The 2018 Hall of Fame class is beginning to grow, and the next tag team up happens to be the most decorated team in wrestling history. Even with all of their titles the Dudley Boyz may also be the most underappreciated team of the Attitude Era. The team will now be in 2 Hall of Fames as they are already members of the TNA Hall of Fame.
The Dudley Boyz or Team 3D are the only team to have won the ECW, WCW, WWF/E, TNA, NWA and IWGP tag team titles. Winning the belts in almost every organization that matters around the world the Dudleyz have been part of some classic feuds and some matches that changed wrestling.
They maybe the most forgotten team of the trio that started the now legendary TLC matches. The brothers brought the “T” to the match with their signature tables that they have put many competitors through. Fans can wait for Bubba to say his signature “Devon get the tables”. A match with Bubba and Devon meant you were going to be for a fight.
Starting their careers in ECW as a part of the Dudley family stable which consisted of the illegitimate kids of one “Big Daddy” Dudley. They were a comedic crew chasing the ECW tag titles until D-Von brought the game change. Bubba was unsuccessful in trying to acquire the belts with other members of the clan. In 1997 at the “Hostile City Showdown” D-Von and Bubba captured their first taste of gold against The Eliminators. The Dudleyz would go to war with Eliminators, The Gangstas and FBI over the belts. Their most notable beef came against Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. They won the belts 7 times in ECW before making the jump to WWF in 1999.
Bringing some of that ECW grit to WWF helped them dig deep into the new Attitude Era that pushed the company over WCW. This is also where the team brought the tables to primetime. Working as heels Bubba seemed to like to put women through tables. Molly Holly, Jazz and Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Mae Young were all victims of the Dudleyz table. In 2000 the team started a feuding with The Hardy Boyz and later Edge and Christian over the tag titles which led to the 3-way rivalry that created TLC. The Dudleyz with their tables, Edge and Christian brought chairs and the Hardyz were masters of the ladder match.
After TLC made them legends the Dudleyz went on and won the WCW titles after the WWF acquired the now defunct promotion and Bubba and D-Von were part of the Alliance who were trying to take down the WWF. They defeated the Hardy Boyz to unify the WWF and WCW tag team titles in 2001 at Survivor Series. After 2005 the team left WWE and made their way to TNA.
After leaving the WWE they were now known as Team 3D and left a big mark in the growing promotion that was TNA. Even though it was only a little over 10 years ago fans may not remember how big TNA was, as it now exists in wrestling Siberia as Impact Wrestling. On Spike TV they looked like a soon to be legit replacement for WCW. Feuding with new teams like LAX and America’s Most Wanted the team found fresh rivalries that lead them to the NWA Tag Team Titles. They also found old foes in James Gang (New Aged Outlaws) and faced classic teams like The Steiners.
As TNA moved away from the NWA the team won the rebranded belts. During their run there was a working relationship with Japan that allowed the Team 3D to win belts over there capturing the IWGP Tag Team Titles. After their run with the faction Aces and Eights the guys finished up their run in TNA and came back to the WWE in 2015 or one last run. Battling new teams like The New Day and The Usos, they proved that they still had the magic and fans still wanted to see the tables. Bubba Ray and D-Von have trekked all over the world and proven to be one of the greatest tag teams of all time and now will be immortally recognized.
Written By
Keith B. Holt
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