8 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Bubba Ray Dudley

2. The Dudleys Threatened Legal Action Against WWE

When The Dudleys left WWE in 2005, they (Bubba, D-Von and Spike) received legal notices from WWE warning them not to use the Dudley name in the future. Even though they had created the Dudley gimmick years before going to WWE, it was not their name to own. WWE likes to trademark the names of all their talent (unless that person is using a real name) so that they are unable to make money off the name that WWE claims to have come up with. Bubba took it personal when it happened. Here's a comment from him in a Palm Beach Sun Sentinel article from 2005: "When we received a cease-and-desist order on the name, that's when it got personal. This was an established commodity long before we stepped foot in a WWE ring." They threatened legal action against WWE, but it didn't seem to get very far because any lawyer probably would have told them that they had no case. WWE owned the names. There was nothing they could do. Soon after their WWE departure, they filed trademarks on The Deadly Brothers, Brother Ray Deadly, Brother Devon Deadly and Deadly Death Drop. During their TNA run, they used the names Brother Ray and Brother Devon although Bully Ray became the name that Bubba was most known for. When they were out of WWE there were always stories that they had heat with the company. In the wrestling business it seems like lots of people have heat for a number of reasons. In this case it was probably due to the naming rights of the team. It took ten years for Bubba to come back at this year's Royal Rumble where he was finally able to use the Dudley name again.