D-Von Dudley On Tony Khan Trying To Force Him To Join AEW And How The ‘KKK’ Infiltrated WWE

In an exclusive interview with Video Gamer, wrestling icon D-Von Dudley slammed young talent for not respecting older wrestlers, said Tony Khan tried to force him to wrestle in AEW and later went on to make a shocking claim about the ‘KKK’ infiltrating WWE. 

D-Von also had his say on the WWE 2K game series and which games he plays if he gets the chance in his spare time. 

Video Gamer: Have you ever played the WWE2K Games? 

D-Von Dudley: I’m in them, so I play them, I’m not good at them. You could beat me in 30 seconds, I promise you.

Video Gamer: They gave you an 84 rating on the new game, with Bubba-Ray getting a rating of 85, would you say that is fair? 

D-Von Dudley: I’d say in terms of in-ring performing, Bubba has admitted numerous times that because of the way I was trained, I’m the worker of the group. And how he learned was pretty much on the road. So the video games can be what they want, it’s all good. So me and Bubba definitely don’t think about the game ratings. 

Video Gamer: Have you ever played any other video games? 

D-Von Dudley: I’m not too much of a gamer, but I’ve played NBA 2K before and a bit of Madden here and there, but I’m not really a gamer kind of guy. 

Video Gamer: How are you feeling a week or so on from your final match against The Hardy Boyz? 

D-Von Dudley: Oh, I feel great. I’m sore, yes. But that’s expected when you haven’t been in the ring in three years. And then prior to the 1000th episode of Impact Wrestling, it was seven years. I started the training six months prior to the match last Sunday. And I was happy to do that. I started taking boxing lessons, not to become a boxer, but I did it because it was helping with my footwork. Things like moving side to side, moving forward and back. Trying to get quick in that aspect. We did tangle with the gloves a little bit and I enjoyed it. It was great cardio. I was salivating at the mouth, drool coming out of my mouth, snot coming out of my nose, but doing rounds of boxing was one of the ways I’ve been keeping my cardio up. Flipping tires, doing the ropes, things like that. So it was a grueling six months when I put my body through just to do what we did. But it was all worth it. I hadn’t done it in years and I was happy to have started doing that. I felt like the old D-Von and I’m just glad it’s over. 

Video Gamer: So that’s definitely the last time that we’ll see you in a wrestling ring? 

D-Von Dudley: You don’t take off your boots in the middle of the ring and then decide to come back. That’s disrespectful in my opinion. So there’s your answer. 

Video Gamer: How long was that match planned and was it something you’d wanted to do for a while or did it just come up recently? 

D-Von Dudley: I think talks started in January. I got the phone call from Bubba sometime in February and he asked me if I could still go. And that was the thing. He said, ‘can you still go?’ Of course I can still go. When he said he wanted one last match with the Hardys, I said ‘oh, here we go.’ Just for the fact that when you wrestle with the Hardys, you’ve got to come prepared, you’ve got to be ready. And I wanted to make sure that that was gonna be the case if I took this on, which is why I started training as soon as I found out. I knew how long it would take me to get back into shape and to do what I had to do, but it worked and I’m happy about it.

Video Gamer: Where did that moment (final match with Hardys) rank for you in your career? 

D-Von Dudley: It would rank almost on the same lines as a TLC match. It’s the last match. It was the second table match between the Hardys and the Dudleys, so definitely one of my all time favorites, especially considering mine and Bubba’s age, him 54 and me. Matt being 51 and Jeff being 48, we’re not spring chickens anymore, but yet we went out there and told a great story with some physicality and made the match good. 

Video Gamer: Was it always the plan to end your career that way in a TNA ring? 

D-Von Dudley: 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. 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. And that’s about it. Again, I’ve got friends in AEW. I’ve met new people at Autograph signings, like Will Ospreay who is a great guy and a lot of the talent in AEW  have the same frustration that I see. They just wish that certain people wouldn’t be calling the shots and that Tony would take more control, but yet give it to somebody that knows what they’re doing. 

Video Gamer: How many times have AEW contacted you to try and get you to join? 

D-Von Dudley: I was looking to become a producer. I wasn’t looking to become a wrestler. 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. But my sons were there at the time and I was gonna try to do anything I could to help my sons out. I expressed to Tony that I didn’t wanna wrestle. He kept trying to push it. 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 apron and the boys are gonna do all the work.’ 

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. 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! 

Video Gamer: After your final match with the Hardys, where do they rank on your Tag Team Mount Rushmore? 

D-Von Dudley: The British Bulldogs, the Heart Foundation, the Road Warriors, the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz.

Video Gamer: After being involved in so many high risk matches over the duration of your career, was there ever a time where you thought you might not be able to perform again? 

D-Von Dudley: Now I can say this because I’m not wrestling anymore, but I never got hurt really bad like that. The TLC matches, we were bruised, we were battered, but nobody through the grace of God was injured badly. So we never really had that problem. 

Video Gamer: Are there any bumps you’d never want to take again? 

D-Von Dudley: I don’t wanna take a bump anymore. I’m just done. I’m just done with the whole thing now. I’ve had 33 years of wrestling. Now I’m done. It’s over. I’m happy. I’m content with everything that I’ve done. And that’s just the way I want it to be now. 

Video Gamer: And now that you’re finished completely with wrestling, what’s next for you? Are you wanting to go into commentary, management or production? 

D-Von Dudley: I have a very successful YouTube channel that’s doing extremely well. So I’m doing that and I still have my legends deal with WWE, I’m doing that. I still have my wrestling school in Winter Park, which is right down the road from the PC in Florida. And I have my detailing business in Fort Lauderdale. So I’m set. I’m good and hopefully God continues to bless me and I continue to strive in what I do and be successful. Right now my life is my family, my businesses. And that’s it now. 

Video Gamer: How good was it to have Spike Dudley there with you guys at Bound for Glory? 

D-Von Dudley: It was very cool. I speak to Spike every once in a while, but it was very cool to see him with the glasses and the overalls and the tie dye, you know? Anytime my little brother gets a chance to join us, it’s always a good thing. Nothing’s changed. We’re still the same. Myself and Bubba, Spike and Sign Guy Dudley, Joel Gertner were still the same. 

Video Gamer: Friction can happen with all good tag-teams over the years, what was the hardest creative disagreement that you and Bubba ever had over the years?

D-Von Dudley:  There was never really a disagreement, you know? We did go our separate ways in 2016 but things worked out for the better. He didn’t wanna be with the company anymore. I did, and he left and I stayed. I became a producer. Everything happens for a reason. It got me set for the next journey of my career. If I decided to go back as a producer in WWE, I would love that. But right now it’s not in my cards, and when it does, I’ll be grateful.

Video Gamer: What’s been your favourite run of all time – a favourite title you won?

D-Von Dudley: I think the ECW would be first and foremost because it was the first time I started doing anything. But the Attitude Era, without a doubt, was the greatest time of my life.

Video Gamer: How much do you think it’s changed now in 2025?

D-Von Dudley: The business has changed tremendously. I feel, and so many other wrestlers feel this way, there’s a lack of respect from some of the younger talent. And that’s fine. It’s just because they weren’t taught the proper ways when coming into the business. People who are older than me, people who I used to watch during the Hogan and Andre era, I still respect and love them dearly for what they did in terms of entertaining me as a child. And I tell ’em all the time, I see them, I get up, I shake their hand, I say hello, I make myself notice it before them to say hi. You tell them how much I appreciate what they’ve done for me growing up and things like that. Just like you get some of the fans that do that now for us. But it’s such a great feeling to know that. And the business has changed. We don’t have many people that do that anymore.

We don’t have the minds like we used to have back in the day. Sure. We have Triple H doing what he’s doing. We have Michael Hayes, but that’s really it. If you think about it, we really don’t have the minds anymore to take over the business like we used to. But that’s one of the things I wish would come back when you get minds that know what they’re doing and really learn how to produce.

Video Gamer: The Undertaker thinks that kayfabe is completely dead in 2025 for the majority of the locker room. Would you agree with that?

D-Von Dudley: Well, I don’t know. You tell me. Our business has been exposed like no other. And I hate it. I really do. We gotta keep something sacred. Nothing needs to be discussed that doesn’t have to be discussed. It’s nobody’s business. If there’s feuds going on or what have you. Keep that behind the scenes. There’s no reason to bring that to light.

The exposure of the business, storyline wise and things like that. Sure. It’s gotta make sense. But at the same token, I’m looking at it like, back in the eighties there was no Internet. We didn’t have the right to voice our opinion unless we did it the old school way, where we wrote letters and sent them in and 90% of those letters weren’t even read. There’s certain stations that I feel let out too much for the people and let them know what’s going on and what should happen and what shouldn’t. I just feel that’s so wrong. 

Video Gamer: Did you watch WWE Unreal? 

D-Von Dudley: I didn’t watch it. I didn’t watch it because again, I had heard that it exposed a lot. I understand for whatever reason WWE did what they did. I understand that’s their way of doing it, but I’m still that old school guy. I don’t want people to know. I’ve got family members who called me after the match this past Sunday, ‘Hey, are you okay? Were you hurt?’ I’m like, f*ck. Jeff took care of me and he was great, but I’m not letting anybody know that. Of course people tell me, ‘I heard you were bleeding’. Yeah, I was bleeding. I got hit in the mouth. Whether my forehead or what have you, you know the term blading. All that b***s**t. I don’t expose that. I don’t expose the business like that, and I will not.

Video Gamer: What’s the worst injury you’ve had while wrestling?

D-Von Dudley: I tore my pec muscles. I tore my achilles heel. You know, things like that. I’ve had concussions, but that’s really about it.

Video Gamer: Do you see anyone as the next Dudley boys? Anyone that can carry on what you guys did?

D-Von Dudley: No one will ever be able to do that. There’ll only be one Dudley Boy tag team. It’s like ECW will never be duplicated. I don’t care how many times people try to do hardcore stuff. There’s only gonna be one ECW, one Dudley Boyz, one Hardys. They’ll never see it again.

Video Gamer: What’s the benefit of TNA being the place of your final place for the match?

D-Von Dudley: Again, it could have been anywhere, man. I mean, you know, the Dudley’s gonna be the Dudleys. The Hardys are gonna be the Hardys. You know, I love WWE. I love TNA. That’s it. Wherever we did what we did, where we did it. You know, in the WWE on a grander scale, yes. But is TNA working their way up there? Absolutely. I was happy to be able to do it and we tore the house down.

Video Gamer: Survivor Series as well next month. That’s obviously been a big part of your career over the years. What was your favorite survivor series moment of all time?

D-Von Dudley: When me and Jeff Hardy unified the WCW WWE championships.

Video Gamer: If you had to do any match again, ever again, how would you do something different? 

D-Von Dudley: Everything was perfect. I wouldn’t get that. I’m done. I am not doing this to them. I would coach and do what I gotta do in that aspect if I have to come down at ringside and punch somebody, things like that. That’s great. But as far as the full match shows, no, I’m not doing that. I’m completely done. I’m happy and content with what I did, and there’s no reason to go back.

Video Gamer: And what do you think about celebrities coming into the business and your influencers getting into the ring?

D-Von Dudley: It’s definitely a crossover. Their fanbase with ours, so it’s definitely a crossover. Depending on who the star is. Let’s just say like Carl Malone, you know, when he went to WCW with Dennis Rodman. That crossover with the NBA, especially the NBA at that time. So you get somebody who’s hot, like Bad Bunny, it’s big, it’s a crossover. People who wouldn’t normally watch wrestling are watching it because of those guys. They’re helping to put bums on seats and get ratings up.

Video Gamer: What do you think of Logan Paul? 

D-Von Dudley: The stuff I’ve seen, I think he’s a true athlete and he takes the game very seriously and my hat goes off to him. Someone who had no experience in doing what we do here, and he’s picked it up, he’s absorbed it like a sponge. My hat goes off to him.

Video Gamer: And during your era, do you think somebody like Logan Paul would’ve fit in during the WCW? 

D-Von Dudley: No. I say that respectfully because a lot of these old school guys would not have liked that. They would’ve been trying to mess with him. Trying to get him to crack, and that was the way the business was back then. They weren’t letting outside people into our locker room at that. There was always a problem. This generation, totally different. 

Video Gamer: And do you think anyone from back in the day in WCW would’ve thrived in today’s era?

D-Von Dudley: A lot of the guys today, like Jimmy and Jey Uso. Randy already proved that he could. So many people. Bianca Belair, I would’ve loved to have seen her face Jackie Moore or Medusa. I would’ve loved to have seen that. 

Video Gamer: Were there ever any storylines or angles that you didn’t want to do, but you ended up doing anyway?

D-Von Dudley: No. Everything that was put in front of me, I did it to the best of my ability, gave no headaches, and that was the way I was. 

Video Gamer: What do you make of allegations of racism in the WWE/WWF – was it worse back then?

D-Von Dudley: No, because it was hidden really. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. The Klan wore sheets on their heads. The Ku Klux Klan wore sheets over their heads. And I felt that a lot of those Klan members made their way into wrestling, traded in their sheets for suits. 

It was definitely a behind the scenes thing. I’ve dealt with it with certainly higher ups like MVP said. I dealt with that certain higher up that told me to my face, they don’t like me because of the colour of my skin. And they work for other organizations now, and this person knows who he is. I have no respect for that person. I don’t really care for him. Now that he’s not in the position that he once was, I just really don’t care for him.

Video Gamer: What advice would you give to a young tag-team who wants to be as successful as you?

D-Von Dudley: Study the game. Make sure you know what you’re doing. Put your all and effort into it and just, you know, do what you gotta do.

Quick Fire:

Video Gamer: Strongest wrestler you’ve ever been in the ring with?

D-Von Dudley: Mark Henry.

Video Gamer: And the funniest wrestler you’ve ever met?

D-Von Dudley: So many. Umaga was one. Maven had a little bit of that in him too. JBL was funny at times. Faarouq was hilarious. He was hilarious. And Grandmaster Sexy.

Video Gamer: And the stiffest wrestler you’ve ever been in the ring with?

D-Von Dudley: Bradshaw, really, without a doubt. But I love him. He was great. We did it to each other. He stiffed us, we stiffed him. We did it to each other. I love APA. They were great to work with and I miss him dearly. 

Video Gamer: What about the best technical wrestler you’ve been in the ring with?

D-Von Dudley: Chris Benoit. I don’t work for any company now, so I can say his name. Chris Benoit.

Video Gamer: Worst finisher you took?

D-Von Dudley: I guess you could say it was my own finish. Three D. I took it. I gave it a million times, but I never knew how to take it. And when it got put on me, I didn’t turn my face and knocked myself out.

Video Gamer: What do you think to the Uso’s rendition, the 1D?

D-Von Dudley: I think it’s great. I’ve said it in countless interviews. They asked me if they would be able to use it. I said, absolutely. Go ahead. We’re not using it. And they made us proud. I mean they are a legendary tag team of this era, especially the last 10 or 15 years. 

Video Gamer: And how is it to see Jey and Jimmy main eventing every week? 

D-Von Dudley: Good. I’m happy for ’em. I wish we would’ve been able to wrestle them at this stage in their career. Because they’re so advanced now. They absorb it, they get it, they understand it. And I think we could have had some great matches together.

Video Gamer: Are there any other tag teams you wanted to face back in the day or you wish you could have faced but you never got a chance to?

D-Von Dudley: The Road Warriors. But they passed away.