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#Post#: 33394--------------------------------------------------
Chat with Bully Ray. Talks Difference in WWE, Velvet & More
By: ChrissiCalvert Date: October 23, 2015, 4:37 pm
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Brooklyn came unglued the night after SummerSlam when the Dudley
Boyz returned to WWE and Monday Night Raw for the first time in
10 years.
Now the most decorated tag team in pro-wrestling history is
looking for another championship challenge in the New Day at
Hell in a Cell, Sunday, Oct. 25 at 0/7CT on Pay-Per-View and WWE
Network.
Bubba Ray remembers the phone call that put the wheels in motion
for his and D-Von’s eventual reemergence.
“The very first person I spoke to was Road Dogg,” he said. “He
was the one who reached out. saying, ‘Hey Bubba, would you be
interested in coming to the Royal Rumble? I told him yes. I
always had a great working relationship with him in the ring and
a good working relationship outside of the ring. Me and D-Von
won our first WWE tag team championship from the New Age
Outlaws. He got in touch with me. That’s how it all started.
“It was pretty funny,” Dudley continues, “because I think a lot
of people within WWE were shocked by the reaction. I think they
all thought, ‘Oh, it’s Philly, so he’ll get a nice little
reaction.’ I didn’t think they were expecting anything like
that.”
The buzz created in a single night helped open the door to the
Dudley Boyz joining the roster full-time, working live events
and TV.
Bubba, 44, has enjoyed the experience.
“It has been great and the locker room has been great — but the
locker room was great back in the day, too,” he said. “The only
difference now, really, is the guys are much younger than me and
D-Von. They’ve come up different ways in the business.
“Back in the Attitude Era, you had guys that came up more the
old school way, who were able to go out there and do what they
wanted to get themselves over. This is as opposed to now where,
creatively, WWE has much more of a presence and wants their
wrestlers to do their job a certain way. As far as the way the
locker room operates and the chemistry within the locker room,
it’s phenomenal. It has been nothing but positive.”
During the veteran team’s absence WWE has transitioned into more
PG-related programming. For Bubba, it doesn’t make a difference.
“Whether we are in a PG era or a rated-X era or Attitude Era,
it’s all good,” he said. “You play the hand you are dealt in
wrestling — that’s one of the things myself and D-Von pride
ourselves on. Whatever hands we are dealt we are going to play
it to the best of our abilities. So if we are going out there
and being ‘PG’ is what we need to do, that’s fine. We don’t own
the company. Vince [McMahon] owns the company, and if he wants
the company to be PG, that’s fine. We’ll be PG. It’s pretty
simple.”
Tables have been the trademark everywhere the Dudley Boyz has
gone throughout much of their careers. The New Day’s Kofi
Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods began an onscreen
#SaveTheTables campaign as a result. Looking back, it’s hard for
Bubba to name a favorite table spot, but he does have two that
stick out in his mind.
“The most memorable table bump for me was Mae Young,” he said.“I
powerbombed this 80-year-old woman off the top of the Raw set
through tables. Then I also remember the one we did in Madison
Square Garden where we turned on the Right to Censor and the
whole Garden went crazy for that. There have been a lot of good
ones.”
When they’re not on the road, the Dudley Boyz are teach at their
Team 3D Wrestling Academy in Central Florida, lending knowledge
on fundamentals in the ring, but outside of it, as well. They
have a few success stories already.
“I teach my students from day one that they have to remember
that this is the wrestling business, not wrestling friends,”
Bubba said. “It’s the wrestling business. They have to treat it
like a business. You have to climb the ladder to success. You
always have to try to make more money in this industry,
especially with what you are going to put your body through. The
longevity can be short. You can do this for a year or 30 years.
You just have to realize that and do the right thing with your
money. From a performing point of view, I tell them to keep
their ears and eyes open and their mouth shut to learn as much
as you can.”
When it comes to breaking in, Bubba isn’t keen on upstarts
starting a GoFundMe campaign. “I think a wrestler that goes out
there and asks people for money so they can chase their dream is
pathetic,” he said.
“There is something within the wrestling industry called ‘paying
your dues.’ Paying your dues doesn’t just mean financially with
money. It’s about living in the back of your car, eating bologna
sandwiches. You have to learn how to lose before you learn how
to win. You have to have it rough in this industry first. Then
you can appreciate it more when you make it.
If somebody were to put out a GoFundMe account saying, ‘Hey, can
you lend me this money while I’m chasing my dream? I would be
happy to pay each and every one of you back, then I don’t have a
problem with it. Someone technically asking for help because
they don’t have a family member they can get money from — or a
bank. So they are asking the wrestling fans to lend them x
amount of dollars, but they’ll pay them back. I don’t have a
problem with that. What I have a problem with is an
up-and-coming wrestler or wrestlers who are taking from the fans
just so they can chase their dream.”
Bubba has been in the business for more than 20 years, but he
remains driven to succeed. The native New Yorker is always
looking to improve and better himself. This includes his
physical appearance.
“When me and D-Von were in TNA, we realized there wasn’t
anything left for us to do in the world of tag-team wrestling,”
Bubba said. “We conquered tag-team wrestling in ECW, WCW, WWE,
Japan and TNA. We just figured we would go our separate ways and
see how this goes on our own. The very first thing I was going
to do to get people to take notice was get in better shape. It
worked. I started eating the right way and hitting the gym a lot
harder. I just got myself in good shape. That got people to
notice me a little more.”
Bubba is having a good time with D-Von in WWE, but tag teams do
tend to go their separate ways eventually. There was a time
where each Dudley tried their hand in the singles ranks. Bubba
doesn’t know if it will ever happen again, and he’s more than
happy with that.
“It didn’t work back then,” he said. “We all know that. But if
WWE wants to do it and they want to give it a shot with me by
myself one day, I would listen. Do I think WWE would get the
version they got in the past? Probably not. But you never know.
We’ll see what happens.”
In the past the Dudley Boyz also had the beautiful Stacy Keibler
reign as the “Duchess of Dudleyville.” So would we ever see
another female member of the family?
“It’s no secret that me and Velvet Sky are together,” Bubba
said. “If you go on Twitter, I think the entire Twitter-verse
would like to see that. She is probably the most over female
wrestler out there that has never been in WWE. She looks
phenomenal. I think the fans and the WWE Universe would love to
see her in a WWE ring. Who knows? Maybe it will happen one day.”
It’s apparent from watching them work with teams like the New
Day that the Dudley Boyz hasn’t lost a step. Bubba likes working
with the entertaining trio.
“I think New Day is an extremely entertaining act in WWE,” he
said. “They are a good team. Kofi and Big E have been around for
a while. Xavier definitely brings an entertaining quality to the
table, so to speak. They have been doing well. I think New Day
needed a team like the Dudleyz to help them get to the next
level. You always need that one team that you can work with that
is going to elevate you. I think it’s definitely working for the
New Day. I think the most important thing is the fans are being
entertained because the Dudleyz versus the New Day storyline is
one the WWE Universe is interested in right now.”
#Post#: 33427--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chat with Bully Ray. Talks Difference in WWE, Velvet & M
ore
By: tnafan Date: November 7, 2015, 1:13 pm
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We all new they would go back to WWE one day.. Bully Ray is in
the best shape he has ever been in TBH .. And they are a great
tag team to work with. They will get younger teams over and they
are happy to take a back step to new teams too.. They will be a
great team to have in NXT to , to work with the younger teams
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