Duke Hudson Breaks Silence After WWE Release with Cryptic Self-Interview

Duke Hudson’s WWE career is officially over, but the real shocker? His release actually happened weeks ago in January, and the news is only now coming to light. WWE quietly cut ties with the former NXT Tag Team Champion, and according to reports, Triple H simply didn’t see him as a long-term player.

Hudson, who originally debuted as Brendan Vink, got his first WWE shot in 2019 at an NXT live event before transitioning to TV in 2020. He had a brief run on Raw alongside Shane Thorne, even catching the attention of Paul Heyman. During Heyman’s stint as Raw’s creative lead, he saw Hudson’s potential and had plans to push him as a fresh face.

“Heyman saw a lot in him. He saw a big guy, good look, moves. Well, he wasn’t ready, but Heyman thought, you know, if you remember, when Heyman started on the Raw thing, his big thing was to bring in all kinds of new guys and push and push guys who hadn’t been pushed before,” Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio.

That vision didn’t align with Vince McMahon’s thinking. “Duke was, you know, a guy he tried with for, like, three weeks, and then Vince got the three-week thing. And it’s like, ‘Nah.’ And that was that, and he was gone,” Meltzer added.

Even after Vince was out of the picture, Triple H still wasn’t sold on Hudson’s main roster potential. “Now, of course, Vince is gone, so it doesn’t matter, but you know, [Paul ‘Triple H’] Levesque is the one who makes the calls, and for whatever reason, you know, he didn’t see Duke as a main roster guy,” Meltzer explained. “So at some point, when you’re, you know, when you’re 34, and you don’t see him as a main roster guy, and he’d been there for six years, it’s kind of like that’s the way it works.”

Despite having a run as NXT Tag Team Champion alongside Andre Chase in 2023, it wasn’t enough to keep his WWE career alive. Now, Hudson is finally addressing his release on his own terms.

He confirmed his departure with a cryptic video posted to Twitter/X. The vignette, styled like a podcast titled Wrestling with Identity, features Hudson having a brutally honest conversation with himself.

“Welcome to Wrestling with Identity,” Hudson says, speaking to a version of himself. “Do we have a name for you, or us yet?”

“I don’t know,” the other Hudson responds.

Hudson doesn’t hesitate to get to the point. “Alright, well let’s get straight to the point. You’ve been fired, which might be breaking news to a lot of the people here. I don’t think I’ve seen anything online. You weren’t part of a group with a ‘budget cuts,’ right, so this really was more of a ‘we hate you.’”

His other self, without hesitation, replies, “Yeah.”

Then comes the harsh self-reflection. “That’s probably why you look so rough, but I’m pulling it off. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, how do you feel about wasting six years of your life in that building?”

“I wouldn’t say it was a waste.”

Hudson’s other self fires back. “Come on. Think of everything that happened in your time there. You and Bronnie, for example. You started at the same time, you came up in Australia together. Now he’s jumping off the top of cages at Survivor Series, and you’re being written off TV again. Rhea, for example. She is a megastar. She grew up watching you wrestle in Australia. You love telling people that story. Well, they overtook you. Your time was wasted.”

Hudson doesn’t let negativity take over completely. “I can be happy for my friends and be disappointed in my own shortcomings at the same time,” he responds.

But his other self isn’t satisfied. “Come on. You’re free now, you can say whatever you want to say. Don’t just stick to what you learn in media training. Tell me what you want to say.”

“I don’t know.”

The video ends with Hudson abruptly cutting off the conversation. “I’m not done with you. We’ll be right back.”

Hudson is clearly wrestling with his next move, but one thing is certain—he’s not done with the industry. After years in WWE, his next chapter is wide open, and fans are waiting to see where he lands next.

What do you think of Duke Hudson’s next steps? Was his WWE run undervalued, or was his release inevitable? Drop your thoughts in the comments.