By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
D-Von Dudley says AEW was not a good fit for him and Bubba Ray Dudley. D-Von told VideoGamer.com that he would have had the final Team 3D match in AEW. “I just wanted to end my career the right way, and it had no bearing on where I did it, just as long as it was the right way,” D-Von said.
“I would not have done it for AEW just because I don’t think AEW was ever a fit for the Dudleys. For other people, probably yes, but to me, not the Dudleys. I don’t know if I would’ve felt comfortable. There’s just certain things about the organization. I love the talent. I think the talent is great. There’s no question about that, but there’s a feeling that certain people in the organization that call the shots, I’m not a big fan of them. And Tony Khan lets that happen. So I don’t ever think that it would’ve ever been able to take place in AEW. I’ve got nothing against AEW as a company. I’ve got nothing against Tony Khan. I just don’t like the way the organization is run.”
D-Von also called his past negotiations with Tony Khan a bust. “I told him I don’t wanna wrestle anymore,” he said. “And he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He couldn’t get that through his head. 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. It takes time for your body to heal and to be able to do what you got to do after back surgery.
“So I basically kept emphasizing that I wanted to be a producer. I did not wanna wrestle. I wanted to work behind the scenes, and he kept asking me if I wanted to wrestle and get back in the ring. 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. I wanna help get them where they are.’ Like what Billy Gun was doing for his sons, you know? I’ve done everything in my career. I don’t need that. He just wasn’t taking no for an answer. I’ve had three meetings with him, and all three were a bust!” Read the full interview at Videogamer.com.
Powell’s POV: D-Von also spoke about racism in WWE, including a “certain higher up” who is no longer with the company telling him to his face that he didn’t like him because of the color of his skin. It’s quite the interview, as D-Von didn’t pull any punches. He also spoke about the final Team 3D vs. The Hardys match, how he’s feeling coming out of the match, working stiff matches with The APA, getting knocked out by his own finisher, why he didn’t watch WWE Unreal, and more.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
Bizarre choice to focus on his feelings on Khan rather than the open systematic racism in WWE. I know it’s not surprising, but that’s surely the story here?
D-Von went into specifics when talking about his dealings with Tony Khan. He mentioned one person who no longer works for WWE and did not mention a name.
Umm… One person not liking you because of the color of your skin isn’t “systematic racism’.
Turn off MSNBC and CNN and educate yourself to learn to think for yourself
Are you a person of color to even make this ignorant statement?
So wait, he didn’t want to wrestle for AEW. He didn’t like the higher ups, but wanted to work there as a producer and met three times to try and get that job
Ummm….yeah….
There’s a clip on YouTube of D-Von giving a major clue as to who it is. I was pretty disappointed!