The Dudley Boyz are arguably the greatest tag team of all time, with their run as Bubba Ray and D-Von starting in ECW. However, they initially started out as rivals within the Dudley family. So how did they put their differences aside? Speaking on “WWE Retrospective” Bubba, now known to many people as Bully Ray, explained that he went to Paul Heyman and asked him to give them a chance as a duo, and the rest is history .
“I was at a crossroads because I knew people were picking on me, and I knew D-Von and I had chemistry,” Ray said. “That’s how the Dudleys were put together. I showed up at the ECW Arena, it was about 5 o’clock at night, and I went to see Paul Heyman in his office, which was a table in the middle of the locker room. at the ECW Arena, I said, ‘Look, I think if you put D-Von and I together, we’ll have something.’ Paul looked at me and said, ‘Okay, let’s try,’ and that was it.”
The formation of the Dudley Boyz would of course lead to the creation of the Dudley Death Drop, better known as 3D, a move that Ray previously admitted was inspired by a WCW match he saw between Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko. With that in mind, the pair looked back on the first 3D they ever made and thanked Spike Dudley for having the courage to take it on. “This is by far the ugliest 3D ever made, and we put Spike right on his head,” Ray said. “Spike has helped me and D-Von probably more than anyone else.”
Please credit “WWE Retrospective” when using quotes from this article and give H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
