The now defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling, or ECW, promotion truly was a stepping stone elevating some of wrestling’s top performers into higher organizations. As evidence, only look at the roster of the World Wrestling Federation which includes numerous examples, past and present, of wrestlers who, at one time or another, had stints in ECW. Taz, Steve Austin, Mankind(Mick Foley), Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam... the list goes on and on, but in the way of tag teams, perhaps there’s no greater name in the world than that of the Dudley Boyz.

The Dudley Boyz road to legendary status started in the early days of ECW, when Bubba Ray Dudley, along with his “brother” Big Dick Dudley appeared on the scene. Bubba was a nearly 400 pound guy, who when he first came into the ECW, had a ridiculous angle going where he couldn’t even pronouce his name (“ my name is Buh...Buh...Buh...”). Soon after this, the Dudley “family” began to grow in the wake of the initial popularity of the Dudley Boyz. Soon, we had Little Spike Dudley, who was probably the biggest underdog in the history of ECW, Sign Guy Dudley, who waved signs around during the Dudleys’s matches, and last, but not least, D-Von Dudley, who would eventually team up with “brother” Bubba Ray to form, arguably, the best tag team in ECW history, and certainly one of the most devastating.

The Dudley Boyz were indeed one of the greatest teams in the business. With their finishing move the Dudley Death Drop, or 3-D for short, knocking off opponents left and right, the Dudleys moved up through the ranks quickly, and soon had become multiple time holders of the ECW tag team championship belts. They also became one of the most hated teams in the business due to their constant verbal assault on the fans. You'll see plenty of this and more on the DVD.

ECW home video’s DVD of THE BEST OF THE DUDLEY BOYZ chronicles the ECW careers of this tag team, from the beginning of the road, right up to their departure for the WWF. Among the matches and highlights, you'll see some clips and montages from the Dudleys career in ECW, including the infamous flaming table matches that have become the stuff of legend.

Here’s the matches and segments that you’ll see on this compilation:

1. BIG DICK DUDLEY and BUBBA RAY DUDLEY vs. AXL ROTTEN and D-VON DUDLEY (Full Match)
When D-Von first appeared in ECW, he was cast as the bad boy of the Dudley family, and his feud with his “brothers” Big Dick and Bubba Ray was a classic. This match features quite a bit of action taking place outside the confines of the ring, and includes some pretty impressive moves such as a dive from the stage of the famed ECW arena (which was a converted bingo hall) onto the floor below, and Bubba planting D-Von through a table. The move of the night, however, seems to be the low blow; I wonder how many packs of ice these guys needed after this one... Anyway, the match isn’t great, but it’s not a dud either. I’d give it three stars (out of five).

2. THE SANDMAN vs. D-VON DUDLEY (Highlights only)
D-von takes a couple of pretty nasty shots with The Sandman’s trademark “Singapore Cane” and gets his face smashed in with a chair in the highlights shown of this match. Nothing special, but after the match, Bubba and Spike come out. Bubba and D-Von turn on the Sandman and Spike, thus beginning the legendary tag team.

Matches 3-8 show the six times that Bubba and D-Von won the ECW tag team titles. The matches aren’t shown in their entirety however, making the segment go by pretty quickly.

3. THE DUDLEY BOYZ (BUBBA RAY AND D-VON) vs. THE ELIMINATORS (JOHN KRONUS and PERRY SATURN)
Bubba Ray and D-Von win the tag belts for the first time after brutalizing Kronus and Saturn pretty badly.

4. THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. THE GANGSTAS (NEW JACK and MOUSTAPHA)
A steel cage match to determine the title holders ends when Bubba and D-von one up the Gangstas at their own game, using weapons galore.

5. THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. SABU and ROB VAN DAM

6. THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. MASATO TANAKA and BALLS MAHONEY

7. THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. SABU and ROB VAN DAM

8. THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. BALLS MAHONEY and LITTLE SPIKE DUDLEY

That’s about it for the highlights. The rest of the matches on the DVD are shown in their entirety.

9. THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. NEW JACK and LITTLE SPIKE DUDLEY
New Jack, part of the Gangstas tag team, and Spike Dudley attack the Dudleys and a brawl erupts with two trash cans full of weapons being dragged into the fray. Little Spike Dudley is thrown all around the arena by Bubba... and I do mean thrown. He is tossed like a sack of potatoes in the crowd two or three times, an impressive show of strength from Bubba that is obviously no kind of trick. Three and a half stars for this one.

10. THE DUDLEY BOYZ with BIG DICK DUDLEY vs. THE SANDMAN, SPIKE DUDLEY and TOMMY DREAMER
Boy, does this one ever get ugly! Filmed in the “Madhouse of Extreme,” the Elks Lodge in Queens, NY, where the crowd is packed tightly into a small auditorium. D-Von and Bubba taunt the crowd for ten or fifteen minutes before the match even starts, and rile up a few people, inciting one young man to jump from the balcony and (try) to make his way to the ring. The ring itself is pummeled with cups, chairs, beer, any kind of trash that the angered fans can find. The match itself isn’t too bad, featuring some fast-paced and extreme combat, and even a match within a match pitting the gorgeous Beulah McGillicutty against the Dudley’s manager, the “quintessential stud muffin” Joel Gertner. Not a spectacular match, but you just have to see this one to believe the pre match activity. Truly eye opening. I’d give it four stars.

11. THE DUDLEY BOYS vs. BALLS MAHONEY AND SPIKE DUDLEY
The Dudleys’s final match from November 1999 before leaving for the WWF. Balls and Spike were the title holders, and are challenged by Bubba and D-Von to put the titles on the line for one last match. This match is pretty extreme, much moreso than many of the previous matches on the tape, with both Balls and Spike getting “ripped wide open” with a cheese grater raked across their heads. Finally, Balls is driven through a table covered in thumbtacks, but can Bubba and D-von go out in style by winning the belts one last time? I think you probably already know the answer to this, but check out this four star contest anyway.

11.5 . New Tag Team champions the Dudleys (oops am I giving something away?) challenge ECW icon Tommy Dreamer ( who was recuperating a broken back -ouch- at the time of this match) to take them on. Dreamer obliges, and guess who shows up? Raven, who had been last seen in the WCW makes a surprise appearance.

11.9 . The Dudley Boyz give a real “shoot” style post match speech, in which they proceed to dump the tough-guy images and speak from the heart about what ECW has done for them. A pretty cool scene, and full of some real emotion.

12. THE DUDLEY BOYZ and TOMMY DREAMER vs. SWINGER, SIMON DIAMOND and C.W. ANDERSON
In December 2000, shortly before the collapse of the ECW promotion due to the bankruptcy of its parent company, the Dudley Boyz took a night off from their regular WWF appearances to make a one night return to ECW. In this match you’ll see the Dudleys team with Tommy Dreamer, and lay the smack down on the trio of Anderson, Swinger and Simon. Was there any doubt that the Dudleys would win? Bubba cuts C.W. open with a machete in this one; pretty violent stuff. Another pretty good 3 and a half star match.

DVD BONUS FEATURES:

** D-VON’s DEBUT: During the early days of ECW (check out the ring and the outfits worn by the Dudleys), D-von Dudley makes his first appearance in ECW coming out to correct Bubba (who’s delivering the “my name is Buh...Buh...Buh...” thing... this is funny as hell looking at where he is today). Only about a minute or two in length... they don’t even show the match, which pitted Big Dick and Bubba against J.T. Smith and Little Guido, but that’s your “bonus.”

** 12/00 POST MATCH SPEECH
From the match pitting them against Swinger, Simon and Anderson. The Dudleys talk a little bit about working in the WWF, and again thank Paul Heyman (founder of ECW) for giving them a shot. All this while chugging down a few beers with Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman.

** THE DUDLEY BOYZ vs. MASATO TANAKA and BALLS MAHONEY
A match pitting the Dudleys against Japanese star Tanaka and the “chair swinging freak” Mahoney. Of course, you’re gonna see chairs and cheese graters used in this one... and a couple of nice technical moves as well. I always enjoy watching Tanaka wrestle; he truly is one of the best in the business, so I’d give this bonus match 3 1/2 stars.


That does it for the BEST OF THE DUDLEY BOYZ. The DVD is similar to, but not quite as good as the BEST OF CACTUS JACK DVD that came out at the same time. Whereas the Cactus Jack DVD chronicled Mick “Cactus Jack” Foley’s entire tenure in ECW, the Dudley Boyz DVD (which clocks in at an impressive 169 minutes) skips certain parts, and doesn’t really show you the whole experience. I also didn’t like how many of the matches early on in the tape are highlighted. This is just annoying, especially when you only see maybe a minute of each match they feature.

I guess I can’t complain too much, though. THE BEST OF THE DUDLEY BOYZ is definitely a good choice for any fan of the Dudleys, or of ECW in general, as you’ll see some good matches and a number of the biggest names in the promotion. This compilation features both superb technical wrestling and some violent extreme-style action, so you’re bound to be pleased, no matter which type of wrestling you enjoy more.

Although I'd advise you to skip the VHS version, which cuts quite a bit of the footage, I’d highly recommend this DVD for any wrestling fans. It definitely features some of the high points of the Dudleys career, and has plenty of action and insight into why this tag team is probably one of the premier duos of all time in the sport.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older