![Bubba Ray Dudley (left) and D-Von Dudley (right) [Image Credit: wwe.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/02/87747-17394726773477-1920.jpg)
![Bubba Ray Dudley (left) and D-Von Dudley (right) [Image Credit: wwe.com]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%205.625'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Dudley Boyz were one of the most popular WWE tag teams during their first run with the company from 1999 to 2005. In a recent video, D-Von Dudley explained why he and Bubba Ray decided to leave after six years.
The 2018 WWE Hall of Famers won the ECW World Tag Team Championship eight times in the 1990s. After becoming nine-time WWE Tag Team Champions, they joined TNA in 2005 and reinvented themselves as Team 3D.
On his YouTube channel, D-Von said The Dudley Boyz thought they were better suited to TNA at that stage of their careers:
"Some of you might be surprised, some of you might not, to know that The Dudley Boyz took a little bit of a pay cut when we left the WWE and went to TNA. Again, wasn't a bad decision. It was a business decision, and in pro wrestling it's always about business, and we honestly thought that TNA would actually be a better fit for The Dudley Boyz at that time." [2:53 - 3:20]
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As Team 3D, Bubba Ray and D-Von won the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice and the NWA World Tag Team Championship once. In 2014, they became the first tag team to be inducted into the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Hall of Fame.
How The Dudley Boyz and WWE reached a mutual agreement
In 2015, Bubba Ray and D-Von returned to WWE after a 10-year absence. They feuded with tag teams including The New Day, The Usos, and The Wyatt Family before leaving again in 2016.
D-Von added that he and Bubba Ray knew they would be back in WWE one day after their 2005 exit:
"I felt like we kind of not overstayed our welcome, but we had been there long enough in the WWE and it was time to move on. So, the WWE and The Dudley Boyz had a mutual agreement where we would just walk away from each other, take a little break, and maybe come back eventually." [3:20 - 3:38]
D-Von worked as a WWE producer from 2016 to 2023 before making a cameo appearance on NXT alongside Bubba Ray in 2024. On February 16, Bubba will appear as a mentor on the new WWE LFG reality series on A&E.
Please credit D-Von Dudley's YouTube channel and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
