D-Von Dudley Recalls Legal Issue Following WWE Departure

WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley has recalled being slapped with a cease and desist by WWE following his exit from the promotion in the 2000s.

The Dudley Boyz are widely remembered for their time in WWE during the Attitude Era, but they continued to grow their legacy after leaving the promotion when they were called Team 3D. D-Von recently discussed on his YouTube channel why he and Bubba Ray Dudley had to change their tag team name after leaving WWE in 2005, while they couldn't also use their signature glasses.

"The Dudley Boyz couldn't use the Dudley Boyz on the independent circuit at the time or TNA Wrestling because we thought we had the rights to have that name. We thought that it was signed over to us when we left ECW, and when we asked questions about it when we left the WWE in 2005, we found out unfortunately, that we did not own the rights to the name of the Dudley Boyz. So, the WWE sent a letter of a cease and desist that we could not use the name the Dudley Boyz. We couldn't use the glasses. We couldn't use the camos or anything that was like the Dudley Boyz," he revealed.

D-Von said that he and Bubba decided to use the Team 3D name because it was the name of their finishing move, which he felt fans would associate with their new tag team.

"So, the Dudley Boyz came up with their own version of it, Team 3D, because the move itself, 3D, which is what we use, which is the Dudley Death Drop, was huge and it was over. And when people heard 3D, they basically knew it had to represent the Dudley Boys. So, we were able to call ourselves Team 3D," he said.

The duo even changed their in-ring names to Brother Devon and Brother Ray, before switching to Devon and Bully Ray, which stuck with them whenever they wrestled outside WWE. But, when they returned to WWE in 2015, they began to use the name that most associated them with, Bubba and D-Von, for their short run.