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The following is a recap of a Bubba Ray Dudley interview from Between the Ropes radio:
Bubba said that everything before was rumors. They agreed to disagree. It was not the right climate financially or creatively to stay. It was more of the WWE’s decision. The Dudleys had been on hiatus for a while, and it was agreed to by the WWE to let them heal and then get back into storylines. They wanted a bit of a raise, but the WWE wanted them to take a bit of a pay cut. It was the WWE who decided that they could not financially bring them aboard because they did not have anyone for the Dudleys wrestle with anymore to justify their salary. Bubba joked that they left the WWE because of Tommy Dreamer’s food allowance and that they could not afford Bubba and D-Von any more.
Bubba wondered what tag teams could they be put in the ring in the WWE that would put asses in the seats. Bubba mentioned that he had not been on television in almost a year before returning at the ECW pay per view. (Note: Their last appearance on WWE television before their appearances on Raw and Smackdown for the ECW pay per view was November 4, 2004).
Bubba says that the Dudleys were not released. They are still under contract with the WWE. On August 26, 2005, the contract is up. The WWE can still re-open negotiations with the Dudleys between now and August 26. Their situation is different than the wrestlers released. They are still WWE employees.
He is on very positive terms with the WWE. They have corresponded with Vince and everything is fine. There are no hard feelings. They are looking forward to the next chapter in their career. They will be able to work with guys you would never have expected to see the Dudleys wrestle.
They have been with the WWE for six years and have done more than any other tag team has done. They have never done wrong. Things might have happened that they are not happy about, but those things happen everywhere. It is just business. The bottom line is that Vince paid them a lot of money to live out the storylines that he created. Bubba said that they discussed storylines with the writers, as well as Vince McMahon. Bubba said that not a lot of people had the ability to discuss things with Vince.
On a personal level, he wishes that things would have been done a little better. The way they were contacted could have been better. They were contacted at night instead of during regular business hours. Bubba said that the Grim Reaper called at the wrong time. Not many teams achieve the greatness that they did in the WWE. He expects to see some sort of resurgence in tag team wrestling the way that the teams are built up. Bubba talks about the ‘last great era’ of tag team wrestling with teams like the Hardys, Edge and Christian, APA, and Too Cool. Bubba said that he might have missed some of those teams. The door would be open for the Dudleys to work with a team that can get over as well as the Hardys or Edge and Christian.
Bubba says that TNA is exactly what the wrestling industry needs today, competition. They have a decent product and their product gets a little better. With the releases, TNA will probably pick and choose to make their product better. He is amazed by the number of people who tell him that The Dudleys need to go to TNA. They know how to contact Bubba and D-Von. They are examining all options. There are a slew of offers coming their way. TNA has a lot of good tag teams. They focus on the tag teams. Bubba said that TNA could be ‘ECW 2005’ because they have a loyal following.
Bubba said that everything before was rumors. They agreed to disagree. It was not the right climate financially or creatively to stay. It was more of the WWE’s decision. The Dudleys had been on hiatus for a while, and it was agreed to by the WWE to let them heal and then get back into storylines. They wanted a bit of a raise, but the WWE wanted them to take a bit of a pay cut. It was the WWE who decided that they could not financially bring them aboard because they did not have anyone for the Dudleys wrestle with anymore to justify their salary. Bubba joked that they left the WWE because of Tommy Dreamer’s food allowance and that they could not afford Bubba and D-Von any more.
Bubba wondered what tag teams could they be put in the ring in the WWE that would put asses in the seats. Bubba mentioned that he had not been on television in almost a year before returning at the ECW pay per view. (Note: Their last appearance on WWE television before their appearances on Raw and Smackdown for the ECW pay per view was November 4, 2004).
Bubba says that the Dudleys were not released. They are still under contract with the WWE. On August 26, 2005, the contract is up. The WWE can still re-open negotiations with the Dudleys between now and August 26. Their situation is different than the wrestlers released. They are still WWE employees.
He is on very positive terms with the WWE. They have corresponded with Vince and everything is fine. There are no hard feelings. They are looking forward to the next chapter in their career. They will be able to work with guys you would never have expected to see the Dudleys wrestle.
They have been with the WWE for six years and have done more than any other tag team has done. They have never done wrong. Things might have happened that they are not happy about, but those things happen everywhere. It is just business. The bottom line is that Vince paid them a lot of money to live out the storylines that he created. Bubba said that they discussed storylines with the writers, as well as Vince McMahon. Bubba said that not a lot of people had the ability to discuss things with Vince.
On a personal level, he wishes that things would have been done a little better. The way they were contacted could have been better. They were contacted at night instead of during regular business hours. Bubba said that the Grim Reaper called at the wrong time. Not many teams achieve the greatness that they did in the WWE. He expects to see some sort of resurgence in tag team wrestling the way that the teams are built up. Bubba talks about the ‘last great era’ of tag team wrestling with teams like the Hardys, Edge and Christian, APA, and Too Cool. Bubba said that he might have missed some of those teams. The door would be open for the Dudleys to work with a team that can get over as well as the Hardys or Edge and Christian.
Bubba says that TNA is exactly what the wrestling industry needs today, competition. They have a decent product and their product gets a little better. With the releases, TNA will probably pick and choose to make their product better. He is amazed by the number of people who tell him that The Dudleys need to go to TNA. They know how to contact Bubba and D-Von. They are examining all options. There are a slew of offers coming their way. TNA has a lot of good tag teams. They focus on the tag teams. Bubba said that TNA could be ‘ECW 2005’ because they have a loyal following.