D-Von, get the...rings! Legendary tag team The Dudley Boyz are the latest name to be announced as inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2018.
It was first reported yesterday afternoon by CBS Sports and officially confirmed last night by WWE on Monday Night Raw last night that the boys from Dudleyville will take their rightful place in the WWE Hall Of Fame in New Orleans this Wrestlemania weekend. They join Goldberg, who was announced two weeks ago.
#WWEHOF meets DUDLEYVILLE!!! We'll see you in New Orleans, @bullyray5150 and @TestifyDVon! #RAW pic.twitter.com/O2POxsHDhc
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2018
Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley made their name in ECW as riot causing heels and made the jump to the WWE in 1999. Their tie-dyed (then camouflaged) tough guy act combined with their now legendary Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) matches with The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian made them Superstars.
Their catchphrases "D-Von, Get The Tables!" and "Whassssssup!?" (with some creative license from the old Budweiser ads) went a long way to making them long lasting fan favourites as well.
The Dudleys are often mentioned in the conversation as being possibly the greatest tag team of all time, so their place in the Hall of Fame is well deserved. They have held every tag team title in every promotion they ever wrestled in. They are the only team in history to hold the WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA, New Japan and All Japan tag team titles and have had a total of 24 championship reigns overall.
Bubba Ray Dudley (real name Mark LoMonaco) told CBS Sports:
The legacy of the Dudley Boyz is really the last of the Mohicans. We are the last, legitimate, great tag team that you most likely will ever see; the most old school tag team that there is. I don't think you will ever see a tag team go on to accomplish what we have accomplished, whether that's in the WWE or any place else. We really are the last of many, many generations of great tag teams.
Speaking on the announcement of their Hall of Fame induction, D-Von Dudley (real name Devon Hughes) spoke about the Dudleys start as a comedy tag team and having to prove themselves to be taken seriously:
We just went out there and did it when nobody thought we could. That was the biggest thing that Bubba and I had to face in our career because, back in ECW, we weren't really supposed to be an act to be reckoned with. 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.
For those of you who have only seen the Dudley Boyz in their WWE incarnation it is worth checking out the video below to see just exactly how close to the line they walked in becoming the most hated team in professional wrestling. It's ECW so, caution: adult language!
The Dudley Boyz had a 20 year run together in professional wrestling, finally calling it a day back in 2016 after a nostalgic comeback to WWE having been away for over 10 years. Other rumoured names for this year's Hall of Fame are former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry, Bam Bam Bigelow and celebrity inductee Kid Rock.
