– Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard site recently spoke with “The Dudleys” Bully Ray and Devon to promote the upcoming House of Hardcore event in Toronto. The full interview is at this link. Below are highlights:
A possible WWE return:
Devon: โFor us not to be back there, knowing that weโre in the best shape weโve ever been in, I donโt understand it. Weโre better now than we were ten or fifteen years ago. I understand that they want the future. But without the older generation that paved the way for these young guys to come, youโre not going to have it. Wrestling is a lost art, so you need the older guys like us to help show the younger guys how itโs done. I donโt understand it, though I know it needs to be on their terms.โ
Bully: โTake the Dudley Boyz and put them back in WWE, and youโd add instant credibility to the tag division. The great thing about the Dudleys is we can work with any team and we can work any style. Not only will we help one team get over and learn and get better, but we can help all of them. It seems pretty simple to me โ having the Dudleys back in the WWE is best for business, so I donโt have a really great answer for why we are not there. Only they know. You would think the most decorated tag team in the history of WWE would be able to go back into a company and breathe life into the tag division. It may never happen, but you never say never. It could be right around the corner.โ
Paul Heyman and ECW:
Devon: โThe greatest thing Paul Heyman ever gave us was creative liberty. A lot of the boys liked to call Paul the โDavid Koreshโ of pro wrestling back then, but he believed in you. Heโd fire you up to the point where you thought you were bigger than Hulk Hogan. He made you believe in yourself. Paul took the time to develop your character. When people didnโt know how to speak on the mic, heโd sit there with you until three, four, or even five in the morning until you got it right. Paul really let us be us. When WCW fired Steve Austin [in 1995] and WWE wasnโt knocking on his door, it was Paul E. who saw something in Austin. Eric Bischoff fired Austin when he was hurt in WCW, and Paul E. said, โI know youโre hurt, but can you talk?โ When Steve came to ECW and delivered those promos โ oh my God, you couldnโt believe that was the same guy who was in WCW. Thatโs what started Austin as a superstar. Steve started to be born again, and it was the same thing when he was in WWE. He didnโt become a star until he was given the creative liberty to be himself.โ
Bully: โWe text and talk all the time. Me and Paul, our relationship is better than anyone else he had from the entire ECW roster. We respect and like each other as people. Even at the Rumble, it was great catching up with him. When the Rumble was over, I was on Brock Lesnarโs tour bus with Brock and Paul, and we were shooting the s— and reminiscing. When Brock first started and Paul was his manager, I was Brockโs first storyline. The WWE came to me and asked me to get Brock ready for what could be in store for him.โ
Bully on Brock Lesnar:
โBrock is just so powerful. One night, we were performing at Penn State, and Brock gave me an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. He dropped me right on my head. It was a total mistake, and it could have been a very, very bad injury for me. As soon as it happened, I remember getting up and telling Brock, โDo it again, do it again.โ He did not want to suplex me again, so I made him suplex me three more times the same exact way. I didnโt want Brock to become gun-shy about throwing people or change the way he worked if heโd be worried about hurting other people.โ
Bully on traveling with Shane McMahon:
โWhen Shane McMahon was on the road for the company, he was in the car with us. One night, we were driving, and Shane decided to wake up his father and made us all say hello to Vince at three in the morning. Vince loves all that horses—. Shane was driving and he said, โCome on, letโs wake up Pop.โ I said, โThatโs probably not a good idea.โ So he called his father and said, โBubba wants to talk.โ He handed me the phone and all I could hear was Vince say, โBubba, why are you corrupting my son?โ I told him it was the other way around, and we both started laughing.โ
Bully on Vince McMahon:
โVince spent his whole life in the business, added his vision, and made it the best in the world. Vince has a great mind for the industry and thinks on a much larger scale. Paul [Heyman] was great at storytelling and really getting peopleโs characters to come out and how to hide your weaknesses and accentuate your strengths. Those are the two smartest guys Iโve ever learned from in the business, and Paul, Vince, and Pat Patterson are the three best minds ever in this business.โ
Erick Rowan and Luke Harper:
Bully: โRight now, the one WWE tag team that deserves to taste the Dudley Death Drop is Harper and Rowan. It was very interesting they started hitting the Dudley Death Drop on TV and calling it something else. Weโve been hitting this finish consecutively for eighteen years.”
Devon: โThat is a touchy subject. A move like 3D โ when you see it, you automatically think the Dudleys. So Harper and Rowan started the fight. Harper said on Twitter, theyโd be happy to show us โThe Way,โ which is what theyโre calling the move. Well, weโd be more than happy to hit 3D the way it should be hit.”
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