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The Dudley Boyz
The Dudley Boyz are one of the most decorated tag teams in all of professional wrestling and one of the reasons is due to their vast fame in multiple wrestling promotions. Thought the title states that these wrestlers had a brief stint, left, and then returned, The Dudley Boyz spent 6 years in the WWF before leaving. And unlike some of the other wrestlers on this list, The Dudley Boyz stories led them to a longer initial time with the company than their return.
Meet the Dudleys
The Dudley Boyz consists of the professional wrestling tag team of half-brothers Bully/Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. They made their first wrestling appearance as members of the Dudley Family in ECW in 1996. Their signature move with the use of tables was the 3D. The move was initiated by Bubba Ray asking D-von to “get the tables.” Winning several championships over 3 years with ECW, The Dudley Boyz dominated the tag team division. In 1999, Bubba Ray and D-Von, the eight-time ECW World Tag Team champions, would lose their titles and head off to the WWF.
$1 to Stay
In 1999, prior to their move to the WWF, Bubba and D-Von asked for a $1 raise over WWF’s offer to stay with ECW. Their request was reportedly denied as ECW owner, Paul Heyman, was working on a deal with Vince McMahon to provide talent to the WWF. In their 6 years with the WWF, Bubba Ray and D-Von continued their use of tables, making it a more mainstream wrestling weapon.
As a matter of history, the inclusion of tables, ladders, and chairs into a match style was led by tag teams including The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz, and Edge and Christian. And as not included in my prior post about TLC, from the first TLC match in 2000 between The Dudley Boyz (tables), The Hardy Boyz (ladders), and Edge and Christian (chairs), every TLC match until 2010 included one of these veterans.
After some time away while still signed with the WWE, Bubba and D-Von were released in 2005 after WWE opted to not renew their contracts. In August of 2005, both Bubba and D-Von were issued notices from the WWE that they could no longer use the name “Dudley” stating it was now belonged to the WWE after their acquisition of intellectual property from ECW.
TNA to Japan and back again
After their departure from the WWE in 2005, Bubba and D-Von spent the next ten years wrestling with TNA as well as appearances with AJPW and Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion. Then in 2015, Bubba Ray make an appearance as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble in January. This is all that we would see of The Dudley Boyz until their return on August 24th. From 2015-2016, both would work to put many new tag teams over at WWE until both retired from wrestling at the end of 2016.
Hall of Fame and legacy
Though quickly stated, this post just scratches the surface of the impact that The Dudley Boyz have had on professional wrestling. For the WWE, their influence was celebrated in 2018 when they were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. As an immense fan of both The Dudley Boyz and the legacy they have left on wrestling, I am extremely grateful that we continue to get amazing matches in the TLC style that they helped originate. When you think of great tag team wrestling, The Dudley Boyz top the list.
AJ Styles
The Beginning
His first time with the WWE (then WWF) was in 2002. He was offered a developmental contract at that time, but tuned it down for his time with Total Nonstop Action (TNA). From 2002 to 2014, he help multiple championships with TNA. He also was part of Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2006 and held the inaugural ROH Pure Championship. In 2014, he signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his debut match. He would hold this title twice in his tenure and would later become the third leader of the Bullet Club.
Back to WWE
As an accomplished wrestler, AJ Styles needed the time away from the WWF/WWE to become a worldwide superstar. Vince McMahon has been quoted as saying that his only regret is not signing AJ Styles sooner. In 2016, Styles officially joined the WWE with a multi-year contract. He entered the 2016 Royal Rumble match at #3 to a major ovation. Since then, he has gone on to hold the WWE Championship multiple times, has semi-reunited with the Bullet Club, has had some of the best matches and feuds, and has become synonymous with Smackdown Live.
The House that AJ Styles Built
As the new “face that runs the place,” AJ Styles has spent his last two and a half years as a major player. He provides some of the most exciting matches against such reputable opponents as John Cena, Chris Jericho, and Brock Lesnar. He is phenomenal on the mic and in the ring. His presence in the WWE has provided the much needed recognition to other promotions such as Ring of Honor and New Japan that was not as prevalent before. A future hall-of-famer and one of the top wrestlers on any roster today, AJ Styles is truly phenomenal.
