After leaving his backstage position with WWE in 2023, D-Von Dudley explored new opportunities, including talks with AEW President Tony Khan. However, those discussions never materialized into a deal due to differing visions of what Dudley’s role would be.

Speaking with Video Gamer, Dudley explained that he reached out to AEW because he wanted to continue working as a producer or agent, not as an in-ring performer. “I was looking to become a producer. I wasn’t looking to become a wrestler,” he said. “And the only reason why my agent even contacted them was because of the fact that I left WWE and I wanted to still do the agent role.”

Another factor in his interest was the involvement of his sons, Terrell and Terrence Hughes, who wrestled as the tag team TNT and had appeared on AEW Dark. “But my sons were there at the time and I was gonna try to do anything I could to help my sons out,” Dudley added.

According to Dudley, Khan envisioned something different, pushing for an on-screen role either as a wrestler or manager. “I expressed to Tony that I didn’t wanna wrestle. He kept trying to push it,” Dudley said. “He would have loved me to go out there and do a couple of things, maybe be a manager and maybe even do a six-man tag match. And I told him, I said, ‘If I do a six-man, let me know right now. I’ll be on [the] apron and the boys are gonna do all the work.’”

Dudley also revealed that he was recovering from back surgery during the discussions, which made a return to physical competition impossible. “I told him I don’t wanna wrestle anymore. And he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He couldn’t get that through his head,” Dudley recalled. “He was like stringing me along and even though I kept telling him I don’t wanna wrestle. I was literally when we had those meetings really fresh off a back surgery. I really couldn’t do it like that back then.”

Ultimately, the conflicting expectations ended talks between the two sides. “So I basically kept emphasizing that I wanted to be a producer. I did not wanna wrestle… And he kept asking me if I wanted to wrestle and get back in the ring,” Dudley said. “And I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re not getting what I’m saying. I don’t want to wrestle. I just wanna be a producer. I wanna help my sons out… Like what Billy Gun was doing for his sons, you know? I’ve done everything in my career. I don’t need that.’”

With neither side able to find common ground, the talks came to an end. “He just wasn’t taking no for an answer. I’ve had three meetings with him and all three were a bust!” Dudley concluded.

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