Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: bubba ray dudley, d-von dudley, Tag Team, Tag Team Championship, The Dudley Boyz, wrestling, wwe, wwe hall of fame, WWE Producer

D-Von Dudley Details His Uneasy Path To Becoming A WWE Producer

While WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley is no longer an active wrestler or even still in a partnership with his Dudley Boyz tag team partner of 20 years, Bubba Ray, he is still very much involved in the wrestling industry, specifically as a Producer for WWE.  While that has become a very popular post-in ring competitor job for many wrestlers with WWE, D-Von didn't have the easiest of transitions into the role and it took a while for him to take a liking to it.

In an interview with The Cut Pro Wrestling Podcast, D-Von Dudley goes into detail about what it took to transition from a longtime in-ring competitor to being a member of the backstage creative team as a Producer.  H/T to Wrestlinginc.com

"I never wanted to stop. I even went to them and said, 'Hey, listen. I'm not ready to become a producer, there's still a lot left in me,' and they said, 'Well you know the old man, you know how he is. He wanted the Dudleys and Bubba didn't play fair, so we're gonna give you this opportunity to stay with the company'."

"So I looked at it, and it was Triple H, and I said, 'Do I have a choice?' and he said, 'No, not really.' At that point I was going through a divorce and I would have loved to have gone back to Japan to finish my career, but going through a divorce at the time and having to travel 17 or 18 hours on a plane to Japan every week was not what I wanted to do. So I had to weigh my options and say, okay, here we go. I guess I'll stay here and become a producer."

It seems that even though he took the position to make the best of his current situation, D-Von Dudley eventually found joy in his new role and that came from working to craft other talents and help them get better.

"I hated it at first, I didn't like it. Now, I've grown into it. Working with guys like the Usos, the New Day, even Rey and Dominik [Mysterio], the Viking Raiders, The Bludgeon [Brothers], I had great matches with those guys in the ring with them as well as producing their matches. I felt that I was wrong again and not getting the opportunity to wrestle continuously, but you know it is what it is."

Both of the Dudley Boyz had and continue to have a lot to offer the wrestling industry, even if it's not in a physical capacity.  While D-Von Dudley has embraced a new role that allows him to still be involved in the show now that his in-ring career has ended, Bubba Ray Dudley has since moved on to a more opinion-based wrestling career in co-hosting the Busted Open radio show on SiriusXM, where he offers analysis on the world of Pro Wrestling.

To see D-Von Dudley's interview in its entirety, check it out below:

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