In October of 2025, WWE and TNA Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley had accused a former WWE higher-up of being racist towards him during his time in WWE during the Attitude Era. He stated that this person had told him that they didn’t like him because of the color of his skin. Dudley later confirmed the online speculation of this person was former WWE Head of Talent Relations and current AEW commentator Jim Ross
On his “Grilling JR” podcast, Ross finally broke his silence on the matter. The former WWE commentator denied being racist towards D-Von. JR said,
“Recently I heard that D-Von Dudley thought I was a racist.
That’s so absurd. It’s not even — it doesn’t merit a response. I like D-Von. I like him today. I hired he and Bubba. I thought we did a good job of booking them. They made money. They were put in situations where they could do the things they do best. You know, those TLC matches were pieces of art. They’ll last forever. The Dudleys were a major part of that. I know Bubba for sure because I’ve heard it was involved in the booking of that stuff.
And I don’t know. I was shocked to hear that, because I don’t recall ever having a cross word with D-Von Dudley. I always respected him and his work. I loved the Dudley tag team. So I was — it took me totally off guard. I never said that to D-Von Dudley. And why he would conjure up that, I guess to get attention. I thought, well, maybe he’s not as happy with his post-wrestling life as Bubba is, because Bubba’s made a tremendous success of himself as a broadcaster — and still works. So, I never said that. Some people I’m sure are going to still believe it, and that’s their prerogative, but I’m not angry at D-Von. I just am curious and don’t understand why he went there. Just don’t get it.” Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com
Ross named off Black wrestlers such as Shelton Benjamin, Junkyard Dog and Ernie Ladd that he has either signed to contracts or loved working with his time in pro wrestling.
