March 14, 2025 • 61 mins
Get ready for another explosive episode of Devon & The Duke! This week, we dive deep into the wild developments on the road to WrestleMania including:
- Women's Wrestling Revolution: We dissect the phenomenal work of Naomi, Bianca Belair, and Jade Cargill. Strong applause to the trio for crafting a compelling and engaging narrative that has fans on the edge of their seats.
- The Power of Realism: What made the March 7th, 2025 SmackDown promo between Bianca, Naomi, and Jade feel so authentic? We break down the nuances that resonated with viewers, exploring the power of genuine emotion in wrestling storylines.
- Nattie's Recognition: A special shoutout to the legendary Nattie Neidhart for her continued contributions to the industry.
- Travis Scott's WWE Moment: We discuss the bizarre yet captivating segment involving Travis Scott burning sage and slapping Cody Rhodes. WTF? We give our unfiltered thoughts.
- The Cena Heel Turn: The brilliance of John Cena turning heel on the road to Wrestlemania!
- And Much More!
Tune in now for a rollercoaster ride of wrestling analysis and entertainment!
#WWE #BiancaBelair #Naomi #JadeCargill #Wrestlemania #WrestlingPodcast #DevonAndTheDuke #JohnCena #HeelTurn #Smackdown #TravisScott
**Shop better hydration today. Visit LiquidIV.Com and use the promo code DukeLovesRasslin to save on your entire order!**
**All views expressed on Duke Loves Rasslin are that of whomever is expressing them. If you like it great. If you don't like it, great! #PullUpYourSkinnyJeans **
**Episode music created with AI assistance**
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Feel it and the tunes bring the heat.
Wrestling tails knock you off your seat.
TuneIn. Now don't you be late.
Wrestling punk has never felt this great.
Tails, ladders, chairs, they tell it all.
From the highest highs to the lowest fall.
(00:23):
Great and glory. Tails from the ring.
Every chain, every cheer, they'll bring wrestling tails
knock you off your seat. TuneIn.
Now don't you be late. Wrestling podcast never felt
(00:43):
this crazy. Brothers and sisters, welcome
back to another exciting editionof the Devon of the Duke
podcast. This is a limited edition series
hosted by your main man. Duke loves wrestling.
And of course the five time Hallof Famer himself, the
(01:04):
entrepreneur, the YouTube superstar brother Devon Dudley.
What's going on there, Devon? I'm doing well.
I wouldn't say YouTube superstaryet.
I mean just because I've made itto 100,000 within a month
doesn't mean it yet. Now if I do 500,000 within three
months, then that's a superstar.Listen, man, you, you, you're up
(01:25):
there with, with some of these kids who do TikTok and, and, and
all that other stuff, the way that you done splashed on the
YouTube streets and, and, and taking over the scene, so to
speak. I mean, it's, it's a huge honor,
man. And, and it, and it's so unusual
to be able to accomplish that much in such a short amount of
time. So if that ain't a superstar, I
don't know what is. Well, I, I definitely feel I'm
(01:47):
blessed in every sense of the word.
God is not going to give you number one things that you can't
handle. But number 2, when the blessings
come out, you know you just got to be prepared and ready for it.
Indeed, indeed. I, I got to ask you, man, you
see the Hardy Boys puffing out their chest because they've had
a couple of matches in NXT. They, they acting like they,
(02:08):
they're, they're back on top of the world.
Their, their goal is to go down as the greatest tag team of all
time. Do you think it's possible that
the Hardy Boys could pass the Dudley Boys, especially during
this latest run here? I don't know how many titles
they have accumulated between them, but you know, Bubba and I
(02:32):
got 24 and we're still the most decorated tag team.
I don't think they'll ever be A tag team that will be able to
accomplish what we've done. You know, we got to think about
it. We won titles not only here in
the United States, but with three major companies, but we
went overseas and won them. You know, there's only one tag
team title that has eluded us, which I wish we could have gone
(02:56):
and did, but we had left the company.
Was all Japan. We was it?
Yeah, all Japan. We won the tournament like the
Road Warriors did with the big trophies and the big $1,000,000
check and all that. But we never had the tag team
titles when we basically I thinkwas, I think it was Muda and
(03:18):
Akibona. I think they had at the time.
And we will, I know we won the the tournament against them and
then we left, went back to TNA, did some stuff and then we
hadn't been back to Japan in a little bit because we were
negotiating with New Japan, which of course is the rival
(03:41):
company, you know, against all Japan.
So we never got the opportunity to get those titles, but in
order for the Hardys to be able to be recognized.
And again, I always say this, we're not the greatest tag team
of all time. You know, for those that say we
all thank you, but we're not because you can't be the
greatest unless you have faced teams before you.
(04:03):
And we didn't. And that's kind of totally
that's like impossible. You know, that was kind of like,
you know, Mike Tyson, you know, boxing Muhammad Ali.
By the time Tyson came up, Muhammad Ali was already gone.
You know, he was already out of the business by that time.
And so, you know, although Mike,and I'm a huge Mike Tyson fan,
(04:25):
anybody that knows me knows how big I am on Mike, but I can't
not say that he was the greatest.
He was the greatest of his era. Just like I say, we were the
greatest of our era, but I just don't feel that the word
greatest should be thrown aroundlike that unless you face people
for you. Now, I do have an exception to
(04:46):
the rule when it comes to basketball with LeBron James and
Michael Jordan. I I, I was there for Michael,
hated Michael because he always,you know, knocked the the New
York Knicks out of the playoffs in the one year that he left and
wasn't playing baseball was the year that the Knicks advanced to
(05:08):
me. That was, how do I say this?
That was a a testament to just how good it was.
One man beat a whole roster, youknow, of New York Knicks, and
you got to remember the Knicks back then were were were were
loaded. Yeah.
Patrick Ewing, John Stocks, You know Doc Rivers, you name it.
(05:30):
You know, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, you know, of
course the 1 I loved the most onthe Knicks was Patrick Ewing.
You know, you couldn't say nothing bad about Patrick Ewing.
You know, So when Jordan did that dunk on on on Ewing that
time and kind of like walked over him, Ewing got mad and got
(05:53):
up and pushed Michael. You know, I was like, yeah, get
his ass out. But you know, because I was a
kid, you know, I was a teenager and you know, I didn't know
anything. But you know, when I look back
at it, because I look at a lot of the old, you know, when you
go to Instagram and you like certain things, even on
Facebook, it kind of it what it does is it it basically it
(06:16):
figures out that's what you like.
So it keeps throwing up clips and stuff like that.
A thing that is similar to that.And I basically every time I see
something with Jordan, I push the like button all the time.
So now when you go through everything now all that comes up
is Jordan clips. And I love it because I feel we
(06:40):
that can go on and on about this.
We, we can never have like back to the future, a time machine
that can go back and revisit allof that.
You know, our time machine is inour mind, remembering the
memories that we had, witnessingall of that.
So when I'm watching those clips, I'm in my own mind.
(07:02):
I'm in my own time machine goingback, you know, reminiscing
about all the great, you know, basketball rivals back then in
the 80s and 90s. I'm not saying today's
basketball players don't have what it takes, but it just
wasn't the 80s and 90s. They wasn't the Bad Boys of
(07:24):
basketball. Detroit Pistons, you know, you
didn't have the Boston Celtics, you know, with Larry Bird, that
whole team, you know, McHale andall of that.
You didn't have that Robert Parish.
Not to mention the physicality back then.
Bro, you can sit. You can watch a guy come down
the court. They can hold your arm on and
clothesline his ass. It was a different world it.
(07:47):
Was a different world. Now there's clips of LeBron not
even getting touched and freaking, you know, throwing his
hands up in the air and floppingdown on the floor.
And when I see that, I get disgusted because look at the
freaking blows that the Detroit Pistons put on everybody.
Not just the Chicago Bulls, but everybody.
Lembeer, who was considered one of the most nastiest players of
(08:10):
that era. Jordan Cognadi, you know, when
he came back from best, when he came back from baseball and went
to back to basketball, he basically got beat up.
And the minute they lost, if youwatch the documentary, the
minute that they lost, the next day Jordan was in the gym, you
(08:32):
know, working out, trying to putsides on him.
So he knew that when he faced Detroit again, it was going to
be a different story. And they tried, they tried to
whoop his ass on that court, andit didn't work.
He had to get everybody from Pippins.
Everybody else, you know who's aPippin?
And Horace Grant, you know, listen, let him beat us up.
(08:53):
But we're not quitting and we'regoing to go at it.
And that's exactly what they did.
And it and it worked. They won and it worked. 323
peats. You can't beat that.
That, that's just incredible. And again, I'm not knocking
LeBron James. I think LeBron James is a
phenomenal basketball player. I think for this era, there's no
(09:13):
one, there's nobody that can beat him.
But as far as the greatest of all time, I'm sorry.
I was there for Jordan and his era.
I'm here for LeBron and his era.And I just don't see the
comparison. He's played longer than Michael
Jordan, But at the same token, you know, he's not Michael.
(09:33):
He didn't put fear in people theway Jordan did.
Jordan put fear in people. And, you know, people say, oh,
that's not that's not, you know,saying that you're the greatest
of all time. No, it's not saying that you're
the greatest. But you know, when Jordan said
he was on score 60, he scored 60plus.
Oh, I should say he scored 50 and he scored 50 plus.
(09:55):
You know, that was just Michael.He was able to call what he was
going to do. And no matter how many people
they had on him, no matter what they did, Jordan was just a man.
No doubt about it, a a a generational player And look,
you're bringing us down this road here, which I'm sure my
main man, Peter Bessie, who who's a a friend and someone
(10:15):
who's been on do Klaus wrestling.
So I know he he's going to hear this and chuckle about it.
Shout out to Peter Bessie, the the the true first color
journalist for the NBA. Peter was the first one that you
know, during halftime and stuff like that.
He would bring that angle on TV that we grew up watching,
especially on the remember you remember Sunday afternoons you
(10:36):
watched the NBA and and we'd seethat.
But let me let me ask you this since we're here, because this
past week LeBron James confronted journalist and and
podcaster ESPNSI think he's the highest paid talent on ESPN now
Stephen A Smith and LeBron gotten Stephen A Smith's fan
(10:59):
face and admonished him for Stephen as reporting on Lebron's
son Bronie. Now Bronie James is in the NBA
and so far he hasn't been very good, but he's on the Lakers
with LeBron. And a lot of people would say,
you know, that kid is not good enough to be an NBA player.
(11:22):
And Stephen A had made a comment, you know, LeBron, I
don't know why you're putting your son through this.
You know, he's not good enough to be in the league, but you got
him out here, you got your team giving him this contract and
allowing him to be out here and then really get exposed.
I don't know why you're doing this.
Stephen A is saying that he's more talking to LeBron as
opposed to disparaging the childor, you know, the young man, I
(11:45):
should say. But here's the here's the thing,
It's the journalist job to coverit.
If you're good, they got to cover that you're good.
And if you're bad, you got to cover that they're bad.
So I kind of, I don't necessarily take issue with what
Stephen A did, but it's interesting that LeBron
confronted him and said that's my son, leave him out of this.
(12:05):
Whatever this thing is you got with me, leave him out of it.
Don't be talking about my son like that.
Keep his name out of your mouth.What say you, Devon, Especially
as a as a parent who has children in the in the same
industry that you're a legend in?
What say you about that exchangebetween LeBron and Stephen A?
Let me ask you a question. We're we're, we're, we're going
(12:26):
now, right? Because I want this to be all
on. It's all here.
You know, I look at it like this.
My sons have been in this business since I think 2011,
2012, when they appeared on TNA television.
(12:48):
They were about 15-16 years old now when they're ready to be in
that. No, I disputed that
wholeheartedly because I just felt 1516 year olds should not
be there doing that. Vince Russo and Bubba convinced
me about a storyline that they wanted to do and I was totally
(13:10):
against it because I just felt like the business was too harsh
for 1516 year old kids to be a part of and I didn't want them
to go through that. And they handled themselves very
well. You know, there was a thing
where Bubba had power bombed my son through a, through a table.
(13:34):
And I mean, that's that damn Bubba boy.
He power bombed my son straight to hell.
I mean, he did. There was no, oh, you know, my
nephews, you know, of course, you know, me and Bubba Bee and
brothers playing that role. But there was no, you know, I'm
(13:54):
going to, you know, he didn't hurt them to that degree.
But good God, I don't know. Look at that bubble.
I go, what the hell are you doing?
You know, he was like, come on, Devon.
He was like, it was, you know, it's a work.
He's like, your sons aren't hurt.
All that I go, no, they're not. But I just wasn't ready for
that. So, you know, I was like I said,
I was against it, but I understood they got to pay their
(14:18):
dues just like they're paying their dues now.
They went to AW and I just don'tfeel like they got a fair shot.
You know, Tony Kahn was basically just putting them up
against people that they were destroying them for no reason,
didn't give them a chance. You gave them a chance of
putting them on their, you know,show on YouTube.
(14:38):
And I get that. I'm grateful for that because it
got them a little bit of exposure.
But you know, like you look at Taz's son where, you know, we
gave him the ball and he basically, you know, they let
him grow. Now, I don't know if it was
because Taz worked for the company and him and Tony had a
good relationship, but at the same token, you know, I'm
(15:00):
looking at it as, you know, I didn't feel like they did them
right. So, you know, I basically was
totally against them being in a EWI didn't want them to be in a
EW because I felt like, you know, they were getting exposed
and not being produced in the right way.
(15:20):
Some people might argue with that, but I don't, I'm not going
to sit here and chastise people who are journalists who, you
know, say that my sons aren't this and that and blah, blah,
blah. That was something that I did
not want them to go through, butthey did.
It's the it's the nature of the beast.
I spoke to Mike Rotundo, of course, who we know was Bray
(15:45):
Wyatt and Bo's father. I said, how do you do it?
You know, there were times when I was in the meetings and I
would hear Vince, you know, say certain things that I'm not
going to go into detail, but he would say certain things about
either Bray or Bo that I felt that was a little harsh,
(16:05):
especially being at their fatherwas a producer and sitting in
the meetings with them. And I remember one time Vince
had said something, I think about Bo when he was teaming up
with with Axel and they were theB team, I think it was or what
have you. And I remember hearing what the
comments that was made and I just went to Mike at the end of
(16:27):
everything I said, how are you able to sit there and not say
anything? How do you how do you keep your
cool? And he said, Yvonne, one of the
things that I told them before they got in this business was
you're going to, you're going tobe faced with this.
You're going to be faced with unfairly.
You're not going to have, you know, people in your corner and
this and that and blah, blah, blah.
But I don't want anybody to think that you got in this
(16:49):
business or got where you were because of me.
And we all know that, you know, Mike Ratundo was a huge deal in
the 80s, you know, being in the first WrestleMania, you know,
against the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkov, you know, making
a name. And then of course, the varsity
squad in in N.W.A. You know, Mike did it all.
(17:11):
But Mike also knew. And I'm going to say the danger.
And I say that, you know, not that that their lives were in
danger, but you know, how how itcan mess with you mentally.
You have to be strong. Daddy can't come to your aid
when things get rough, especially if people are not
saying you know nice things about you.
(17:34):
You know, you have to brush it off, but prove them wrong at the
end of the day, you know, go outthere and bust your ass and do
what you got to do, you know, tomake these people shut up.
That's exactly what they did, you know, And he said, I just
got to keep my mouth shut. And I, I told him exactly what
(17:57):
they would probably be faced with.
So as men, you have to let them be men and handle the situation
the way he did. I'm sure when adversity came his
way, you can't keep defending them like that.
They got to be men and take up from the other.
That's exactly what they did. There were times where both Beau
(18:18):
and Bray were frustrated, didn'tunderstand why they were being
treated the way they were being treated.
Didn't make any sense, you know,but they did their jobs and they
went out there and produced. So whenever a situation like
that comes up with my with my sons, that's how I have to look
(18:40):
at, you know, this is the business that you chose.
You were warned about it. Now you have to be a man and
find a way to be able to get past that.
That's exactly what they did. You know, both huge success, you
know, with the whole Wyatt Family thing and you know, Bo
(19:02):
coming back and now doing what he's doing.
You know, he didn't let that bother him.
You know, that's, that is incredible perspective and I
appreciate that, Devon, even, you know, going a step further,
you, you talked about your own experience with your sons and
then using Mike Rotundo and and his boys.
Wow, that's, that's a very good way to illustrate it because
(19:22):
it's true. You know, Mike Rotundo, you talk
about who he was in the 80s, which was was fantastic, but he
took it to another level when hewas IRS in the 90s.
Absolutely not. Yep, absolutely.
Not to mention him and Barry Wyndham were probably one of the
greatest tag teams I've ever seen in WWE next to all the next
(19:43):
to all of the greats that were there during that time.
Yeah, couldn't touch him. Could not touch those guys.
As A tag team they were. And they were young guys too,
but they were amazing. They were amazed.
So that's, that's great perspective.
And like you said, the, the, youknow, the proof is in the
pudding. If the boys are able to weather
the storm and, and become their own men, they'll be better off
(20:05):
for it. But so, you know, LeBron, no
one, no one is trying to pick onyou, LeBron or your son.
But brother, you got to let thatyoung man be a young man and
handle his own challenges. The same way that you told your
mother to, to sit herself down when she was trying to fight
your battles. It's like, brother, he has to
fight that battle on his own. And quite frankly, the best way
(20:28):
he could fight the battle is to improve because he's not getting
it. He's not getting it done on the
NBA level. He's not.
Absolutely. I mean, do I think, do I think
it was right? Do I think it was right for him
to do what he did at that in LosAngeles, at the Staples Center?
No, it wasn't right. All you did was, you know, add
(20:52):
fuel to the fire. And now everybody's looking at
him like, oh, he needs Daddy to help him.
He needs Daddy to come to his aid.
And that's one of the things that I don't want to do with my
son. But I never wanted to do that
with them. I wanted them to learn how to
get out of that on their own andto be able to submit that.
Look, there were times I would say this.
(21:13):
I didn't. I wasn't a second generation
wrestler. I was a guy that filed his dream
and was successful at it. I made mistakes along the way.
I said things that I should not have said.
And it, you know, it, it didn't ruin me, but I got heat for it,
you know, for some of the thingsthat I might have said or did,
you know back. But I had to learn.
(21:35):
And that's what it's all about. It's about a learning.
It's a learning process. Once you learn that, then it's
easy from there, you know? But LeBron going to LeBron going
to him and confronting him at that game, I just don't think it
was right. I agree.
I agree 100%. And and again, you know, Stephen
(21:57):
A, he, he's not a St. I think that Stephen A has built
a career, especially when it comes to his NBA coverage of
going out of his way to be too harsh about young players.
And and you know, it has damagedsome people, you know, now that
(22:17):
they are older and they're they're able to speak about it a
little bit more. It has damaged some people when
he's saying that they're trash and saying things like that.
You could say if that players underperforming, you could say
that they need to step it up or maybe they don't need to be in
the league, but they literally say so and so is trash like an
1819 year old kid. What do they do with that?
(22:40):
You know what I mean? So so.
Right. But this is also something to
where this is what you're going to be faced with.
This is something you have to deal with.
And I don't think LeBron told him that.
I think LeBron, you know, protects him as much as he
possibly can. And that's what he's doing.
Yeah. Let these kids fall on their own
and get back up. Yeah.
(23:01):
And figure it out. Yeah, yeah.
Well said. Well said.
I mean, they got to figure it out one way or another or
they're forever going to be, andI hate to use this this word,
but that's basically what it is.They're just going to be a
victim. You know what I mean?
And, and, and you can't fight everybody else's battles,
brother. I don't care whose kid they are,
(23:21):
just can't do it. He's got to fight his own.
So Kwame Brown, Kwame Brown was a great example.
And, and I, if I'm not mistaken,Kwame Brown went from high
school to the NBA and he was a number one draft pick.
Michael Jordan destroyed his confidence, unfortunately,
because Jordan was trying to quote UN quote, toughen him up
and it just wasn't happening, you know what I mean?
(23:44):
Because Kwame was still, from a from a psychological standpoint,
still developing, still young kid.
Well, think about, if you watch the documentary, It wasn't the
Last Dance, think about what allof Jordan's teammates said, how
hard he was on them, how he didn't even Stephen Curry, you
(24:05):
know, he punched him in the eye.They got to do an argument
because Steve thought that he was being too harsh on him.
And he stood up for himself, which was good.
And Jordan respected him for that.
But at the same token, do the things that you're going to be
faced with, and you got to be able to fight your own battles
and do that. And that's exactly what Steve
Kerr did. He earned Michael's respect
(24:25):
after that. He felt bad about what he did,
but he he earned his respect. It's true, it's true.
And and again, when you listen to Kwame Brown, who's a grown
man now, talk about the damage from an emotional standpoint he
endured because Stephen A would call him trash and reporter him
that way and how it it made everybody else join it on that
(24:49):
bandwagon. And instead of saying he, he's
he's underperforming, literally just trashed a guy that was a
lot, that was a lot for him to deal with and he didn't know how
to deal with that. So I do think that Stephen A
from if, if you're a professional, there's a way to
do it and there's a way not to do it.
But again, LeBron, stop fightingLeBron these battles.
(25:10):
He has to do it on his own. He'll be better off for it.
And if he can't get it done on the court, then you know what?
He is underperforming and he doesn't deserve to be there.
And that's just it. That's just it.
You can't sit there and be one of the greatest players of all
time and then sit back, LeBron, and not accept the fact that
when the same way people could praise you for all that you've
(25:32):
accomplished, especially from out of the gate, why can't they
point out another player, son orno son, and getting it done?
There's no special rules you. Know no, there isn't.
Here's another thing, you know, people are going to, you know,
because my sons are A tag team, they're always going to be
compared to other myself. And that's a high person would
(25:54):
be all because of what we've accomplished and what we've
done. So you know, Lebron's son is
when he comes in like that, he'sgoing to be looked at as he is
as good as his father. Is he anywhere near his father?
And there's not. They're going to be looking for
those high expectations coming from him and when he doesn't
deliver, then it's going to start.
(26:14):
Well said, well said. So, you know, of course we wish
everybody the best. We hope it all works out for
everybody. But, you know, the truth is the
truth, man, and we don't have tosugarcoat it in any way.
Speaking of the truth, the truthis John Cena has officially
turned his back on the fans during his retirement tour.
(26:37):
This is the truth. Now, Devo, I know he's a friend
of yours, but you know, during his retirement tour, he decided
that hustle, loyalty and respectand never give up and all these
things. It looks like he's going a
different way because he's aligned with your.
You're a very good friend. The Rock and they attacked Cody
(27:01):
Rhodes even brought in the rapper Travis Scott to join in
and get his licks in and he and he's burning sage in the ring
and and looking ridic. He Travis Scott looks so
ridiculous burning sage in the ring that it was the best thing
going. It was it was so bad.
It was great. I hope they put that in the
video game. That's how entertained I was by
(27:23):
how ridiculous he looked out there doing that and then the
slap to Cody Rhodes. You know, when I was, yeah, that
was that was brutal. You know, I remember when I was
a producer and, you know, I was very, I was, I was friends, very
good friends with Maddie Natalia.
And Natalia used to do all of these TikTok videos or these
(27:43):
videos where she would dance andshe would say all the time she
goes, I can't dance worth of nothing.
Devon. She goes, I'm horrible.
She goes. But you know, I do it.
I'm just having fun. And I looked at her and I said,
you know what? I said?
It's funny because I watch you and I'm like, yeah, I agree with
you. It's bad, but it's so bad,
(28:04):
Maddie. It's so bad that it's good and
people want more of it. That's it.
You know, so, you know, it's oneof those things.
So, you know, that's what you have to keep the perspective
with. But I love Natalia.
I think she's great. But we used to laugh about it
all the time. You know, we used to laugh.
She was just like, I don't know what the hell I'm doing.
And we start these videos and stuff like that and we do that
(28:26):
and I'm dancing. She goes, I just do it.
He goes, I have no rhythm, no nothing.
But I just do it. And I'm like, Maddie, it's so
bad that it's good. And she goes, yeah, I know she
goes. That's why I keep doing it.
And she, you know, she has a good heart about it.
You know, she's a second generation West.
Of course I'm the legendary heart family.
You know, you would think that people wouldn't say bad things,
(28:49):
but, you know, I'm sure there's a lot of people that I've never
read any comments about her and her dancing.
But Natalia did it before she was mounting her dancing before
anybody else could, you know, doit because she knew she was just
having fun. And, you know, she was able to
take it on the chin and just go and have fun with it.
(29:10):
And that's what has to be done. I agree.
I agree 100% and shout out to Natty.
I got a lot of time for her. She is such a a compliment to
the entire wrestling industry and, and really she's continuing
the legacy of that Hart family on every level, including, you
know, the training that she's doing with of the young stars
these days. She's a true professional and
(29:34):
she understands the game. She was brought up the right way
in the business between her father and Brett, and I'm sure
she knew the consequences of what was going to be expected of
her, you know, coming into this business the same as Charlotte
Flair, you know? Charlotte Flair the same way,
you know? Yep, well said.
(29:56):
And, and, and I don't want to take anything away from her now.
Natty's actually a third generation wrestler because
remember her grandfather Stu? Yes, I'm sorry.
Yes, I yes, forgive me, I totally forgot about and I
should never have forgotten about Stu.
But you know, whenever we hear about Natty and you know the
(30:16):
people have come before her and her family, you always hear
about Jim and Brett. Yeah, of course.
So, you know, forgive me for, you know, not mentioning Stu,
but yes, she is a third generation wrestler.
So but that that just reinforcesyour point though, you know what
I mean? She knows the game, she knows
the business. She it's it's her family
business and she's just she's amazing.
(30:39):
Love Natty Natty, you're listening.
We we absolutely adore you. You're the best.
Absolutely. She is a sweetheart.
She is. She's a true sweetheart.
And I, I love her to death and everything that she's
accomplished and what she's doneto lift up the Heart family's
name, my hat goes off to her andI got nothing but the utmost
(30:59):
respect for her. Absolutely same.
Same 100% so so keep it in that spirit before we we get to your
buddy John Cena, Travis Scott again, what fan wouldn't want to
be in the ring in a in, in one of the biggest moments in the
history of wrestling, John Cena's heel turn.
You're in there with the Rock, John Cena and the world champion
(31:22):
Cody Rhodes. I don't think life can get much
better than that for a guy who'snot even a wrestler.
He's just a fan and he's burningsage.
He gets his slaps in and all this sort of nonsense.
Give it to me, brother. Now, listen, and and and you
know, Bubba had a lot to say about Travis, about what he
would do to him for slapping Cody like that.
But but what say you, Devon? What did you think of Travis
(31:43):
Scott being in the mix there? Well, you have to understand,
you know, he was put in that mixby the higher ups and you know,
I don't know about the slap. Maybe maybe the slap was okayed
by those who are in the office so to be so to speak.
But I also, I think they should have practiced the smack first
(32:06):
if anything, just so he wouldn'tslap the crap out of coding,
because that was harsh, man, that was hard.
And all Cody could do was just take his hand and cover up, you
know, and take it now, you know,if this was the 90s or in the
80s, if somebody would have donethat, they would have gotten out
of themselves and went after him.
(32:27):
But it's a new generation, it's a new era.
And it wasn't. I don't think he did it
maliciously. I just think that, you know,
maybe somebody said, you know, maybe even Cody might have said,
you know, yeah, give me a slap when I'm down and this and that
all about. So he's not trained to actually
slap somebody and not have it affect them like it did in the
(32:49):
ring. I don't know.
Maybe we've looked at maybe it looked devastating and maybe
Cody really didn't feel it. I don't know.
But you know that that's hard, man.
I I probably would have been screaming.
What the fuck? You know, that probably would
have been my, you know, output of that.
But you know, again, it's something that the I don't
(33:11):
think, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I don't think Travis
did it to hurt Cody or did it without getting permission.
I just don't think he knew how to do it.
It's easy to watch us on TV and do it.
Exactly. I, I think that sometimes we
take for granted that a fan is just a fan.
(33:34):
You, you guys are pros, man. You guys are pros.
I don't think the slap was supposed to happen with Cody's
face on the ground because he was completely defenseless in
that situation. It was if he if they had done it
when Cody's torso was lifted up.Now Cody is better to brace
himself, tuck his chin, you knowwhat I mean?
(33:57):
And, and, and all that sort of thing, kind of lean into it.
He probably could. It would have done a lot less
damage with his face literally on the canvas.
And then you look at a guy like Travis Scott, who's a skinny
guy. He doesn't look like a big guy.
He's not a body guy. He doesn't look like he could
deliver the force that he like. That slap was as hard of a slap
(34:17):
as I've ever seen. You know what I'd be it didn't
look like much, but when you sawa connect, it was like, oh, like
that, that was a real one right there.
Boy, like, damn. But the irony of that is that I
think it's the most watched moment in WWE history online,
(34:40):
like the the amount of of views that that generated.
Mission accomplished. You know what I mean?
The whole presentation. Yeah, I was about to say that.
Mission accomplished. They did exactly what they
wanted to get done. So you know.
So in that sense, it worked and,and congratulations to everybody
(35:01):
involved. But now let's back up Mr.
Hustle, loyalty and respect and,and Full disclosure, Devon, you
know, our our wonderful listeners that a lot of them are
parents and they've reached out and they've talked about the
impact of John Cena turning heeland how devastated their
children was. Because I didn't, you know, I
(35:21):
didn't think it was that big of a deal.
It was kind of funny to me. But then you got to put yourself
in the perspective of the kids. This was a big deal, man.
So what say you about Cena turning heel?
Do you think that was the right move?
Yes, and because you know not, this is truly his last hurrah.
(35:43):
He's going out with a bang, You know, he's chaining it up.
It's not going to be the same scene of that way musical theme,
you know, respect, loyalty and I, we're not going to see that.
We're going to see a different side.
It's no different than when Hogan turned babyface to here.
I know a lot of people are comparing that to the Hogan
turn, but also a lot of people are saying that it was very
(36:05):
good, but it wasn't as good as the Hogan turn.
And I agree with that. But for what it was and for when
they did it, yes, people have been expecting John to turn a
long time ago when they first started bullying him.
And I think credit to Vince by not giving in and not turning
(36:28):
because look at where we are now, you know, with it.
So to me, it was a strategy thatwas probably put into
perspective, but yet at the sametoken didn't know that would
generate this much that that it has.
So I'm in agreeance to it. I think it was time.
I think what better time than now?
(36:50):
And now you can go a whole different route before Cena
basically really hangs it up andpeople will be talking about it.
So you know, it wasn't just going to be oh, it's his last
run and this and that, you know,boring, you know, now there's
there's an umph to it. Now there's something to talk
about. Now there's something to watch.
(37:12):
And where they go now with this,it's going to depend on how how
do I say this? Now with this going on, it's
going to it's just going to boost him up even more, make
people talk about him even more.Even those who might have
forgotten about him now can't forget about him because this
(37:32):
was this was huge. So my hat goes off to the Triple
H regime and John Cena for doingthis.
At this particular point in time.
If you got to turn them heel, what better time than to turn
them now? I I agree, I agree 100%.
So so let's take this a step further now.
Do you shave his head? I don't, you know, I don't just
(37:58):
because you got a bald head. I don't think that's going to
make a difference. I think the storyline and where
they go and how they handle it, that's what's going to make the
difference. That's what's going to put him
an even bigger position that he ever once was in.
So I don't think shaving his head will do that unless he's
(38:19):
going bald like I was. And you had no other choice but
to shave his head, you know, ButI did it because I was missing
some hair on the top and I didn't want to look like LeBron
James with a big ball spot in myhead when the when the lights
are shining straight on it. You know, I just shaved my head.
I just never thought that shaving your head bald would
make you a, you know, a top heel.
(38:40):
It's what he does in the ring and how he performs is what's
going to make him the top heel. Well, the reason why I ask the
question is because online, you know, the fans have been
chattering about it. Cena's been losing his hair for,
you know, the better part of thepast 7-8 years now.
It's, it's, it's the, the more common male patent baldness that
(39:01):
happens in the back. So, you know, right, right in
the back where your, your, your soft spot would be in, in, in
your head and what have you. He's losing it right there.
In fact, the video game has finally caught up the, the
latest WWE2K25I think it is theyactually have seen it with his
bald spot, which fans are going crazy about because it's like
(39:22):
they can't believe that they putit in there and, and they're
happy that they put it in there because it's, it's accurate.
But here's what I'm thinking. There's so many houses you can
steal with this whole situation.So first of all, you put Siena
in a hair versus hair match withsomebody and legitimately shave
Siena's head. Why not?
(39:42):
You know what I mean? I, I think, I think you could
steal a house with that, that special attraction, possibly
main event. The other thing, I think Travis
Scott should be in a, in a handicap match against Cody, you
put somebody in there with Travis.
Cody never gets his hand on Travis until he finally makes
the other party slip on a bananapeel.
(40:03):
And beats them and then finally he gets his hands on track.
You could you could sell out Madison Square Garden.
Would it would have matched likethat?
You know what I mean against youcould steal a house with this
sort of stuff. There's so many way and and then
we haven't even spoken about therock and where he factors in and
all this stuff. There's so much business that
can be had just off of this one storyline.
(40:26):
And it even though it was born out of the bloodline, it's no
longer the bloodline storyline, which I think is another clever
interesting factoid there. What do you think?
Do you do you think you could steal a couple of houses with
with these scenarios here? Absolutely.
I mean, there's so many different ways you can go about
(40:49):
this. You got some of the greatest
minds working in WWE right now, from Michael Haynes to Triple H
and of course Paul Heyman, putting their collective mind
together and running with this. Listen it, it can only describe
the limit with that. So they can, they can only go
(41:09):
butt up. I don't see them slipping,
making huge mistakes at all. I think they're going to hit a
home run with this. Yeah, that, that's, listen,
they're printing money with thisone boy and, and, and
WrestleMania is not enough. I, I think for the rest of the
year we got something cooking here.
We there's so many ways to go. So I'm excited.
(41:32):
I'm very, very excited that thatwas a shot in the arm, so to
speak. The other thing which came out
of nowhere is this Naomi Jade Cargill, Bianca Bel Air
situation. It is fascinating what they've
been able to do with this. Jade comes out and attacks
(41:56):
Naomi. They thought that everyone
thought that she was going to goafter Liv Morgan, but she
attacked Naomi and identified Naomi as the person who attacked
her. And meanwhile, Bianca Bel Air,
she wins the the Elimination Chamber and she's now the number
one contender for for the women's title.
But oh, by the way, instead of facing Ria Ripley one-on-one, EO
(42:21):
Sky wins the women's title. So now it's Bianca versus EO.
Maybe, maybe Rio will be added to the mix.
It'll be a triple threat. But the fact that EO came out of
nowhere and is added into this mix, it's like, whoa, suddenly
you took this portion of the women's division and you've
injected a whole lot of life into it.
(42:43):
There's so much going on here and there.
It's all complementary. It's, it's, it's all related to
each other. And you really don't know what's
going to happen next. So let me ask you this, Devon,
what are your thoughts on, as far as we know now, Jade
attacking Naomi because Naomi, she believes she's the one who
(43:04):
attacked her. Do do you think that was the
right way to go or do you think that there's more to come on
that? I think both.
I think there's more to come by.I think it was great that they
did that. I was thoroughly impressed.
You know, a lot of wrestlers do not.
They do not get the credit for their acting skills.
(43:25):
I thought the interaction between Bianca and Naomi in the
middle of the ring leading up toit, did you do it?
Did you do it? I feel it was great.
I thought I believed every bit of it for that little bit that
came out of that. It had me believing what they
were saying in the ring, the tears and how they both, you
(43:47):
know, did it to me. It was an Oscar performance.
100% what? And I know a lot of people
online were complaining about it, saying that they didn't like
it. Far more people loved it.
But there was a, you know, and, and it's mostly men.
And I just want to tell you fellows, you're telling on
yourself. It's clear that black women
(44:09):
under 40 years old, who you know, who are hip and who are
younger in spirit and what have you, it's clear that you don't
have enough of them around you because what you saw was one of
the more authentic storyline promos and promo battles
happening before your eyes. That that was real, brother.
(44:30):
When, when women of that generation, that age group of
that demographic are arguing with each other and they're and
they're close friends. Yeah, of course in an argument,
they're going to talk over each other.
Their voices are going to start to screech a little bit because
it gets a little high 'cause they're upset and they're kind
of crying as they're, you know, expressing themselves to each
(44:51):
other. Of course, that whole like
literally that's how it plays out.
So it, it gave me chills, quite frankly, Devon, because I'm
sitting there saying, damn, is, is there really a problem here?
Like, well, you know, like. It was, it was really good.
Yeah, yeah. It was really, really good.
My hat goes off to both of them.My hat goes off to Jade.
(45:14):
I mean, you know, and again, this is something that we've
mentioned before on the show some months back about how when
people come from A&W and go to WWE, they become performers,
they become entertainers really at another level.
(45:36):
This is why, you know, we've been saying that Tony needs help
in that aspect. He needs help and how to produce
storylines like that. We all know wrestling is a work.
We all know that we're not really trying to kill each other
or we're not really, you know, trying to whatever.
We're just trying to entertain. And that was extremely
(45:57):
entertaining. It really was.
So instead of knocking the WWE, take lessons, take notes and
learn from that because you could have all the acrobats in
the world doing what they're doing in there.
The flipping, the flying, the diving from the ring to the
floor, diving from 1 height of abalcony, you know, landing on
(46:19):
somebody. I mean, you can do that great,
but will that produce ratings? Storytelling is what's going to
do it, and storytelling is longevity and.
And I'll tell you right now, youknow, when Jade came out in
Elimination Chamber and she attacked Naomi, I do not recall
(46:43):
any woman over the past 3-4 years who's gotten a bigger pop
than that. Let me ask you this, and I'm not
sure because I followed it here and there, but why did Jane
direct? I mean, Jane, why did Jane
direct her attention from Lib toNaomi?
(47:04):
Was there something that was said that gave Jay the notion
that it could have been Naomi? That I don't know.
We we haven't really. I mean, Jay did cut a promo on
Smack down saying that she knew was Naomi and she found out and
all that other good stuff. But it still hasn't been fleshed
(47:24):
out enough. There hasn't been more details.
We haven't seen the actual evidence, but it's easy to to
believe it because Naomi slid right into that spot
immediately. And then you know what I mean?
Enjoy the fruits of the laborer being A tag team champion
because Jade wasn't around. So Naomi definitely benefited
from Jade being eliminated for aperiod of time out injured
(47:47):
because she was attacked. And Liv has been saying all
along that she never did it, even though Bianca and Naomi
were saying, we know you did it.We know you did it.
So there's a, you know, again, this, this is very interesting.
But I'm glad you brought that upthough, Devon, cuz I forgot
about the whole Liv and Raquel and how they're tied into this
too. And then again, you have EO
(48:07):
Skye, who's who's technically she's the champion who just
defeated Rhea Ripley last week on on raw.
Those women are part of the storyline too.
So it's just it's. Not which I thought was great.
Yeah, yeah. Everybody's eating, brother.
Everybody's eating. So I, I will say this though,
and this is a caution to everybody.
(48:30):
First of all, Jade beating up Naomi was the biggest moment of
her career. It was bigger than any match she
ever had. The pop that she got and
everything like that. Like legitimately just that was
a big deal, right? So that the fans are behind her.
We got to be careful not to expose her and her lack of
experience by putting her in positions where it becomes
(48:54):
obvious. Case in point, those boots that
she was wearing on Smack Down did not have the proper grips
for that surface. She almost slipped in her and
hurt herself a couple of times when she was running after Naomi
on Smack Down and then getting her hands on her again.
Like those details matter, you know what I mean?
(49:15):
And and it's like you don't. The last thing you want to do is
have this, this person that you've brought in, you've
invested so much into. She's developing, she's finally
putting it together. The fans are behind her.
She looks incredible, like this is a good thing happening.
And then she gets injured because no one said to her, hey,
stop wearing these fashion boots.
You need to wear the stuff that we wear when we wrestle or what
(49:37):
have you so you can actually move.
You know what I mean? Like that, that detail matters.
The other thing that I was very frustrated with, you already
beat up Naomi at Elimination Chamber.
I think that it was a mistake allowing Jade to get her hands
on Naomi again on smack down. I think that the fans would have
(49:58):
reacted even better if Naomi gotaway.
And it would allow Naomi to havemore heat.
And it allows Jade the anticipation of, Oh my God, I
can't wait until she finally gets her hands on her again.
You know what I mean? So it's like, don't give us too
much sauce, you're going to messup the the steak.
(50:18):
Just give me a little bit or. Yep, or right or let you know.
Jay comes down, does what she does, but somehow or another,
maybe there is a a slip. You know, like you said, 'cause
it seemed like she slipped a couple times.
Maybe there is a slip or there'ssomething where she turns her
back and Naomi catches her, leaves a ring in the middle of
(50:40):
the ring and then walks off. Maybe here comes Bianca running
down at that point, Bianca runs down and Naomi gets out of the
ring and goes, you know, around time keeper and then goes out
the back way. Maybe that's another way of
doing it. See, and that's the difference
between A5 time Hall of Famer and a fan.
(51:00):
You know what I mean? You you just took a concept and
you just made it even better. And and you're absolutely right.
That would have been incredible if Naomi could have gotten a
cheap shot in and then and then Bianca runs out and then Naomi
runs out that that would have been incredible.
So again, though we're invested,we're we're excited about it.
(51:21):
We're invested. It's not lost on me that these
are black women leading this storyline, which here's the
interesting part. Despite the fact that Charlotte
Flair is by far one of the greatest of all time, male or
female, definitely one of the greatest women of all time and
and there couldn't be more than two or three bigger than her if
(51:43):
you could even say that. Her storyline with with Tiffany
Stratton is lacking in my opinion.
And it's not because Charlotte is doing anything wrong, but
again, it's because Tiffany's soinexperienced and they have
Tiffany trying to be a baby facewhen the whole point of the fans
getting behind Tiffany is when she was being a goofy heel.
(52:07):
So I want to ask you about this,Devon.
When you transition a heel into a babyface because the crowd is
cheering for them, is it necessary to change their their
characteristics in terms of how they present their character?
I'm not talking about in ring heels cheat.
Babyfaces are not supposed to cheat.
(52:27):
So I'm not talking about that, but I'm talking about the
presentation, because in WWE we see the presentation change a
lot when you go from heel to babyface.
Is that necessary in 2025? I mean, I'm going to say yes,
you know, I don't know. I just, again, I just feel that
this has been done very well. There's so many ways you can go
(52:50):
about this and with those minds behind this, I think I think we
just started to see what the WWEis really going to start to
produce now. I I think we are in for a great
story. I think we're in for a great
match between these guys and I think you're really going to
(53:12):
enjoy it once you watch it. That's fair.
That's fair. So you're saying look man,
they're they're hot, be patient,let it play out.
That's that's basically what you're saying.
Absolutely, Absolutely. Just let it play out and you
know, you can basically make your decision and give your
thoughts and all of that as it'sgetting played.
(53:34):
But at the same talking, at the same token, let it play.
Listen, we would have never seenJohn Cena Turner.
I don't think anybody saw that. I think that's the one thing we
can ask and say that nobody saw.Yeah, true.
I don't think they set up or like the cow at the bag with
that, but I think it was great business that they did do that.
You know, I think it was great that, you know, it got the
(53:58):
reaction that they probably was looking for, maybe even more.
Absolutely. And and, and you know, it's
funny, the dirt sheets didn't have that.
WWE kept that close to the vest.And, you know, the dirt sheets
look ridiculous again. They they sit there and charge
people for all these inside rumors.
And they know this. And they know that including
(54:19):
Dave Meltzer afterwards. Dave Meltzer was like, oh, yeah,
yeah, yeah, You know, that was the plan and this.
And it's like, brother, you didn't know.
You didn't know. No, he didn't music.
No, he didn't. He didn't know.
I don't care how many, I don't care how many years he will.
You know, he's been doing this and sitting whatever.
No, he didn't. He didn't know it it.
(54:42):
That was the best part. No one spoiled it.
So we got a chance to see The Rock do his little cut to the
throat thing and all that. And Cena, his face completely
changed and it was like you're looking at a different person.
It's so well done. Just BB all around.
Everyone's excited about Mania and and and in the lead up and
(55:04):
even beyond. What's going to happen even
after that? Because it's hard to play it.
It's hard to call it. Roman Reigns is not in any of
the title. Right now.
You know which is. Crazy.
Excellent job though last night.On Monday night, we're off.
Oh yeah, he, he, he kicked the ass, bro, and that was
beautiful. I mean, here's the deal, Here's
the deal. You've you've got what happened
(55:26):
between him and Seth Rollins that was kind of like a payback.
So you have that story there. And now we're probably going to
revisit the whole you owe me a favor Paul with CM Punk.
So you've got two stories going on there.
You know, he he's going to get, he's got to get his revenge on
(55:46):
Seth. And now we're going to see if
Paul decides to cash in that favor or not for CM Punk.
There's so many different absolutely we can go here.
And that's what makes it even more interesting.
Wow. Can you imagine if if Paul
Heyman turns on Roman? Wow.
Listen, he's done it. When he's done it, he's done it,
(56:07):
De Brock. Yeah, that's the point.
You know, and he was, he was with Brock for many, many years.
So if anybody knows how to play that snake, it's Paul.
Wow again, and and and that alone, you know that could could
headline any pay-per-view that that any PLE like that match is
a big deal. So the fact that that's not even
(56:30):
the. Main event.
Is just fascinating. It's like, wow, man, they're
cooking, they're cooking, you know?
Anyway, Devon, you got any big events coming up this this week?
I'm going to be in Utah for another college convention.
The last two weeks I've been in the college convention, I'm
being in Utah. Me and Bubba Bolt will be in
Salt Lake City, UT at the convention.
(56:52):
You can get out all the details on my social media, which will
be on testified Devon like to find out, you know where it's
going to be and all of that. I don't have all the information
because of the fact that it was given to Bubba myself at the
last minute. But I will have that on my
social media where we're going to be in Utah and I'm looking
(57:13):
forward to visiting the fans in Utah.
Listen, we haven't been to Utah in such a long time, so it's
going to be great to be able to visit and see the fans.
And we've never done an autograph signing in Utah, so
this will be great for me and Bubba to go out there and
connect with the fans. That's going to be fantastic.
(57:33):
Listen, all you Usos out there in in Utah, you know who we're
talking to here, come out and see the Dudley boys, all right?
You know they they have a very strong Samoan population up
there. So that's that's pretty cool,
man, that's pretty cool. You going to be up there?
That's wow. All right.
Yeah, I'm really looking forwardto going out there and and, you
(57:55):
know, seeing the fans and just basically just every time I do
these, I have a good time, you know, because I get to interact
with the fans. I get to, you know, you get
their perspective on things. And, you know, they show us the
love and everything that we've done over the years and they
really show that they really appreciated everything that
(58:17):
we've done. So I'm looking forward to that.
Yeah, that's, that's awesome. That's awesome stuff there.
And of course, folks like you said, testify Devon on the
social media so you can get all the information, make sure you
show up, get your autographs, bring the family, have a good
time for sure. Duke loves wrestling on
Facebook, on twitterdukeloveswrestling@gmail.com.
(58:37):
As always, let let let us know what you think.
Give us your shout outs, the whole 9 yards there.
But we are in WrestleMania season.
And the crazy part about it is we're nowhere near the point
where we know the full card yet.So, so much more is happening
and developing every single day,folks.
So stay tuned because we're going to talk about it.
(59:00):
So we're at that time now. Devon, why don't you give us our
Word of the Week? Man, I got 2, but I got the one.
I'm going to stay on disrespect.We'll close doors that about
that apologies cannot open, so be careful how you treat people
you think you don't need anymore.
(59:23):
Oh boy. Testify.
It's my brother. The Fed line Be yourself, let
(59:52):
your spirit lie. In this fashion you'll touch the
sky strictly for the culture. Wrestle fine dressed to impress
and show your shine strictly forthe culture every day.
(01:00:26):
Visit www.strictlyfortheculture.ca.
Backstage whispers and the crowds roar from matching giants
to legends of your Diva's wisdomand Duke's keen view.
(01:00:50):
Every episode feels like it's brand new.
Diva and Duke bring the heat. Wrestling tails knock you off
your seat. TuneIn now don't you be late.
Wrestling Podcast never felt this way.
Feel it and the tunes bring the heat.
Wrestling tails knock you off your seat.
TuneIn. Now don't you be late.
Wrestling punk has never felt this great.
Tails, ladders, chairs, they tell it all.
From the highest highs to the lowest fall.
(00:23):
Great and glory. Tails from the ring.
Every chain, every cheer, they'll bring wrestling tails
knock you off your seat. TuneIn.
Now don't you be late. Wrestling podcast never felt
(00:43):
this crazy. Brothers and sisters, welcome
back to another exciting editionof the Devon of the Duke
podcast. This is a limited edition series
hosted by your main man. Duke loves wrestling.
And of course the five time Hallof Famer himself, the
(01:04):
entrepreneur, the YouTube superstar brother Devon Dudley.
What's going on there, Devon? I'm doing well.
I wouldn't say YouTube superstaryet.
I mean just because I've made itto 100,000 within a month
doesn't mean it yet. Now if I do 500,000 within three
months, then that's a superstar.Listen, man, you, you, you're up
(01:25):
there with, with some of these kids who do TikTok and, and, and
all that other stuff, the way that you done splashed on the
YouTube streets and, and, and taking over the scene, so to
speak. I mean, it's, it's a huge honor,
man. And, and it, and it's so unusual
to be able to accomplish that much in such a short amount of
time. So if that ain't a superstar, I
don't know what is. Well, I, I definitely feel I'm
(01:47):
blessed in every sense of the word.
God is not going to give you number one things that you can't
handle. But number 2, when the blessings
come out, you know you just got to be prepared and ready for it.
Indeed, indeed. I, I got to ask you, man, you
see the Hardy Boys puffing out their chest because they've had
a couple of matches in NXT. They, they acting like they,
(02:08):
they're, they're back on top of the world.
Their, their goal is to go down as the greatest tag team of all
time. Do you think it's possible that
the Hardy Boys could pass the Dudley Boys, especially during
this latest run here? I don't know how many titles
they have accumulated between them, but you know, Bubba and I
(02:32):
got 24 and we're still the most decorated tag team.
I don't think they'll ever be A tag team that will be able to
accomplish what we've done. You know, we got to think about
it. We won titles not only here in
the United States, but with three major companies, but we
went overseas and won them. You know, there's only one tag
team title that has eluded us, which I wish we could have gone
(02:56):
and did, but we had left the company.
Was all Japan. We was it?
Yeah, all Japan. We won the tournament like the
Road Warriors did with the big trophies and the big $1,000,000
check and all that. But we never had the tag team
titles when we basically I thinkwas, I think it was Muda and
(03:18):
Akibona. I think they had at the time.
And we will, I know we won the the tournament against them and
then we left, went back to TNA, did some stuff and then we
hadn't been back to Japan in a little bit because we were
negotiating with New Japan, which of course is the rival
(03:41):
company, you know, against all Japan.
So we never got the opportunity to get those titles, but in
order for the Hardys to be able to be recognized.
And again, I always say this, we're not the greatest tag team
of all time. You know, for those that say we
all thank you, but we're not because you can't be the
greatest unless you have faced teams before you.
(04:03):
And we didn't. And that's kind of totally
that's like impossible. You know, that was kind of like,
you know, Mike Tyson, you know, boxing Muhammad Ali.
By the time Tyson came up, Muhammad Ali was already gone.
You know, he was already out of the business by that time.
And so, you know, although Mike,and I'm a huge Mike Tyson fan,
(04:25):
anybody that knows me knows how big I am on Mike, but I can't
not say that he was the greatest.
He was the greatest of his era. Just like I say, we were the
greatest of our era, but I just don't feel that the word
greatest should be thrown aroundlike that unless you face people
for you. Now, I do have an exception to
(04:46):
the rule when it comes to basketball with LeBron James and
Michael Jordan. I I, I was there for Michael,
hated Michael because he always,you know, knocked the the New
York Knicks out of the playoffs in the one year that he left and
wasn't playing baseball was the year that the Knicks advanced to
(05:08):
me. That was, how do I say this?
That was a a testament to just how good it was.
One man beat a whole roster, youknow, of New York Knicks, and
you got to remember the Knicks back then were were were were
loaded. Yeah.
Patrick Ewing, John Stocks, You know Doc Rivers, you name it.
(05:30):
You know, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, you know, of
course the 1 I loved the most onthe Knicks was Patrick Ewing.
You know, you couldn't say nothing bad about Patrick Ewing.
You know, So when Jordan did that dunk on on on Ewing that
time and kind of like walked over him, Ewing got mad and got
(05:53):
up and pushed Michael. You know, I was like, yeah, get
his ass out. But you know, because I was a
kid, you know, I was a teenager and you know, I didn't know
anything. But you know, when I look back
at it, because I look at a lot of the old, you know, when you
go to Instagram and you like certain things, even on
Facebook, it kind of it what it does is it it basically it
(06:16):
figures out that's what you like.
So it keeps throwing up clips and stuff like that.
A thing that is similar to that.And I basically every time I see
something with Jordan, I push the like button all the time.
So now when you go through everything now all that comes up
is Jordan clips. And I love it because I feel we
(06:40):
that can go on and on about this.
We, we can never have like back to the future, a time machine
that can go back and revisit allof that.
You know, our time machine is inour mind, remembering the
memories that we had, witnessingall of that.
So when I'm watching those clips, I'm in my own mind.
(07:02):
I'm in my own time machine goingback, you know, reminiscing
about all the great, you know, basketball rivals back then in
the 80s and 90s. I'm not saying today's
basketball players don't have what it takes, but it just
wasn't the 80s and 90s. They wasn't the Bad Boys of
(07:24):
basketball. Detroit Pistons, you know, you
didn't have the Boston Celtics, you know, with Larry Bird, that
whole team, you know, McHale andall of that.
You didn't have that Robert Parish.
Not to mention the physicality back then.
Bro, you can sit. You can watch a guy come down
the court. They can hold your arm on and
clothesline his ass. It was a different world it.
(07:47):
Was a different world. Now there's clips of LeBron not
even getting touched and freaking, you know, throwing his
hands up in the air and floppingdown on the floor.
And when I see that, I get disgusted because look at the
freaking blows that the Detroit Pistons put on everybody.
Not just the Chicago Bulls, but everybody.
Lembeer, who was considered one of the most nastiest players of
(08:10):
that era. Jordan Cognadi, you know, when
he came back from best, when he came back from baseball and went
to back to basketball, he basically got beat up.
And the minute they lost, if youwatch the documentary, the
minute that they lost, the next day Jordan was in the gym, you
(08:32):
know, working out, trying to putsides on him.
So he knew that when he faced Detroit again, it was going to
be a different story. And they tried, they tried to
whoop his ass on that court, andit didn't work.
He had to get everybody from Pippins.
Everybody else, you know who's aPippin?
And Horace Grant, you know, listen, let him beat us up.
(08:53):
But we're not quitting and we'regoing to go at it.
And that's exactly what they did.
And it and it worked. They won and it worked. 323
peats. You can't beat that.
That, that's just incredible. And again, I'm not knocking
LeBron James. I think LeBron James is a
phenomenal basketball player. I think for this era, there's no
(09:13):
one, there's nobody that can beat him.
But as far as the greatest of all time, I'm sorry.
I was there for Jordan and his era.
I'm here for LeBron and his era.And I just don't see the
comparison. He's played longer than Michael
Jordan, But at the same token, you know, he's not Michael.
(09:33):
He didn't put fear in people theway Jordan did.
Jordan put fear in people. And, you know, people say, oh,
that's not that's not, you know,saying that you're the greatest
of all time. No, it's not saying that you're
the greatest. But you know, when Jordan said
he was on score 60, he scored 60plus.
Oh, I should say he scored 50 and he scored 50 plus.
(09:55):
You know, that was just Michael.He was able to call what he was
going to do. And no matter how many people
they had on him, no matter what they did, Jordan was just a man.
No doubt about it, a a a generational player And look,
you're bringing us down this road here, which I'm sure my
main man, Peter Bessie, who who's a a friend and someone
(10:15):
who's been on do Klaus wrestling.
So I know he he's going to hear this and chuckle about it.
Shout out to Peter Bessie, the the the true first color
journalist for the NBA. Peter was the first one that you
know, during halftime and stuff like that.
He would bring that angle on TV that we grew up watching,
especially on the remember you remember Sunday afternoons you
(10:36):
watched the NBA and and we'd seethat.
But let me let me ask you this since we're here, because this
past week LeBron James confronted journalist and and
podcaster ESPNSI think he's the highest paid talent on ESPN now
Stephen A Smith and LeBron gotten Stephen A Smith's fan
(10:59):
face and admonished him for Stephen as reporting on Lebron's
son Bronie. Now Bronie James is in the NBA
and so far he hasn't been very good, but he's on the Lakers
with LeBron. And a lot of people would say,
you know, that kid is not good enough to be an NBA player.
(11:22):
And Stephen A had made a comment, you know, LeBron, I
don't know why you're putting your son through this.
You know, he's not good enough to be in the league, but you got
him out here, you got your team giving him this contract and
allowing him to be out here and then really get exposed.
I don't know why you're doing this.
Stephen A is saying that he's more talking to LeBron as
opposed to disparaging the childor, you know, the young man, I
(11:45):
should say. But here's the here's the thing,
It's the journalist job to coverit.
If you're good, they got to cover that you're good.
And if you're bad, you got to cover that they're bad.
So I kind of, I don't necessarily take issue with what
Stephen A did, but it's interesting that LeBron
confronted him and said that's my son, leave him out of this.
(12:05):
Whatever this thing is you got with me, leave him out of it.
Don't be talking about my son like that.
Keep his name out of your mouth.What say you, Devon, Especially
as a as a parent who has children in the in the same
industry that you're a legend in?
What say you about that exchangebetween LeBron and Stephen A?
Let me ask you a question. We're we're, we're, we're going
(12:26):
now, right? Because I want this to be all
on. It's all here.
You know, I look at it like this.
My sons have been in this business since I think 2011,
2012, when they appeared on TNA television.
(12:48):
They were about 15-16 years old now when they're ready to be in
that. No, I disputed that
wholeheartedly because I just felt 1516 year olds should not
be there doing that. Vince Russo and Bubba convinced
me about a storyline that they wanted to do and I was totally
(13:10):
against it because I just felt like the business was too harsh
for 1516 year old kids to be a part of and I didn't want them
to go through that. And they handled themselves very
well. You know, there was a thing
where Bubba had power bombed my son through a, through a table.
(13:34):
And I mean, that's that damn Bubba boy.
He power bombed my son straight to hell.
I mean, he did. There was no, oh, you know, my
nephews, you know, of course, you know, me and Bubba Bee and
brothers playing that role. But there was no, you know, I'm
(13:54):
going to, you know, he didn't hurt them to that degree.
But good God, I don't know. Look at that bubble.
I go, what the hell are you doing?
You know, he was like, come on, Devon.
He was like, it was, you know, it's a work.
He's like, your sons aren't hurt.
All that I go, no, they're not. But I just wasn't ready for
that. So, you know, I was like I said,
I was against it, but I understood they got to pay their
(14:18):
dues just like they're paying their dues now.
They went to AW and I just don'tfeel like they got a fair shot.
You know, Tony Kahn was basically just putting them up
against people that they were destroying them for no reason,
didn't give them a chance. You gave them a chance of
putting them on their, you know,show on YouTube.
(14:38):
And I get that. I'm grateful for that because it
got them a little bit of exposure.
But you know, like you look at Taz's son where, you know, we
gave him the ball and he basically, you know, they let
him grow. Now, I don't know if it was
because Taz worked for the company and him and Tony had a
good relationship, but at the same token, you know, I'm
(15:00):
looking at it as, you know, I didn't feel like they did them
right. So, you know, I basically was
totally against them being in a EWI didn't want them to be in a
EW because I felt like, you know, they were getting exposed
and not being produced in the right way.
(15:20):
Some people might argue with that, but I don't, I'm not going
to sit here and chastise people who are journalists who, you
know, say that my sons aren't this and that and blah, blah,
blah. That was something that I did
not want them to go through, butthey did.
It's the it's the nature of the beast.
I spoke to Mike Rotundo, of course, who we know was Bray
(15:45):
Wyatt and Bo's father. I said, how do you do it?
You know, there were times when I was in the meetings and I
would hear Vince, you know, say certain things that I'm not
going to go into detail, but he would say certain things about
either Bray or Bo that I felt that was a little harsh,
(16:05):
especially being at their fatherwas a producer and sitting in
the meetings with them. And I remember one time Vince
had said something, I think about Bo when he was teaming up
with with Axel and they were theB team, I think it was or what
have you. And I remember hearing what the
comments that was made and I just went to Mike at the end of
(16:27):
everything I said, how are you able to sit there and not say
anything? How do you how do you keep your
cool? And he said, Yvonne, one of the
things that I told them before they got in this business was
you're going to, you're going tobe faced with this.
You're going to be faced with unfairly.
You're not going to have, you know, people in your corner and
this and that and blah, blah, blah.
But I don't want anybody to think that you got in this
(16:49):
business or got where you were because of me.
And we all know that, you know, Mike Ratundo was a huge deal in
the 80s, you know, being in the first WrestleMania, you know,
against the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkov, you know, making
a name. And then of course, the varsity
squad in in N.W.A. You know, Mike did it all.
(17:11):
But Mike also knew. And I'm going to say the danger.
And I say that, you know, not that that their lives were in
danger, but you know, how how itcan mess with you mentally.
You have to be strong. Daddy can't come to your aid
when things get rough, especially if people are not
saying you know nice things about you.
(17:34):
You know, you have to brush it off, but prove them wrong at the
end of the day, you know, go outthere and bust your ass and do
what you got to do, you know, tomake these people shut up.
That's exactly what they did, you know, And he said, I just
got to keep my mouth shut. And I, I told him exactly what
(17:57):
they would probably be faced with.
So as men, you have to let them be men and handle the situation
the way he did. I'm sure when adversity came his
way, you can't keep defending them like that.
They got to be men and take up from the other.
That's exactly what they did. There were times where both Beau
(18:18):
and Bray were frustrated, didn'tunderstand why they were being
treated the way they were being treated.
Didn't make any sense, you know,but they did their jobs and they
went out there and produced. So whenever a situation like
that comes up with my with my sons, that's how I have to look
(18:40):
at, you know, this is the business that you chose.
You were warned about it. Now you have to be a man and
find a way to be able to get past that.
That's exactly what they did. You know, both huge success, you
know, with the whole Wyatt Family thing and you know, Bo
(19:02):
coming back and now doing what he's doing.
You know, he didn't let that bother him.
You know, that's, that is incredible perspective and I
appreciate that, Devon, even, you know, going a step further,
you, you talked about your own experience with your sons and
then using Mike Rotundo and and his boys.
Wow, that's, that's a very good way to illustrate it because
(19:22):
it's true. You know, Mike Rotundo, you talk
about who he was in the 80s, which was was fantastic, but he
took it to another level when hewas IRS in the 90s.
Absolutely not. Yep, absolutely.
Not to mention him and Barry Wyndham were probably one of the
greatest tag teams I've ever seen in WWE next to all the next
(19:43):
to all of the greats that were there during that time.
Yeah, couldn't touch him. Could not touch those guys.
As A tag team they were. And they were young guys too,
but they were amazing. They were amazed.
So that's, that's great perspective.
And like you said, the, the, youknow, the proof is in the
pudding. If the boys are able to weather
the storm and, and become their own men, they'll be better off
(20:05):
for it. But so, you know, LeBron, no
one, no one is trying to pick onyou, LeBron or your son.
But brother, you got to let thatyoung man be a young man and
handle his own challenges. The same way that you told your
mother to, to sit herself down when she was trying to fight
your battles. It's like, brother, he has to
fight that battle on his own. And quite frankly, the best way
(20:28):
he could fight the battle is to improve because he's not getting
it. He's not getting it done on the
NBA level. He's not.
Absolutely. I mean, do I think, do I think
it was right? Do I think it was right for him
to do what he did at that in LosAngeles, at the Staples Center?
No, it wasn't right. All you did was, you know, add
(20:52):
fuel to the fire. And now everybody's looking at
him like, oh, he needs Daddy to help him.
He needs Daddy to come to his aid.
And that's one of the things that I don't want to do with my
son. But I never wanted to do that
with them. I wanted them to learn how to
get out of that on their own andto be able to submit that.
Look, there were times I would say this.
(21:13):
I didn't. I wasn't a second generation
wrestler. I was a guy that filed his dream
and was successful at it. I made mistakes along the way.
I said things that I should not have said.
And it, you know, it, it didn't ruin me, but I got heat for it,
you know, for some of the thingsthat I might have said or did,
you know back. But I had to learn.
(21:35):
And that's what it's all about. It's about a learning.
It's a learning process. Once you learn that, then it's
easy from there, you know? But LeBron going to LeBron going
to him and confronting him at that game, I just don't think it
was right. I agree.
I agree 100%. And and again, you know, Stephen
(21:57):
A, he, he's not a St. I think that Stephen A has built
a career, especially when it comes to his NBA coverage of
going out of his way to be too harsh about young players.
And and you know, it has damagedsome people, you know, now that
(22:17):
they are older and they're they're able to speak about it a
little bit more. It has damaged some people when
he's saying that they're trash and saying things like that.
You could say if that players underperforming, you could say
that they need to step it up or maybe they don't need to be in
the league, but they literally say so and so is trash like an
1819 year old kid. What do they do with that?
(22:40):
You know what I mean? So so.
Right. But this is also something to
where this is what you're going to be faced with.
This is something you have to deal with.
And I don't think LeBron told him that.
I think LeBron, you know, protects him as much as he
possibly can. And that's what he's doing.
Yeah. Let these kids fall on their own
and get back up. Yeah.
(23:01):
And figure it out. Yeah, yeah.
Well said. Well said.
I mean, they got to figure it out one way or another or
they're forever going to be, andI hate to use this this word,
but that's basically what it is.They're just going to be a
victim. You know what I mean?
And, and, and you can't fight everybody else's battles,
brother. I don't care whose kid they are,
(23:21):
just can't do it. He's got to fight his own.
So Kwame Brown, Kwame Brown was a great example.
And, and I, if I'm not mistaken,Kwame Brown went from high
school to the NBA and he was a number one draft pick.
Michael Jordan destroyed his confidence, unfortunately,
because Jordan was trying to quote UN quote, toughen him up
and it just wasn't happening, you know what I mean?
(23:44):
Because Kwame was still, from a from a psychological standpoint,
still developing, still young kid.
Well, think about, if you watch the documentary, It wasn't the
Last Dance, think about what allof Jordan's teammates said, how
hard he was on them, how he didn't even Stephen Curry, you
(24:05):
know, he punched him in the eye.They got to do an argument
because Steve thought that he was being too harsh on him.
And he stood up for himself, which was good.
And Jordan respected him for that.
But at the same token, do the things that you're going to be
faced with, and you got to be able to fight your own battles
and do that. And that's exactly what Steve
Kerr did. He earned Michael's respect
(24:25):
after that. He felt bad about what he did,
but he he earned his respect. It's true, it's true.
And and again, when you listen to Kwame Brown, who's a grown
man now, talk about the damage from an emotional standpoint he
endured because Stephen A would call him trash and reporter him
that way and how it it made everybody else join it on that
(24:49):
bandwagon. And instead of saying he, he's
he's underperforming, literally just trashed a guy that was a
lot, that was a lot for him to deal with and he didn't know how
to deal with that. So I do think that Stephen A
from if, if you're a professional, there's a way to
do it and there's a way not to do it.
But again, LeBron, stop fightingLeBron these battles.
(25:10):
He has to do it on his own. He'll be better off for it.
And if he can't get it done on the court, then you know what?
He is underperforming and he doesn't deserve to be there.
And that's just it. That's just it.
You can't sit there and be one of the greatest players of all
time and then sit back, LeBron, and not accept the fact that
when the same way people could praise you for all that you've
(25:32):
accomplished, especially from out of the gate, why can't they
point out another player, son orno son, and getting it done?
There's no special rules you. Know no, there isn't.
Here's another thing, you know, people are going to, you know,
because my sons are A tag team, they're always going to be
compared to other myself. And that's a high person would
(25:54):
be all because of what we've accomplished and what we've
done. So you know, Lebron's son is
when he comes in like that, he'sgoing to be looked at as he is
as good as his father. Is he anywhere near his father?
And there's not. They're going to be looking for
those high expectations coming from him and when he doesn't
deliver, then it's going to start.
(26:14):
Well said, well said. So, you know, of course we wish
everybody the best. We hope it all works out for
everybody. But, you know, the truth is the
truth, man, and we don't have tosugarcoat it in any way.
Speaking of the truth, the truthis John Cena has officially
turned his back on the fans during his retirement tour.
(26:37):
This is the truth. Now, Devo, I know he's a friend
of yours, but you know, during his retirement tour, he decided
that hustle, loyalty and respectand never give up and all these
things. It looks like he's going a
different way because he's aligned with your.
You're a very good friend. The Rock and they attacked Cody
(27:01):
Rhodes even brought in the rapper Travis Scott to join in
and get his licks in and he and he's burning sage in the ring
and and looking ridic. He Travis Scott looks so
ridiculous burning sage in the ring that it was the best thing
going. It was it was so bad.
It was great. I hope they put that in the
video game. That's how entertained I was by
(27:23):
how ridiculous he looked out there doing that and then the
slap to Cody Rhodes. You know, when I was, yeah, that
was that was brutal. You know, I remember when I was
a producer and, you know, I was very, I was, I was friends, very
good friends with Maddie Natalia.
And Natalia used to do all of these TikTok videos or these
(27:43):
videos where she would dance andshe would say all the time she
goes, I can't dance worth of nothing.
Devon. She goes, I'm horrible.
She goes. But you know, I do it.
I'm just having fun. And I looked at her and I said,
you know what? I said?
It's funny because I watch you and I'm like, yeah, I agree with
you. It's bad, but it's so bad,
(28:04):
Maddie. It's so bad that it's good and
people want more of it. That's it.
You know, so, you know, it's oneof those things.
So, you know, that's what you have to keep the perspective
with. But I love Natalia.
I think she's great. But we used to laugh about it
all the time. You know, we used to laugh.
She was just like, I don't know what the hell I'm doing.
And we start these videos and stuff like that and we do that
(28:26):
and I'm dancing. She goes, I just do it.
He goes, I have no rhythm, no nothing.
But I just do it. And I'm like, Maddie, it's so
bad that it's good. And she goes, yeah, I know she
goes. That's why I keep doing it.
And she, you know, she has a good heart about it.
You know, she's a second generation West.
Of course I'm the legendary heart family.
You know, you would think that people wouldn't say bad things,
(28:49):
but, you know, I'm sure there's a lot of people that I've never
read any comments about her and her dancing.
But Natalia did it before she was mounting her dancing before
anybody else could, you know, doit because she knew she was just
having fun. And, you know, she was able to
take it on the chin and just go and have fun with it.
(29:10):
And that's what has to be done. I agree.
I agree 100% and shout out to Natty.
I got a lot of time for her. She is such a a compliment to
the entire wrestling industry and, and really she's continuing
the legacy of that Hart family on every level, including, you
know, the training that she's doing with of the young stars
these days. She's a true professional and
(29:34):
she understands the game. She was brought up the right way
in the business between her father and Brett, and I'm sure
she knew the consequences of what was going to be expected of
her, you know, coming into this business the same as Charlotte
Flair, you know? Charlotte Flair the same way,
you know? Yep, well said.
(29:56):
And, and, and I don't want to take anything away from her now.
Natty's actually a third generation wrestler because
remember her grandfather Stu? Yes, I'm sorry.
Yes, I yes, forgive me, I totally forgot about and I
should never have forgotten about Stu.
But you know, whenever we hear about Natty and you know the
(30:16):
people have come before her and her family, you always hear
about Jim and Brett. Yeah, of course.
So, you know, forgive me for, you know, not mentioning Stu,
but yes, she is a third generation wrestler.
So but that that just reinforcesyour point though, you know what
I mean? She knows the game, she knows
the business. She it's it's her family
business and she's just she's amazing.
(30:39):
Love Natty Natty, you're listening.
We we absolutely adore you. You're the best.
Absolutely. She is a sweetheart.
She is. She's a true sweetheart.
And I, I love her to death and everything that she's
accomplished and what she's doneto lift up the Heart family's
name, my hat goes off to her andI got nothing but the utmost
(30:59):
respect for her. Absolutely same.
Same 100% so so keep it in that spirit before we we get to your
buddy John Cena, Travis Scott again, what fan wouldn't want to
be in the ring in a in, in one of the biggest moments in the
history of wrestling, John Cena's heel turn.
You're in there with the Rock, John Cena and the world champion
(31:22):
Cody Rhodes. I don't think life can get much
better than that for a guy who'snot even a wrestler.
He's just a fan and he's burningsage.
He gets his slaps in and all this sort of nonsense.
Give it to me, brother. Now, listen, and and and you
know, Bubba had a lot to say about Travis, about what he
would do to him for slapping Cody like that.
But but what say you, Devon? What did you think of Travis
(31:43):
Scott being in the mix there? Well, you have to understand,
you know, he was put in that mixby the higher ups and you know,
I don't know about the slap. Maybe maybe the slap was okayed
by those who are in the office so to be so to speak.
But I also, I think they should have practiced the smack first
(32:06):
if anything, just so he wouldn'tslap the crap out of coding,
because that was harsh, man, that was hard.
And all Cody could do was just take his hand and cover up, you
know, and take it now, you know,if this was the 90s or in the
80s, if somebody would have donethat, they would have gotten out
of themselves and went after him.
(32:27):
But it's a new generation, it's a new era.
And it wasn't. I don't think he did it
maliciously. I just think that, you know,
maybe somebody said, you know, maybe even Cody might have said,
you know, yeah, give me a slap when I'm down and this and that
all about. So he's not trained to actually
slap somebody and not have it affect them like it did in the
(32:49):
ring. I don't know.
Maybe we've looked at maybe it looked devastating and maybe
Cody really didn't feel it. I don't know.
But you know that that's hard, man.
I I probably would have been screaming.
What the fuck? You know, that probably would
have been my, you know, output of that.
But you know, again, it's something that the I don't
(33:11):
think, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I don't think Travis
did it to hurt Cody or did it without getting permission.
I just don't think he knew how to do it.
It's easy to watch us on TV and do it.
Exactly. I, I think that sometimes we
take for granted that a fan is just a fan.
(33:34):
You, you guys are pros, man. You guys are pros.
I don't think the slap was supposed to happen with Cody's
face on the ground because he was completely defenseless in
that situation. It was if he if they had done it
when Cody's torso was lifted up.Now Cody is better to brace
himself, tuck his chin, you knowwhat I mean?
(33:57):
And, and, and all that sort of thing, kind of lean into it.
He probably could. It would have done a lot less
damage with his face literally on the canvas.
And then you look at a guy like Travis Scott, who's a skinny
guy. He doesn't look like a big guy.
He's not a body guy. He doesn't look like he could
deliver the force that he like. That slap was as hard of a slap
(34:17):
as I've ever seen. You know what I'd be it didn't
look like much, but when you sawa connect, it was like, oh, like
that, that was a real one right there.
Boy, like, damn. But the irony of that is that I
think it's the most watched moment in WWE history online,
(34:40):
like the the amount of of views that that generated.
Mission accomplished. You know what I mean?
The whole presentation. Yeah, I was about to say that.
Mission accomplished. They did exactly what they
wanted to get done. So you know.
So in that sense, it worked and,and congratulations to everybody
(35:01):
involved. But now let's back up Mr.
Hustle, loyalty and respect and,and Full disclosure, Devon, you
know, our our wonderful listeners that a lot of them are
parents and they've reached out and they've talked about the
impact of John Cena turning heeland how devastated their
children was. Because I didn't, you know, I
(35:21):
didn't think it was that big of a deal.
It was kind of funny to me. But then you got to put yourself
in the perspective of the kids. This was a big deal, man.
So what say you about Cena turning heel?
Do you think that was the right move?
Yes, and because you know not, this is truly his last hurrah.
(35:43):
He's going out with a bang, You know, he's chaining it up.
It's not going to be the same scene of that way musical theme,
you know, respect, loyalty and I, we're not going to see that.
We're going to see a different side.
It's no different than when Hogan turned babyface to here.
I know a lot of people are comparing that to the Hogan
turn, but also a lot of people are saying that it was very
(36:05):
good, but it wasn't as good as the Hogan turn.
And I agree with that. But for what it was and for when
they did it, yes, people have been expecting John to turn a
long time ago when they first started bullying him.
And I think credit to Vince by not giving in and not turning
(36:28):
because look at where we are now, you know, with it.
So to me, it was a strategy thatwas probably put into
perspective, but yet at the sametoken didn't know that would
generate this much that that it has.
So I'm in agreeance to it. I think it was time.
I think what better time than now?
(36:50):
And now you can go a whole different route before Cena
basically really hangs it up andpeople will be talking about it.
So you know, it wasn't just going to be oh, it's his last
run and this and that, you know,boring, you know, now there's
there's an umph to it. Now there's something to talk
about. Now there's something to watch.
(37:12):
And where they go now with this,it's going to depend on how how
do I say this? Now with this going on, it's
going to it's just going to boost him up even more, make
people talk about him even more.Even those who might have
forgotten about him now can't forget about him because this
(37:32):
was this was huge. So my hat goes off to the Triple
H regime and John Cena for doingthis.
At this particular point in time.
If you got to turn them heel, what better time than to turn
them now? I I agree, I agree 100%.
So so let's take this a step further now.
Do you shave his head? I don't, you know, I don't just
(37:58):
because you got a bald head. I don't think that's going to
make a difference. I think the storyline and where
they go and how they handle it, that's what's going to make the
difference. That's what's going to put him
an even bigger position that he ever once was in.
So I don't think shaving his head will do that unless he's
(38:19):
going bald like I was. And you had no other choice but
to shave his head, you know, ButI did it because I was missing
some hair on the top and I didn't want to look like LeBron
James with a big ball spot in myhead when the when the lights
are shining straight on it. You know, I just shaved my head.
I just never thought that shaving your head bald would
make you a, you know, a top heel.
(38:40):
It's what he does in the ring and how he performs is what's
going to make him the top heel. Well, the reason why I ask the
question is because online, you know, the fans have been
chattering about it. Cena's been losing his hair for,
you know, the better part of thepast 7-8 years now.
It's, it's, it's the, the more common male patent baldness that
(39:01):
happens in the back. So, you know, right, right in
the back where your, your, your soft spot would be in, in, in
your head and what have you. He's losing it right there.
In fact, the video game has finally caught up the, the
latest WWE2K25I think it is theyactually have seen it with his
bald spot, which fans are going crazy about because it's like
(39:22):
they can't believe that they putit in there and, and they're
happy that they put it in there because it's, it's accurate.
But here's what I'm thinking. There's so many houses you can
steal with this whole situation.So first of all, you put Siena
in a hair versus hair match withsomebody and legitimately shave
Siena's head. Why not?
(39:42):
You know what I mean? I, I think, I think you could
steal a house with that, that special attraction, possibly
main event. The other thing, I think Travis
Scott should be in a, in a handicap match against Cody, you
put somebody in there with Travis.
Cody never gets his hand on Travis until he finally makes
the other party slip on a bananapeel.
(40:03):
And beats them and then finally he gets his hands on track.
You could you could sell out Madison Square Garden.
Would it would have matched likethat?
You know what I mean against youcould steal a house with this
sort of stuff. There's so many way and and then
we haven't even spoken about therock and where he factors in and
all this stuff. There's so much business that
can be had just off of this one storyline.
(40:26):
And it even though it was born out of the bloodline, it's no
longer the bloodline storyline, which I think is another clever
interesting factoid there. What do you think?
Do you do you think you could steal a couple of houses with
with these scenarios here? Absolutely.
I mean, there's so many different ways you can go about
(40:49):
this. You got some of the greatest
minds working in WWE right now, from Michael Haynes to Triple H
and of course Paul Heyman, putting their collective mind
together and running with this. Listen it, it can only describe
the limit with that. So they can, they can only go
(41:09):
butt up. I don't see them slipping,
making huge mistakes at all. I think they're going to hit a
home run with this. Yeah, that, that's, listen,
they're printing money with thisone boy and, and, and
WrestleMania is not enough. I, I think for the rest of the
year we got something cooking here.
We there's so many ways to go. So I'm excited.
(41:32):
I'm very, very excited that thatwas a shot in the arm, so to
speak. The other thing which came out
of nowhere is this Naomi Jade Cargill, Bianca Bel Air
situation. It is fascinating what they've
been able to do with this. Jade comes out and attacks
(41:56):
Naomi. They thought that everyone
thought that she was going to goafter Liv Morgan, but she
attacked Naomi and identified Naomi as the person who attacked
her. And meanwhile, Bianca Bel Air,
she wins the the Elimination Chamber and she's now the number
one contender for for the women's title.
But oh, by the way, instead of facing Ria Ripley one-on-one, EO
(42:21):
Sky wins the women's title. So now it's Bianca versus EO.
Maybe, maybe Rio will be added to the mix.
It'll be a triple threat. But the fact that EO came out of
nowhere and is added into this mix, it's like, whoa, suddenly
you took this portion of the women's division and you've
injected a whole lot of life into it.
(42:43):
There's so much going on here and there.
It's all complementary. It's, it's, it's all related to
each other. And you really don't know what's
going to happen next. So let me ask you this, Devon,
what are your thoughts on, as far as we know now, Jade
attacking Naomi because Naomi, she believes she's the one who
(43:04):
attacked her. Do do you think that was the
right way to go or do you think that there's more to come on
that? I think both.
I think there's more to come by.I think it was great that they
did that. I was thoroughly impressed.
You know, a lot of wrestlers do not.
They do not get the credit for their acting skills.
(43:25):
I thought the interaction between Bianca and Naomi in the
middle of the ring leading up toit, did you do it?
Did you do it? I feel it was great.
I thought I believed every bit of it for that little bit that
came out of that. It had me believing what they
were saying in the ring, the tears and how they both, you
(43:47):
know, did it to me. It was an Oscar performance.
100% what? And I know a lot of people
online were complaining about it, saying that they didn't like
it. Far more people loved it.
But there was a, you know, and, and it's mostly men.
And I just want to tell you fellows, you're telling on
yourself. It's clear that black women
(44:09):
under 40 years old, who you know, who are hip and who are
younger in spirit and what have you, it's clear that you don't
have enough of them around you because what you saw was one of
the more authentic storyline promos and promo battles
happening before your eyes. That that was real, brother.
(44:30):
When, when women of that generation, that age group of
that demographic are arguing with each other and they're and
they're close friends. Yeah, of course in an argument,
they're going to talk over each other.
Their voices are going to start to screech a little bit because
it gets a little high 'cause they're upset and they're kind
of crying as they're, you know, expressing themselves to each
(44:51):
other. Of course, that whole like
literally that's how it plays out.
So it, it gave me chills, quite frankly, Devon, because I'm
sitting there saying, damn, is, is there really a problem here?
Like, well, you know, like. It was, it was really good.
Yeah, yeah. It was really, really good.
My hat goes off to both of them.My hat goes off to Jade.
(45:14):
I mean, you know, and again, this is something that we've
mentioned before on the show some months back about how when
people come from A&W and go to WWE, they become performers,
they become entertainers really at another level.
(45:36):
This is why, you know, we've been saying that Tony needs help
in that aspect. He needs help and how to produce
storylines like that. We all know wrestling is a work.
We all know that we're not really trying to kill each other
or we're not really, you know, trying to whatever.
We're just trying to entertain. And that was extremely
(45:57):
entertaining. It really was.
So instead of knocking the WWE, take lessons, take notes and
learn from that because you could have all the acrobats in
the world doing what they're doing in there.
The flipping, the flying, the diving from the ring to the
floor, diving from 1 height of abalcony, you know, landing on
(46:19):
somebody. I mean, you can do that great,
but will that produce ratings? Storytelling is what's going to
do it, and storytelling is longevity and.
And I'll tell you right now, youknow, when Jade came out in
Elimination Chamber and she attacked Naomi, I do not recall
(46:43):
any woman over the past 3-4 years who's gotten a bigger pop
than that. Let me ask you this, and I'm not
sure because I followed it here and there, but why did Jane
direct? I mean, Jane, why did Jane
direct her attention from Lib toNaomi?
(47:04):
Was there something that was said that gave Jay the notion
that it could have been Naomi? That I don't know.
We we haven't really. I mean, Jay did cut a promo on
Smack down saying that she knew was Naomi and she found out and
all that other good stuff. But it still hasn't been fleshed
(47:24):
out enough. There hasn't been more details.
We haven't seen the actual evidence, but it's easy to to
believe it because Naomi slid right into that spot
immediately. And then you know what I mean?
Enjoy the fruits of the laborer being A tag team champion
because Jade wasn't around. So Naomi definitely benefited
from Jade being eliminated for aperiod of time out injured
(47:47):
because she was attacked. And Liv has been saying all
along that she never did it, even though Bianca and Naomi
were saying, we know you did it.We know you did it.
So there's a, you know, again, this, this is very interesting.
But I'm glad you brought that upthough, Devon, cuz I forgot
about the whole Liv and Raquel and how they're tied into this
too. And then again, you have EO
(48:07):
Skye, who's who's technically she's the champion who just
defeated Rhea Ripley last week on on raw.
Those women are part of the storyline too.
So it's just it's. Not which I thought was great.
Yeah, yeah. Everybody's eating, brother.
Everybody's eating. So I, I will say this though,
and this is a caution to everybody.
(48:30):
First of all, Jade beating up Naomi was the biggest moment of
her career. It was bigger than any match she
ever had. The pop that she got and
everything like that. Like legitimately just that was
a big deal, right? So that the fans are behind her.
We got to be careful not to expose her and her lack of
experience by putting her in positions where it becomes
(48:54):
obvious. Case in point, those boots that
she was wearing on Smack Down did not have the proper grips
for that surface. She almost slipped in her and
hurt herself a couple of times when she was running after Naomi
on Smack Down and then getting her hands on her again.
Like those details matter, you know what I mean?
(49:15):
And and it's like you don't. The last thing you want to do is
have this, this person that you've brought in, you've
invested so much into. She's developing, she's finally
putting it together. The fans are behind her.
She looks incredible, like this is a good thing happening.
And then she gets injured because no one said to her, hey,
stop wearing these fashion boots.
You need to wear the stuff that we wear when we wrestle or what
(49:37):
have you so you can actually move.
You know what I mean? Like that, that detail matters.
The other thing that I was very frustrated with, you already
beat up Naomi at Elimination Chamber.
I think that it was a mistake allowing Jade to get her hands
on Naomi again on smack down. I think that the fans would have
(49:58):
reacted even better if Naomi gotaway.
And it would allow Naomi to havemore heat.
And it allows Jade the anticipation of, Oh my God, I
can't wait until she finally gets her hands on her again.
You know what I mean? So it's like, don't give us too
much sauce, you're going to messup the the steak.
(50:18):
Just give me a little bit or. Yep, or right or let you know.
Jay comes down, does what she does, but somehow or another,
maybe there is a a slip. You know, like you said, 'cause
it seemed like she slipped a couple times.
Maybe there is a slip or there'ssomething where she turns her
back and Naomi catches her, leaves a ring in the middle of
(50:40):
the ring and then walks off. Maybe here comes Bianca running
down at that point, Bianca runs down and Naomi gets out of the
ring and goes, you know, around time keeper and then goes out
the back way. Maybe that's another way of
doing it. See, and that's the difference
between A5 time Hall of Famer and a fan.
(51:00):
You know what I mean? You you just took a concept and
you just made it even better. And and you're absolutely right.
That would have been incredible if Naomi could have gotten a
cheap shot in and then and then Bianca runs out and then Naomi
runs out that that would have been incredible.
So again, though we're invested,we're we're excited about it.
(51:21):
We're invested. It's not lost on me that these
are black women leading this storyline, which here's the
interesting part. Despite the fact that Charlotte
Flair is by far one of the greatest of all time, male or
female, definitely one of the greatest women of all time and
and there couldn't be more than two or three bigger than her if
(51:43):
you could even say that. Her storyline with with Tiffany
Stratton is lacking in my opinion.
And it's not because Charlotte is doing anything wrong, but
again, it's because Tiffany's soinexperienced and they have
Tiffany trying to be a baby facewhen the whole point of the fans
getting behind Tiffany is when she was being a goofy heel.
(52:07):
So I want to ask you about this,Devon.
When you transition a heel into a babyface because the crowd is
cheering for them, is it necessary to change their their
characteristics in terms of how they present their character?
I'm not talking about in ring heels cheat.
Babyfaces are not supposed to cheat.
(52:27):
So I'm not talking about that, but I'm talking about the
presentation, because in WWE we see the presentation change a
lot when you go from heel to babyface.
Is that necessary in 2025? I mean, I'm going to say yes,
you know, I don't know. I just, again, I just feel that
this has been done very well. There's so many ways you can go
(52:50):
about this and with those minds behind this, I think I think we
just started to see what the WWEis really going to start to
produce now. I I think we are in for a great
story. I think we're in for a great
match between these guys and I think you're really going to
(53:12):
enjoy it once you watch it. That's fair.
That's fair. So you're saying look man,
they're they're hot, be patient,let it play out.
That's that's basically what you're saying.
Absolutely, Absolutely. Just let it play out and you
know, you can basically make your decision and give your
thoughts and all of that as it'sgetting played.
(53:34):
But at the same talking, at the same token, let it play.
Listen, we would have never seenJohn Cena Turner.
I don't think anybody saw that. I think that's the one thing we
can ask and say that nobody saw.Yeah, true.
I don't think they set up or like the cow at the bag with
that, but I think it was great business that they did do that.
You know, I think it was great that, you know, it got the
(53:58):
reaction that they probably was looking for, maybe even more.
Absolutely. And and, and you know, it's
funny, the dirt sheets didn't have that.
WWE kept that close to the vest.And, you know, the dirt sheets
look ridiculous again. They they sit there and charge
people for all these inside rumors.
And they know this. And they know that including
(54:19):
Dave Meltzer afterwards. Dave Meltzer was like, oh, yeah,
yeah, yeah, You know, that was the plan and this.
And it's like, brother, you didn't know.
You didn't know. No, he didn't music.
No, he didn't. He didn't know.
I don't care how many, I don't care how many years he will.
You know, he's been doing this and sitting whatever.
No, he didn't. He didn't know it it.
(54:42):
That was the best part. No one spoiled it.
So we got a chance to see The Rock do his little cut to the
throat thing and all that. And Cena, his face completely
changed and it was like you're looking at a different person.
It's so well done. Just BB all around.
Everyone's excited about Mania and and and in the lead up and
(55:04):
even beyond. What's going to happen even
after that? Because it's hard to play it.
It's hard to call it. Roman Reigns is not in any of
the title. Right now.
You know which is. Crazy.
Excellent job though last night.On Monday night, we're off.
Oh yeah, he, he, he kicked the ass, bro, and that was
beautiful. I mean, here's the deal, Here's
the deal. You've you've got what happened
(55:26):
between him and Seth Rollins that was kind of like a payback.
So you have that story there. And now we're probably going to
revisit the whole you owe me a favor Paul with CM Punk.
So you've got two stories going on there.
You know, he he's going to get, he's got to get his revenge on
(55:46):
Seth. And now we're going to see if
Paul decides to cash in that favor or not for CM Punk.
There's so many different absolutely we can go here.
And that's what makes it even more interesting.
Wow. Can you imagine if if Paul
Heyman turns on Roman? Wow.
Listen, he's done it. When he's done it, he's done it,
(56:07):
De Brock. Yeah, that's the point.
You know, and he was, he was with Brock for many, many years.
So if anybody knows how to play that snake, it's Paul.
Wow again, and and and that alone, you know that could could
headline any pay-per-view that that any PLE like that match is
a big deal. So the fact that that's not even
(56:30):
the. Main event.
Is just fascinating. It's like, wow, man, they're
cooking, they're cooking, you know?
Anyway, Devon, you got any big events coming up this this week?
I'm going to be in Utah for another college convention.
The last two weeks I've been in the college convention, I'm
being in Utah. Me and Bubba Bolt will be in
Salt Lake City, UT at the convention.
(56:52):
You can get out all the details on my social media, which will
be on testified Devon like to find out, you know where it's
going to be and all of that. I don't have all the information
because of the fact that it was given to Bubba myself at the
last minute. But I will have that on my
social media where we're going to be in Utah and I'm looking
(57:13):
forward to visiting the fans in Utah.
Listen, we haven't been to Utah in such a long time, so it's
going to be great to be able to visit and see the fans.
And we've never done an autograph signing in Utah, so
this will be great for me and Bubba to go out there and
connect with the fans. That's going to be fantastic.
(57:33):
Listen, all you Usos out there in in Utah, you know who we're
talking to here, come out and see the Dudley boys, all right?
You know they they have a very strong Samoan population up
there. So that's that's pretty cool,
man, that's pretty cool. You going to be up there?
That's wow. All right.
Yeah, I'm really looking forwardto going out there and and, you
(57:55):
know, seeing the fans and just basically just every time I do
these, I have a good time, you know, because I get to interact
with the fans. I get to, you know, you get
their perspective on things. And, you know, they show us the
love and everything that we've done over the years and they
really show that they really appreciated everything that
(58:17):
we've done. So I'm looking forward to that.
Yeah, that's, that's awesome. That's awesome stuff there.
And of course, folks like you said, testify Devon on the
social media so you can get all the information, make sure you
show up, get your autographs, bring the family, have a good
time for sure. Duke loves wrestling on
Facebook, on twitterdukeloveswrestling@gmail.com.
(58:37):
As always, let let let us know what you think.
Give us your shout outs, the whole 9 yards there.
But we are in WrestleMania season.
And the crazy part about it is we're nowhere near the point
where we know the full card yet.So, so much more is happening
and developing every single day,folks.
So stay tuned because we're going to talk about it.
(59:00):
So we're at that time now. Devon, why don't you give us our
Word of the Week? Man, I got 2, but I got the one.
I'm going to stay on disrespect.We'll close doors that about
that apologies cannot open, so be careful how you treat people
you think you don't need anymore.
(59:23):
Oh boy. Testify.
It's my brother. The Fed line Be yourself, let
(59:52):
your spirit lie. In this fashion you'll touch the
sky strictly for the culture. Wrestle fine dressed to impress
and show your shine strictly forthe culture every day.
(01:00:26):
Visit www.strictlyfortheculture.ca.
Backstage whispers and the crowds roar from matching giants
to legends of your Diva's wisdomand Duke's keen view.
(01:00:50):
Every episode feels like it's brand new.
Diva and Duke bring the heat. Wrestling tails knock you off
your seat. TuneIn now don't you be late.
Wrestling Podcast never felt this way.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!