In an exclusive for WrestlingNews.co, Steve Fall talked with D-Von Dudley. Wrestling News Premium subscribers got to hear and watch this interview last week.
D-Von gave his thoughts on The Usos using the 1D as their finishing move:
“They came to me and asked me, I would say, almost two years prior to them using it. I remember them asking me and I said, ‘Man, I would feel honored and privileged if you guys did that because, you know, we came back to WWE and we started with The New Day. Then we went from New Day to The Usos. So it was like, being in the ring with them and working with them and seeing the talent that they had, I was honored and privileged that they even came to me and asked, and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I remember giving them pointers on how to do it in terms of how to make sure you pick up your opponent the right way, and when a guy comes over to cut them like Bubba does, how to do that. We had talked about that, like I said, almost two years prior to them using it.”
“I was honored and privileged. I love them very much. The whole Usos-New Day rivalry, I helped produce those matches. I was very proud of that. The Usos and New Day give me a lot of credit, but I tell him all the time, ‘You guys were in that ring doing it. I was just relaying a message from Vince and what he wanted to be done in the match and that was it. I think you guys should take full credit.’ I love the fact that they were very humble enough to thank me and always put me in that category as being one of the ones responsible for helping them get that rivalry started. It was such a pleasure to watch those guys grow. I enjoyed myself to the fullest.”
On the rumors that him being pulled from an ECW tribute show caused a rift between himself and Triple H:
“Let me just say this. No issues with Triple H. Triple H did not threaten to fire me. What a lot of people don’t know is I did not speak to Hunter directly during that, but no, he did not threaten to fire me. It was just again, you know, miscommunication on the dirt sheet writers or whatever, but that was not the case. Again, I can’t really go into detail right now.”
“You have shirts out there that say ‘I’m a Paul Heyman guy.’ I’m a Paul Heyman guy because he helped me with ECW, but I’m only a Triple H guy. I can’t begin to thank that man enough for everything that he’s done for me. He was the reason why I became a producer. When Bubba and I left in 2016 as talent, it was from my understanding, it was him that actually suggested for me to become a producer. I remember the night we said farewell to the Dudley’s, he pulled me aside and asked me if I would like the job. I told him, ‘I’m not ready to hang it up yet. There’s still a lot left in the tank for me. I would still love to wrestle and maybe help out some of the younger talent, you know, like Apollo Crews, you know, things like that.’ But, you know, unfortunately, Vince wanted both parties and there was nothing he could do at that point, so that’s why he offered me the job. I said, ‘Well, do I have a choice.? He goes, ‘No, not really D-Von.’ I said, ‘Well, I’ll take a producer’s job’, because I still wanted to be a part of the company. I really enjoy it. It was my childhood dream of mine to work for WWE.”
More on the autograph signing:
“I was told that I could not do the autograph signing for certain reasons. When it was explained to me why, I said, ‘Okay, I get it.’ I mean, was I upset? Yes, because I just thought it could have been done a little earlier than when I was told, because that way, people would not have expected me to not be there. But, it is what it is. It happens. It’s water under the well now and you move on from it. But, you know, to me, my thing was, and it always had been that, if I’m not doing anything with the company, then, you know, I wanted to be able to go out there and kind of freelance a little bit, but you can’t do that when you work for an organization. So I get it and understand it. But it’s just something that, you know, I felt that I just wanted to do. So was that one of the reasons why I left? No, but again, it was just to, you know, to agree to disagree.”
On if he would ever come back to NXT or WWE:
“I told Paul, ‘If you ever need me to come back to NXT, I’m there and I’ll be there for you. My door’s always open to Paul. I’m not saying that it’s not open to Vince, but I have a stronger relationship, I feel, with Triple H. There’s nothing bad about that. I don’t have an issue with Vince. I talked to Hunter a little bit more than I did with Vince and I think Paul understood me and understood me very well. I even wrote him in a text message telling him thank you for everything because I really admired him for where he came from in terms of in the business and the position that he’s in right now, and my loyalty lies with Paul. So if Paul wanted me to come back and do NXT, then I would come back, but right now I just want to enjoy myself and be with my family.”
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