This past fall, the Dudley Boyz, consisting of Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes), returned to the WWE in glorious fashion. On the August 24 episode of RAW, following a match between the New Day and the Lucha Dragons, they ran to the ring and took out the frustratingly dominant heels. They entered a feud with the New Day, and helped put them over in the following months. The fans ate it up. I ate it up. I marked out incredibly when I saw the video of their return. (Think Xavier Woods at 1:10.)
Looking back, I should have been more frustrated. You see, when the Dudley Boyz returned to the "WWE Universe," it was quite literally like they hadn't left. No effort was made on commentary to explain where they had been the past decade. It was as if WWE had frozen the Dudley Boyz back in 2005, stuffed them in a warehouse to pass the time, and then brought them back out for a return when the time was right.
But seeing as that is impossible, it certainly was not the case. The fact is, following their initial departure, the Dudley Boyz had a lengthy run in TNA Wrestling. They are not the only stars to jump ship from WWE to TNA for extended runs; they are part of a lengthy list that includes the likes of the Hardys, Christian, Mr. Kennedy, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Kevin Nash, R-Truth, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, etc.
One thing that drives me nuts about the WWE Universe is that in it, other wrestling promotions hardly seem to exist. Aside from TNA Wrestling, in the U.S. alone there’s Ring of Honor, Lucha Underground, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Combat Zone Wrestling, Chikara, Global Force Wrestling, Evolve, House of Hardcore, Shimmer Women’s Athletes, Shine Wrestling, and the list goes on. With perhaps the exception of TNA, these promotions make up what is known as the independent circuit.
There are two exceptions to this rule. Firstly, when a former independent star, such as CM Punk, is allowed to do a worked shoot, dropping a “pipebomb” (4:36). The other exception is when WWE wants to hype a new star’s arrival to WWE, and needs to promote the individual with the fans. These are done with the true, often internationally known stars, most recently, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.
However, this sort of leniency does not appear to work when a WWE star goes elsewhere, only to return some years later, like the Dudley Boyz have recently done. This is not a new phenomenon, as I would come to discover in my digging; the exact same thing happened when Christian (Cage) returned in 2009 on an episode of ECW.
WWE is not required to mention other promotions by any means, although they seemed to have no issue with it during the Monday Night Wars. But WWE would gain a lot from allowing that to happen. Firstly, let me take a closer look at the Dudley Boyz. Due to the WWE’s trademark on the Dudley Boyz’s names and other intellectual property, LoMonaco and Hughes had to alter themselves slightly in TNA.
They became Team 3D, in honor of their finisher, and went by the names Brother Ray and Brother Devon, although they retained similar personalities to their WWE days. After a successful tag team run, Brother Ray (kayfabe) turned on Brother Devon, changing his name to Bully Ray, and splitting up Team 3D for the time being. Following this, both members went on to have runs as singles competitors. Devon had a TNA Television Championship run, and was an early leader of Aces and Eights, before further leadership was revealed.
Meanwhile, Bully Ray had a fantastic run as a singles competitor. He played an important role in the Immortal stable, was the prolonged leader of Aces and Eights, and had major feuds with Mr. Anderson and President of TNA, Dixie Carter. He even developed his own catchphrase, despite the finals consistent jeering of the heel. Bully Ray even had his weapon of choice: the chain he kept around his neck. Not to mention, both Bully Ray and Devon were great with the microphone, as well.
Team 3D would unite as members of Aces and Eights, but would form their own tag team once more in their desire to put Dixie Carter through a table. So what’s the big deal?
When the Dudley Boyz returned last fall, we got none of that. There was so much character development and history from TNA. Essentially, it was like starting to watch a television series, making it to season three, deciding that seasons four through eight were not worth it, and resuming with season nine. There is so much missing. As bizarre as it seems, for me, it feels like the Dudley Boyz are so much more than what their return made them out to be.
Devon was an upper-mid carder in TNA, while Bully Ray consistently main evented. Upon rewatching the video of their return, I noticed something I had not before. At about 3:55, Bubba Ray says to the Prime Time Players, “Do you know who we are? We are the Dudley Boyz, and we are back!” outside the ring, where not many could hear it. For me, it was such a shame that a saying that would once generate jeers upon end in TNA, would end up as a small statement outside the ring to cheering fans.
Secondly, if WWE would open up to other promotions, then it would allow for so much cross-branding and marketing. TNA stars frequently attend other promotions as guest stars, bringing good publicity not only to the wrestlers themselves but to the company as well. Most recently, TNA wrestlers Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III, who wrestled in WWE as Drew McIntyre and Derrick Bateman, respectively made an appearance at Evolve.
The result? A mini-feud between the invading TNA wrestlers and two Evolve mainstays. Suddenly, not only did it create press between the two brands, but a tag-team match between the two at the next Evolve event. Furthermore, in allowing this cross-brand promotion, there creates an opportunity to have traveling champions. What a better way to advertise the TNA Heavyweight Championship than have it defended at AAA, like AJ Styles did in 2013.
In short, I really hope the WWE chooses to open up to other promotions sooner rather than later. It seems like they are inching towards it, but not by much. Former TNA and WWE superstar Mr. Anderson is now a free agent, and I would love to see him back in the WWE. If he does return, though, I hope that the company does not treat him as though he has been stuck in a warehouse for the past seven years.
