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Team 3D Returning at Impact 1000

The most decorated tag team of all-time is making an unexpected return to the ring

Justin Barrasso

Team 3D Returning at Impact 1000
Team 3D Returning at Impact 1000 /

Team 3D returns to Impact Wrestling this Saturday for Impact 1000.

The team has been known by many monikers. There were stretches as The Dudley Boyz, Bubba and D-Von, and Brother Ray and Brother Devon–and now, nearly 30 years after their debut, they are content to be referred to as the most decorated tag team in wrestling history.

Beginning in ECW, the Dudleys have tasted championship gold everywhere they traveled, including WWE, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Impact. Though they built their foundation in ECW and became global entities in WWE, it is their Impact run that stands as their most complete body of work.

“We spent more time in Impact than in ECW or WWE,” said Mark LoMonaco, who is best known as Bully Ray. “It’s going to be fun to get back for one night. We never thought this would happen with Devon’s health, but he says he feels great. So we’re going out there on Saturday, and we’re going to give our fanbase what they know, love, and expect from Team 3D.”

It appeared that Devon Hughes, who starred as D-Von, would never return to active wrestling. Yet he recovered from a stroke and back surgery, and his match on Saturday will mark his first in seven years.

“It’s no secret I had the stroke in 2019, which was stress-related,” said Hughes. “Working behind-the-scenes for WWE at the time as a backstage producer was very stressful. A year later, when I had back surgery, I thought I was done. But I had a great trainer, and I kept getting stronger. Then I thought, ‘Let me get in the ring and try it again.’

“At first, I was a little off. But then I started doing it on a regular basis. I thought, ‘What if I do something with Bubba? Or something with my sons, who wrestle on the independent scene?’ The more I did it, the better I moved. At my wrestling school, I started getting into the ring with my students. Then I got the call from Bubba about doing the thousandth episode of Impact! He asked if I could get into ring shape, and I said, ‘Hell yeah.’ I’ve been working so hard to prove I haven’t lost a step. I’m ready for another 3D.”

Part of the aura and mystique of Team 3D is their finishing move. The 3D, which is the Dudley Death Drop, further cemented their place in wrestling lore.

“Despite the fact that Devon wanted to be a singles guy and I wanted to tag, we knew the chemistry we had,” said LoMonaco. “We felt it when we hit the very first 3D.”

The notion of the 3D first entered the mind of a young Bully Ray while he was at home on a Saturday night in 1996. Sitting in his bedroom in Huntington, Long Island, watching Dean Malenko wrestle Rey Mysterio on WCW Saturday Night, he was struck with an idea that forever changed tag team wrestling.

“Malenko shot Mysterio into the ropes and gave him a pop-up face bump,” said LoMonaco, who was always viewing wrestling through a tag team lens. “I thought, ‘What if you could turn around while the guy was in the air, and on the way down, hit him with a Diamond Cutter?’ But these were cruiserweights. Could super heavyweights do it? I tried it on D-Von when we were beating the sh-- out of each other in ECW, and he made it look incredible. It’s just a small glimpse at how talented he is, and we knew we had something.”

When D-Von Dudley entered ECW, he arrived with scorn for his fellow Dudley brothers, believing their family should be a more serious unit. That led to matches with Bubba. Even though this was not intended to be the main event, it was clear that the two worked especially well together.

“I wasn’t a well-trained wrestler at all,” said LoMonaco. “Devon, on the other hand, was trained perfectly by Johnny Rodz. Devon had all the in-ring ability in the world, and that showed.”

The first 3D took place when Bubba and D-Von turned on Spike Dudley, who was the recipient of many of the Dudleys’ most brutal maneuvers. Spike Dudley was agile and possessed a tremendous ability to make other wrestlers’ offense look immaculate, and he did that repeatedly for his two (storyline) older brothers.

“And that’s when the first 3D came along, when I turned on Sandman and Spike Dudley,” said LoMonaco. “Me and Devon unified for the first time in the ECW Arena, and it looks like we killed Spike when we hit it. But we ironed out the kinks, and it’s become one of the most, if not the most successful tag team finish in the world of pro wrestling today.”

The move has become synonymous with the team. It has also been used by stars throughout the industry. The Usos renamed it the One & Done in WWE, and New Japan luminaries Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima have utilized the move for close to 15 years.

As Team 3D, the Dudleys also used their far-reaching star power to elevate teams around them. The Motor City Machine Guns, Beer Money, and America’s Most Wanted all benefited from those programs, especially Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, whose high-flying style was complimented in extraordinary fashion by the Dudleys’ ground-and-pound.

“We were always focused on what we could do to make a team better,” said Hughes. “We were willing to work with each other, and that meant we had to check our egos at the door. That’s how you make money.”

The Dudley Boyz were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018. They recently signed Legends contracts with WWE, and LoMonaco still works as Bully Ray in Impact, where he and Hughes were also inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. And it is only fitting that the 24-time champions are celebrated across the industry. Their rise to wrestling immortality stands as one of wrestling’s most revered success stories. Looking back at their origin, it is remarkable to see the evolution from comedic tag team to one of the greatest ever.

“We were two of the nine brothers in one of the goofiest wrestling tag team families to ever exist,” said LoMonaco. “It was based on a dad who traveled throughout the territories back in the day, shacked up with random women, and out came another random Dudley boy. It was absolutely ridiculous–direct descendants of the Hanson Brothers from Slapshot, tie dye and overalls. The joke in ECW was, when you didn’t know what to do with a guy, was to make him a Dudley. And it was true.”

Courtesy ECW
Courtesy ECW

Miraculously, that narrative changed. With the faith of Paul Heyman, as well as an exceptional work ethic from both men and a willingness to take risks, the Dudleys continued to shatter every obstacle placed in their way.

Over time, people realized that the hardcore tag team from ECW that put people through tables could also cut promos. Soon after, it was discovered they could craft captivating stories in the ring. A highlight of their run together took place in Impact as part of the Aces & Eights faction, which highlighted both men as singles stars.

“Eric Bischoff saw something that no one else really had, which is what led to working as singles wrestlers in Aces & Eights,” said LoMonaco, who enjoyed a compelling main event run that included a program with Sting. “It’s a body of work I’m extremely proud of.”

“We had a better run in TNA than we did in WWE,” added Hughes. “But that’s our story–we’ve always been able to create something special. Look back, and you’ll remember that the Dudley gimmick was not meant to be serious. It was masterminded by Raven, and Taz put his two cents into it, but it was meant to be a joke. At first, we were just happy to be part of it. But Paul Heyman believed in us, and we decided to take the tag team to the next level.”

LoMonaco and Hughes have exceeded expectations at every step. Perhaps most impressive is that they accomplished the feat in a manner distinctly unique to themselves.

“We had to be completely different,” said LoMonaco. “We weren’t Dean Malenko or Taz or Tommy Dreamer or Shane Douglas. We had to take what teams like The Eliminators, Public Enemy, and The Pitbulls were doing and take it to the next level. And that’s what we did.”

Decades after the end of ECW, wrestling is in the midst of a new era. Yet there are certain elements of wrestling’s fabric that remain timeless, and Team 3D is one of them.

“Now we get to go back out there, the two of us, and return to Impact,” said Hughes. “Can you believe that? This Saturday is going to be incredible.

“The fans have no idea how inspirational they are to me. During my rough days, they were always there for me. I’m grateful for God, who brought me here, and I am grateful to the fans for lifting me up.”

As Team 3D returns in all their glory to the ring this Saturday, Hughes is honored to hold a place in history as one of the greatest tag teams ever.

“Before us, there were a lot of great teams, too,” said Hughes. “There was the Rock ‘N’ Roll Express, Terry ‘Bam Bam’ Gordy and ‘Dr. Death’ Steve Williams, the Midnight Express, the Hart Foundation, the British Bulldogs, and the Road Warriors, who we idolized. That was all a different era. During the ‘Attitude Era’, we became, hands down, the greatest tag team of our era.”

LoMonaco, whose confidence is part of his essence, took it a step further. This Saturday at Impact 1000, he does not believe people will merely see the best tag team of their generation. Rather, he is confident that people will witness the single greatest tag team of all time.

“As long as there is breath in our lungs, we are still the greatest tag team on the planet today,” said LoMonaco. “No one else comes close.”

Published
Justin Barrasso
JUSTIN BARRASSO

Justin Barrasso has been writing for Sports Illustrated since 2014. While his primary focus is pro wrestling and MMA, he has also covered MLB, NBA, and the NFL. He can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

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