From Boyz to Superstars

By Jon Lane

That's the perception. If it were up to them, the Dudley Boyz would shed their nice guy outfit faster than wolves disguised in sheep's clothing. In Extreme Championship Wrestling, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray evolved from dysfunctional fools to the company’s baddest and most feared tag team. The success in ECW led to a place in the World Wrestling Federation. They had hoped to again thrive as heels, but ultimately, the Dudleys met the same fate as Stone Cold Steve Austin. No matter what they did in the ring to whatever face and no matter how heinous the acts, the fans loved it.

The true essence of the Dudley Boyz, now one of the Federation's top babyface tag teams, was never more apparent than during an ECW show in Toledo, Ohio, shortly before their Federation debut. That night, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray competed against their wrestling cousin, Spike, and Balls Mahoney at an ECW television taping. In the midst of a brawl in the mezzanine section of the building, Buh Buh Ray, a menacing specimen at 6-4, 275 pounds, grabbed and held his victim by the hair.

"Buh Buh Ray Dudley really isn't a persona played in the ring. (His actions that night) is really the way I am," said Buh Buh Ray, relaxed, enthused and recalling the incident at Toledo. "If I ever take my opponent's blood and wipe it across my face to show that I can't be intimidated, that's fine. In ECW, that was an accepted gimmick. If I were to ever do that in the WWF, I don't know how they would react."

The Dudleys like to consider themselves an interactive tag team. When Buh Buh Ray shouts "GET THE TABLE!" to D-Von, it’s their way of inviting the fans to participate in what they do best -- putting people through tables and other various acts of violence. The Dudleys give the people what they want -- exactly what the faces are supposed to do. They embrace it and do it well, but don't be fooled, because at heart the Dudleys are heels. Big, bad, vicious, cold-blooded, in-your-face heels -- what both Dudleys feel define their true selves more than anything. "Being hated, in my eyes, said Buh Buh Ray, is a lot more fun than being loved," Buh Buh said.

D-Von and Buh Buh Ray knew the Federation would be different. They knew they couldn't run rampant like they did in an environment where anarchy ruled.

Ready to adopt to a more controlled and structured environment, the Dudley Boyz made their Federation debut in September of 1999 with little-to-no fanfare. Their debut lacked the hype of Tazz, the big bang and glitz of Chris Jericho, or the reputation of the Radicalz. But over time, their impact would be on par with their fellow, former ECW competitors with the same brute tactics and force that carved their niche in ECW -- this time with a twist. In 2000, the Dudleys became Federation Tag Team Champions, and were participants in WrestleMania's Three-Way Tag Team Ladder Match and SummerSlam's Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match -- both regarded by many as two of the greatest matches in Federation history.

"We're happy the way we came in -- with no high expectations," Buh Buh Ray said. "We came in as a tag team from someplace else. We started off, we busted our ass, we paid our dues and we earned our stripes the old fashioned way -- in the ring and by working hard. I don't think anybody ever thought that the Dudley Boyz would have gotten this far in the WWF, especially in their first year."

"We proved to a lot of people that we weren't going to be two guys who got lost in the shuffle in the WWF," D-Von said. "Buh Buh and I knew that going in, but we knew what we could do, and we were going to let our work speak for itself. It wasn't going to be a big transformation for us. To prove that we could do it, that just made us happy that we succeeded."

Overall, they've blended the old ECW raving lunatics with two characters that play to the crowd, a formula that has elevated the Dudleys to both elite and respected status. And, to their surprise, they've accepted and enjoyed their unexpected role as babyfaces, even though it wasn't supposed to be this way.

Last January the Dudleys put Terri through a table to begin a cycle of Federation women who would meet the same fate (including Mae Young, Lita, Trish Stratus, Tori). Repulsed by their actions, Federation announcer Jim Ross called them “Dose damn Dudleys.” D-Von and Buh Buh Ray were ready to roll as heels.

"It was weird. The more we brought out the tables, the more people would cheer. The more ruthless we got, the more people would cheer," said an incredulous D-Von. The adulation even turned into the absurd. D-Von recalled a time at an autograph session when a fan asked if he and Buh Buh Ray would put his grandmother through a table. "It just explains a lot about society," he said. “It's crazy. We put The Rock through a table, there was a mixed reaction. Another time we put the Undertaker though a table, we got cheered. It was unbelievable. There was nothing we could do that was ruthless that the people wouldn't turn on us."

To Buh Buh, the jeers heard in ECW were not due to he and D-Von being ruthless people. It was because they used to get on people so heavy on the microphone, it'd be impossible not to. "We went so far -- especially myself --on the microphone that no matter what we did in the ring, the people hated us," he said. "The people in the WWF love us for the violence. We don't attack the people, we don't go after the people, we go after the people in the ring. I wonder what it says about today's society as far as people cheering women and old women and men being put through tables. It's kind of sick but it's kind of fun. We just give the people what they want to see."

Pleasing the people has convinced the Dudleys that being babyfaces isn't such a bad thing. It's allowed them to make the fans a part of the show and even incorporate the popular "Whassup?" tag line that Buh Buh had longed to use as part of his act. "It's become such a cool little tag line it's kind of like the 'Where's the beef?' of the year 2000," he said. "I said there has to be, somehow, a way we could capitalize on this and use it. I said I'll slam the guy, I'll spread his legs, D-Von will go up there, we'll say 'Whassup?' to each other and I can almost guarantee that the people will get with it."

The people have responded - in a big way, which has allowed the Dudleys to enjoy the ride and not regret their change of direction. "We figured, ‘what the heck, we'll give it a try,' said D-Von on the turn from heels to faces. "For four, five years, we had been bad guys in ECW. We decided, ‘What the heck, ride it.' Eventually, we'll probably come up with something that would put us right back in the spot of turning heel. Besides, babyface reaction usually means a lot of money. Can't complain about that!"

Babyface reaction toward the Dudleys can be traced back to their ECW debut in 1996. Well before D-Von showed up, the Dudley family began with Big Dick, Little Snot and Dudley Dudley, and grew to include Buh Buh, Dances With, Sign Guy and Little Spike -- from the town of Dudleyville.

Over time, the Dudleys' image as circus clowns began to wane. As Dances With and Dudley Dudley went their separate ways, D-Von debuted in ECW as an antagonist and antithesis to Buh Buh Ray. Buh Buh would dance and play to the crowd; D-Von would rile them up with his three Dudley Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. And thou shalt not F*** with the Dudleys!"

Even with the team generating momentum in ECW, the Dudleys' goal back then was learning not to allow the people to control what they do. "The reaction is, ‘Don't react to them,’" D-Von said. "Do your own thing." Over time, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray grew more comfortable with their characters and each other. And when the time was right, they used ECW's free-for-all platform and set out to become the biggest, most destructive heels not only in the seven-year history of ECW, but also in the history of sports entertainment.

Running roughshod through many ECW competitors (including Little Spike) en route to eight ECW Tag Team Championships, the Dudleys also carved their legacy with an innovative finishing maneuver that became known as 3-D, the Dudley Death Drop.

"Everything you see in the ring has been invented by the Dudleys," Buh Buh Ray said. "Whether it's 3-D -- which is, in my opinion, the best tag team finishing move in wrestling today -- I'll put it up against any top-three wrestling moves in tag team history -- or the 'Whassup?' spot with D-Von giving the headbutt to the balls, or the table shots. Whether it's the powerbomb or 3-D through the table, the clothesline off the top rope -the Dudleys do things in there that are so totally different. We're very unique."

Throughout their time in ECW, the Dudleys' unique heel heat worked to perfection. It identified who they were, stamped them as legends in the organization and punched their ticket to the Federation. Being established babyfaces in the Federation was the furthest thing from their minds when they signed the contract, yet somehow, they've made it work when many thought it never would. Then again, the Dudley Boys weren't supposed to be anything more than a bunch of clowns. Their final night in ECW, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray were given a standing ovation for their years of service to the company. Keep in mind this was the same duo who were first laughed at, who people then laughed with, and later were frequent targets of trash and verbal taunts.

"It was a great feeling to know that what we did in that ring didn't go unappreciated," D-Von said. "The respected us for what we did. That's the key word. Even though they were throwing stuff at us and things like that, they respected what we did in the ring and realized that we weren't just two guys doing comedy. We were for real. We were serious."

The Dudleys are serious enough to pursue -- and win -- eight Federation Tag Team Championships, and it still wouldn't quite quench the desire that still burns deep inside them. Before leaving ECW, Buh Buh cut what he calls one of the most famous promos in his career, when he said, "In ECW, boys became men and men became heroes. In the WWF, heroes became legends and legends became gods. And if God was a heel, he'd be the Dudley Boyz."

"A pretty heavy promo," even the normally presumptuous and bombastic Buh Buh said sheepishly. "It's kind of been my battle cry for a long time."