Subhojeet Mukherjee on March 14, 2026
WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley is going off on the people attacking Thea Hail online — and he’s not pulling any punches.
Speaking on the DukeLovesRasslin podcast on March 14, 2026, Dudley reacted to the emotional video Hail posted addressing the criticism she has been receiving on social media. The veteran said seeing the backlash toward the 22-year-old NXT star genuinely upset him: “I know Thea as a person. I worked with her in NXT. When I saw that, it broke my heart.”
Dudley reminded listeners that Hail is still extremely young and developing her craft in the industry. He then turned his focus toward the critics who have been tearing her down online.
“She’s 22 years old, with a very bright future ahead of her, and she’s learning. All these people that are saying all this negative stuff about her — listen, say what you want to say about her, but the bottom line is this: she’s out there, she’s doing her thing.”
According to Dudley, the toxic fans are often people who have never stepped into the ring themselves. He also challenged those haters to imagine how they would feel if someone treated their own family members that way.
“She’s doing what you want to do, she’s doing what you can’t do, but yet you want to bury her and say mean things about her. What if that was your sister or daughter who’s trying to live her dream and you were burying her like that? How would you feel?”
Is she terrible? Hell no. I think she’s pretty good. Only she’s 22 years old — she’s got a lot to learn.”
The Hall of Famer didn’t hold back when addressing the culture of anonymous criticism online. He took it up a notch as he told all those toxic fans to get out of their mother’s basement and stop giving their opinions on things that have nothing to do with them.
“These ‘fans’ don’t realize what they say and how they say it. You hide behind your computer and say what you say. Get out of your mother’s basement, bake the apple pie and eat it, and stop putting your two cents into things where it doesn’t belong.”
The WWE Hall of Famer also pointed out that WWE clearly believes in Hail’s potential. Dudley ended his comments by urging fans to stop trying to control everything they see in wrestling.
“At least WWE saw enough to bring her in, give her a contract, and work with her. Leave these people alone and enjoy pro wrestling for what it is, and stop thinking you can dictate every little thing that is being done in that ring.”
His comments came after Hail posted an emotional video addressing the constant criticism she receives online. Fighting back tears, the 22-year-old explained that she moved away during high school to pursue wrestling and has spent the last five years working toward her dream.
Hail said opening social media and seeing personal attacks about her as a person has been especially difficult, reminding viewers that there’s a real human being behind the character. With Dudley now publicly defending her, the situation has led to a bigger conversation about how far online criticism in wrestling has gone.
Do you think fans sometimes cross the line when criticizing wrestlers online? Let us know what you think.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
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