the the the draft
and she got to announce us. I remember right before we went
out, I said, Samantha, I said, here we go.
I said, I'm not wrestling, but you're still announcing Bubba
myself. And she goes, yeah, I can't
wait. And she did a fantastic job.
Thank you so much, Sam, for that.
Yeah, thank you, Sam. And, and you know, I, I was, I
was poking a little fun there online saying, oh, look at this,
Sam's not there. And, and, and look at this raw
is, is, is an even more exciting show this week than it was last
week. And people try to jump all over
me about it and what have you. The the point that I was making
is that she has contributed so much positively that even in the
wake of her leaving, she's leaving the product better off
than it was when she took that microphone over.
So folks, you know, keep that in mind.
Absolutely. Take nothing away from her.
She did. She did a fantastic job and you
know, good. It's great to see Lillian back
in that role, but Samantha's going to be missed.
Absolutely. And and we see so many of the
wrestlers are talking about that.
It's amazing that they really took to the way that she
announces and, and, and really feel that she had enhanced them.
It's true. I mean, Chelsea Green, the way
that she announced Chelsea Green coincides with Chelsea Green's
growth and, and moving into really a, a, a marketable name
in that company at this point. And, and this is Chelsea's,
what, 3rd or 4th go at at WWE. You know, she was a tough enough
girl and and all that, right? I mean, again, it's just one of
those things where I'm just happy for the talent.
Things are going so good now in the company.
Wrestling in WWE is on a high. Thank you, Triple H for all your
contributions and what you've done to get it to that level
from NXT to Smackdown to Monday Night Raw.
I mean, the Paul Levesque era is here, and I hope it doesn't go
away anytime soon. Yeah, we got plenty more to do
here, Triple H OK, We, we, we're going into the holiday season,
so plenty more twists and turns and surprises that we need to
get into. So, yeah, let's let's keep this
train going, brother, and see what more you got going on
there. Another interesting thing
happened in the wrestling world is the fact that one of your old
buddies, the Undertaker, you know, he has his new podcast out
and and one of his recent guests is Donald Trump.
And he he advertised that and took pictures with Trump.
And, you know, so many people online were complaining about
this. And I want to get your take on
this, Steve on because here we have Donald Trump.
Regardless of how anyone feels about his politics, this is a
guy who the WWE wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for his
investment in the company, especially at at critical times
in the 80s when the company wasn't doing so well
financially, Trump stepped up to the plate.
Now, Duke, let me. Yep, please go ahead.
When you say they weren't doing so well in the 80s, at what
point are you talking about WrestleMania?
5:00 and 4:00. Yeah, when, when they were when
they had to go to Caesar's Palace, you know, and, and and
and do Wrestlemanias on Trump properties.
Part of that, he was giving them a big deal, big break.
So they weren't paying as much to rent out the venue.
And that was because he was already friends with Vince and
he was already investing in the WWF at the time.
So he was he was essentially helping Vince out.
Bear in mind, WrestleMania 2 bankrupted the McMahon family.
They lost a lot of money on that deal.
Now, thank God for WrestleMania 3 Hogan versus Andre, which
helped them get back on their feet and and kept the company
going. But there was some tough times
after that. So again, Trump providing a
venue where they can hold WrestleMania, they're not
spending as much. So that means that they can just
make more money. He's been very, very helpful.
And that's part of the reason why he's in the Hall of Fame
today because that's that's how important he is to WWE
historically. So because of that, I'm not
surprised if any wrestler is a quote UN quote supporter of
Trump. They know the guy, They've known
the guy for years. They've made money because of
the guy. They probably made money with
the guy. You never know what happens
behind the scenes too. So I don't bat an eye to
something like that. But so many of these fans are so
unreasonable where they feel as if folks like yourself, Devon,
because they're fans of your, your wrestling character, they
feel like from an ideological standpoint, a political
standpoint, you must agree with whatever they believe in and
that's it. And if you don't, then the hell
with you. You know what I'd be, they don't
even know you, but this is how they feel.
I want to get your take on that. Do do you feel that that's an
unreasonable position to put legends like yourself in, where
you have to align with every fan that you don't even know?
Absolutely listen. Do what you want to do, say what
you want to say, as long as it's not hurting anybody.
If you want to vote for Donald Trump, vote for Donald Trump.
If you want to vote for Kamala Harris, vote for her.
It should never matter. I think you start talking
politics and things like that, it gets out of hand and there's
no reason for it. These fans think because they
see you on TV and whatever, they think that they can run your
life and you just can't. And I don't think they
understand that fully. So me personally, I think these
fans need to chill out and stop taking this stuff so seriously.
Then they might say, well, you know, it's our lives are at
stake and it's not well, OK, if the first person wants Donald
Trump to go into office, then why are you criticizing him for
wanting that? Even if you don't believe with
his political views and stuff, you should not be sitting up
there getting mad at the person because he decided he wanted to
vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
You should not be mad at either one of those people.
Listen, you vote for who you want to vote for, he votes for
who he wants to vote for and that's it and the story.
Leave it alone. May the best man or woman wins.
Well said. Well said.
I agree 100%. And, and again, I understand
folks, believe me, you're, you're talking to somebody who
has worked in government on, on various levels, going all the
way back to a high school kid who's just interning.
So the, the, the funny and ironic part about that is a lot
of the stuff that you're discussing, this is my life.
You know, I've campaigned and, and a lot of the people that you
talk about, I have met personally.
Some of them I know personally. I understand the stakes.
I understand the stakes wholeheartedly.
But I think what you folks have to also understand is that we
live in a society and to assume and to believe that stars who
you watch on TV have to align with you is just, it's
unreasonable. Let me just say that it is
unreasonable because everyone has a reason why they vote the
way that they do, why they believe what they believe.
And there's a way we can go about having those discussions.
There's a way that we can go about educating one another and
then who knows, maybe even helping folks transition into
new ideas. But certainly, you know, cussing
somebody out because they interviewed Donald Trump is not
the way to go. Damn it.
If Donald Trump wants to come on this show, I'd invite him.
Certainly Kamala Harris is invited too.
I mean, Devon, would you, would you have a problem with with
with either one of them coming on the show for an interview?
Absolutely not. I would want to ask them, you
know, when am I going to be rich again?
Exactly right. I'm I'm with that all the way.
There's one thing I didn't know, and I don't know why this wasn't
in the documentary, but I had no idea that Vince and them were
bankrupt after WrestleMania 2. I had no idea that wasn't that
wasn't in the document. We knew that WrestleMania 2 very
risky because of the three locations, Chicago, Chicago, Los
Angeles and New York. They were really, really taking
the chance there, but I had no idea they went bankrupt.
Yeah, let me let me tell you how bad it was.
They were living in a trailer park after that.
What? The McMahon family lost their
house and had to live in a trailer park in a trailer for
almost a year because they had put so much into WrestleMania 2
and the returns were not what they needed it to be and they so
they were in bad shape. The company almost went under.
Like legitimately, if WrestleMania 3 didn't do what it
did, I don't think that's everything that happened after
that would have happened. I mean, the WWF would have been
out of business. I did not know that.
Yeah, so there's a there's a there's a little bit of history
right there, which again, to think that somebody like Trump,
who was already rich and who had the means to, to invest and, and
help out and bail out and all that good stuff.
I just don't see why you would expect a wrestler who knows that
history, experienced that history or knows Trump, what
have you. Why wouldn't they support the
guy? Like there's there's logic
behind that. I get it.
You know what, I beat it. And we don't know what people
know politically and what they don't know.
And, you know, most people walking down the street will
tell you I'm not political. I'm not political.
So it's like, why am I going to put that on the shoulders of of
a pro wrestler? You know what I mean?
It just, it's it's just not reasonable.
I don't think it's reasonable. I think it's silly and I think
we all need to grow up, quite frankly.
So I'll, I'll, I'll leave that there.
I agree. Yeah, yes, Sir.
Yes, Sir, yes, Sir. So we have the WWE and it's
going to be NXT. This time they are returning to
the ECW Arena, which is not the biggest venue in the world, but
it certainly is historic. You know, one of the places that
the the The Dudley Boys built, so to speak.
What are your thoughts on WWE running the ECW Arena again?
Well, I wouldn't say the Dudley boys built the ECW.
I would say we helped build the arena and establish the thing
that that's going on there over the years.
I think it's a great thing that WWE is going over there.
It gives those kids an idea to know where you know, the
attitude of how it was formed and where it was formed and how
it was made. And in front of those
Philadelphia fans, those fans are the most rabbit fans I think
I've ever experienced. They will tell you how they feel
in a heartbeat. You mess up.
God forbid they will let you know.
They used to say if you can make it if you go to Madison Square
Garden, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,
which is true. But I think right on the tail
end of that is Philadelphia and the ECW Arena.
If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
Because just how important the ECW Arena was to pro wrestling
that nobody really knew back then.
And now we realize it because of what has happened and
transpired, you know, during that.
But it's, it's, it's a great thing for these kids to go there
and to actually feel what it was like to be at the ECW Arena back
in the 90s and the things that we had done and accomplished and
made history there. Could you imagine going there
and somebody creating history for themselves?
You might as well just tag them all right on the building, put
them right on the building, and Yep, you know they're part of
history now. They whip everybody else, from
the Dudley's to the gangsters, to the Eliminators to Shane
Douglas, to Bam Bam Bigelow, ravishing Rick Rude, I mean the
list goes on and on of the stars that came out of the ECW Arena.
Now they make history there during NXT.
You can add their names right to the list.
Well said, well said. So definitely good luck to all
of the wonderful young people in the WWE who are going to have a
chance to make their own memories at the ECW Arena.
It's special. It's definitely special.
And we'll be rooting on whatever you got going on there because
that venue, the fact that it's still standing is so important.
So many of the old venues no longer exist.
So that's a that's a piece of wrestling history that we
definitely have to Foster and continue to encourage.
So it sticks around, you know, till the end of our times at
least. That would be nice.
Certainly shout out. You know, Speaking of shout out,
we got we got some, we got a few important birthday shout outs.
And first and foremost, again, you know, thank you to Rodney
Mack. Rodney Mack heard what you said
about him and said, I, I love you, Devon.
So that was really nice. I don't know if you did you see
that on Instagram yet? Did you see that, Devon?
I have not seen it yet. Well, he he definitely felt that
your words about him were heartfelt and and he appreciated
that. So definitely, again, shout out
to Rodney Mack, the dude there. We have a young lady who she was
the first female to get a scholarship to wrestle coming
out of the state of Mississippi. And you know, in her at the high
school she was at, she was one of the first people to actually
be part of the 1st generation of a female wrestling team.
So she's currently a freshman at the University of Mount Olive
and she just celebrated her birthday.
Her name is Kaylee Savage, AKA the bug Kaylee Savage.
So I definitely wanted to give her a a special happy birthday,
Kaylee, and wish she and and her other fellow wrestling teammates
over at the university to Mount Olive.
Good luck this season and beyond.
But WWE Hall of Famer Devon Dudley, What do you have to say
to bug Kaylee Savage? Well, you said today's a
birthday. Happy birthday, Kaylee.
I hope you have many more and I hope you've enjoyed your trip
around the sun and enjoy many more.
And remember, keep testifying and get the tables.
That's right. That's right.
Certainly. And then we're going to get a
little personal with this one here.
Devon, we just had and, and they're only two days apart
their birthdays, which is just crazy.
Every year, it's always crazy. My mother and my sister both
celebrated a birthday last week. So you know what?
What do you have to say to the the family here, both
celebrating a birthday in October?
Well, again, congratulations to the family, congratulations to
mom and big sis. You know, let me ask you a
question. Who got beat up?
You. You did you beat your sister up
or did she beat you up? Who practiced wrestling Moves on
who? Oh man, you're going to get me
in trouble. Listen, this is now.
First of all, she's my younger sister, so let's make sure she
she might want to be big sis, but no, I'm, I'm the one in
charge here, damn it, But but you're going to get me in
trouble. She loves to to reminisce about
me practicing the figure four leg lock and then all kind of
the wrestling moves on her when we were kids and I I I thought
those memories had been, you know, suppressed and and and
disappeared in the thin air. But every now and then,
especially over the holidays, ironically, if if something go,
you know, she doesn't like I said something.
Remember that time when you did this to me and you put me in a
headlock and all this and, and, and you made me a of the
Undertaker and all this? So, So yeah, it was it was me
doing the wrestling moves to her and then begging her not to tell
my mom. Well, Mom knows now.
Regardless of how old you are, you still can get your butt
whooped. You know how that goes.
Oh listen, I I know how that goes 100% and and listen, I
don't want no part of it. My mom, she was a law
enforcement officer for 37 years and trust me, if she got to
take, she could take you down D Vonage and and listen, she's
barely 5 feet tall, but that was that was her reputation.
She was she was well respected and appreciated and everyone
knew if she had to hem you up you didn't want it brother.
She she'd get you before you even knew it was happening.
So you ain't get me in trouble. I'm I know want to keep my mind.
What do you think me to respond on that?
Yeah, yeah. Just nothing to see here.
Yeah, nice try. You ain't getting me to respond
next. That's right.
Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along.
It's funny.
What's going on? What's your, your, your next
grouping at the wrestling school there, Devon?
How's everything going with the training and what have you?
It's going good. We had a really, really good day
yesterday. We were working on heat, you
know, getting heat on people because, you know, a lot of
people learn as time goes on, but if you give them something
to do and they're writing it down, then they're practicing it
in the ring. It kind of helps them to develop
that type of talent. And that was really, really good
yesterday. And I'm going to start doing
more things like that to move forward as opposed to just
trying to practice the moves and psychology.
You need to practice everything in general when you're doing it.
That's why I say it's important to find a wrestling school that
where somebody has been somewhere and has done
something. Because if you're just opening
up a warehouse and putting the ring inside of there when the
guy has never made it in the business himself, but yet he
thinks he can tell you how to make it, it's never going to
work. Because if he couldn't make it,
how the hell are you going to make it?
Well said, well said. Forgive me.
They're they're doing some work outside, so you may hear a
little craziness in the background there, but well said.
I agree. You know that that's been my
point of contention with this concept of soft ground wrestling
over in Uganda, this group of kids who are practicing
wrestling moves and the videos are being distributed on YouTube
and it and it looks cool 'cause it's different.
I mean, they're, they're throwing each other around in,
in dirt. They call it soft ground.
They, they've been trying to get somebody to buy them a ring and
they did a whole GoFundMe and raised a whole bunch of money
and what have you come to find out, the guy who's running it is
some kind of international crime boss.
So that's a whole other issue with the, with the scheme of, of
soliciting GoFundMe money and getting it out of people and
maybe not using the money for what you originally said you
were going to use it for. But let me table him for a
second. Let me just focus on what these
kids are doing. I call them performers.
I say they're practicing wrestling moves, but they're not
pro wrestlers. They've never been properly
trained. They're not using proper
equipment. They don't even have a real
ring. So how are you going to call
yourself a a pro wrestler? It's just that's not the way it
works. If I if I boil some water, that
doesn't make me a chef. And I may not even done that
right, You know, So, you know, it's, it's, it's disrespectful,
quite frankly, to the industry and to folks like yourself,
Devon, who you gave your life to this business as a wrestler,
you're a Hall of Famer. And now you're giving back even
more as a trainer and a mentor and someone who is setting up
the next generation for success safely, by the way.
So for me to just throw myself around in in dirt and film it
and then call myself a wrestler, does that even make sense?
You know exactly so. So you have a lot of lot of them
out there is like that. Yeah, and, and unfortunately,
that's how they get themselves hurt.
I mean, look at the look at the kid.
I know we talked about New Jack in our early episode where he
had that whole mass transit situation.
That kid wasn't properly trained right.
Right, absolutely. I mean, that's the way I like.
We can't have that. I mean, he, he passed away a
couple of years after the trial. Him and his dad passed.
Yeah, they both passed away. So, you know, it was never a
good thing to hear, you know, you know, I get, I still get
asked to this day about the mass, mass transit deal because
I was a part of it, you know, But, you know, it was something
that I wasn't proud to be a part of.
It was, you know, it was very gruesome and you know, I would
hope that it would go away, but unfortunately it doesn't.
Well said. What won't go away is the fact
that anyone out there, if you're interested in learning how to
become a pro wrestler and being trained properly, especially be
one of the greatest of all times, one of the most
successful pro wrestling schools in existence, the proof is in
the pudding. You take a look at who's been
there and where they are today and you see it.
The proof is in the pudding. Devon Wrestling Academy.
How can they get in touch with you, Devon, and check out Devon
Wrestling Academy. Well, then go on Instagram or
testify Devon or Devon Dudley Academy.
Then go on Twitter and Facebook as well.
And you know, if you're looking forward to coming in and want to
test and see how you are, sign up, come on down.
We'll take you and make you what you want to be.
So come on down. That's right.
And if they want to keep up with you, especially if they want to
get more information about the wonderful event coming up this
Sunday, your your the launch of the Natura Devon Dudley cigar
line there. What's the best way they can
check that out? Well, they could check that out
on Testify Devon. They could on Instagram, Testify
Devon on Twitter. I'm really looking forward to it
and it is, you know, going to be a happening.
It's at Fairway Cigar Lounge in Melbourne, FL and it starts at
3:00 PM. We have a contest going on as
well, a Halloween contest. The winner gets $500 and we also
have a car show going on there as well.
So come on out. It's going to be a fun event.
It's going to be the biggest event I think for Halloween
going on in Melbourne, FL. And again, you get to try my new
line of cigars coming out. That's right, that's right.
Definitely check it out, folks. If if you or any of your loved
ones partake in a fine cigar, then you definitely want to
check out Devon's event there. It's definitely going to be
special. Of course, folks, Duke loves
wrestling on Facebook, on Twitter, Duke loves
wrestling@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of
the show. Send in your questions.
We really appreciate the fact that you're enjoying what we're
doing here. It's it's a different, different
thing, different thing. Especially once again, to hear
Devon talk about life and provide some insights on things
that you know, he wishes he could have done differently or
things that he's learned throughout his journey.
And if we can help any of you young wrestlers or even
wrestlers who are experienced, we can help you make some
adjustments in your career and in your life to set you up for
success, then that makes the show worth it, Certainly.
So without further ado, let's get the Devon Dudley word of the
week. What do you got for us this
week, bro? Yeah.
OK, no matter how hard it gets, never quit.
A man's greatest strength is his determination to keep going.
Testify. Take it away, Tony Shivani.
Tony Shivani and we're definitely out of time on Duke
Love Wrestling.