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