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Dudley Boyz
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- For the rest of the stable see Dudley family.
- For the competitive video game team formerly known as Team 3D see 3D.NY.
Team 3D is a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray (Mark LoMonaco), Brother Devon (Devon Hughes), and formerly Brother Runt (Matt Hyson). The team is now working in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). They are the current IWGP Tag Team Champions in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as HUSTLE's Super Tag Team Champions.
The team was previously known as the Dudley Boyz (Buh-Buh/Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von, and Spike Dudley) and are best known for their work in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
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Encyclopedia
- For the rest of the stable see Dudley family.
- For the competitive video game team formerly known as Team 3D see 3D.NY.
Team 3D is a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray (Mark LoMonaco), Brother Devon (Devon Hughes), and formerly Brother Runt (Matt Hyson). The team is now working in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). They are the current IWGP Tag Team Champions in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as HUSTLE's Super Tag Team Champions.
The team was previously known as the Dudley Boyz (Buh-Buh/Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von, and Spike Dudley) and are best known for their work in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). LoMonaco and Hughes are best known for working together in the group as a tag team. They are marketed as the most decorated tag team in professional wrestling history.
On May 21, 2007, Brother Ray and Devon opened the Team 3D Academy of Professional Wrestling and Sports Entertainment at the X-Cel Fitness Gym in Kissimmee, Florida.
History
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996–1999)
Buh-Buh Ray and D-Von (two of the many on-screen sons of Willy Lomanesque "Big Daddy" Dudley) began wrestling together in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1996. All the members of the villainous Dudley family chased for the ECW Tag Team Championship at that time. Spike Dudley also debuted in 1996 and teamed with Buh Buh Ray against the Full Blooded Italians. After initially battling each other, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von joined as a team on February 1, 1995. They became the most successful members of Dudley family as they dominated the tag team division of ECW. They won their first ECW Tag Team Championship from The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) at Hostile City Showdown on March 15, 1997. This win resulted in a rivalry with the Eliminators, who won the title back at ECW's first pay-per-view event Barely Legal. On June 20, the Dudleys won their second ECW Tag Team Championship from Kronus in a handicap match due to Saturn being injured.
The Dudley Boyz began their next rivalry with The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa Saed), which began after Dudleys defeated the Gangstas to retain the tag titles at Orgy of Violence on June 28. The Dudleys, however, lost the tag titles to Gangstas in a steel cage weapons match at Heat Wave on July 19, 1997. In less than a month, the Dudleys defeated Gangstas at Hardcore Heaven to win their third ECW Tag Team Championship. After Mustafa and Saturn parted ways with ECW, New Jack and Kronus teamed up to form The Gangstanators and beat the Dudleys for the tag title at As Good as it Gets on September 20. At November to Remember, the Dudleys participated in a four way dance for the tag title, involving the champs The F.B.I. (Tracy Smothers and Little Guido), Gangstanators and The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten). F.B.I. won the match and retained the titles.
The Dudleys began a rivalry with Tommy Dreamer and Sandman in the summer of 1998. At Wrestlepalooza, they lost to Dreamer and Sandman. Eventually, the Dudleys turned on Spike, who then became involved in the rivalry. At Heat Wave, however, the three Dudleys lost to Dreamer, Sandman and Spike in a 6-man tag team Street Fight, ending the feud. On October 24, 1998, the Dudleys defeated Sabu and Rob Van Dam to win their fourth ECW Tag Team Championship. At November to Remember, however, they lost the titles to Masato Tanaka and Balls Mahoney.
With the departure of The Sandman, the Dudley Boyz took advantage of Sabu's ban from competing in the US, and D-Von defeated Rob Van Dam in singles competition for their sixth ECW World Tag Team Title. With a brewing feud between the Dudleys and the Impact Players, (Justin Credible and Lance Storm) Buh Buh Ray and D-Von still had their hands full with the new team of Spike Dudley and Balls Mahoney. It was at Heatwave in 1999 that Spike and Mahoney beat the Dudleys for the gold. The Dudleys, however, powerbombed both men through flaming tables—the first time such a thing had been seen on PPV. With the possibility of a Dudley Boyz jump to WWF in late 1999, the Dudleys won their seventh ECW Tag Team Championship at a house show from Spike and Mahoney, only to lose them the next night at another house show. It was on the second airing of ECW on TNN that the Dudley Boyz won their record eighth ECW world Tag Team Titles from Spike and Mahoney. After a threat to take the titles with them to WWF, Tommy Dreamer and Raven won the belts from the Dudleys, sending them to the WWF title-less.
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1999–2005)
In 1999, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von joined the World Wrestling Federation. They requested a $1 raise above the WWF's offer to stay in ECW, but their request was denied because ECW owner Paul Heyman was working a deal with Vince McMahon to supply talent to the WWF. Upon entering the WWF, Buh Buh Ray was renamed "Bubba Ray Dudley" and began sporting thick black glasses with white tape around them. He also began stuttering his promos - returning to a character trait he had initially used early in his ECW tenure. D-Von began wearing thick white glasses with black tape and slapping Bubba in the back of the head to help him get his words out. After several weeks, most of the gimmick was dropped. They also dropped their classic tie-dye attire and begin wearing camouflage-like ring attire.
While part of the WWF, the Dudley Boyz's claim to fame was bringing the use of tables as weapons into the wrestling mainstream, often using their signature double-team move, the 3D, to put their opponents through one of these tables. They were initially villains and were known for Bubba Ray's penchant for driving women (including Terri Runnels and Mae Young) through tables. Throughout 2000 and 2001, the Dudley Boyz engaged in a three way feud for the WWF Tag Team Championship with the Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian. The feud incorporated two Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) matches, the first at SummerSlam in 2000. The second was at WrestleMania X-Seven in April 2001, in which Spike Dudley (who had joined the WWF in early-2001) interfered to aid the Dudleys.
In mid-2001, the Dudley Boyz became villains again by joining The Alliance, a massive group of wrestlers mostly consisting of former ECW and WCW wrestlers led by Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, who attempted to take over the WWF. During this time, the Dudleys acted as enforcers of the Alliance, interfering on the behalf of Alliance mid-carders and main eventers. Stacy Keibler became the Dudleys' manager during this time— dubbed the "Duchess of Dudleyville" by ECW manager Paul Heyman—but she later cost the Dudleys a tag team match, and they put her through a table. During the storyline, they became the first tag team to ever hold the WCW, ECW, and WWE Tag Team Championships. Later, The Dudleys beat the Hardy Boyz in a cage match at Survivor Series in 2001 to unify the WWF and WCW Tag Team Championships. As 2002 began, Spike feuded with his big brothers again, winning the WWF Tag Team Title from them with partner Tazz.
Following WrestleMania X8 in March 2002, the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE) and the roster was divided into two brands, Raw and SmackDown!. The Dudley Boyz were separated for a short time when Bubba Ray was drafted to Raw and D-Von to SmackDown!. Bubba became a fan favorite again by reuniting with Spike Dudley while D-Von, who was still a villain, went on to become the "Reverend D-Von" and gained a protege with Deacon Batista. At Judgment Day in 2002, Bubba Ray was in the corner of Raw's Trish Stratus, who was defending the WWE Women's Championship against Keibler; D-Von and Batista were in Stacy's corner as asked by Mr. McMahon. After Stratus successfully retained her title, Bubba Ray and D-Von stood in the ring and shook hands before an altercation broke out between the three men where D-Von and Batista ended up driving Bubba through a table. As 2002 went along, Bubba Ray teamed with Spike on Raw to form a new version of the Dudley Boyz.
Bubba and D-Von reunited following the Survivor Series, when D-Von helped Bubba Ray in a match. From then on, he was back on Raw (as he was part of a package deal that would send The Big Show to SmackDown!). After the Dudley Boyz were back together they became an alliance in the Raw tag team division over the next sixteen months. During this time, they sided with then Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff. They continued competing in the tag team division until all three Dudleys were drafted/traded over to SmackDown! in March 2004, Bubba Ray and D-Von aligned with Paul Heyman and feuded with The Undertaker. By July, the Dudleys were helping Spike win matches by interfering in his favor, which Spike seemed to dislike at first. Spike, however, became the "boss" of the Dudley Boyz after they helped him take the WWE Cruiserweight Championship from Rey Mysterio.
After a lengthy hiatus, Bubba, D-Von, and Spike made what would be their final appearance at a WWE sanctioned event, when they were a part of the original One Night Stand in June 2005. In July 2005, WWE opted not to continue contract renewal negotiations with the Dudley Boyz. In addition, there was a mass of wrestlers (including Spike) that were released by WWE for budgetary reasons. In August 2005, Bubba and D'Von were issued with legal notices instructing them not to use the (WWE trademarked) name "Dudley". This led to a degree of acrimony between the former Dudleys and their erstwhile employers, as they had used the names since 1996, several years before all ECW intellectual property was acquired by WWE as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. Both believed Paul Heyman had granted them the rights to the name. Soon after, LoMonaco and Hughes announced that they intended to pursue legal action against WWE.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–present)
On September 21, 2005, it was announced that Bubba and D-Von (now under the names Brother Ray and Brother Devon, respectively) had signed multi-year contracts with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), as Team 3D. Team 3D made their first appearance on the October 1 episode of TNA Impact!, helping save the 3Live Kru (Ron Killings, Konnan [Charles Ashenoff], and B.G. James [Brian Gerard James]) from Planet Jarrett and Team Canada. Team 3D's first rivalry in TNA was against America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm [James Black]) (AMW), which included a mock "funeral" for the careers of Team 3D. At the TNA's December pay-per-view Turning Point in 2005, Team 3D successfully defeated AMW in a Tables match. At Final Resolution on January 15, 2006, Team 3D fought AMW again, but this time for the NWA World Tag Team Championship, which AMW held. They won the match, however, due to Team Canada's interference the referee awarded the match to AMW.
On the April 13 episode of Impact!, Spike Dudley, now referred to as "Brother Runt", debuted in TNA, helping Team 3D beat Team Canada. At TNA's April pay-per-view Lockdown, Team 3D defeated Team Canada in a steel structure with six sides with the added stipulation that Team 3D had to capture a Canadian flag which Team Canada held to win in a match TNA titled a Six Sides of Steel Anthem match. Ray and Devon then started a rivalry with The James Gang (B.G. James and Kip James [Monty Sopp]), with the two teams meeting at TNA's June pay-per-view Slammiversary in a match which no can be counted count or disqualified; Ray and Devon claimed victory in the match. After their brief absence, Ray and Devon made a return to TNA in October 2006 and went back on the tag title hunt. They first fought with The Naturals (Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas), who defeated Team 3D in their signature tables match.
At the beginning of 2007, Team 3D were announced as the number one contenders to the The Latin American Xchange's (LAX) NWA World Tag Team Championship and faced them at TNA's January pay-per-view Final Resolution. During the match, however, Runt was scripted to appear drunk, wearing a Santa Claus outfit, and interfere, causing Team 3D to get disqualified. They continued their rivalry with LAX at TNA's March pay-per-view Destination X in a match which neither team could be disqualified called a Ghetto Brawl by TNA, in which they lost after interference from Alex Shelley (Patrick Martin). At Lockdown in 2007, Team 3D defeated LAX in a Electrified Six Sides of Steel match to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship. In this match, the cage was electrified by electrical powerlines, to give the illusion when a wrestler touched the cage, they would be instantly electrocuted, in storyline.
On May 13, 2007, the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) announced Team 3D had been stripped of the NWA World Tag Team Championship due to the permanent discontinuation of the relationship between the NWA and TNA Wrestling. TNA continued to recognize Team 3D as their World Tag Team Champions and were then designated as the very first official TNA World Tag Team Champions, and the new TNA World Tag Team Championship belts were unveiled on their "TNA Today" webcast on May 16, 2007. On the broadcast they were awarded the new championship by authority figure Jim Cornette. Before the new championship was unveiled, Team 3D successfully defended their champion status at TNA's May pay-per-view Sacrifice in a standard tag team match involving three teams known as a3-Way Dance, which also including the teams of Tomko (Travis Tomko) and Scott Steiner (Scott Rechsteiner) and LAX. After the match, Steiner's brother, Rick Steiner (Robert Rechsteiner), came out and attacked Team 3D which set up a match between the two teams at Slammiversary for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Scott, however, could not compete due to a legitimate injury; instead Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis) took his place, but Team 3D retained the championship. On the June 21 episode of Impact!, Cornette announced a "Champions versus Champions" match for TNA's July pay-per-view Victory Road, in which the Tag Team Champions would face the World Champion and the X Division Champion. At Victory Road, Team 3D lost the championship to Samoa Joe after interference from Rick and Scott Steiner. On the following Impact!, they blamed the Steiner Brothers and the fans (who had actually been taking intervals to chant "3D sucks" for weeks at the time) for their loss. At Hard Justice and Bound For Glory, Team 3D lost to the Steiner Brothers, the latter defeat coming in a two out of three tables match after Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, the Motor City Machine Guns, interfered on the Steiners' behalf. On the October 18 Impact!, Team 3D assaulted the Machine Guns in the middle of their match, whipping them with studded belts and simultaneously powerbombimg then through two tables while Ray derided the supposedly terrible quality of the Guns' match. Team 3D continued on this path of attack and verbal putdown, directing it towards the Guns' fellow TNA X Division wrestlers. This led to a match against the Guns at Genesis, which Shelley and Sabin won. They later stole "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal's belt and kidnapped X-Division wrestler Johnny Devine, who subsequently turned on his fellow X-Division wrestlers. While still referred to by most as Johnny, Ray and Devon called Devine "Brother Devine" and treated him as a member of Team 3D, though he did not share the half brother backstory. At Against All Odds, Team 3D and Johnny Devine fought The Motor City Machine Guns and Jay Lethal in a Street Fight but lost. Per the match stipulation, Ray and Devon could not compete unless they weighed in at 275 lbs. or lower.
After Against All Odds, 3D were matched with Shark Boy and Curry Man on numerous occasions in tag matches, with either one or both of the brothers being unable to compete due to the weight restriction. The week before Destination X, a stipulation was added to the match between 3D and Shark Boy and Curry Man: if Ray and Devon did not each weigh in at under 275 pounds, they would be fired from TNA. Both Ray and Devon made weight, and as such do not have to weigh in under 275 ever again. Shortly afterward, Devine returned to competing for the X-division title, his association with Team 3D being quietly phased out for a time, though it would soon return. As this went on, 3D, meanwhile, became part of several loose collectives of self-identified "bad guys" and "scumbags", aligning them at some point or another with almost every important villain on the TNA roster, including but not limited to Booker T and Kurt Angle. They would begin a feud with Christian Cage, Rhino and A.J. Styles attacking them on several occasions. Their feud ended at Hard Justice with Cage and Rhino defeating them in a "New Jersey Street Fight". They then began a feud with the team of "The Monster" Abyss and Matt Morgan, both teams competed at No Surrender with Abyss and Morgan picking up the victory. Team 3D turned face when they joined the TNA Frontline after appearing to join the Main Event Mafia, double crossing them and jumping them along with Frontline leaders Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles and Rhino. They also attempted to put former close ally Kurt Angle through a table.
Japan and independents
Aside from TNA, Team 3D has also participated in many All Japan Pro Wrestling and HUSTLE's shows after their WWE release. Team 3D held an unbeaten streak in All Japan, where they won All Japan's Real World Tag League in 2005. Team 3D has also won HUSTLE's tag title in 2006, which they still hold. Team 3D also appeared in the Pro Wrestling Alliance June show, defeating Booker T and Dawg in the main event. Team 3D has also participated in two January 4 Dome Show events for New Japan Pro Wrestling, NJPW's biggest annual show. in 2008, they won a hardcore match against Togi Makabe and Toru Yano. The following year, Team 3D were booked to face Togi Makabe and Toru Yano, the then IWGP Tag Team Champions and the team of Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a three match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. This match was later changed to hardcore rules.
Later, the team of Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan withdrew due to Tenzan sustaining a serious eye injury which required an operation. Team 3D won the resulting tag match against Togi Makabe and Toru Yano to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship thus making them 22-time tag-team champions.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
Championship and accomplishments
See also
- Dudley family – the original stable with the rest of the Dudleys.
External links
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