D-Von Dudley has nothing but high praise for Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon.
WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley was the latest guest on The A2theK Wrestling Show to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about the backstage atmosphere at WWE right now following Triple H taking control of creative, Dudley went out of his way to sing the praises of Vince McMahon first before heaping praise upon Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
“Well, let me just say this first and foremost, the man that started it all, Vince McMahon. I am very honored and privileged to have worked under him, for him to have been my boss for almost 20 years,” D-Von Dudley said. “And I’ve learned a lot from Vince. And as far as I’m concerned, there will never ever be another Vince McMahon. Even when regardless as a producer, if I didn’t agree with him and I was angry at him or what have you. I always said every company needs a Vince McMahon because you have to have somebody with Vince’s aura and Vince’s demeanor to be able to put these prima donnas in their place and tell them no when you need to tell them no because a lot of promoters don’t do that.
“I’m not gonna say any names on certain promotions, but there’s certain promotions that don’t do that, and that’s why turmoil is going crazy right now. Like I said, every company needs a Vince McMahon. So, Vince used to always tell the wrestlers sometimes the vision is not there anymore, or sometimes you just need a new vision to help you out. And I think Triple H is that vision. I think Triple H got his feet wet and everything with NXT and when he started NXT. He took indie wrestlers and made them into stars. That’s very hard to do that. I don’t care what nobody said.
“You can say what you want about Triple H, but that’s very hard to do that. He made NXT a household name when you talk about professional wrestling. So that got his feet wet there, and then now we’ll take it over for Vince and doing what he’s doing. I’m very, very happy about it. The atmosphere in the locker room is tremendous. Because again, it’s like when you have a tag team in the ring, and the Tag Team Titles change hands, regardless if you like them or not. It’s going to be a huge pop because it’s something new and the people are gonna love that. That’s just the way it is.
“It’s the same thing here. It’s like we had a title change. You know, it went from Vince to Triple H, and now everybody’s excited to see the new vision and where we’re going. Morale is up. And people are just genuinely excited about everything. But again, we cannot forget or deny what Vince has done for this business. Not just the company but for the business. If he didn’t take the chance at WrestleMania to do what he did, none of us will be here. Vince made professional wrestling what it is today, regardless of what company you work for.
“Every company should be giving him and paying him homage regardless. The house that I’m living in now, he paid for this in full and this and that. He gave me a shot when nobody else did. So I will always be indebted and grateful for events, but I’m also a Triple H guy. I love Hunter and things that he’s done. He’s the reason why when our contracts fell through in 2016, he came to me, pulled me aside, and offered me a job as a producer.
“I gotta thank him because think about it, I know I wasn’t ready to retire at that time. But if you think about it, I was in my 40s the pandemic hit. People being let go left and right, and I could have been one of those people that could have been let go because I’m past my prime. Nobody wants to see old aging D-Von.
“I’m a producer, and I’m working backstage, and I remember just sitting there hearing some of the cuts, and I’m like, damn, thank God I got out when I did. Thank God Hunter pulled me aside and do what he did because if not, I could have been one of those guys when you wake up in the morning, and you read the internet, and it’s like, oh, D-Von Dudley was let go. I could have been one of those guys. So I’m extremely grateful for Hunter and everything that he’s ever done for me. I mean, the man has never lied to me. Whatever he’s ever said has come true. And he’s done what he said he was going to do. He’s blessed me and my family.
“Stephanie McMahon is another one. When I had my stroke about two years ago, Stephanie called me on the phone, and at the time, I was with the doctors because I had just had brain surgery as well because they had to break up the blood clot in the brain. And so I didn’t have my phone on me, and Stephanie called twice because she had just spoken to my wife, and then call me twice and said, ‘D-Von, I keep missing you. I’m sorry. Your wife told me you were okay. But I’m not going to stop calling you until I hear from your mouth personally.’
“Stephanie didn’t have to do that. But she did. As big as this company is and as much responsibility that she has for her to sit down and to continuously call me to make sure that I was still breathing and alive. I’ll be always grateful for it. I remember I made a comment about Stephanie, and I guess I was just overwhelmed because I said I was infatuated with Stephanie. The dirt sheets went crazy with it. Oh my god. D-Von is infatuated with Stephanie and this and that and blah blah blah.
“I’m like no, you jackasses. I should have said admired because I admire Stephanie a lot. I think she’s a fantastic woman. I think she has the same business savvy and sense like a father does. And that’s the one thing I always said. A lot of people don’t want to piss Vince off, but you don’t want to piss Stephanie off. If you understand Stephanie in that ring, when she gives those slaps those slaps are for real. She ain’t holding nothing back! I’m very grateful for the Levesque family. And again, they’ve done nothing but great things for me and my family. And I will always sing the praises of Stephanie and Hunter.”
READ MORE: D-Von Dudley Shoots Down Rumor That He And Bully Ray Have Heat
What do you make of D-Von Dudley’s comments? Do you think every wrestling company needs a Vince McMahon? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
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