WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment, but the “E” might as well also represent the word “exclusive.” That’s because unlike other wrestling promotions around the world, WWE maintains the exclusive rights to utilize its contracted talent. While current AEW stars like Jon Moxley and Christopher Daniels have made simultaneous splashes in GCW and Defy Wrestling respectively, no single WWE star is allowed to take bookings from wrestling companies outside of Stamford, Connecticut. Exceptions to this rule have been made on the odd occasion, like Karl Anderson being given the blessing to fulfill his prior commitments to New Japan Pro Wrestling or Shinsuke Nakamura being allowed to compete for Pro Wrestling NOAH, but the exclusive edict largely remains in place.
That was evident during a recent miscommunication between NXT Coach D’Von Dudley and WWE management. The WWE Hall of Famer was scheduled to appear at Battleground Championship Wrestling’s “Tribute to the Extreme” event on December 17th, as he was set to be in long-time tag partner Bully Ray’s corner for his match against Matt Cardona. WWE ended up pulling him from the show, with Senior Vice President Bruce Prichard cancelling the booking.
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In an update from the Wrestling Observer, Dave Meltzer reported that D’Von assumed that due to the fact that he is contracted as a coach, he would be able to take independent bookings. The process went from Senior Manager of Talent Relations John Cone to Prichard all the way to WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Despite Prichard nixing it, D’Von reportedly insisted that he follow through with the commitment, which led to Levesque ordering that if he showed up at the event he would be fired.
The report added that the only reason given for WWE’s decision to cancel D’Von’s booking was due to the company not wanting him in any physical risk. It’s unclear if D’Von was scheduled to get physical at the show, as he was only set to be in Bully Ray’s corner.
D’Von has been with WWE for over seven consecutive years now. His initial stint with the company came from 1999 until 2005, where he and Bully Ray (known in WWE as Bubba Ray Dudley) accumulated numerous tag team championships. His 2015 return saw him wrestle, as he and Bubba Ray feuded with The New Day and The Usos. He began producing for WWE in 2016 and has fulfilled various backstage roles since.
