10 WWE Stars Who Most Benefited From Paul Heyman's Influence
9. The Dudley Boyz
Today, Bubba Ray and D-Von are considered surefire future WWE Hall Of Fame inductees. The duo have held Tag-Team Titles in every company they've worked for, including ECW, WWE, TNA and in Japan. At one point, they even held the WCW Tag-Team Titles, during the whole 'Invasion' storyline of 2001.
Looking back to the mid-1990's, it was none other than Paul Heyman who first envisioned the Dudley gimmick they'd play. In 1996, Heyman put a bunch of misfits together (something he'd become very adept at whilst in charge of ECW) and pulled the best from them collectively. That's how Bubba Ray and D-Von started teaming.
Today's gimmick is distant from the hillbilly-like nuances of back then, but it's true to say that Paul Heyman gave both men a chance when they would have perhaps been wrestling outcasts. It's absolutely impossible to picture The Dudley Boyz being a success in WCW or the WWF during 1996.
There's a case to be made that neither would have went on to greater heights had it not been for their humble beginnings in ECW.