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D-Von Dudley on Live Audio Wrestling
Thoughts on Paul Heyman:
D-Von says Heyman was a rebel with a cause. The cause being, first of all, to blow WCW away, and to be the third largest company in the business, and then move into that second spot. He thinks Heyman said it best when he told Bischoff at the ECW PPV that, “we’re not on a WCW reunion show, but an ECW reunion show.” He says Heyman is a mastermind and can’t take anything away from him. He says before Vince, there was Heyman. He gave them a chance when no one else would. D-Von said he never had any of Heyman’s checks bounce on him. He never had any financial problems with him. He was always fair and square with him and Bubba. He adds that, of course, Bubba would have to call him and threaten him half the time. But he then says he’s joking about the threats, but there were arguments. He says Heyman put them on the map, before even Vince did.
Their current status with WWE:
The time spent in OVW before they were released is bought up. D-Von clarifies that they were not released. Technically, they are still with WWE until the 26th. They just aren’t gonna renew their contracts. So, until then if, for example, they are needed on Smackdown for anything, they have to do it. D-Von says that could happen, that they put them on TV during that time, but he doubts that it will, simply for the fact that they are not going to renew their contracts and just move on. He says he has nothing but the utmost respect for Vince. He can’t say the same for Johnny Ace. He says if Jim Ross was doing the dealings, they still would be in the WWE.
His beef with Johnny Ace:
He says Johnny dropped the ball numerous times. He didn’t inform Vince about everything. Pretty much put it into his own words what he wanted to tell Vince. Their heat with Johnny comes with just the way he handled business, which was unprofessional. He says even though with J.R. they didn’t see eye-to-eye on a number of occasions, but still J.R said what he wanted to say, when he wanted to say it. That’s one thing liked about J.R. If he had something to say to you, he’ll say it to your face. In terms of business, he didn’t have to like you to do business with you. Which, he says, is Vince’s philosophy as well. He adds that Ace doesn’t take that into perspective at all. Basically, he lets his feelings get involved and then screws people over in the process. He says he and Bubba were one of those people who fell into that trap. But he adds that the Dudleyz made a name for themselves that they can go to other places, which the same can’t be said for some of the others that were released. Not that they can’t, but they’ll have problems getting what they were getting in WWE. They might have to take more dates to compensate for that. As far as D-Von is concerned, Johnny Ace can take that $500,000 signing bonus he received and shove it up his ass.
He adds that it wasn’t like that they were not gonna renew with WWE. They were about to accept the offer. Both sides kept coming back with numbers. They finally came with a number, and Dudleyz were ready to deal with it. They had a meeting set up with Vince. Next thing they knew, the meeting is cancelled. Did Johnny Ace have anything to do with it? D-Von thinks so. He sabotaged it. Did Ace convince Vince that they would go into this meeting and do something they weren’t suppose to, like hit Vince up for more money? He thinks he did. Johnny Ace has actually said that to some wrestlers. He says, basically, that Ace lies, and doesn’t remember what he says from one minute to the next. He says it’s something that the Dudleyz had fallen victim to, something that’s been always going on. So the meeting was cancelled and they were told their contracts were not going to be renewed. All of this took place after business hours, at 9:40 at night when D-Von was putting his kids to bed. He was on the phone with Bubba, and on the other line, Ace called him with the news. He wonders why they couldn’t wait until the morning. He doesn’t know what beef Johnny Ace has with them. It could be the fact that Bubba is so strong, and D-Von is the easy going guy that everybody wants to talk to instead of Bubba. Then all of a sudden, during negotiations, The Dudleyz negotiated as a team, so Ace must have put D-Von in the same category as Bubba. He says they had been with the company for 6 years so they earned that respect to be able to do that. For everything they have done for the company, and Ace to just do this to them, is unreal.
The Dudleyz plans after they leave WWE:
They are talking to companies in Japan. They have come to somewhat of a deal with one of the companies there (later said to be All Japan Pro Wrestling). Also, TNA is definitely on the table. They are in the process of talking to them as well.
Thoughts on Paul Heyman:
D-Von says Heyman was a rebel with a cause. The cause being, first of all, to blow WCW away, and to be the third largest company in the business, and then move into that second spot. He thinks Heyman said it best when he told Bischoff at the ECW PPV that, “we’re not on a WCW reunion show, but an ECW reunion show.” He says Heyman is a mastermind and can’t take anything away from him. He says before Vince, there was Heyman. He gave them a chance when no one else would. D-Von said he never had any of Heyman’s checks bounce on him. He never had any financial problems with him. He was always fair and square with him and Bubba. He adds that, of course, Bubba would have to call him and threaten him half the time. But he then says he’s joking about the threats, but there were arguments. He says Heyman put them on the map, before even Vince did.
Their current status with WWE:
The time spent in OVW before they were released is bought up. D-Von clarifies that they were not released. Technically, they are still with WWE until the 26th. They just aren’t gonna renew their contracts. So, until then if, for example, they are needed on Smackdown for anything, they have to do it. D-Von says that could happen, that they put them on TV during that time, but he doubts that it will, simply for the fact that they are not going to renew their contracts and just move on. He says he has nothing but the utmost respect for Vince. He can’t say the same for Johnny Ace. He says if Jim Ross was doing the dealings, they still would be in the WWE.
His beef with Johnny Ace:
He says Johnny dropped the ball numerous times. He didn’t inform Vince about everything. Pretty much put it into his own words what he wanted to tell Vince. Their heat with Johnny comes with just the way he handled business, which was unprofessional. He says even though with J.R. they didn’t see eye-to-eye on a number of occasions, but still J.R said what he wanted to say, when he wanted to say it. That’s one thing liked about J.R. If he had something to say to you, he’ll say it to your face. In terms of business, he didn’t have to like you to do business with you. Which, he says, is Vince’s philosophy as well. He adds that Ace doesn’t take that into perspective at all. Basically, he lets his feelings get involved and then screws people over in the process. He says he and Bubba were one of those people who fell into that trap. But he adds that the Dudleyz made a name for themselves that they can go to other places, which the same can’t be said for some of the others that were released. Not that they can’t, but they’ll have problems getting what they were getting in WWE. They might have to take more dates to compensate for that. As far as D-Von is concerned, Johnny Ace can take that $500,000 signing bonus he received and shove it up his ass.
He adds that it wasn’t like that they were not gonna renew with WWE. They were about to accept the offer. Both sides kept coming back with numbers. They finally came with a number, and Dudleyz were ready to deal with it. They had a meeting set up with Vince. Next thing they knew, the meeting is cancelled. Did Johnny Ace have anything to do with it? D-Von thinks so. He sabotaged it. Did Ace convince Vince that they would go into this meeting and do something they weren’t suppose to, like hit Vince up for more money? He thinks he did. Johnny Ace has actually said that to some wrestlers. He says, basically, that Ace lies, and doesn’t remember what he says from one minute to the next. He says it’s something that the Dudleyz had fallen victim to, something that’s been always going on. So the meeting was cancelled and they were told their contracts were not going to be renewed. All of this took place after business hours, at 9:40 at night when D-Von was putting his kids to bed. He was on the phone with Bubba, and on the other line, Ace called him with the news. He wonders why they couldn’t wait until the morning. He doesn’t know what beef Johnny Ace has with them. It could be the fact that Bubba is so strong, and D-Von is the easy going guy that everybody wants to talk to instead of Bubba. Then all of a sudden, during negotiations, The Dudleyz negotiated as a team, so Ace must have put D-Von in the same category as Bubba. He says they had been with the company for 6 years so they earned that respect to be able to do that. For everything they have done for the company, and Ace to just do this to them, is unreal.
The Dudleyz plans after they leave WWE:
They are talking to companies in Japan. They have come to somewhat of a deal with one of the companies there (later said to be All Japan Pro Wrestling). Also, TNA is definitely on the table. They are in the process of talking to them as well.