D-Von Dudley looked back on the infamous live event incident involving Bubba Ray Dudley, Batista, and Randy Orton where D-Von was the only wrestler in the entire match to walk out without an injury.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, D-Von was asked about Batista’s past comments regarding Bubba Ray Dudley after a March 1, 2003 WWE live event in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The match started off pretty good. I started off with Randy. We had a good opening for the match.
And then I remember he tags Batista. Bubba comes in and they lock up.
D-Von said Batista appeared to suffer his injury while trying to shove Bubba in the face during the match.
As they lock up, Batista gets the better of Bubba, gets him into the corner.
What I vaguely remember that night was Batista going to mush Bubba in the face, you know, to show the heel type in him. And what happened was as soon as he went to go shove him, his tricep tore.
D-Von called Batista’s injury one of the strangest in-ring accidents he had seen.
It was the freakiest accident I think I’d ever seen.
His tricep tore and Batista never got to Bubba’s face when it did.
D-Von said Randy Orton was then brought into the match, where another injury occurred during a flapjack spot with The Dudley Boys.
When it happened, Randy was brought in and as Randy gets brought in, me and Bubba, we were going to give him a flapjack.
And as we both lift him, somehow or another, the leg that Bubba had to bring him up in the air with me got underneath somehow or another, some crazy, crazy way got behind Bubba.
So when we came down to the mat, Bubba landed on his ankle.
D-Von said Orton’s foot was broken during the spot.
You could hear this god-awful scream from Randy because his foot right then and there was broken.
Bubba is on the ground barely moving. And I’m like, “What the hell’s going on? I’m the only one standing. Batista’s hurt. Randy’s hurt. Bubba’s hurt.”
I’m like, “What the hell do I do?”
D-Von said he checked on Orton backstage and remembered Orton telling him his foot was likely broken.
I do remember going in the back. Randy’s on the gurney and I’m asking him, “Is he all right?”
And he was like, “D-Von, I think my foot is broken.”
I was like, “Damn it.”
D-Von said he does not recall Bubba screaming at Orton afterward, though he said he could not definitively speak for what Batista and Orton remember.
I don’t really recall Bubba yelling and screaming at Randy.
Now, maybe those two remember. I don’t know. I can’t say yes or no to that.
D-Von said he did remember Bubba being upset over what happened.
I remember him being wheeled off into the ambulance and Bubba saying to him, he goes, “D-Von, I don’t know how that happened.”
I know Bubba was upset about it, but again, I don’t remember him screaming at Randy.
D-Von said Orton and Bubba later spoke and settled things before The Dudley Boys returned to WWE.
I do know Randy and Bubba kind of made up a little bit.
They talked about it. I don’t know if it was on the phone or if it was in person.
It was right before we came back for our second run and they pretty much squashed the beef.
D-Von said he does not believe Batista and Bubba ever had the same conversation.
Batista and Bubba, I don’t believe did.
I think when they saw each other at the shows, they just didn’t say anything to each other. They looked at each other and turned away.
D-Von said he does not believe there was any malicious intent involved in the injuries that night.
I don’t think there was any malicious intent to hurt Randy.
They talked about it. I remember Bubba telling me and Randy telling me they talked about it.
It’s water under the bridge.
D-Von said the match was ultimately an unfortunate accident.
I think the whole night was just a freakish accident.
It was something that should have never happened, but it did. And things like that happen in the world of professional wrestling.
D-Von also said he understood the perspectives of Bubba, Batista, and Orton because of his relationships with all three men.
I was friends with Dave because of the Reverend D-Von thing and we drove together. We did everything together at one point in time.
Randy drove with me as well and of course Bubba being my tag team partner.
So, I’m stuck in the middle between all three guys. It’s like, what do I do?
D-Von said he tried to remain neutral because everyone involved had their own view of what happened.
I’m kind of treading very lightly because again, I know all three have their opinion on what happened that night and all three have their opinion on what happened after that night.
I had to play the role of being D-Von and being very neutral and understand everybody’s argument in this.
I do. I understand Randy, I understand Batista, and I definitely understand Bubba.
D-Von said he would like to see Bubba and Batista eventually mend fences, but he also said he wishes the issue had not returned to social media.
Who wants to see friends fighting, bickering, carrying on? Of course, I would want to see that.
I don’t want to see them at each other’s throats going on social media.
D-Von said social media can amplify these issues beyond what they already are.
The biggest thing with this is social media. They will take it and run with it and build it up more than it already is being built up.
I would not have put it out there in social media.
D-Von said he hopes the matter can stop resurfacing.
I hope these guys can find some type of resolution where they can come together and stop giving social media ammo to go out there and make this stuff start trending.
I feel bad that this stuff is resurfacing again.
It’s a little disturbing to me. I wish that it didn’t.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit D-Von Dudley’s YouTube channel, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
