D-Von Dudley is happy about the WWE regime change because it’s good to change things up and bring new ideas into play.
Vince McMahon retired on July 22, and Triple H was subsequently named the head of WWE Creative on July 25. Since then, fans have seen a number of changes to the product, including the return of previously released stars, such as Dakota Kai and Karrion Kross.
Dudley, who returned to NXT as a coach in June, discussed the regime change during an appearance on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast.
“I’m busy,” Dudley said. “I mean with this new regime with Triple H and Stephanie, which I am extremely happy about. I think everyone’s happy, and just for the simple fact that we’re all happy about what Vince did for 50 years plus, but sometimes with every company, with every new whatever it is, it’s always good for a new fresh and new ideas and things like that, and I think Triple H brings that, and we’re not discounting what Vince did, like I said for the past 50 years. But sometimes, you need a little change, and I’m happy about that.”
He went on to describe how fans saw Triple H’s vision in action throughout his time at the helm of NXT. Now that he’s in charge of creative for the whole company, Dudley noted that people should be patient because, even as he puts his vision into action, he still has to be respectful to McMahon’s legacy.
“People were happy with NXT black and gold before, so it was like, when it changed to 2.0, people were a little bit upset because it wasn’t Hunter’s vision,” Dudley said. “People loved the fact that Hunter took nobodies from an indie circuit and made them into somebodies. So I think people were fully aware of what Hunter was capable of going.
“I think that’s being showcased now, but I also feel like people have to relax and be patient, and know that his vision is being shown, but he has to do it in a way where it’s not just, ‘F—- Vince and his ideas,’ but it’s kind of like you still have to incorporate I guess a little something to not disrespect Vince and what he’s done for the company, but then along pursuing the go-ahead with Hunter’s vision.
As someone who has spent a long time with the company, Dudley made it clear that practically everyone knew that Triple H would be McMahon’s successor, even as early as the Attitude Era.
“Well, we all knew that during the Attitude Era,” Dudley said. “It wasn’t because he married Stephanie, that wasn’t it at all. But we just knew that when we did marry Stephanie and he did become part of the family and he did become part of creative and all that above, and he was making decisions, we knew.
“We all knew that it was gonna be Hunter that would take over when Vince left, or if unfortunately something had happened to Vince, it would have hehe Triple H that came in, we all knew that. We all said that. So it was no surprise to us. It was surprising on how everything went down, for it to get to this level, but I don’t think anybody was surprised about Hunter.”
Moving forward, the WWE Hall of Famer stated that fans are excited about the product, and it’s easy to see that there’s a renewed spark in the business right now.
“We all knew that if Vince couldn’t do it anymore, then Hunter would be the one next in line, and we were happy about that, him and Stephanie, and I think it shows, like we said, in the ratings,” Dudley said. “I just heard in ticket sales alone for WrestleMania next year, the ticket sales have skyrocketed. That’s great because there’s a newfound sparked energy within the wrestling business now, and I’m very excited about it. It’s not one of those things where I think people are now going to wanna know what’s gonna happen next. People are tuning in, and they’re excited about what’s happening.”
