Dudley family
Encyclopedia
The Dudley Family was a large professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 stable of storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...

 half-brothers in Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...

.

Gimmick

The gimmick of the group was that, despite their obvious differences in physical appearance and race, the members were all said to be the sons of the fictional Willy Loman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...

-esque "Big Daddy" Dudley, who had traveled America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as a salesman throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Despite the differences in their races and sizes, the Dudleys shared a similar ring attire of taped glasses, unkempt hair, tie-dye
Tie-dye
Tie-dye is a process of resist dyeing textiles or clothing which is made from knit or woven fabric, usually cotton; typically using bright colors. It is a modern version of traditional dyeing methods used in many cultures throughout the world. "Tie-dye" can also describe the resulting pattern or an...

 shirts, and overalls. As a group they also utilized a few similar mannerisms. The real-life origins of the group were based on the Hanson Brothers
Hanson Brothers
The Hanson Brothers are fictional characters in the 1977 movie Slap Shot. The characters are based on three brothers who were actual hockey players; two of them starred in the film.The movie, which stars Paul Newman, was written by Nancy Dowd...

 from the 1977 movie Slap Shot
Slap Shot (film)
Slap Shot is a 1977 film comedy starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean directed by George Roy Hill. It depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.- Plot :...

. (see below)

Extreme Championship Wrestling

The original Dudley Boys debuted in ECW on July 1, 1995 with a win over The Pitbulls
The Pitbulls
The Pitbulls were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe and "Pitbull #2" Anthony Durante. They were best known for their tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling, where they were one-time World Tag Team Champions...

. They group consisted of Dudley Dudley
Jeff Bradley
Jeff Bradley is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling as Dudley Dudley, the leader of the Dudley family. Bradley is currently wrestling on the independent circuit in Europe, Japan, Puerto Rico and South...

 (the only "pure" Dudley in that both of his parents had the same last name
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...

, Dudley), Big Dick Dudley
Alex Rizzo
Alex Rizzo was a professional wrestler, best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling as Big Dick Dudley, the eldest of the Dudley Family.-Professional wrestling career:...

 (the menacing enforcer, who Dudley Dudley claimed was the result of Big Daddy Dudley's fornication with the Holland Tunnel
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...

) and Lil' Snot Dudley
Anthony Michaels
Anthony Michaels is an American professional wrestler, also known as Snot Dudley and Tony Carlone. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling as a member of the Dudley family in the mid-1990s.-Career:...

 (the team underdog). The original Dudley Boys were members of Raven's Nest
Raven's Nest
Raven's Nest was a professional wrestling stable led by Raven that was present in Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1995 and 1997.Later, Raven created other incarnations of the group in World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .-Raven's Nest:Raven's Nest was a large...

 throughout the summer of 1995. After The Pitbulls injured Lil' Snot at Hardcore Heaven, he was replaced by Dances with Dudley
Adolfo Bermudez
Adolfo Bermudez is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Dances with Dudley, who competed in North American independent promotions including the American Wrestling Federation, International World Class Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, most notably as an...

, supposedly the result of Big Daddy Dudley's visit to a Cheyenne Indian reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...

 in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, where he allegedly "poked a hontas"
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...

. Somewhat suspiciously, Dances With Dudley could only speak Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 or sing "Ten Little Indians
Ten Little Indians
"Ten Little Indians" is a children's rhyme. The song is usually performed to the Irish folk tune "Michael Finnegan". It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13512.-Lyrics:The modern lyrics are believed to be public domain and are as follows:...

".

Dances With Dudley was followed by the stuttering
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...

, dancing, overweight hillbilly
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...

 Buh-Buh Ray Dudley. The group was later expanded when the obese, slobbish Chubby Dudley
Bay Ragni
Bay Ragni is an American professional wrestler and former promoter, also known by his ring name Chubby Dudley.-Independent circuit:Ragni trained in Philadelphia under the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance's Larry Winters and Jimmy Jannetty. He debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling, the forerunner to...

 and the mute, placard-wielding Sign Guy Dudley
Lou D'Angeli
Lou D'Angeli is a former professional wrestling manager and current Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas who is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling as a performer and promoter and World Wrestling Entertainment in marketing.-Sign Guy...

 (the result of Big Daddy Dudley's incarceration in an asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...

) began accompanying the Dudleys to ringside. Bushwhacker Luke
Brian Wickens
Brian Wickens is a professional wrestler best known as Luke Williams, one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Luke Williams started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964...

 and Bushwhacker Butch even became honorary Dudleys for one night, said to hail from the "Little New Zealand neighborhood of Dudleyville"). At the Hardcore Heaven pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

 event in 1997, porn star Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson is an American entrepreneur and former pornographic actress, who has been called the world's most famous adult-entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn."...

 acted as their one-time valet during their tag team title defense versus PG-13
PG-13 (professional wrestling)
PG-13 was the tag team of J.C. Ice and Wolfie D who worked for the World Wrestling Federation and United States Wrestling Association . PG-13 briefly competed in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council in 1995 , W*ING in Japan, Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1997 and World Championship...

.

On April 13, 1996, Dances With Dudley suffered a leg injury and was attacked by the debuting African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 D-Von Dudley as he was stretchered out of the arena. D-Von began warring with all the other Dudleys, citing that the comedy act they had been putting on was not the way "true Dudleys" should be conducting themselves. He eliminated Dances With Dudley, Dudley Dudley, and Chubby Dudley before eventually joining forces with Bubba (whom he helped to overcome his stutter), Sign Guy, and Big Dick. These four Dudleys became a powerful, unified heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...

 force in 1997, but were soon challenged by the debuting stoner Little Spike Dudley
Matt Hyson
Matthew "Matt" Hyson is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his performances in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Spike Dudley and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brother Runt.In ECW, he was a two-time...

 ("LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

"), who was said to be the "runt" of the Dudley family and the last hold-out face
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...

 Dudley.

Big Dick left ECW in 1999, and Bubba and D-Von followed soon after for the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

. Without the rest of the Dudleys Sign Guy changed into Lou E. Dangerously, leaving Spike as the only remaining Dudley in ECW before the promotion folded in April 2001. Spike then signed with the WWF and joined his kayfabe half-brothers.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

Buh-Buh Ray (renamed "Bubba Ray") and D-Von Dudley would go on to World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 (WWE), winning the World Tag Team Championship eight times, as well as the WWE Tag Team Championship and WCW Tag Team Championship
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...

 once each. Though initially heels, they had much more success as faces, a different turn from their evil days in ECW. Spike Dudley joined his "half-brothers" in 2001 and remained with them on and off until their collective release in 2005. For a short time, Stacy Keibler
Stacy Keibler
Stacy Keibler is an American actress, model, and former professional wrestler and valet, best known for her work with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment ....

 acted as a valet for the Dudleys under the name of "The Duchess of Dudleyville".

Other promotions

Several more Dudleys were created outside of ECW. Big Dick Dudley formed a tag team on the independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...

 with Mark Vartanian
Mark Vartanian
Sammy Couch, also known as 'Psycho' Sam Cody, is a retired professional wrestler.-Early career:Couch was trained by Crusher Verdu and made his debut in professional wrestling on Thanksgiving Day in 1981 as Sam Cody...

, using the name "Psycho Sam Dudley", while Snot Dudley formed a tag team with Jeff Roth
Jeff Roth
Jeff Roth is a semi-retired American professional wrestler who has competed in North American independent promotions throughout the 1990s including Florida Championship Wrestling, Future of Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance...

, using the name "Schmuck Dudley".

In early 2007, actor Steve Schirripa
Steve Schirripa
Steven R. "Steve" Schirripa is an American actor, voice artist, producer, and comedian, best known for playing Bobby Baccalieri on The Sopranos....

 appeared alongside Bubba Ray (renamed "Brother Ray") and D-Von (renamed "Brother Devon") in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...

, where he was depicted as a distant relative of the Dudley family.

There even was a offshoot in Germany, called Skunk Punk Dudley. He worked for the independent promotion "WSWA".

Trademark of name

After the release of Bubba Ray and D-Von from WWE, they were informed by the company that they could not use any aspect of the "Dudley" name in any other promotions thanks to WWE trademarking the names before their release. This decision was controversial because Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....

, the owner of ECW, had "given" the men (including Spike) the rights to the gimmick out of loyalty when ECW folded, but never actually transferred the rights in any official manner. The WWE's trademark application cited 1999 as first use, though the gimmick is years older than that.

Alhough the former Dudleys attempted to fight WWE for ownership, they were unsuccessful before their debut in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...

 (TNA) and instead took the monikers of "Brother Ray " (Bubba Ray) and "Brother Devon" (D-Von), combining under the new name "Team 3D". As a jab back at WWE they wore shirts with middle finger
Middle finger
The middle finger or long finger is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is usually the longest finger...

s on them with the message "Trademark This!" and constantly tread a fine line of the official trademark by either having others use their common phrase "Get the tables!" or almost saying it before stopping short right before. They were originally going to adopt the last name of Deadly when they applied for it to be copyrighted but for some unknown reason to the public they have yet to use the name. When Spike was released from WWE he was forced to work under the name Matt "LSD" Hyson in various independent promotions. Upon joining his brothers in TNA he was re-christened "Brother Runt".

Yet one more person has laid claim to the intellectual property that is The Dudley Boy gimmick. Former ECW wrestler Raven has said multiple times that he is the person who came up with the original Dudley idea. Tazz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...

 has corroborated his story, but added that it was not just Raven who came up with the idea, but Raven and Tazz together.

As it stands, WWE owns the right to the gimmick but Bubba Ray and D-Von are said to be preparing to fight for their ownership in court. All the same, Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....

 has given up, unlike Raven and Tazz who continue to fight for it, albeit without legal action.

Dudley family

  • Dudley Dudley
    Jeff Bradley
    Jeff Bradley is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling as Dudley Dudley, the leader of the Dudley family. Bradley is currently wrestling on the independent circuit in Europe, Japan, Puerto Rico and South...

  • Big Dick Dudley
    Alex Rizzo
    Alex Rizzo was a professional wrestler, best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling as Big Dick Dudley, the eldest of the Dudley Family.-Professional wrestling career:...

  • Little Snot Dudley
    Anthony Michaels
    Anthony Michaels is an American professional wrestler, also known as Snot Dudley and Tony Carlone. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling as a member of the Dudley family in the mid-1990s.-Career:...

  • Dances With Dudley
    Adolfo Bermudez
    Adolfo Bermudez is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Dances with Dudley, who competed in North American independent promotions including the American Wrestling Federation, International World Class Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, most notably as an...

  • Bubba Ray Dudley
  • Chubby Dudley
    Bay Ragni
    Bay Ragni is an American professional wrestler and former promoter, also known by his ring name Chubby Dudley.-Independent circuit:Ragni trained in Philadelphia under the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance's Larry Winters and Jimmy Jannetty. He debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling, the forerunner to...

  • Sign Guy Dudley
    Lou D'Angeli
    Lou D'Angeli is a former professional wrestling manager and current Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas who is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling as a performer and promoter and World Wrestling Entertainment in marketing.-Sign Guy...

  • D-Von Dudley
  • Studley Dudley
    Joel Gertner
    Joel Gertner is an American Professional wrestling announcer and manager best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling.-Early career:...

     (manager)
  • Little Spike Dudley
    Matt Hyson
    Matthew "Matt" Hyson is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his performances in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Spike Dudley and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brother Runt.In ECW, he was a two-time...

  • Schmuck Dudley
    Jeff Roth
    Jeff Roth is a semi-retired American professional wrestler who has competed in North American independent promotions throughout the 1990s including Florida Championship Wrestling, Future of Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance...

  • Psycho Sam Dudley
    Mark Vartanian
    Sammy Couch, also known as 'Psycho' Sam Cody, is a retired professional wrestler.-Early career:Couch was trained by Crusher Verdu and made his debut in professional wrestling on Thanksgiving Day in 1981 as Sam Cody...

  • Skunk Punk Dudley

Associated members

  • Molly Holly - valet
    Valet
    Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...

  • The Duchess of Dudleyville
    Stacy Keibler
    Stacy Keibler is an American actress, model, and former professional wrestler and valet, best known for her work with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment ....

     - valet
  • Bushwacker Butch
    Butch Miller (wrestler)
    Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where...

     - one night only
  • Bushwacker Luke
    Brian Wickens
    Brian Wickens is a professional wrestler best known as Luke Williams, one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Luke Williams started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964...

     - one night only
  • Lady Dudley
    Jenna Jameson
    Jenna Jameson is an American entrepreneur and former pornographic actress, who has been called the world's most famous adult-entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn."...

     - one night only
  • Ron Dudley - 1 week


Championships

  • Extreme Championship Wrestling
    Extreme Championship Wrestling
    Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...

    • ECW World Tag Team Championship (10 times) - Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley (8 times), Little Spike Dudley with Balls Mahoney (2 times)
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