Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 12, 2014 16:24:04 GMT -6
Former ECW, WWE, and TNA star - and arguably one-half of one of the
greatest tag teams of all time - Devon Dudley steps IN THE ROOM with
Brady Hicks for over an hour to talk about his historic runs with
three major US wrestling companies, his love for professional
wrestling, and his legacy as a whole. This is a must-listen for any
wrestling fan! Brother Devon is legit one of the nicest guys you'll
ever meet.
Topics include the pressure of a big match at WM and his favorite
matches with the company ... Paul Heyman's vision for the D-Von
character (Mr. T meets Pulp Fiction) ... starting riots in ECW ...
his own singles aspirations and The Dudley Boys' legacy as a tag team
... his pressures as an African American role model ... being
perceived as the lesser Dudley in the media and competition with his
partner ... The Dudleys being Vince McMahon's favorite tag team ...
what Road Warrior Hawk meant to he and Bubba ... and what makes a
"great" match. Plus check it out for lots of backstage stories from
three major wrestling companies.
You can listen to IN THE ROOM courtesy of the VOC Nation Radio
Network on vocnation.com and simulcast on thebradyhicks.com. Thanks,
as always, for the support.
On First Entering ECW:
When I was told I had the chance to be in ECW I was scared to death.
That wasn't normal to get hit with a barbed-wire bat or a chair,
going through tables, or dropping the ropes and surrounding it with
barbed wire. It wasn't normal. I thought it was crazy. But I knew in
the back of my mind that ECW could be a stepping stone to get to the
WWE ... What I didn't visualize happening was falling in love with
the company. Falling in love with that style, the same style that I
was afraid of. Basically just not wanting to leave. So when the
opportunity did come at first for me to go to the WWE ... I had cold
feet and didn't want to go because I didn't want to leave the ECW
fans. I didn't want to leave ECW.
On Being Bubba/Bully's Close Friend:
Can Bubba be a prick? Absolutely. He'll be the first to tell you
himself. He'll be the first to tell you he's a jerk. He'll be the
first to tell you that he don't like people. There are times where
we're traveling together and people will come up to me and talk to me
and he will just sit there and he won't say anything. And they'll go,
"Hey, Bubba. How are you doing?" And he'll look at me and go, "I just
want to know something. Do I have, on my forehead, 'I'm a nice
person' printed on it? Let me know so I can erase it." He'll be the
first to tell you he'll be difficult when he wants to be.
On Devon's Past and Present Relationship with TNA:
I think every company has growing pains. I think TNA is going through
that growing pains. [Regarding] my departure from the company, to me
it was just time to leave and I have no regrets. I'm very happy with
the decision that I have made. I look forward to bigger and better
things. [I'm] not saying that TNA wasn't a good thing, it's just that
everything runs its course ... it was time for me to move on. If
you're in a company for too long ... ideas and things like that don't
necessarily register. You're always fighting, trying to get them to
understand you and vice versa ... In terms of [TNA] being a family,
it all depends on who you ask. I experienced good times there. I've
also experienced bad times ... This past August, I did not want to be
there. I was ready to move on to the next chapter of my life. I'm not
going to say it's disfunctional. I just think that it's growing pains
... I wish them nothing but the best. I miss them dearly, but not
enough to go back.
On Being the Workhorse of The Dudley Boys:
I guess a lot of people would say that. You look at all the matches
back then and yes and even Bubba would say that. I think that is a
fair assessment. Don't get me wrong, Bubba held his own as well, but
when it came to all the other stuff and things of that nature, yeah
you could say I was the workhorse of the group. But Bubba had a great
mind for the business as well. So I think that's where we pretty much
evened out ... I think the reason why we lasted as long as we did is
because we knew our jobs, we knew what we had to do, we knew [to]
make money, and if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. That was one
of the things that we both realized very, very early.
IN THE ROOM with Brady Hicks streams live Tuesday nights, 9PM ET on
the VOC Nation IN THE ROOM Radio Network on vocnation.com, as well as
thebradyhicks.com.
The VOC Nation Radio Network was born out of AM Radio in
Philadelphia, and has grown into one of the largest and most
successful modern media networks in the world.
greatest tag teams of all time - Devon Dudley steps IN THE ROOM with
Brady Hicks for over an hour to talk about his historic runs with
three major US wrestling companies, his love for professional
wrestling, and his legacy as a whole. This is a must-listen for any
wrestling fan! Brother Devon is legit one of the nicest guys you'll
ever meet.
Topics include the pressure of a big match at WM and his favorite
matches with the company ... Paul Heyman's vision for the D-Von
character (Mr. T meets Pulp Fiction) ... starting riots in ECW ...
his own singles aspirations and The Dudley Boys' legacy as a tag team
... his pressures as an African American role model ... being
perceived as the lesser Dudley in the media and competition with his
partner ... The Dudleys being Vince McMahon's favorite tag team ...
what Road Warrior Hawk meant to he and Bubba ... and what makes a
"great" match. Plus check it out for lots of backstage stories from
three major wrestling companies.
You can listen to IN THE ROOM courtesy of the VOC Nation Radio
Network on vocnation.com and simulcast on thebradyhicks.com. Thanks,
as always, for the support.
On First Entering ECW:
When I was told I had the chance to be in ECW I was scared to death.
That wasn't normal to get hit with a barbed-wire bat or a chair,
going through tables, or dropping the ropes and surrounding it with
barbed wire. It wasn't normal. I thought it was crazy. But I knew in
the back of my mind that ECW could be a stepping stone to get to the
WWE ... What I didn't visualize happening was falling in love with
the company. Falling in love with that style, the same style that I
was afraid of. Basically just not wanting to leave. So when the
opportunity did come at first for me to go to the WWE ... I had cold
feet and didn't want to go because I didn't want to leave the ECW
fans. I didn't want to leave ECW.
On Being Bubba/Bully's Close Friend:
Can Bubba be a prick? Absolutely. He'll be the first to tell you
himself. He'll be the first to tell you he's a jerk. He'll be the
first to tell you that he don't like people. There are times where
we're traveling together and people will come up to me and talk to me
and he will just sit there and he won't say anything. And they'll go,
"Hey, Bubba. How are you doing?" And he'll look at me and go, "I just
want to know something. Do I have, on my forehead, 'I'm a nice
person' printed on it? Let me know so I can erase it." He'll be the
first to tell you he'll be difficult when he wants to be.
On Devon's Past and Present Relationship with TNA:
I think every company has growing pains. I think TNA is going through
that growing pains. [Regarding] my departure from the company, to me
it was just time to leave and I have no regrets. I'm very happy with
the decision that I have made. I look forward to bigger and better
things. [I'm] not saying that TNA wasn't a good thing, it's just that
everything runs its course ... it was time for me to move on. If
you're in a company for too long ... ideas and things like that don't
necessarily register. You're always fighting, trying to get them to
understand you and vice versa ... In terms of [TNA] being a family,
it all depends on who you ask. I experienced good times there. I've
also experienced bad times ... This past August, I did not want to be
there. I was ready to move on to the next chapter of my life. I'm not
going to say it's disfunctional. I just think that it's growing pains
... I wish them nothing but the best. I miss them dearly, but not
enough to go back.
On Being the Workhorse of The Dudley Boys:
I guess a lot of people would say that. You look at all the matches
back then and yes and even Bubba would say that. I think that is a
fair assessment. Don't get me wrong, Bubba held his own as well, but
when it came to all the other stuff and things of that nature, yeah
you could say I was the workhorse of the group. But Bubba had a great
mind for the business as well. So I think that's where we pretty much
evened out ... I think the reason why we lasted as long as we did is
because we knew our jobs, we knew what we had to do, we knew [to]
make money, and if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. That was one
of the things that we both realized very, very early.
IN THE ROOM with Brady Hicks streams live Tuesday nights, 9PM ET on
the VOC Nation IN THE ROOM Radio Network on vocnation.com, as well as
thebradyhicks.com.
The VOC Nation Radio Network was born out of AM Radio in
Philadelphia, and has grown into one of the largest and most
successful modern media networks in the world.