Iconic WWE Hall Of Famer Officially Retiring In October
One WWE Hall of Famer has revealed that their retirement is on the horizon as one last huge match has been made.
Bully Ray – best known to WWE fans as Bubba Ray Dudley – made his return to TNA at Slammiversary, where he laid down a challenge to the new TNA Tag Team Champions, The Hardys. The two teams helped revolutionise tag team wrestling in WWE in the early 2000s alongside Edge and Christian, and now they are set to run it back at Bound For Glory.
Speaking on the A2D podcast, Bully Ray’s long-time partner, D-Von Dudley, confirmed that the Bound For Glory contest will be the final match of his illustrious career as he ran down some of the medical issues he’s faced over the last few years:
Yes, this will be my last time. I know a lot of people will say, ‘All wrestlers say it’ll be their last time.’ No, this truly will be my last time. Did I have a stroke back in 2019? Yes. It was stress-related. It had nothing to do with anything else. Were there some lingering effects from it? There was a little bit. Went to rehab and got rid of all of it. Got cleared, no signs of stroke anywhere in my body. A stroke will never go away, but when doctors take tests, they can still see that there was one.
As far as entering my body again, as long as I take care of myself, no (it won’t). I eat right. I train. I do everything I’m supposed to do. The stroke is not an effect of what I’m going to be doing at all at Bound For Glory.
The back surgery, I spoke to Randy Orton, because I heard Orton had the same back surgery I had. He said, ‘D-Von, if I take any bumps in the ring now, it’s very little. I don’t do the old Randy anymore and take those risks because of what happened with my back.’ It’s the same thing here.
I’m gonna go in that match and I’m going to be DVon, but I’m going to be smart about it. Is there any problem with me being able to have one more match? No, there isn’t. All you guys sitting there and saying this, stop. I would not put myself in jeopardy if I thought otherwise.
9-Time WWE Tag Team Champion Can Still Go
D-Von continued, noting that he wanted people to stop assuming he couldn’t get back in the ring, although he admits he won’t be taking any unnecessary risks:
I have two daughters I want to be able to walk down the aisle if that day ever comes, which God I hope it doesn’t [laughs], and my son, I want to be able to play basketball with him. I want to be able to do all of that. I’m going to go into this match being smart. Is there any problem with the back surgery? No. I’ve been doing DDP Yoga, which I swear by. DDP Yoga has helped me tremendously.
Stop with the, ‘D-Von can’t work’ and what have you. I can work. Am I going to be out of my mind doing crazy stuff like hanging with Jeff Hardy again? No. Even before the surgery, I said that would never happen again. Jeff Hardy scared the hell out of me. I’m perfectly fine. I would not be putting myself in jeopardy if I thought otherwise.
Please stop assuming that I can’t go. Can I go? Yes. Am I older? Absolutely. I have a wrestling school in Windsor Park, right down the block from the [WWE Performance Center]. I still get in the ring and train with the students. I know what I feel and how I feel. I’m in the gym five to six days a week working out, and this was before the announcement of us wanting to do one more match. This is it. This is it for D-Von. This will be the last match and my sendoff.
This is the way I would like to go out. The Hardys and Dudleys one more time. I did tell Matt, ‘Keep Jeff away from me.’ [Laughs] That crazy SOB, he’ll kill me. Jeff goes, ‘Come on, D-Von.’ ‘Jeff, you heard me.’ I love those guys.