D-Von Dudley is doubling down on his support for Sheamus’ agent—and this time, he is making it clear that threats and intimidation have no place in wrestling negotiations.
The subject came up again on the D-Von and the Duke podcast after Nick LoPiccolo thanked D-Von for previously addressing his conflict with Tony Khan and AEW. LoPiccolo has publicly accused Khan and members of the AEW office of bullying and harassing him, while claiming the situation damaged his former talent-management business.
That history matters because LoPiccolo still lists Sheamus as a client. With Sheamus available as a free agent, any serious AEW pursuit could force both sides into direct negotiations despite months of public hostility. D-Von previously said he had seen contract talks collapse because agents and promoters were too far apart financially, but he had never encountered an agent publicly accusing a wrestling company of bullying.
“I’ve heard of agents not being able to cut a deal because they were so far off, but never to the point where an agent accused the company of bullying. I’ve never heard of that.”
D-Von was careful not to accuse AEW of anything he did not personally witness. He said it was difficult for him to picture Khan as a bully, but he also refused to dismiss LoPiccolo’s account from outside the room.
“It’s hard for me to look at Tony Khan as being a bully, but I don’t know. I’m not in the room, and I’m not there with the negotiation. So, you’ve got to take him at his word. That’s what he felt. Can’t deny the man.”
In the latest update, Duke told D-Von that LoPiccolo appreciated him publicly speaking about the situation. D-Von said agents exist to handle tense business conversations between wrestlers and promoters, and a disagreement over a deal should never turn into an attempt to scare or pressure the person representing the talent.
“I think it’s great. Whatever beef is going on between talent and an owner—or, in this position, a promoter—then, of course, you get an agent to try to weather the storm on that.”
D-Von then directly condemned the idea of threatening an agent or deliberately making someone uncomfortable simply because contract negotiations were not going the company’s way.
“But threatening or making somebody feel uncomfortable just because they’re actually trying to discuss business—I never understood that. If business doesn’t go the right way, we lead to stuff like that? That’s stupid. That’s ridiculous.”
For D-Von, talking about the conflict was not about creating more drama. He said the goal was to expose the issue publicly and possibly stop the behavior from continuing.
“When you ask what I think about it, if he’s happy that we talked about it and we might have gotten somewhere with it, then our job is done. That was the intention—to get it out there and stop this nonsense.”
D-Von also blamed a lack of respect and proper protocol in the modern wrestling business. He said situations like this are exactly why veterans sometimes prefer the old-school approach to handling disputes.
“When is all of this going to stop? Every time you turn around, there’s something going on with whatever generation it is. People don’t follow protocol.”
“Then we wonder why, so many times, we want to go back to the old-school way of doing things, because at least there was respect back then. There’s no respect now. There’s just no respect.”
Duke then took the conversation further by directly addressing Khan and accusing him of threatening people in the media. Those claims came from the Duke—not D-Von.
“Tony Khan, you need to grow up. You need to focus on what matters and stop playing these weird games trying to control people. I have people in media who have told me directly that Tony Khan has threatened them, and they have no reason to lie about that.”
Duke claimed Khan attempts to control people despite having a talented roster and plenty of supporters willing to back AEW.
“This is a person who wants to control things. It’s ridiculous because you have so many talented people in that company and so many people who naturally want to support you. There is no reason for you to be so nasty toward folks.”
D-Von did not repeat the accusation, but he offered a blunt warning about what happens when people continually treat others that way.
“It’ll all come back to bite you in one way, shape or form.”
The conversation then returned to D-Von’s own experience with Khan. The WWE Hall of Famer previously claimed he was left waiting backstage all day for a planned meeting. D-Von made it clear he would never put himself in that position again.
“That sh*t will never happen again. I’ll tell you that much. I’d rather go back to the post office if I let that happen.”
That latest response adds another problem to any potential AEW pursuit of Sheamus. LoPiccolo has already made serious accusations against Khan and the company, while D-Von is now publicly condemning threats and intimidation during wrestling negotiations. Even if AEW wants Sheamus, both sides may have to get past a relationship that appears completely wrecked before money can even enter the conversation.
Do you think AEW and Nick LoPiccolo could put their personal conflict aside to negotiate a deal for Sheamus, or has too much damage already been done? Share your thoughts and leave your feedback below.
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