D-Von Dudley didn’t take long to set the record straight. After his comments about people wanting Vince McMahon to return to the company spread across the wrestling world, the Hall of Famer came back on his podcast to clear up what he says people completely misunderstood.
Speaking on D-Von & The Duke, Dudley said he was never talking about people inside WWE pushing for McMahon’s return. He says he was repeating what he’d been seeing from fans online whenever WWE came under fire over creative decisions. Dudley said that’s where the conversation started and where it ended.
“Even with the whole thing with Vince, me saying that people want to see Vince back. No, what I’m saying is reports that I have seen from the fans. If you went online during the time I saw it, you’d see the same thing. Like when WWE was criticized for certain storylines and not pushing people, fans were saying, ‘Oh, it wouldn’t have happened if Vince was there. We would love to have Vince back.’
I’m not saying that people within the company are saying that. I’m saying the fans are saying that, and that’s what I was reading.”
He also acknowledged the baggage surrounding McMahon’s departure, saying everything that happened after Vince left put WWE in a difficult position as the company worked to move forward.
“With all the drama that went on after Vince left, with the sexual harassment and all, it put a black cloud on the company. They had to go through a major repair. This is what people are saying.”
For Dudley, the bigger issue is how quickly online opinions can become accepted as fact. He argued that the loudest voices on social media usually dominate the conversation, even if they don’t represent everyone watching the product.
“It’s always the fans that criticize and badmouth a company that get the loudest voice. But all the people that say the opposite, those are the ones you barely hear unless you read the comments on social media. So I’m not saying talent. It’s the fans in general that are saying this. I can’t dictate what the fans say. I don’t do that. I can’t speak for them.”
Dudley’s latest comments leave far less room for interpretation. He says he wasn’t revealing backstage support for Vince McMahon’s return—he was simply pointing to a section of the fanbase that believes WWE was better off with Vince running the show.
Do you think D-Von Dudley’s original comments were taken out of context, or do you still believe they came across differently? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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