Following his departure from a backstage role in WWE in 2023, D-Von Dudley explored potential opportunities elsewhere, including discussions with AEW President Tony Khan. However, Dudley revealed in a recent interview with Video Gamer that those talks ultimately did not lead to a deal due to differing expectations regarding his role.
Dudley explained that his agent contacted AEW specifically because he wanted to continue working as an agent or producer. “I was looking to become a producer. I wasn’t looking to become a wrestler,” Dudley stated. “And the only reason why my agent even contacted them was because of the fact that I left WWE and I wanted to still do the agent role.”
A secondary motivation was the presence of his sons, Terrell and Terrence Hughes (tag team TNT), who were working dates on AEW Dark at the time. “But my sons were there at the time and I was gonna try to do anything I could to help my sons out,” he added.
According to Dudley, Khan was more interested in having him perform on-screen, either as a wrestler or manager, despite Dudley’s insistence that he did not want to return to the ring. “I expressed to Tony that I didn’t wanna wrestle. He kept trying to push it,” Dudley said. “He would have loved me to go out there and do a couple of things, maybe be a manager and maybe even do a six-man tag match. And I told him, I said, ‘If I do a six-man, let me know right now. I’ll be on [the] apron and the boys are gonna do all the work.’”
Dudley noted his physical limitations at the time due to recent surgery, which Khan seemingly didn’t grasp. “I told him I don’t wanna wrestle anymore. And he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He couldn’t get that through his head,” Dudley recalled. “He was like stringing me along and even though I kept telling him I don’t wanna wrestle. I was literally when we had those meetings really fresh off a back surgery. I really couldn’t do it like that back then.”
The disagreement over his potential role led to the breakdown of negotiations. “So I basically kept emphasizing that I wanted to be a producer. I did not wanna wrestle… And he kept asking me if I wanted to wrestle and get back in the ring,” Dudley reiterated. “And I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re not getting what I’m saying. I don’t want to wrestle. I just wanna be a producer. I wanna help my sons out… Like what Billy Gun was doing for his sons, you know? I’ve done everything in my career. I don’t need that.” The discussions ended without an agreement. “He just wasn’t taking no for an answer. I’ve had three meetings with him and all three were a bust!” Dudley concluded.
Dudley’s sons, Terrell & Terrence Hughes, wrestled sporadically on AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation between 2020 and 2022 but are no longer affiliated with the company. D-Von Dudley officially retired from in-ring competition earlier this month.
