Rene Dupree Discusses Bubba Ray Taking Liberties, Concussions Suffered in WWE, Not Getting Medical Treatment, Injury Negligence, More

– Rene Dupree recently spoke with the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast, discussing his take on WWE Developmental, NXT, his issues with his former tag team partner Sylvan, disdain for Bubba Ray Dudley, Hardcore Holly…

Did he get along with former tag team partners (Sylvan Grenier and Kenzo Suzuki) : As far as Sly, no I didn’t like the guy. Does that answer your question? We don’t like each other, we haven’t talked to each other and probably never will. He (Kenzo Suzuki) was great. That’s when I got into Japanese culture was traveling with him and his wife. I spent more time in Japan then I did with the WWE or the United States. I had a seven or eight year career there but now I am winding down, I’m only 31 going to be 32 in December but I’ve had my fill with wrestling. I say that now but a wrestler never retires.

Working in Japan over The United States and WWE’s current product: If you are good, you can get anybody off their ass. It took time but I learned how to get them off their ass and that’s why I stayed there so long. I learned how to get over with that crowd. There it’s different, for example if it’s an opening match they are going to treat it as an opening match but if it’s a match with significance, like a title match that has importance and has been built up right they will get more involved and into it and more into the false finishes and be just as loud as an American crowd. Now with WWE, they do everything on TV. Nobody gives a sh*t if it’s a title match or not. You don’t even know the rules or know what the hell is going on. Who gives a sh*t if it’s a title match, they switch the belt every other week, as far as tag titles or Intercontinental. I couldn’t tell you who the tag champs are or who the Intercontinental Champion is now, I don’t know.

How have injuries played a part in his wrestling career coming to an end: I’m pretty much done with the whole wrestling game. I’d like to do the convention circuit so I don’t have to take any bumps because my brains are so scrambled from throughout the years that it’s starting to affect me and starting to affect my daily life. Now that I am getting older, it started when I was around 27, I started forgetting stuff, I had twenty-five concussions just within WWE. You think about well I have so many, not really when you work a full time schedule and I was there for 5 1/2 years and when you wrestle what 150- 250 matches a year to have four or five concussions a year do you think that’s highly unlikely? No, that’s normal.

Did The Dudley Boyz take liberties with him in the ring: Does a bear sh*t in the woods? Oh my God. I’ve had so many concussions from Bubba Ray Dudley it’s not even funny. You know Chris Nowinski had to retire because of Bubba Ray giving him concussions right? Devon, it’s universal everyone likes Devon because he’s a pro, but Bubba can be difficult to work with.

What he thinks led to The Dudleyz leaving WWE in 2005: One time in the ring, Sly screwed up a spot and then Bubba punched him in the face and bloodied his nose and Sly asked him why backstage and Bubba went off and punched him in the face again. Sylvan was very good friends with Pat Patterson and they weren’t around shortly thereafter.

The WWE Developmental process and the Performance Center: Who have they developed since they’ve had that Performance Center? The ones that will become stars are the ones that will prove themselves elsewhere. Quite frankly there is not too many place to go and learn but the ones that show the heart and determination and the love for it, not some f*cking ex-football player that twisted his ankle in camp and can’t play in the NFL anymore, not some underwear model or some bodybuilder. The ones that will make it and will get over and will put up with their bullsh*t quite frankly are the guys that love it.

His take on former WWE Superstars suing WWE for negligence in relation to injuries: I don’t know anything of it but I can tell you from experience that, yeah there is definitely or at least there was. I don’t know about now, I think they are trying to cover their tracks. I have no opinion of it. What happens, happens and I just want to stay clear from that place.

Were there ever motions to push medical treatment: They definitely didn’t. I personally got knocked out one night. I was wrestling Rob Van Dam and he hit me with a spin kick and I was out for five hours. I was out on my feet for five and half hour! I didn’t get no concussions tests. I didn’t even go to a doctor. After a concussion you are not supposed to go to sleep, well I woke up in my bed and Sylvan called me up and said you got kicked in the head and don’t worry about it. You know how long I waited until I got back in the ring? I was back in the next night. Remember the Bob Holly Incident? I got kicked about fifth-teen or twenty times in the f*cking head with a wrestling boot. You know how hard the sole of a wrestling boot is? It’s like a steel-toed boot. Did I go get a concussion test. No. Did I go to a doctor? Yes, but just to see if anything was broken around my eye.

What led to the infamous Bob Holly incident and did anyone encourage his attack: I was a kid and I made a mistake not paying a parking ticket and I offered to pay him double for whatever it is that I owed him and that wasn’t good enough. So, he threatened to kill me on a plane and threatened to run me over. The guy is a psychopath. I am a firm believer because I was about twenty and he was forty-one and I believe he was suffering from dementia to be honest with you. John Laurenitis is behind it all too because he is the one who booked me in a f*cking match with him and they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew exactly what was going to happen and they were laughing at it, the whole place is f*cking corrupt.