Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
One of the most fascinating gimmicks to me personally, was the kayfabe family known as the Dudley brothers. I’m not just referring to the multi-time tag team champs…Bubba Ray and D-Von…but the others that made this “family” so unique.
The story of the Dudley family starts out with “Big Daddy” Dudley, who was a traveling salesman in the 60’s and 70’s and was married to Mama Dudley. When Big Daddy was on the road, he would fornicate with a woman at every stop along the way. Some….if not most of these women became pregnant and had a child (most likely a boy) 9 months later.
Now when the Dudley brothers were introduced in their ECW debut…they were from the “Hills of Charleston, Pennsylvania.” I can only assume “Dudleyville” is located somewhere in there….
The brothers were mostly all dressed the same way…tye dye, overalls and taped glasses. While their outfits were never fully explained…we do know that the Dudleys were based on the Hanson Brothers from the 1977 movie “Slap Shot.” A gimmick that came from the mind of Scott ‘Raven’ Levy after saying quotes from the movie one night in the dressing room. Levy was a fan of that film and thought the Hanson Brothers could easily be turned into a wrestling gimmick.
The wrestling world’s introduction to the Dudley clan was at “Hardcore Heaven” at the ECW Arena on July 1st, 1995.
Innocently enough, it was the beginning of a whole host of Dudley’s that crawled out from under the wood work.
In no particular order, here are the Dudley’s that I am at least familiar with…
1. Dudley Dudley
The only Dudley boy that could lay claim to being 100% Dudley. He was the child of both Big Daddy and Mama Dudley. All the other brothers were from different mothers.
2. Big Dick Dudley
The eldest Dudley and the mastodon of the family. It was said that Big Dick was spawned from Big Daddy having sex with the Holland Tunnel.
3. Dances With Dudley
The Native American Dudley was born after Big Daddy traveled to an Indian reservation and “Poked a Hontas.”
4. Sign Guy Dudley
The sign wielding but silent Dudley was the result of Big Daddy Dudley’s incarceration in an insane asylum.
5. Chubby Dudley
His name pretty much sums him up. The obese Dudley that always stuffed his face with food and was afraid of confrontations.
6. Snot Dudley
One of the original Dudley’s along with Dudley Dudley and Big Dick…disappeared after getting superbombed by the Pitbulls. (In real life, he suffered an injury on a Jet Ski)
7. Little Spike Dudley (LSD)
“The runt of the litter”…Spike, for the most part, was the outsider of the group.
8. Buh Buh Ray Dudley
Buh Buh Ray was the stuttering hillbilly of the family.
9. D-Von Dudley
D-Von hailed from the “South Side of Dudleyville.”
10 Luke and Butch Dudley
They looked an awful lot like the Sheepherders or the Bushwackers and coincidentally were from “Little New Zealand” in Dudleyville. 😉
11. Missy Dudley
Missy Hyatt appeared as a Dudley at an independent show.
I assume these next 4 Dudley’s were the result of Big Daddy traveling to independent wrestling shows or just plain inbreeding.
12. Schmuck Dudley
13. Psycho Sam Dudley
14. Urkel Dudley
15. Dog Puke Dudley
16. Vern Dudley
Without getting waaaay too detailed…The Dudleys were comedic relief in ECW…up until “brother” D-Von showed up on April 13,1996. He was the catalyst that turned the Dudley Boyz heel. D-Von believed acting like goofballs and comedians was NOT the Dudley way.
The rest as they say…became Dudley history!
We mustn’t forget that the Dudley family also had some close allies along the way…
“The Studley Dudley” Joel Gertner
“Lady Dudley” Jenna Jameson
“The Dutchess of Dudleyville” Stacy Keibler
Those Damn Dudleys lasted from 1995 to “in some variation” 2013. (technically 2005 using the Dudley name.) Regardless, there is no question the legacy this fictional family has left in the history of wrestling.
Always remember and never forget
