If the Dudleys Had Stayed...

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

I think it would have turned out similar to how it did in Impact Wrestling. Maybe would have happened sooner than later though.

I'm pretty sure it was The Dudley's who pushed to be split, and if they had stayed in the WWE.. I bet they would have split in similar fashion. Meaning Bully Ray would be harassing the WWE's roster. Because to my understanding.. Bully Ray is a name Ray came up with.. so he most likely would have gotten to run it in the WWE if he stayed.

I don't think Devon would have gone onto much, maybe just becoming another Matt Hardy who would eventually get released.

But I bet... Bubba Ray... Bully Ray.. whatever you want to call him.. would be a World Champion in the WWE at this time.. or at least a contender. The shape he is in, the level he is performing at.. no doubt he would be a top contender.

Wrestlemania 2000... The Dudleys Vs Edge and Christian Vs The Hardy Boys. That match launched all their careers. Edge, Christian, Jeff Hardy... all went on to become WWE Champion.. so if they Dudleys had stayed... what makes you think that Ray wouldn't have won the WWE Title as well?

Especially in a time like now when there really aren't a whole lot of top talent and guys like Mark Henry and R-Truth are finally getting a look...

 

[Awesomesauceinacup]

They tried that in the wwe by putting Bubba on Raw and Devon on Smackdown. Bubba didnt change much but Devon was doing his Reverend Devon gimmick.

The only good thing that happened during that was Batista debuted as Devons "Deacon"

As of right now, im not a big TNA watcher though I try to read up on it, Bully Ray isn't doing too bad. Though it's easy to get heel heat when you just mess with wrestlers that the fans like. But this is obviously a gimmick Bubba likes and can work with wich is showing through in his work.

Devon, I read, was enjoying his singles push. Herd he dropped alot of weight and has even said he wants to lose a bit more and compete in the X-Division.

Either the Dudley's finally got what they wanted or they realize that if a singles run doesnt work now, then there screwed lol.

Just realized I didnt answer your main question. Here are the reasons why those guys you mentioned became champions.

Edge= Because he's talented.

Christain= Because Edge retired.

Jeff Hardy: Because he was ridiculously popular.

I dont think Bubba Ray would have became world champion in the wwe. There were way to many guys that were eons beyond what Bubba could do when he was in the wwe. If the Dudleys stayed.....I think NOW would be the time that they actually even consider him for a title shot.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

he wouldnt have become world champion because vince did split up the dudleyz for a short time but the crowd just didnt give a shit so he put them back together and the fact original poster thinks devon would have done as good as matt hardy did in wwe...ha thats funny at 1 point in time matt was 1 of the most over faces in wwe (like when he returned and had a great fued with edge over lita)

 

[EastCoastFan]

According to the Dudleys shoot interview, they didn't want to get split up in 2002. Vince thought they had done all they could as a team and wanted to try them apart. He also told them that if it didn't work, he'd put them back together.

They also said that at the time they got canned by WWE, they were supposed to do a program with MNM.

 

[The Crock]

I don't think it would have worked in the WWE, I mean, it didn't work the first time. They were bound to be a tag team together. Hell, I'm sure they wouldn't have stuck around much longer anyway, they're just too old and too far past their prime to really make any impact in the WWE. Don't get get me wrong, I was a Dudley Boys fan, but I wouldn't want to be seeing them in 2011, not on WWE TV that is. TNA is in a different place right now, they can afford to run Bully Ray as a major heel, WWE just couldn't and wouldn't do that.

 

[obamartins]

Bully Ray is the currently best heel in the business right now.....who is better? seriously who is better? NOBODY - that goes for TNA & WWE.

Bully Ray is believable, he can work & can cut a mean promo furthermore has lost 75lbs which goes to show how seriously he is taking his role as a singles wrestler.

Truth be told Bully Ray has had this in him all along as he showed in original ECW time & time again where he literally incited riots. I recall fondly the time he stated "we have got a mom in the front row who taught her daughter how to suck dick".....LOL

ECW Dudley Boys promo almost causes a riot -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrvkCA8gsAg

Bubba Ray taunts fan into jumping off balcony and over the guardrail - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siJ7Nf4i7s4

He said in his shoot interview he was NEVER allowed to be fully himself in WWE & he knew it was time to leave when he saw a sign in crowd that said "take the handcuffs of the Dudleys"

Now for the people who are stating that WWE tried once to push Bully Ray as a singles.....that was in 2002 over 9 years ago! & like somebody already mentioned they didn't want to split but Vince McMahon said they had accomplished everything as a team.

The roster was stacked in 2002 on both RAW & Smackdown throughout they year. Just look at the names - Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, Shawn Micheals, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Kane, Scott Steiner, Booker T, Big Show, Ric Flair, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam, Jeff hardy, Edge, Rey Mysterio.....no wonder Bully Ray didn't make it as a singles back then!

Now look at WWE's roster.....it's really quite sad & pathetic, lack of marquee names with star power & far to many green guys that have been pushed to much to soon. If likes of Mark Henry & R-Truth are getting pushed then LOL i don't he how Bully Ray could not in 2011 WWE either.

Bully Ray never even changed from Brother Ray but a name change & not associating himself with Devon is slowly changing many people's perceptions that he is merely just a Tag team wrestler including the IWC 2nd favourite ass to kiss Chris Jericho (who praised Ray recent work on twitter), PW Torch editor Wade Keller, Kurt Angle & WrestleZone's very own Mark Madden (who hates Ray).

2009 Brother Ray return promo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TFZCz1VKCA

Bully Ray would quite frankly put the likes of Dolph Ziggler to shame if he was in WWE today. He could carry a fued & generate more real heel heat then Ziggler ever has simply by cutting a promo.

Bully Ray vs. AJ Styles at Slammiversary this year proved that Bully Ray can deliver in the ring also & IMO the match of the year so far in TNA (yes better then the X-Divison 4way at Destination X).

Bully Ray reminds me of JBL in a lot of ways. How many of you lot ever thought Bradshaw would become an established Main Eventer & former World Champion.....

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

Yeah guys, I'm not talking about 5 years ago.. I know Ray wouldn't have been World Champion then.

But if he were in the WWE... RIGHT NOW... I think he would be getting his shot at the gold. Like I said.. WWE is desperate for stars right now, hence why R-Truth and Mark Henry are finally seeping through to the Main Event. Hell, that's why Christian seeped through to the main event.

 

[Underwoody]

They would be putting tag teams over. If not as a team, individually.
This is how it goes: Championship run....then...hiatus...then...putting tag teams over...split up...hiatus...last championship run...and retirement....AND... irrelevant on screen characters.

 

[vthokie8]

Personally, I think making the move to TNA was the best thing the Dudley's could have done. I think if they had stuck around WWE they would have been moved to ECW with the rest of the "Originals" and buried on that brand just like RVD, Dreamer, Sandman, Balls Mahoney and Sabu were. I always thought Bubba Ray was a talented singles worker even in 02, but I don't think WWE would have given him the chance to run with it like TNA has. I have always thought he was one of the best heels in the business going back to ECW, anyone who can incite near riots is a great heel in my opinion.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Vince thought they had done all they could as a team and wanted to try them apart.

If that's what Vince thought, it was a mistake. The Dudleys' were tag-team wrestling in the purest sense and had been for a very long time (remember in ECW when they spelled his name Buh-Buh?)

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when tag-teams went to the back burner in WWE but if I had to choose a specific incident that brought it about, I'd say it happened when the Dudleys' left.

And why did they leave, anyway? Was it an issue of money? It seemed they did something that displeased management and their TV became limited until their contracts finally ran out. Never understood it.

Personally, I think if they stayed in WWE they would have continued to be what they had always been; a tag-team that worked together better than anyone else..... and they would have kept on antagonizing people and participating in some of the most entertaining matches ever. Even as they both grew older, fatter and slower, their ability to work as a team would have kept them relevant.

 

[Starchild]

I'd imagine separating them into singles stars may have been tried some more, but I just don't see that ever working in WWE. Bubba and D-Von are just tag partners and that's the way it is...there's nothing wrong with it. Tons of guys from the old days only ever really got over as part of a tag team and not a singles star. Not everyone can be Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels or Edge. Tag team wrestling used to really mean something in the sport of pro wrestling and it was a fine art that some people were just better at than others. The Dudleys were a team like that and that's what I and I imagine most fans will always remember them for.
Had they stayed, the Dudleys would have likely feuded with some of the teams that have come through in the past several years since their departure and I'd hope they would have started putting over those teams to get the next generation of tag teams ready. It's a lost art in WWE and something that I think it would be great to regain, which is why these reports about Triple H doing just that excite me.

 

[4LC]

Here are the reasons why those guys you mentioned became champions.

Edge= Because he's talented.

Christain= Because Edge retired.

Jeff Hardy: Because he was ridiculously popular.

I dont think Bubba Ray would have became world champion in the wwe. There were way to many guys that were eons beyond what Bubba could do when he was in the wwe. If the Dudleys stayed.....I think NOW would be the time that they actually even consider him for a title shot.

Correct about Edge Christian and Jeff Harvey, Hardy....
Bubba would have gone maybe as far as IC or US title, they were really only tag team specialists i can only speculate if they both tried to have singles careers in wwe they would have just ended up not getting over, like Animal in 2006 or one of them would have just had their career go downhill in ECW when it was still around. and been buried the same way sandman sabu dreamer and all the other originals

 

[arcticfox04]

Dudleys stayed nothing would of happened. They tried to split them. Devon had some success and Bubba was just lost in the shuffle. TNA was a much better fit for them when they made the jump and it was the right call. Now if the Dudleys stayed in TNA or Jump back to the WWE. The WWE would be alot better due to the rebuilding of the Tag Division but its too late. Both Dudleys are going up in Age and the Road with the WWE would break them down pretty quick after all the abuse their bodies took earlier in there careers.