Dudley Boyz Q&A

By Kari Culver

The Dudley Boyz have been a wrestling tag team duo for more than 20 years. In August 2015, their triumphant return to the ring here in Brooklyn for WWE Monday Night Raw brought the crowd to its feet in excitement.  We caught up with the duo to talk about life in the ring.

How has working together for so many years benefited you in the ring?

D-Von:  Well, we know each other like we’re brothers, brothers from different mothers.  Being around each other for so long, we know what each other likes, what we don’t like, how we move in the ring.  It’s like being with a real brother, just knowing the person inside and out.  The one thing I love about him and I, is that we’re on the same page.  It’s not like any other tag team where they’re on different pages or they don’t get along or what have you.  We get along.  We’ve been wrestling for twenty years and that’s unheard of in this business.

Bubba Ray:  We’re actually the last of a dying breed, the last of the Mohicans, so to speak.  The Dudley Boyz are probably the last legitimate tag team walking the planet.  When you think of traditional tag teams, The Road Warriors, The Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat, The Hardy’s, The Anderson’s…the Dudley’s are the last of that great group of tag teams.  Being together 20 years has given us the opportunity to be known as the most successful tag team that’s ever existed.

Do you have any favorite moments in the ring?

Bubba Ray:  One of our most favorite moments ever happened right here in this building at Barclays Center.

D-Von:  Absolutely.

Bubba Ray:  The night after Summerslam on Monday Night Raw, me and D-Von returned to the WWE Universe to one of probably the loudest reactions, if not THE loudest reaction that has ever occurred in this building.

Are there any fan interactions that stand out for you throughout your career?

D-Von:  In ECW, we’ve done so many things.  We’ve been known for starting riots.  We’ve been known for doing a lot of that stuff, but we’ve had great times with the fans and we’ve had bad times with the fans.  Take it for what it’s worth: for the last 10-15 years we’ve been going out there entertaining fans.  We’ve been going out there doing our thing and it shows.  When we returned to the WWE, I think not just because we came back, but the fans appreciated the Dudley Boyz after everything we’ve done in 20 years, being together, it wasn’t just us returning, but it was like, “Thank You.”

Bubba Ray:  We’ve had people take us to court and we’ve had people name their children after us, that and everything in between pretty much sums up the question.

What’s the most painful injury you’ve sustained in the ring?

D-Von:  I think for me, torn pec muscle and a slight tear in the Achilles heel.  It was really bad to the point where you just don’t know how those muscles really work for you.  I tore my groin.

Bubba Ray:  I’ve had a bunch of them, shattered ankle, broken ribs.  I gotta tell ya, for the amount of physical, for lack of a better word, destruction we’ve put our bodies through, we’ve come out relatively unscathed.  We’re in our early 40s and probably better now than we’ve ever been physically.  We’ve been lucky.

If you could have a tag team match against any wrestlers in history, who would it be?

D-Von:  I think the obvious one we’ve been saying is LOD The Road Warriors.  A lot of people put us in the same category as The Road Warriors so when they were done we kind of took over where they left off.  I think in everybody’s mind it would be LOD.

Bubba Ray:  I agree.  I’m just a little concerned because your cameraman looks like one of the members of the Wyatt family, so he could be like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

What’s one question you never get asked in interviews that you wish someone would ask, and what would the answer be?

D-Von:  “Is D-Von sensitive?”  I’m very sensitive.  I’m someone that needs love 24/7.  I care about my emotions; I feel it.

Bubba Ray:  The one question I never get asked is, “Do you want to throw up when D-Von gives his horse crap answers?”  So there you go.