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Dudleys are Duds
The Dudley Boyz went from ECW tag champs to WWF tag
chumps
The Dudley Boyz are an odd sight. They wear
tie-dyed T-shirts and glasses that make them look more like classroom
nerds than wrestling ring bullies.
D-Von Dudley's attire consists of short, black overalls
over his T-shirt. Buh Buh Ray Dudley's shirt goes untucked,
leaving little to be imagined around the midsection. His
Confederate flag bandanna adds yet another dimension to a team that
appears to be a collection of opposites.
Despite their unconventional appearance. The
Dudleys have failed to stand out since jumping to the World Wrestling
Federation from Extreme Championship Wrestling in August 1999.
Dudleys' WWF debut
The eight-time ECW world tag team champions and popular
heels debuted on Smackdown Sept. 2, 1999 with a reputation for excelling
in hardcore matches. That night, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray Dudley
(real names: Devon Hughes and Mark Lomonica, respectively) looked like
they were picking up where they left off in ECW.
During a match between Edge and Christian and the
Acolytes, The Dudleys walked down the ramp carrying two-by-fours and
started swinging. Commentators Michael Cole and Jerry "The
King" Lawler played to the situation, wondering aloud who these two
outsiders were and from where these men had come.
Edge and Christian and The Acolytes stood outside the
ring staring blankly at the two wrestlers who had just caused a double
disqualification. Unfortunately for The Dudleys and the WWF, many
fans were doing the same, and many still are.
Dudley job squad
In the months since the Smackdown debut, the WWF and The
Dudleys have not been able to turn the duo's ECW success into WWF glory.
While the team chalked up a few victories in late 1999 (including
beating Kurt Angle and Steve Blackman on the Dec. 9 Smackdown and Kane
and X-Pac on the Oct. 28 Smackdown). The Dudleys have been
relegated largely to jobbing to more established tag teams including The
Acolytes, The Hardy Boyz, and the team of Edge and Christian.
While in ECW, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray Dudley were part of
the federation's most despised group. Along with Spike and Sign
Guy Dudley. The Dudley Boys developed a reputation for cutting
biting promos and inciting near riots with their disparaging remarks
toward fans.
D-Von and Buh Buh Ray Dudley had instant chemistry.
Their Dudley Death Drop (3-D) tandem move - where the opponent is
punished in a combination of a back body drop and a version of the
diamond cutter - became a fear-inspiring finisher. Toward the end
of their ECW run, the Dudleys added a twist on the 3-D by putting
opponents through flaming tables.
The Dudleys' popularity and teamwork raised the eyebrows
of WWF officials. So did another ECW move that forced the WWF to
react.
Just weeks before The Dudleys left, ECW signed a contract
with TNN that gave the federation its first national, cable television
deal. Until that point, ECW had limited exposure. Live shows
were performed in smaller venues in front of rowdier, hardcore fans.
Since ECW's existing syndicated television show was difficult to find on
some cable systems, many casual wrestling fans did not know the
federation existed.
WWF raids competition
The WWF had seen enough from ECW to know that a third
major wrestling federation could be developing. The easiest way
for the WWF to make sure ECW didn't make too big of a splash was to raid
its roster of talent, no matter how obscure the performers may have been
on a national level.
The Dudleys got caught in the middle. The WWF
offered Hughes and Lomonica a substantial raise and told them they would
be worked into story lines immediately. The WWF didn't need
another tag team. It just wanted to make sure ECW didn't have its
top one as it went national on TNN.
"I wish they wouldn't have left," Tazz wrote
about The Dudley Boyz on his Web site on Aug. 4 "But business
is business, and they deserve it. They are the hardest working tag
team I have ever seen in my 13 years in the business."
Turn Dudleys loose
While the money might be good. The Dudleys are
going to need to work overtime to make their WWF run a success. In
the current WWF tag team structure. The Dudleys have yet to find a
niche. Because of their bigger size, they don't work well with
high-flyers like Edge and Christian or The Hardys, two young teams the
WWF is pushing.
The Dudleys need to be set loose. They have yet to
reclaim ECW-like glory on the microphone because the WWF hasn't allowed
them to. In his first few months in the WWF, Buh Buh Ray revived
his old stuttering gimmick from ECW, but he earned few laughs and little
legitimate heat. The two haven't had an extended interview and
only recently were they involved in angles with the top tag teams.
"The Dudleys came in and not a lot of people knew
who they were," said a WWF tag team wrestler who asked to remain
anonymous. "At that time, ECW was still only a common name to
a handful of wrestling fans. they didn't have a lot of time to
develop their characters because they were thrown right in there.
Here, you normally have to pay your dues. The WWF is fair, and I
think if (The Dudleys) keep gong along with what they're told, there
will be good things to come for them."
May 2000
WOW Magazine
The Dudleys Speak Out
Buh Buh Ray refutes WOW's claim that the "Dudleys
Are Duds" in the WWF
In the March 2000 issue of WOW Magazine, a feature
article on The Dudley Boyz entitled "Dudleys are Duds"
questioned the move of the tag team from Extreme Championship Wrestling
to the World Wrestling Federation in August 1999.
In this excerpt from a recent interview conducted by
freelance writer Robert Johnson at a WWF house show in Mobile, Ala., Buh
Buh Ray Dudley shares his thoughts on the WOW article and provides
insight as to why the move to the WWF is paying off for the tag team.
Q: How do you react to WOW Magazine saying you
and D-Von should have stayed in ECW?
A: In ECW, we were eight-time tag team champions.
There was nothing left for us to do. We'd beaten every tag team.
They even tried to bring The Public Enemy back, and we beat the hell out
of them (on Jan. 23. 1999 in Detroit). The only tag team left that
they could have put us against - and this was a team that existed in EWE
in the early days - was Task and Sabot. But after winning the
title eight times, what more is here to do? We've put more guys
through flaming tables than anyone else.
A: How do you respond to Wow's claim that The
Dudley Boyz got no hype when coming to the WWF bad that it was a mistake
to make the move?
A: We came into the WWF actually very happy that we
didn't get all the pyro, the lights and the big explosions. D-Von
and I have always earned our spot the old-fashioned way, through our
in-ring work. If you come in with a huge push and you don't
succeed - or the fans don't take a liking to you -the (the federation)
has to cut back on you. We came in at a low level, so if things
didn't go right, they could always push us in a different direction.
Instead, they built us up over five months.
Now they're finally handing us the bal and we're scoring
with it left and right. The people at WOW should have said
"Let's give the Dudleys a chance." When the Dudleys
first came into ECW, we weren't overnight sensations. It took us
some time,especially when we became a tag team, to establish ourselves
and work together.
Whether it's wrestling, brawling, high-end stunts or a
technical match, we have the best tag team finish in wrestling.
The 3D (Dudley Death Drop) is an incredible move. Why would the
WWF let a tag team from ECW come in and just take over? They're
going to let us beat The Acolytes really quick? Absolutely not.
They're going to put the straps on us really quick? Absolutely
not. They're doing the right thing.
Q: What does the future hold for The Dudley
Boyz in the WWF?
A: The push is starting and I hope it lasts. We're
going to keep giving the WWF every reason to keep handing us the ball.
There are only a few guys who get monster pushes that last for a long
time. I hope we can be the next tag team. We entertain the
people on a totally different level. What the Dudleys come through
the curtain. There's some cheering, there's some booing, but
everybody is starting to stand up because they know something is about
to see something that no other wrestlers are willing to do.
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