D-Von Dudley faced racism the moment he joined WWE in 1999, the Hall of Famer revealed this week. Speaking on Maven’s YouTube channel, D-Von recounted experiencing discrimination due to his skin color from someone fans would “absolutely” recognize.
“They told Bubba ‘You’re a good guy, I like you a lot. But D-Von, I don’t know… He’s black.’ I remember balling up my fists and Bubba saw it and grabbed me.”
Understandably enraged by these comments, D-Von said he was “p*ssed” but chose not to retaliate, knowing that an altercation could jeopardize the Dudleys’ future in WWE. Reflecting on the incident, he admitted, “Had I reacted, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking now.”
D-Von also revealed that racism wasn’t limited to the roster; he encountered discrimination from “certain people in the office” in senior positions. However, he clarified that Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and Michael Hayes were not among those who treated him unfairly because of his race.
D-Von’s comments bring new light to WWE’s often problematic nature with race, as several angles over the years have been accused of being racist. Nevertheless, these horrific comments at D-Von did not stop him from being one of the all-time greatest tag-team wrestlers of all time and a Hall of Famer in both WWE and TNA Wrestling.