People are like coins; there’s two sides to every person. In the case of Hulk Hogan, who captivated several generations as a wrestler and Hollywood entertainer, the celebrity side of his coin is much shiner and more valuable than yours or mine. However, the other side, the humanistic one, was much more perplexing. While mourning the loss of “The Immortal One,” many have proceeded with caution, including D-Von Dudley, as he saw both sides of Hogan. To begin, Dudley discussed the benevolent side of the “Hulkster,” and what strides he made to save Dudley’s career.

“There were two separate episodes where Hogan had saved my career,” the Hall of Famer noted on his podcast. “The one was for the [TNA] Television Title with Robbie E. ‘Cause at that point in time, TNA didn’t believe that D-Von can go on his own, and do what he had to do. Hogan kept saying in the meeting, ‘He looks great. He’s taken off all the weight. He’s basically gotten his in-ring performance looking great. And his promos have gotten even better. Why aren’t we doing anything with D-Von?’ When I got to work, I remember Earl Hebner and Brian tell me, ‘You’re going over, kid.’ I go, ‘Yeah, right. That’s going to change.’ And they said, ‘No, you’re going over. Hogan wants it that way. It’s going to be that way. He really believes in you.'”

Saying that moment was aligned correctly, Dudley mentioned who was the first person to come and congratulate him on this monumental moment in his career. The man who was rooting for this moment to happen and pleaded with TNA management to make that moment happen, Hogan.

“I remember one of the first people that came to me after I won the title was Hogan, hugging me saying, ‘Congratulations, brother. You deserve it,'” Dudley stated. “And that meant a lot to me.”

Next, he summarized a second time the Hall of Famer went to bat for him. This time, it regarded his standing within the company: “We basically couldn’t come to an agreement on the contract, and so I decided to walk. I remember Hogan was disappointed in that decision because he made it publicly known. He went on his Twitter and basically said, ‘I don’t see why we let a guy like D-Von go. With the experience and the knowledge that he has, we need a guy like D-Von.'” Because of his voiced concern, it led to Dudley gaining a rejuvenated run in his career, and his most famous position outside of WWE in the villainous stable of Aces & Eights.