D-Von Dudley Recalls Touching WrestleMania 34 Moment With Former WWE Star's Mom

In 2018, D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley took their places into the WWE Hall of Fame, two days before WWE hosted its WrestleMania 34 pay-per-view event from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. During that same weekend, D-Von also shared a memorable moment, specifically with the mother of Mercedes Mone (formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE), that he recently recalled on "Women's Wrestling Talk."

"When I came back to WWE, I didn't realize how much of a liking [Mone] took to me," D-Von said. "I was very surprised. She started calling me 'dad' and from that point on, she was calling me 'dad'; I was calling her my daughter ... When I got inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, I had met her mom for the first time. Her mom pulled me aside and said 'Thank you so much.' I said 'For what? She was like 'For taking my daughter and putting her underneath your wing. She really looks up to you and to a point where you're like a father figure to her.'

"When Mercedes told me that, not that I didn't buy it, but it was just like you're exaggerating maybe just a little bit, but okay, whatever. Then when the mom told me, I was just like wow, okay she was serious when she was saying all of that to me."

According to D-Von, while he was initially unaware that he could influence wrestlers of Mone's generation to that effect, he was touched to later find out that Mone's words were in fact genuine. Fast forward to 2024, Mone utilized the D-Von Dudley Academy as a training ground ahead of her in-ring return at AEW Double or Nothing, where she eventually defeated Willow Nightingale to claim the TBS Championship.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Women's Wrestling Talk" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.