Recently released WWE star confirms plans to turn heel; takes shot at former colleagues

There have been a bunch of releases made by WWE since January, and one of those former stars recently confirmed initial plans to turn him heel. Duke Hudson, who was part of Chase University, also took some shots at his former colleagues.

Hudson was signed by WWE in 2019 and even got called up to the main roster under his real name, Brendan Vink. He teamed up with Shane Thorne, and they were even managed by MVP at one point.

The Australian star was then sent to NXT and was given the Duke Hudson character as part of Chase University. He won the NXT Tag Team Championship with Andre Chase before the group was eventually disbanded late last year. He was then released last month.

In a post on X (fka Twitter) Hudson continued to show his new gimmick of having two versions of himself talking to each other in an interview-style video titled Wrestling with Identity.

The 'bad guy' version of him then mentioned something about turning heel at one point during their time at Chase U. The character also took a subtle shot at former members Charlie Dempsey, Jacy Jayne, and Ridge Holland.

"We can walk the walk or we can talk the talk. But you forgot what were capable of because of some imaginary ceiling they put on you on your beloved university. Now imagine if we turned on the University like originally planned. Maybe we'll be in a different situation. Maybe you have a reason to not seat on your a** and mope all day. ... Look at what turning did for the others. Look at the undeserving scumbags that benefited from the university's hard work, Dempsey, Jacy, Ridge for crying out loud," Hudson said.

It will be interesting to see if Duke Hudson gets an opportunity to show his new gimmick in a different promotion like TNA or AEW. WWE might also bring him back given how refreshing his character is at the moment.

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WWE Hall of Famer comments on Duke Hudson's release

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T discussed the release of Duke Hudson and why it happened. The WWE legend explained that Hudson spent almost six years in developmental, which was too long for anyone.

"The thing is, six years in the NXT system, that’s going to be way too long for anyone. I say it all the time, if you don’t change with the times, the times will pass you by," Booker T said. [H/T Fightful]

While some fans might not like Booker T's comments, Duke Hudson spent time with the legend's promotion Reality of Wrestling before signing with WWE.