On the list of the greatest tag teams of all time, you cannot avoid mentioned the team of Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley.
Known by many names, the duo were most commonly referred to as The Dudley Boyz, stemming from their six-year run in the WWE.
During this time, they won ten tag team championships on the way to a Hall of Fame career. With their incredible finishing move (the 3D) and popular catchphrase, the pair were a mainstay of the Attitude Era in pro-wrestling.
We’ll go through their final outings for WWE, ECW and TNA, looking at how they ended their careers in each of the companies.
Dudley Boyz Last WWE Match
The Dudley Boyz last match in the WWE came in 2016, when they faced off against a makeshift duo of Sami Zayn and Neville on the Summerslam 2016 kick off show.
The match had very little build up, although it provided a nice contest for the pre-show crowd to enjoy.
Mixing in the legendary Dudleys against two young prospects was a great way to introduce old fans to new stars, as should be the use of legends in the WWE.
It was a short match, going a little under 8 minutes, and saw The Dudleys as heels, beating down Neville for the bulk of it.
Eventually, Sami Zayn managed to nail Bubba Ray with a Helluva Kick, before Neville finished off the WWE Hall of Famer with a Red Arrow.
Shortly after this match, The Dudley Boyz were released from their contracts, making this their last match in the WWE.
There was some talk about a singles run for Bubba Ray, under his Bully Ray gimmick in TNA. Sadly, these went nowhere and he was soon out of the company.
The Dudleys Last ECW Match
The Dudleys wrestled their last ECW matches at ECW’s The Last Show at the Madhouse event on August 26, 1999.
The pair had already signed new deals with the WWF, and were set to move to the company soon after.
However, they wrestled twice on that night, winning and losing their seventh ECW World Tag Team Championship belt.
Threatening to win the belts and take them to the WWE with them, the Dudley Boyz defeated champions Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley to win the belts in shocking fashion.
The etiquette in wrestling is to lose on your way out, so it came as a shock to many that they were to walk out as champions.
Luckily for the promotion, the show was main evented by an impromptu tag team match. Tommy Dreamer teamed with his long-time rival Raven to win the belts back, ending the Dudleys reign at less than a show, sending them packing to the WWE in style.
Tommy Dreamer would also be a part of the pair’s final match in TNA wrestling.
Team 3D Last TNA Match
The Dudleys lost the rights to their names following their 2005 WWE exit, so required to change things up.
As a duo, they became known as Team 3D, taking inspiration from their finishing move.
The surname “Dudley” was also off the table, so they resorted to the names Brother Ray and Brother D-Von (although Brother Ray would turn into Bully Ray some years later).
They wrestled for TNA for many years, both as tag, singles and as part of the villainous “Aces & Eights” faction.
While they had many legendary opponents in TNA (now Impact), Team 3D’s last match was against one of their rivals from ECW.
At Bound for Glory 2014, which curiously took place in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, Team 3D faced off against Tommy Dreamer and Abyss.
Dreamer had spent years in ECW and WWE with the pair, with all three of them crucial behind the scenes at keeping ECW afloat during its peak.
Their last tag team match in TNA was a hardcore match, playing into the skill set of all four men involved.
Team 3D won their last match, just one day after being inducted into the Impact Hall of Fame – the only team to ever be inducted. Their contracts expired soon after, and they both departed the company (although Bully Ray would return many times over the years).