There were a lot of Dudleys in ECW. But two managed to stand out among the rest and, after decades of success, enter the WWE Hall of Fame.
When the Dudley gimmick first started, a lot of the characters were nothing more than comedy characters -- especially Bubba Ray Dudley, who was first portrayed as a naive stuttering babyface. It wasn't until D-Von Dudley, a far more serious character, came into the fray where they started to get taken more seriously. The Dudley Boyz spoke to CBS Sports about the formation of the Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley team.
"We were considered a joke at one point," D-Von said. "Bubba was stuttering and there are like nine other Dudleys coming in from other places. It was like a 'ha ha' moment. But when we got together, that 'ha ha' moment became real and became serious. That's when people started taking us serious because of what we were doing in the ring and the commotion and the chaos we were causing."
While he credits the earlier members of the Dudley faction with the development of their characters, Bubba Ray feels in the end it was him and D-Von who had the connection that would take them to the next level.
"A lot of those guys came before us and they were important to the initial characters of the Dudley Boyz," Bubba Ray said. "But there was just something different and special about me and D-Von. We don't say that out of ego; we say that out of fact. We knew early on that it was us that was getting the job done and making the mark."
The other Dudley Boyz were eventually faded out in favor of other Dudley Boyz, such as Big Dick Dudley, Sign Guy Dudley, and Spike Dudley, who also ended up having a run in the WWE.
