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Whether you call them
the Dudley Boyz or you call them Team 3D, you can't go wrong
calling them successful. As of March 2006, this
incredible duo has won every major tag team championship in
professional wrestling with the exception of the National
Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Tag Team Championship (and they
look to win that one next). Just two members of the
(storyline) Dudley Family, these two are without question the
most famous.
Since their days working in Extreme
Championship Wrestling (ECW), Team 3D has earned a
well-deserved reputation for brutality and victory in the
ring. After teaming up in 1997, the Dudley Boyz went on
to win eight ECW Tag Team Championships. The Dudley Boyz
battled some of ECW's toughest teams including the Gangstas
and the Eliminators.
In 1999, the Dudley Boyz entered
the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) where they made a name
for themselves by putting their opponents through
tables. They also earned notoriety by putting women
through tables. The Dudleys shot to superstardom after a
feud with the teams of Edge & Christian and the Hardy
Boyz. The three teams waged war in a series of matches
which culminated in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
(TLC).
After a lengthy run in World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the Dudley Boyz left for Total
Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). However the WWE
threatened legal action if they used the name "Dudley Boyz" or
their names "Bubba Ray Dudley" and "Devon Dudley". It
didn't take Ray and Devon to thwart the WWE though and they
began calling themselves Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother
Devon).
Their reputation as a tough and
successful tag team brought down the wrath of NWA World Tag
Team Champions America's Most Wanted ("Cowboy" James Storm
& "Wildcat" Chris Harris). After saving the 3LiveKru
from a gang attack, Team 3D met AMW on the October 8,
2005 episode of Impact. Outside interference led to
Team 3D being laid out in the ring and fans wondering if they
would return.
The next week on Impact,
AMW, Team Canada, Abyss, and Jeff Jarrett held a "funeral"
lamenting the demise of Team 3D. Team 3D did not take
kindly to being mocked and at the Turning Point PPV,
they defeated AMW in a tables match, gathering a measure of
revenge.
Since their arrival in TNA, Team 3D
has made it known that they intend on winning the NWA World
Tag Team Championship, the only tag team title they have never
held. This would make Team 3D the first team to hold all
of the major tag team championships in modern wrestling
history, a feat that would surpass the championship
accomplishments of the Road Warriors (who never held the ECW
Tag Team Championship).
The road to the titles has not been
easy. At the Final Resolution PPV, Team 3D
pinned the tag team champions AMW but the referee was blinded
at the time. When his eyesight came back, Team 3D had
been defeated by AMW (with help from
Team Canada) and the referee
erroneously awarded the match to AMW.
After the screwjob loss, Team 3D
enlisted the fans' help in choosing which team they would go
after first-AMW or Team Canada. The fans chose Team Canada and
at the Against All Odds PPV, Team 3D defeated Team
Canada's Eric Young and Bobby Roode. Team 3D has feuded
with the various members of Team Canada, inflicting serious
damage on them but inevitably, falling to the numbers
advantage possessed by Team
Canada.
Recently Team 3D took a sabbatical
from TNA so they could refocus on their dream of winning
the NWA World Tag Team Championship. |
