How Good Were The Dudley Boyz Actually?
Time’s Test
Most wrestling fans can still watch a prime Dudley Boyz match in 2025, and get a lot out of it.
That is primarily because wrestling fans, of WWE and AEW in particular, are obsessed with tables. They are in love with tables. The table, in fact, is the one thing that unites the two tribes.
The Dudleyz, however, did not invent the table spot.
They weren’t the first ECW act to incorporate and popularise the table spot: that was Sabu. Hell, they weren’t the first ECW tag team to spam table spots to compensate for their lack of natural talent: that was the Public Enemy.
It counts more in WWE. That’s a fact, whether you’d care to admit it or not, and in company lore, the Dudleyz are synonymous with tables - and, to their credit, they used them well. They were big, imposing dudes, Bubba Ray and D-Von. They used their bulk and power to create a hugely sounding crunch and spread the sawdust debris flying; also, when it was their turn to take the bump, at which they were very good at building anticipation, those huge frames meant they took it better than most. If they couldn’t work a strong match without a table - and really, they couldn’t - they did shortcuts and self-indulgence better than most.
So what about their matches that didn’t involve tables? They are collector’s items, true, but they did happen.
It’s not so much that those matches haven’t stood the test of time; they weren’t all that great to begin with. They weren’t terrible. Mediocre and flat, but not outright terrible.
6/10