WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley recently opened up about the circumstances that led to him becoming a backstage producer for WWE in 2016. He explained that while he wasn’t ready to hang up his boots at the time, the producer role was the only option presented to him, as Vince McMahon wanted both members of The Dudley Boyz off the active roster.
An Offer He Couldn’t Refuse
After a successful return run with WWE, The Dudley Boyz’s contracts were coming up. On his YouTube channel, D-Von recalled a pivotal conversation with Triple H, who laid out the company’s offer.
“Seven Long Years”
D-Von ultimately accepted the position to provide for his family and worked as a WWE producer for seven years, a role he described as both “stressful” and “great.”
“I wasn’t ready to become a producer at the time in 2016 when the opportunity came. Triple H saw that in terms of me wanting to still get in the ring, but you know, his exact words to me was when I asked him, I said, ‘Do I have a choice? Can I not take the position as a producer and still get in the ring and help younger talent?’ And he said, ‘No.’ He goes, ‘Unfortunately, the old man doesn’t want just one Dudley. He wants both. And this is the offer that we have to give you, and I’m sorry, D-Von.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, well, I got to feed my family. I got to make sure that I have a good living and I’m going to do it.’ And I must say, I had a great time doing it. Seven long years as a producer in the WWE was great. It was stressful, but it was great. Although I felt that me being in the ring and having a match kind of like this was taken away, I felt like I needed that one little thing to make sure that the itch that I had would be scratched and gone.”
D-Von Dudley was released from his WWE producer contract in January 2023. He now runs the D-Von Dudley Academy wrestling school in Winter Park, Florida, and is preparing for his final match at TNA Bound for Glory this October.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit D-Von Dudley’s YouTube channel with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
