The Dudley Boyz made their first WWE appearance together since 2005 Monday night, and it came as a complete surprise to everyone. There had been plenty of rumors floating around about potential surprises, but the Dudleys were not among them, making their appearance more exciting. The crowd would have popped even if WWE had announced their appearance on the pre-show, but the genuine shock of the unknown made it one of the loudest reactions of the year. Superstars of the past return every year, but those moments are almost always great.
The problem with those moments is that the first appearance tends to be the peak of that run. If you were to name the best things about Chris Jericho’s post-“Dancing With the Stars” WWE career, his three returns would all be in the top five. Rob Van Dam got a huge pop for his (pre-announced) return at Money in the Bank 2013, but he didn’t do anything notable during his run that year. Even popular wrestlers need a storyline to maintain the fans’ excitement of seeing them again—Goldust is a good example, having returned in the middle of the Rhodes vs. Authority storyline. His return was good for more than a huge initial pop.
In order to make the Dudley Boyz’ return worthwhile, they need to get some mic time. That’s what got The New Day over and that’s what got Team Hell No over. The Dudley Boyz are obviously over, but they won’t stay that way if they’re silent. They should be having promo segments with every other relevant tag team. Imagine D-Von having a preach-off with Big E, or Bubba and Titus O’Neil insulting each other. If done well, it’ll make everyone involved look good. The Dudleys need promo time more than they need ring time.
Bubba and D-Von are both in pretty good ring shape, from what we’ve seen, especially considering they’re both past the age of 40. They’re still well-versed in their signature moves. However, they don’t need to be wrestling every week. It looks like they’re going to be feuding with The New Day moving forward, and that means the Dudleys should be put on the same level as the Prime Time Players, the Lucha Dragons, and any other team that might contend for the WWE Tag Team Championship in the future. If the Dudleys beat everyone besides the champs, once the feud is over, the Dudleys don’t have anyone to reasonably fight. Since they’re being billed as one of the most successful tag teams in history (which they are), they don’t need to prove themselves in the ring as much as younger duos do.
While the Dudleys-New Day feud looks to be interesting, Bubba and D-Von don’t need to be in the title picture at all. They have the promo talent to put over a feud that doesn’t involve a belt. Maybe they can help rehab The Ascension, or put over the new Wyatt Family. They should be feuding with young teams that can learn from them.
The biggest mistake WWE could make with the Dudley Boyz is splitting them up. No one has any desire to see one of them turn on the other, and as much as some fans want to see the Bully Ray character in WWE, it’s not gonna happen. WWE isn’t acknowledging TNA at all while Dixie Carter still appears on cable TV.
The Dudley Boyz’ return was one of the best moments in a weekend filled with great moments. Hopefully, over the next few months, they top it somehow.
Wrestledelphia.com columnist Evan Cross can be reached at . Follow him on Twitter .
Evan Cross
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[…] does lose it for good, it should be cleanly on Raw. That would make a moment worth watching live. The Dudley Boyz making a surprise return was a moment worth watching live. There hasn’t been many of those lately, and there should be one […]