Bubba Ray Dudley On Why He Was Angry With Scott Hall, Plans For His Character To Be A Skinhead
On episode 186 of Talk Is Jericho, 'Y2J' sat down with Bubba Ray and D-Von, the Dudley Boyz. The Dudley Boyz talked about the original concept for the Dudleys in ECW, how they got put together as a tag team, and the origins of the 3D finishing move.
According to Bubba Ray, the original idea for the Dudleys in ECW came from Raven and it was based on the Hanson Brothers from the film, Slap Shot.
"With the Dudleys, they were a bunch of goofy looking brothers who had no rhyme or reason, but once the Hanson Brothers got on the ice, or the Dudleys got in the ring, they were going to go in there and kick ass."
Originally, Bubba Ray's character was going to be a skinhead; however, his look did not fit the part.
"Bubba Ray Dudley was supposed to be a skinhead, but when I got [to ECW], they were like, 'this kid doesn't look like a skinhead. He looks like a backwoods hick.'"
As for D-Von, his character was a take on Samuel L. Jackson's Pulp Fiction character, Jules Winnfield. D-Von told Jericho that he wanted to do a Mr. T or Mike Tyson type of character in ECW, but Paul Heyman told him to check out Jackson's character in the Quentin Tarantino classic.
"[Heyman] says, 'have you ever seen Pulp Fiction?' and I said, 'no, I haven't seen it', and so he told me to go get the video and go take a look at it. And I said, 'well, it's ironic because both of my parents are reverends', so that's when the 'testify' comes in. So when he asked me to do the Samuel L. Jackson bit, I said, 'that's not a problem.' It struck a chord because it's home. And so you combine Mr. T with Samuel L. Jackson, that's what you [have] got. That's D-Von Dudley."
During the podcast, Bubba Ray claimed that he and D-Von were put together as a tag team at his request. At the time, Bubba Ray's stuttering and dancing gimmick had run its course and D-Von's tag team with Axl Rotten was floundering.
"I had seen D-Von and knew the kind of chemistry we had working together, and I knew at the core I was really a heel, so I went to Paul and I said, 'I think if you put me and D-Von together you're going to have something here. I think this can work.' And he said, 'okay, lets give it a try' and from the very first night, from that we hit our very first 3D on the Sandman, it [has] been all pretty much uphill since then."
In regards to the 3D finishing move, Bubba Ray explained that he got the idea from watching a match between Dean Malenko and Rey Mysterio on WCW Monday Nitro.
"I remember that Mysterio came off the ropes and Malenko shot him straight into the air and Rey took a front, pancake bump, but Mysterio had gotten so high in the air that I said to myself, 'wouldn't it be great if you could turn around underneath him, while he is in the air, and give him a Diamond Cutter on the way down?'". He continued, "I said, 'lets try to take the Diamond Cutter and turn it into a double team move, so we went down to the ECW dojo and we had our crash test dummy, better known as Spike Dudley, come and take it like a hundred times from us."
Bubba Ray stated that they are proud of the way that they have been able to protect the 3D over time, as only two people, Masato Tanaka and Chris Sabin, have ever kicked out of it. Bubba Ray and D-Von told a story about how Bubba Ray was infuriated by Scott Hall when the nWo reunited in WWE, as Hall joked that he would kick out of the 3D.
"We were in the Staples Center [in Los Angeles, California]. We're backstage, probably about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and Scott was there and me and D-Von walk up to him and he turns around and he goes, 'hey Dudleys, man, so good to see you. I can't wait to work with you, take your finish, 1, 2, kick out!'" Bubba Ray added, "steam was coming out of my ears."
To hear the entire interview, click here.
Source: Talk Is Jericho