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gum and kick ass and I'm all out of bubble.
Brothers and sisters, welcome back to another wonderful
edition of Devon and the Duke, the Limited podcast series
starring myself. Duke loves wrestling, who
finally has gotten over COVID-19.
Oh my goodness, they tried to Take Me Out.
But I'm back and I'm here for you.
And of course, one of the greatest of all time, the Hall
of Famer himself, Mr. Devon Dudley.
How you doing there Devon? Good good, how you doing?
Glad glad to hear that you got over COVID.
You know what's funny, man? We, we had a conversation, you
know, folks, Stevon and I, we, we talk a lot.
We actually are, are, are becoming really good friends
aside from doing this show. So I picked up the phone and we
and, and he heard my voice and I sounded like a different person,
didn't I? Yeah.
I, I, I didn't know what was going on.
Yeah, I don't know the rest. Yeah.
Right for real for I'll tell you right now, bad My my voice is my
money maker, OK? No matter what I've done in
life, this voice is the thing that that keeps me afloat.
So the fact that I was sounding crazy like that, that, oof, it
was a rough week. It was a rough week.
You know, on the flip side though, you had a fantastic
week. In fact, this past weekend you
were at a live event signing at a convention, and you definitely
set the place on Fireman. Talk to me about that a little
bit. Well, it was Galaxy Con in
Raleigh, NC. I've never been signing
autographs in the Carolina area. I've always performed but never
signed. And the fans came out in in huge
numbers for the support. Not just for the wrestlers that
were there, but all of the talent that was in attendance.
Again, it was Galaxy Con and I mean again, they really know how
to take care of their talent. Galaxy Con, I can't put over
enough how good it felt to be in a con that knew exactly what
they were doing. Because I've been to some comic
cons that man, they don't know where they're, they, they,
they're just horrible and how they treat people, the
advertisement and things like that.
But Galaxy Con was right on the money with everything.
Well, we definitely want to give a shout out to the folks at
Galaxy Con Certainly again, folks, you can check out Devon
social media, especially his his Instagram and you'll see
fantastic photos. The, the fans out there were
excited. It was a it was a good time.
It was a good time. And, and that's the whole point
anyone out there. If you are connected to a live
event, convention, meet and greet or what have you, and you
want Devon Dudley in your city, come on now, reach out.
Reach out and and let's see if Devon can make some time on the
schedule to be out there. Meet and greet the fans, sign
autographs. Most importantly, have a good
time. That's what it's all about here,
right? Absolutely, 100% testify.
That's right, that's right. Now folks, we know Summer Slam
is this upcoming weekend, the big PLE, it's one of the big
four. And certainly Devon Dudley is no
stranger to SummerSlam. In fact, I'm, I'm taking a look
at the stats here. Devon, you have had 17 matches
through the years at SummerSlam that that's incredible, 17
matches. Talk to me about that.
Just your fondest memories of competing at SummerSlam.
Well, one of the fondest memories that I have, of course,
is Summer Slam where we did the first TLC match with the
Hardee's edging Christian, which really helped put us on the map
30 years ago and people still talk about today.
It was the one where I particularly hung with Jeff
Hardy, 25 to 30 feet up in the air, landed on my back and you
know the rest is history. That match right there helped
put The Dudley Boys edging Christian and The Hardee's on
the map as being, but how do I say this as being a very huge,
successful tag team during that time?
There were so many different tag teams that were on the horizon
back then, but that match that we did helped solidify us into
being one of the greatest rivalries that the WWE has ever
seen in tag team wrestling. I love those guys.
Andrew Christian, you know, the Hardees, Matt and Jeff, and of
course, Bubba myself, You know, again, I can't be more proud of
the work that we did that people still talk about.
And of course, that Summer Slam match led to WrestleMania 17 and
then other TLC matches that we did.
So again, Summer Slam has always been something true to my heart.
WrestleMania has as well, but Summer Slam is always that
special thing just because of that match.
Again, we had numerous matches that came out of SummerSlam, but
the one again that sticks out is the TLC match Tables, Ladders
and Chairs. It was a great time, a great
error, and just something that I will always be fond and
remember. Now, I know some wise guys out
there are going to say Duke, what do you mean 17 matches?
Of course, the WWE Live SummerSlam Heat Wave Tour,
that's also included in the mix there.
But in terms of the, when I say 17 matches, but in terms of the
actual SummerSlam PLE that we call it now, absolutely.
I mean, the, the TLC is definitely the one that stands
out for all of us the most. Devon, ironically, the last time
you performed at SummerSlam, the actual PLE, it was the Dudley
Boys taking on Neville and Sami Zayn.
So when we Fast forward now, we think about where Sami Zayn is
today, where he's definitely on that upper card.
Now he's he's somebody who, you know, at any point you can plug
him in as being a top contender for the world title and people
will show up and pay money to see that.
How does it feel to know that you were somebody who was
helping this young man early on in his WWE career to make a name
for himself and now you know it's stuck and he he
legitimately is becoming a household name?
Well, I look at it this way, anybody that we've helped or
I've helped over the years and has been very successful, I'm
very happy about being able to extend the knowledge to someone
and they take it and wrap it up and do something with it is
always a good thing. I think that's one of the
reasons why I got into teaching at the Wrestling Academy that I
have, because I found more joy in passing the torch than being
in the ring. In itself.
It's just a complete honor and I'm so happy that everything is
going well for him. I, I just, you know, I can't
begin to stress enough how much gratification I get when I see
things like that happening. Because again, it's a testament
to what you've done and what you are doing for the person, the
individual that you are helping, and for them to grasp it, take
it in and then be able to make something of it and go out there
and do it. It's a very special thing.
Certainly if you if you have ever shared a ring with Devon
Dudley, you probably are somebody who is very well
regarded and remembered in the wrestling industry.
That's just the way it is all over the world.
There's no two ways about it. And again, that's a testament to
you and Bubba and just the great work that you guys have done
through the years, not just Hall of Farmers and great Wrestlers
yourselves, but as you just said, great teachers and folks.
That's exactly why Devon Academy, you definitely, if
you're somebody who's interested in becoming a pro wrestler, go
to a reputable wrestling school. Learn from the best, OK, we're
talking about a Hall of Famer here who's won titles all over
the world, all the different major promotions and what have
you. The proof is in the pudding.
And again, take a look at who this man has been in the ring
with and where they've gone. Take a look at who this man has
trained and where they are today.
This is exactly why you got to check out the Devon Dudley
Wrestling Academy. In fact, What's the website
again there, Devon? It's www.devondevondudley.com.
Love it, love it. Check it out, folks down there
in Florida for sure. I wonder, I wonder Devon, some
some chatter has been happening online regarding this summer
slam. Right now there were seven
matches that have been announced and it looks like a great card.
Top to bottom looks like a great card.
Of course, they'll probably have some matches on the pre show as
well. But one of the most glaring
issues here and something that folks have really have started a
movement about is the fact that there isn't a single black
wrestler currently on this Summer Slam card.
And I mean, we're only a few days away from this card
happening. It's happening this Saturday.
What are your thoughts on that, Devon?
I mean, in Full disclosure, you know, there's, there's different
races and, and nationalities being represented on the card,
but unfortunately there's nobody black on it.
Any thoughts on that? Well, you know, again, sometimes
it's a hard decision. I don't think it's so much race
that has to do with it. It could be just the luck of the
draw and it just could be a coincidence.
I've never known Triple H to play the race card or even
working with them. You know, it's, it's hard to say
why something like that, you know, is not happening the way
it should. It just goes back.
I mean, we have Montez Ford, we have Dawkins.
You know, they're a good tag team.
Why they're not on it, I don't know.
What about Bianca Bel Air, is she on it or is she still
injured? I believe she was injured,
correct? Bianca and Jade, they've been A
tag team recently. Yeah, they're both, they're both
a little banged up, but they were just on a recent tour in
Japan and they and they performed.
Obviously when you take two singles wrestlers and you make
them A tag team, that could be a way, and correct me if I'm
wrong, Devon, but that could be a way to help somebody who may
be dealing with nagging injuries.
Does does that make sense? Absolutely no question about
that. And you know, injuries can take
you out, you know, I mean, as we all know, sometimes it's good in
the sense because the body needs a rest.
Sometimes it's bad. But I don't know, I just feel,
you know, to me, in my career, whenever there was an injury, I
always felt, you know, there's a reason for it.
I had to look at it from a biblical standpoint.
And what I mean by that is, you know, sometimes God takes you
out of something and brings you into something that's better for
you. Maybe, you know, an injury
happening could be a good thing. I think people should look at it
that way. I mean, sure, it hurts, it
sucks, you know, you don't want to go through it.
But think about what happens when you come out of that, you
know, you could be better than ever and moving the way you
should. So I, I think, you know, from
looking at it from that perspective, I've always tried
to look at it from a biblical standpoint and say God knows
what he's doing. He ain't gonna let it happen if
he doesn't. So that's the way I kind of look
at it from that perspective. Well said.
I mean, listen, I, I think that
when we look at the history of pro wrestling, there's no
confusion about the fact that there has been a tremendous
amount of racism and challenges through the years, including in
WWE. But we got to tip our hat.
And we have to give credit where credit is due.
That has not been the case over the past five, 6-7 years.
It's been a complete 180. That's been done.
No, absolutely. You know, again, could it be a
coincidence? Absolutely.
I don't think anybody should really play the race card yet in
terms of that. And I say yet because it really
hasn't been proven to that degree.
But you just never know, you know, nowadays, you know, I
would like to think that Hunter wouldn't play the race game, you
know, because I've never known him to do that.
You know, when you look at certain things over the years
with Vince and how he did certain, you know, black
performers, a lot of people would say it was wrong.
And speaking to people like Bad News Brown, Coco, beware
schooling me when I first got into the WWE, you know, I was
always told, you know, Devon, this is a white man's sport and
you're going to have to work 10 times harder for your character
to get over then the white man will.
And sometimes it showed his ugly head.
And you know, I kind of witnessed certain things, but
then again, I didn't mind working hard.
You know, it showed me that I could go out there and nobody
can ever take that away from me. So I didn't mind doing that.
I just feel, you know, and again, I'm not trying to say
anything, but maybe, you know, that should have been looked at
because again, if you noticing that there are no Black Stars on
Summer Slam, then guess what? Other people are going to notice
that too and they're going to bring it out.
So you've got to be very careful about how you're doing things
like that. And it's a shame that that is
the case because I don't think anything should be, nothing
should be like that in terms of, you know, saying, hey, how come
there's no many? How come there's no black people
on the show and this and that. So I think we need to be careful
when they're booking and realize what they have because nowadays
with cancer culture and all of this stuff that's going on, it's
going to be picked up and it's going to be recognized.
And if someone is doing it maliciously, then they will be
exposed as time goes on, which is why I said, you know,
everything is on God's timing. You know, if he wants you to be
a part of that, then he will. If he doesn't, then he's not.
He's got something bigger for you.
That's how I've always looked at it.
Well said, well said. And, and you know, for, for
fairness here, when you take a look at NXT, which for all these
years it's been the developmental promotion, this
year in particular, you can't find a more diverse pro
wrestling program on TV today. NXT is just tremendous in that
regard. And them moving over to The CW
in a couple of months, you really aren't going to call them
developmental anymore. That's a third brand.
So it's not as if WWE is not focusing on developing Black
Stars. In fact, that's a mandate, you
know, at these tryouts and things like that, they are
particularly looking for wrestlers of color, especially
Black Stars, because you get the numbers of the proof in the
pudding, you know what I mean? The fans, that's what they want
to see. They want to see that diversity.
Everybody wants to turn on the television and see themselves
somewhere on the card. So with that said, I don't think
this is going to be something that we see again.
I think this was just a, a strange coincidence given what
WWE has been doing top to bottom overall.
And by the way, it doesn't mean that there isn't diversity
elsewhere as well. You know what I mean?
And you look at all these, the Samoans and Tongans and what
have you, the Asian wrestlers, there's a, there's a lot going
on. Hispanic wrestlers, Jesus,
Damien Priest Bailey, they are Hispanic wrestlers.
So there are, there is diversity everywhere.
We do want to see our Black Stars, though, not taking that
away, but I think this is kind of a hiccup.
That was just a happy accident and hopefully that we don't see
that again moving forward. It's it's interesting, Devon,
because WWE continues to chug along, making money hand over
fist at these PL. ES.
You know, they're getting site fees from these cities, so the
cities are literally paying them to host PL.
ES at their no longer pay per views PL.
ES in their cities. And because of that, they're
setting up residences. So in addition to the actual
card, you know, Summer Slam on Saturday, you also have
Smackdown. You're going to have Raw.
They're all going to stay in the same area there.
But then you have these other live events.
You have an Undertaker event, you have a Sami Zayn event, you
have a screening of the Damien Priest documentary that's
happening. What are your thoughts about WWE
figuring out that they can make even more money by having these
extra events in addition to the big game, so to speak?
Well, think about it. The more content you have in
terms of what you just described, the better it's for
the company. You know, the documentary on
Damian Priest, which is great. I mean, think about the, you
know, the Puerto Rican culture that is going to really enjoy
seeing something like that because it's somebody that's
representing them, you know? So I think that's a great thing.
Sami Zayn, you know, with where he's come from, you know, since
his time being in WWE, let's just say, even say NXT to where
he has now and he has evolved and the whole thing with the
Bloodline storyline, that was a huge success.
And now he's going on on his own without the Bloodline and is
even getting more success. So to me that's huge.
So when you have. You know, people like this that
are actually having extra content on the show and being
represented in a positive light, it's only good for the show for
that to be so I honestly think that it's a great thing.
And the more the stuff that they can do like that, the better it
is. You're kind of stepping outside
the box. Remember when we were growing
up, you really didn't have documentaries and things like
that. You didn't know, like, for
instance, when I first saw Hulk Hogan, I always thought that he
talked the way he talked. You know what the you know
what's what the brother, I always thought that was him.
And then one day I saw him on an interview and he was just as
calm as can be. And that kind of shocked the
hell out of me. I was like, what the hell?
He's not screaming, he's not yelling.
But you know, that's showing the real side of of Hogan.
And I think you see a lot of that when you're seeing the
documentaries of of Damian Priest and you're seeing
whatever you're seeing with Sami Zayn and you know all the star
that they're doing in between. I think it's great.
It's one of those things, again, fans aren't used to seeing.
We're only used to seeing what we're seeing on TV in terms of
their characters during the shows.
But to see them outside of that and to see them in a normal
life, it's a great thing. Absolutely, absolutely.
I agree. And listen, we we have these
other promotions out there who they go into the same cities
that the WWE are in, especially WrestleMania weekend, summer
slam weekend, and they hold events because they they turn
into a big convention because they're trying to make money
since all these fans are going to be in town anyway.
And it's interesting. And I've always wondered about
that, you know, WWE could make more money if they held more
events during that time period because these other indie
promotions and what have you're doing it.
So hey, you know what I mean, WWE drew those fans, so why not
keep that money in house? And, and it seems like that's
exactly what they're starting to do now from a business
standpoint. They're figuring out, hey, let's
give the fans more things to do since they're in town, because
if we don't provide that service for them, somebody else will.
And that's that's just money that you're losing as a result.
So it's a it's an interesting concept there.
It's proof that that pro wrestling is really as a whole
and WW ES business as a whole is as strong as it's ever been.
And I want to ask you about something, and I want to preface
this, folks. We're not going to go too, too
far off the deep end politically here, but there is a perspective
that I think Devon is perfect for providing here.
Hulk Hogan was invited to speak at the Republican National
Convention and he was one of the people that was helping to
introduce former president and the now Republican nominee, 2024
nominee for president, WWE Hall of Famer, Donald Trump.
Hogan was one of the people who were there to help introduce
Trump. And, and Trump had tears in his
eyes when he was listening to Hogan speak and what have you.
Hulk was up there. He tore off his shirt.
He did the whole Hulk Hogan shtick that we grew up watching
and all that good stuff. What are your thoughts about?
And this isn't the first time, it's not the first time that a,
that a pro wrestler has been at one of these conventions.
Ric Flair has done it. The Rock has done it.
It's it's happened through the years.
What are your thoughts on not just politics, but just
mainstream in general, finding these creative ways to use the
star power of pro wrestlers in order to help further whatever
it is that they're trying to do? Well, remember back in the day,
Rock the Vote, which was headed by Linda McMahon and Stephanie,
you know, they've always used pro wrestling to do things like
that. Also remember there was a
relationship between Trump and Hogan before this WrestleMania
four and five, when it was held at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic
City WrestleMania. So there's always been a
relationship between those two. There's always been a
relationship between pro wrestling and Trump.
And right now, pro wrestling is hot.
So why wouldn't you get, you know, a wrestler to come in to
represent the candidate? You know, we call on everybody
else to come in and help. You know, they call everybody
else to come in to help out. Why wouldn't they call us?
Wrestling right now is on. A is on.
I don't say wrestling is very hot right now.
And you know, I think either party, whether it be Republican
or Democrat, can use the endorsement for pro wrestlers.
Remember, we attract the young vote, which is why back in the
day when Linda McMahon got involved in it and basically did
the rock your vote thing, This is why because the young people
can make a difference. So if you can get enough young
people that watch wrestling and turn them to get to the polls
and start voting, it's a win win for everybody.
You know, we're not just sitting home waiting for the results of
the election and then being disappointed.
You know, when the one that we wanted didn't win, you got to go
out there and vote. You got to go out there and do
that. And if bringing in pro wrestlers
is the way to get you to get off your couch and then go and vote,
then so be it. So I think it's a good thing.
But again, it's always been like that.
Absolutely. And and clearly it's effective.
I mean, the TV ratings are through the roof.
Trump raised a lot of money as a result of that.
There was a lot of press because of Hogan.
So the proof is in the pudding there.
Who would you counter a Hulk Hogan with it if if, if you were
to put a different wrestler up to counter that to somebody
who's going to draw you ratings or any?
Is there anybody, do you think there's anybody else who could
deliver the way a Hulk Hogan could?
I mean, The Rock is one. I think John Cena can do it.
Even Roman Reigns, you know, you want to put the head of the
table there, I think. I think Roman can do it.
I think any of those three guys I just mentioned can be more
than happy to go with. And, you know, almost, I don't
want to say, yeah, I'd say toe to toe with Hogan.
Well, since these are current guys, these are more current
guys, right? Exactly.
And who are very popular again, The Rock, You know, did it at
one point, which was very, you know, he influenced a lot of
people to come out and vote back in the 90s, you know, 'cause he
was on that King that campaign during that time.
So the WWE did that job in terms of getting a lot of young people
to get off their behinds and go and vote back in the 90s.
And why not still use that platform today?
And that's a lesson for all of you folks out there who have
brands no matter what it is, whether it's politics, whether
it's soda, chips, skin care products, you name it.
You know, pro wrestlers are hot. And just like Devon said, you
know, they, they draw a younger demographic for sure because
folks grew up watching them are, are actively still watching
them. So it's not a bad idea if you
want to push your product, no matter what it is, to reach out
to a pro wrestler with some name identity.
You might move some units. And certainly the last time I
checked, Devon Dudley was open for business.
Am I? Am I right about that, Devon?
I don't know about going to the convention and speaking, but I
can do it from social media, from my house.
Well, listen, that you, you, you know, even beyond that, if it's
a flavored water company or you know, it might be a brand of
cigars or something, what do we say?
Are we we going to get a Devon Dudley being the the the face of
a brand? That might happen.
That could happen. If anybody is listening, I would
love to do that. So let's make it happen.
Give us a call. There we go.
You see that folks, I'm telling you, we do business around here.
That's right. Speaking of business and I, you
know our our favorite friends here.
This is this is the part of the show every single week where the
the hate listeners, they're tuning in for this part.
And certainly, you know, devoted the Duke.
We're going to give you what you're listening for, you hate
listeners out there. Tony Kahn, he's done it again.
He's managed to find himself back in the news cycle.
This time, ironically, he stated Tony Kahn stated that he would
be interested in doing business with the WWE.
So the same guy that called the WWE the Harvey Weinstein of pro
wrestling just a few months later is now saying that he'd do
business with them. Is this guy out of his mind,
Devon? I, I, I'm not sure what's going
on with Tony Khan, you know, man, I mean, you know, you would
think so. I mean, the way he's acting, you
know, again, here's the here's the thing that I got to say is
that I don't think the WWE would want to do business with him.
That that's my, I could be wrong.
I could be overstepping my boundaries when I say that.
But you know, I don't know. I just don't think that I don't
know. I don't think it.
I don't think they would. I'd be more surprised if Hunter
did because again, WWE doesn't need them.
AEW needs WWE, and I'm not saying that from a talent
standpoint because again, I've said this before and I'll say it
again, AEW has a tremendous amount of talent in their
company. They just don't have the
guidance from the right person steering the ship to lead them
in that direction to go against a head to head like WWE.
They have tremendous talent, but they're lacking the leadership
and that's the problem. So, you know, to think that WWE
would want to do business with somebody like Tony Khan, I don't
know. I, I, I find it hard pressed to
believe that that would happen again, I've seen other things
happen and I don't know, you never know, but I, I just don't
think it would happen. I think it would be insane to
want to do business with a man, you know, that would say the
things that he said. I mean, just just think about
the things even, you know, the Harvey, Harvey Weinstein or
Weinstein, whatever that guy's name is in Hollywood, they got
in trouble to say that WWE is like him.
And then of course, I'm sure he'll backtrack and say, well,
no, I meant Vince McMahon, you know, and blah, blah, blah,
whatever. You should have said it in the
1st place. It was the wrong place to say
that. The wrong platform.
You're at the NFL draft. Why would you say something like
that? Secondly, to actually say that,
you know, Edge had the greatest run of all time in AW, bigger
than WWE. I'm trying to understand what
Tony Khan is smoking because he's only had four or five
matches. So how can you even make that
reference when he's done what he's done in WWE, which is
probably why you wanted him to come to your company in the 1st
place. So that I don't know that just
man, I don't know. I'm at a loss.
He's all over the place. Yeah, he's all.
It's like my ex-wife. Listen, you got to get this
cancelled, man. Stop that.
Don't do that to me though. Oh no.
If you knew my second ex-wife, you'd understand why.
But it's it is kind of crazy though, when you think such big
extremes and Tony Khan is covering both bases there, it
really makes you scratch your head.
I ironically, when you look at the success that TNA is
achieving right now, you know they just had a major sellout
for their last pay-per-view. That's probably why he sees what
WWE is doing for TNA, the working relationship that they
have. So you don't think Tony Conn's?
I don't want to piggyback off of that.
Absolutely. You know, Tony Khan is not Tony
Khan. In my opinion, he's like Dixie
Carter. He should be behind the scenes
financially, taking care of business and let those who know
what they're doing with the wrestling minds, let them handle
the storylines and all that. Let them handle that part of the
business. You just stick to the
financials. Well, I don't even know if he
can do that right. We know that Tony's good at
spending money, but he hasn't proven that he knows how to
actually make money in pro wrestling.
I mean it, and it it's strange. There was a story that was
floated out there and a lot of these dirt sheets picked up on
it. They claim that there was a
agreement in principle between WBD and AEW, So they had signed
something stating that they were going to have a new contract for
AEW. So all their shows, you know,
Dynamite, Rampage, Collision, what have you, that they were
going to give them a new contract.
They just were still negotiating.
But the agreement in principle, you know, just makes it so both
parties have to continue to negotiate.
They're not going anywhere else. Tony Kahn had to state that that
wasn't true and that although he's still negotiating, there is
no agreement in place right now. But then he said something that
was very strange. I want to get your thoughts on
this Steve on. That doesn't surprise me, he
said something strange. Exactly that's that's his his
MO. Tony Kahn said that one of the
dirt sheet riders confided in him that somebody from WWEPR had
floated this story and it wasn't true that AEW had an agreement
in principle with WBD. And the idea is they're they're
trying to mess with our negotiations.
And you know, the WWPR, they need to stay out of our
business. He started going on this crazy
rant in this crazy conspiracy that WWE is trying to meddle in
his negotiations. What are your thoughts on that?
WWE is not worried about Tony Khan.
I can tell you that right off the bat.
They ain't worried about him. Tony Khan is too busy worried
about WWE. Someone who I admire very well
in this business that works for AW is swerved, you know, great
guy. But I do know that his cousin, I
think it is, who's a dirt sheet rider who basically is in Tony's
air a lot. That might have been the one
that basically pretty much said that to him.
Tony likes to be fed information or what have you by anybody that
will give it to him. And if if, if it was Swerve's
cousin that said that to him, probably, which probably was,
you know, as far as I'm concerned, from my understanding
from people in the locker room, the three times I was there in
the meetings, every single person said he's a snake And
they don't know why Tony Khan is trusting him.
I don't know him personally, but and what I've seen and his
demeanor and all that, I got to tend to agree that they're
probably right. He can write whatever he wants
to say about me. But the bottom line is everybody
in that locker room thinks that you're a snake.
And if you're a snake, then if they think that then depends on
you probably are. Again, this is getting off that
a little bit off the topic, but you know, these are the people
that Tony Khan has in his ear. You know, Vince doesn't have
people like that in his head. The people that Vince had or
even I'm, I'm just saying for Vince, the people that Vince had
in his ear, a lot of the boys didn't like them, but they were
wrestling minds that knew how to draw money.
Tony doesn't have that in his company.
He's got people that he should not be trusting and is messing
him up. Triple H, as we can see, is
doing a fantastic job with doing what he's doing and yet with his
knowledge and what he's got going on in the business, you
can see in the ratings and and everything else in terms of
people in his ear, I'm sure he has the right people in his ear
telling him what to do and how to do it.
Not everybody's gonna be happy 100% of the time, but for those
that are happy, they're singing his praises.
For those that aren't happy, they're gonna bury him.
That's just the way it is. Well said, Well said.
And listen, you, you, you're talking about Swerve's cousin.
I'm assuming you're talking Will Washington, who Tony Khan hired.
This is a guy who worked for Fightful.
He had, you know, podcasts and what have you.
Interesting guy. You know, there there's a lot of
people who like him, but then there's a lot of people who
don't like him so much. So that's interesting.
If if the if the boys in the locker room are saying this
guy's a snake. Hey, Tony, what do you think
about that? And.
What I'm telling you, I'm not saying that I think he's
personally Snake. I'm saying what is being told
when I've asked the questions. Who is that guy?
I've gotten the same response from everybody.
Even when I was on the Jericho cruise and his name came up,
that was what was being said. And you know, again, I'm not
going out there saying anything bad about him, but I'm telling
you what the perception is about him within the company, within
the company that he works for. And these are people that say,
you know what, I'm nice to him because if I'm not nice to him,
he'll go to Tony, say something. I'm off for TV so I don't say
anything. Well, it's, it's interesting
because, you know, there, there are some friends of the show who
had a, a situation where one of the folks was injured and it was
a very serious, you know, medical issue.
And somehow information got leaked out into the dirt sheets.
Now, whether the information was accurate or not, nonetheless
this is about very personal medical information that was
being put out there. And you got to wonder because
the publication that put it out was fightful.
And that's the same publication that Swerves cousin Will
Washington used to work for. You got to wonder who this stuff
is coming from. So when we talk about somebody
potentially being a snake, if you're putting out people's
personal medical information that is not public record and
that only a handful of people in the company could have possibly
known whether it's true or not, that says a lot about your
character. And I'm just going to leave it
at that. You know who I'm talking to and
you know what I'm talking about, OK?
It was wrong. Whether it was accurate or not,
it was wrong to be putting out people's personal medical
information. In fact, I think it's against
the law, quite frankly. And my question for Tony Kahn,
cuz I know you hate listening to the show.
One of your confidants has already told me that.
By the way, Devon, congratulations, Tony's
listening. You know, Tony, you got to
wonder, who are these bozos that you're employing where they're
putting out people's personal medical information out there?
Accurate or inaccurate? You know what I mean?
Is, are these the type of financial problems you want to
have? Because that's a lawsuit waiting
to happen, brother. I'm just going to leave it at
that. Just going to leave it at.
That, well, I mean, look, let the lawsuits kill you.
I mean, you know, I don't get it.
I really don't get it. This business is really not that
complicated, complicated to get. And history, it's like life.
Life is one big circle and the problems that you're going
through, the situations that a person is going through, all you
have to do is look at the past and see that it's very similar
that somebody else has had the same problems that you've had
and all you gotta do is learn from their mistakes.
Point in case WCW, look at what happened there and everybody's
saying that AW is following that same path.
I hope it does it for the sake of the wrestling business
because we need competition, but if you don't get your shit right
and and start taking care of business, then you're going to
wind up just like that. Whether you believe it or not,
it's going to happen. That's right.
And, and certainly here we are. It's already we're knocking on
the door of August and they still don't have a new
television deal going into 2025, at least not in the United
States. That is a big, big problem.
I mean, you got all those people on staff, you got all those
people under contract and they may not have a job come January.
I mean, you know, Devon has somebody who has worked show to
show appearance to appearance. Talk to me about the the anxiety
of, in the modern day working under those conditions when you
know you're accustomed to being under contract and, and as far
as you know, the company's going to be around.
So that the idea that in a couple of months that paycheck
just may stop. What kind of feeling is that?
Well, it's an uneasy feeling, especially when you have a
family. If you have a family that you're
taking care of, you don't want the paycheck to stop.
That's like any job that goes on today.
You know, once you hear that a, a job that you work for for
20-30 years is going to close down and you're nowhere near
financially stable already, it's nervous.
You're nervous, you're scared. How are you going to feed your
family, feed yourself? You know it's crazy, you know
it, it is crazy and you know you don't want to be caught on the
outside of anything, so you want to try to protect yourself as
much as problem as much as possible.
How many times have you heard, you know, people working in
plants and stuff like that or what have you, you know, where
they, you know, heard about their businesses closing and
they're scared. I mean, no one wants to hear
that the place of employment where they make the money to
feed their family is going to close down.
They just don't want. To all said, well said.
So my heart goes out to everybody in that company who's
collected a paycheck. I mean, look, you got to start
asking yourself what's what's Plan B here?
Because January's around the corner, you know what I mean?
And this is a very real situation now historically, and
I don't know if you know this or not, Devon, but historically
Shahd Khan has a reputation for bankrupting companies.
It's what he does. And Black News Channel is a
prime example. Here we have this Pakistani
businessman who purchases a 24 hour black news channel and
within a couple of months he bankrupted them and didn't even
pay everybody. So a lot of folks, if they did
get paid, they got paid pennies on the dollar for work they had
done. We're not even just talking
regular contracts that that some of those are guaranteed.
We're talking work they had already done.
They did not get all of their money.
So, and that's the guy who really owns AEW folks.
So for all of you out there, especially all of you out there
who are currently negotiating with that company, if your
contract is not insured by the Khan Family Trust to certain
people like Jim Ross, they made sure they did that.
If your contract is not insured by the Khan Family Trust, I
don't know how much that contract is really worth.
Because if this company doesn't get TV, there's no way in hell
Shad Khan is going to continue to allow this company to exist.
They're, they're just going to shut it down.
And that's, it's scary to say that because we don't want our
friends in the wrestling industry, especially over there,
to lose their jobs, lose their their way to support their
families. But you got to start thinking
about this. You got to start figuring out
what you're going to do. In fact, that entire roster,
they should band together on Wednesday before it goes on TV.
They should band together and force Tony Kahn to have a
conversation and give them some concessions.
What is going to happen if we don't have TB come January?
What are you going to do? How we know we're going to get
paid? Because if this is going out,
you know, if this is going down the drain here, then we need to
start making some moves. You know, nobody, nobody's ever
really thinking that. So, you know, it's one of those
things where they're not putting that in perspective unless you
hear about reports of the family, you know, bankrupting
businesses and then people not getting their money.
That's when people start thinking, OK, wait a minute, you
know, if this company goes under, am I going to get paid
still? That's something they got to put
in perspective. You know, when they're doing
these contracts, if the company goes because nobody ever thinks
that a wrestling company is going to go under, you know?
I mean, you know, and of course over the years it's been proven
AWAWAWA, you know, you know, WCW, of course, and all those
federations that vents bankrupt somewhat, you know.
You know, we should, you know, take in consideration, but
nobody's thinking that far. So I don't know, man.
It it's just one of it's a scary situation out there now
especially times are different. It's not what it used to be.
It's not what it used to be at all.
And, and, and we could be deceived by WWE success.
We could be deceived in the thinking that the entire
industry is this way, when in reality it's not.
And unless you're WWE or, or wow, women of wrestling, you
know, TNA is on the upswing now, but that's because of their
partnership with WWE. Unless you're one of those
companies, you're kind of living on the edge, so to speak.
So again, all you talents out there, just make sure you're
keeping track of your business and and you're paying attention
to what's going on because the worst thing that could happen is
that you you show up one day and find out, yeah, it's over.
You know, that's that's scary. That's scary stuff.
What's not scary is the fact that Devon Dudley is going to be
live and in color once again this upcoming weekend.
Where you going to be, Devon? I'm going to be in Cleveland,
OH. It's it's gonna be great to see
the fans in Cleveland, OH at Wrestle Con.
I'll be there from August 2nd to the third with Bubba.
I'll be there with Bubba and signing autographs and, you
know, having fun. So I'm gonna be at the Cleveland
Marriott downtown at the Key Tower, 1360 W West Mall Drive in
Cleveland, OH. So I'll be there signing
autographs with Bubba and getting to know the great fans
of Cleveland, OH cause I've never been there to sign
autographs. We've wrestled there a million
times, but never been there to do autographs.
So that's going to be great. Can't wait.
You folks out there in Cleveland, you're going to get a
chance not only to see Devon, but also see Bubba.
The Dudley boys are in town, so make sure you show up this
weekend. Check these guys out, get your
photos, get your autographs. It'd be fantastic.
Bring the whole family, please. That's right, Devon, if anyone
out there listening wants to get in touch with you, what's the
best way they can do that? Alrighty, well, you know, I love
it because you know, I've said it before, I say it again, you
can go to Devon Academy, you know on Instagram as well as
Twitter. It's D hyphen VON Dudley or I'm
sorry, testified Devon, which the Devon is spelled DVON.
So be testified in DVON. You can find me on social media
a lot on Instagram. I post a lot of pictures and
things and what I'm doing trying to let the fans know that Devon
is still alive, kicking and going.
So, you know, you can contact me there or you can contact me on
Twitter, which I'm not really on as much.
But again, you can contact me on there.
It's Devon Dudley again. Testify Devon on Twitter and say
hello. Say hello to the Hall of Famer
himself. Devon Dudley, of course.
Folks, as always, we appreciate you.
Duke loves wrestling on Facebook, on Twitter, Duke loves
wrestling@gmail.com. Send in your questions, your
birthday shout outs, the whole 9 yards.
We'll slide it in on this show here.
And listen, we're not going to hold our tongue.
That's the main idea. I know some of you AE W fans out
there, you're a little upset because Devon is very direct and
clear in his opinion on things. But you got to remember
something. He's not speaking from a third
person standpoint. He has met Tony Kahn.
He has formed his own impression.
He has people in that company who he has relationships with.
Devon has been in the wrestling industry over 30 years.
This is an expert, this is a Hall of Famer.
So whether you like it or you don't like it, learn to love it,
as Rick Flair would say, because it's the best thing going.
It is what it is. I'm going.
To I'm going to say this, I'm not trying to bury AW.
You know, I'm not Jim Cornette. I love Jim Cornette, though.
I love him to death, but I'm not trying to bury AW or bury Tony
Khan. The fact of the matter is
there's too much crap that's going on.
It needs to be addressed. And if everybody's just going to
yes, him to death because of the money, then that's wrong.
I'm only going by facts, like again, about, you know, Swerve's
cousin. I'm not going by what I'm
thinking. I'm going by what people are
telling me about him. I don't know the man personally
and don't really care to know him personally, but I'm only
going by what every single person that I have interacted
with in that company. When I was there at the meetings
I was having with Tony or when I was on the Jericho Cruise with a
lot of the AEW stars that were on there that was telling me
about him. So again, I don't know him
personally. I'm just going by what people
say. That doesn't form my opinion on
him because I don't I don't really talk to him or speak to
him. I have any words for him.
As far as Tony Kahn goes, I just think the nonsense needs to
stop. Worry about your company as
opposed to WWE and maybe you'll get somewhere.
Stop hiring these bozos that don't know nothing about pro
wrestling higher my higher wrestling minds that can show
you how this works. And I'm not talking about me.
I'm talking about other wrestling minds that can give
you the knowledge that you need to get your company where it
needs to be. Take it away, Tony Shivani.
Mr. Tony Shivani and we're desperately out of time on Duke
Love Wrestling.