A WWE Hall of Famer has recalled deciding to leave the promotion after becoming “burned out” from a year of being used as enhancement talent.
Bully Ray and D-Von Dudley returned to the company in 2015 after a decade away. The pair immediately made a mark by dropping Xavier Woods through a table with a 3D, kicking off a feud over the Tag Team Championships with The New Day.
However, despite challenging for the gold several times, the Dudley Boyz came up short, first due to winning by disqualification at that year’s Night Of Champions, and then at Hell in a Cell after Big E attacked Ray with a trombone.
The pair moved on to rivalries with the Wyatt Family which led to an Eight-Man Tables Elimination Match – also featuring Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno – which the Wyatts won.
A feud with The Usos saw the Dudleyz lose at WrestleMania 32, although they were able to defeat the brothers the following night on Raw.
However, the duo became a staple of Superstars and Main Event where they suffered more losses against the likes of Big Cass & Enzo, Dolph Ziggler & Zack Ryder, and The Lucha Dragons.
The Dudley Boyz last match in WWE saw them defeated by Sami Zayn & Neville – now AEW’s PAC – on the SummerSlam 2016 kickoff show. The next night, the pair announced they were leaving the company and were promptly attacked by the Shining Stars. After seeing off the assault, the Dudleyz were laid out by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
Bully Ray “Burned Out” after becoming WWE enhancement talent
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on a recent episode of his Insight podcast, Ray spoke about that period of time, saying that while he was initially fine with becoming an enhancement talent, it eventually burned him out and he told Vince McMahon he couldn’t do it anymore.
“I told Vince I couldn’t do the Dudley thing the way he wanted it. We did it for a year. Vince sat me and D-Von and said, ‘Here’s what I want you to do. Work with The New Day, help them get over. Work with The Usos, help them get over. Work with Wyatts, help them get over. And then whoever else we throw at you’. Okay, you got it, no problem.
“The boss sat us down. This is how much he’s paying us. This is what he needs. You got it, but after a year of doing it – okay, I’m burned out on The Dudleys and I know I got Bully Ray in my back pocket.”
At that point, he let D-Von know he was going to move on from the company and the two parted ways.
“I told D-Von upfront – ‘I don’t think I’m going to re-sign’. So we knew all this. He re-signed and became a producer with the company, an employee with the company. And just recently, they parted ways and D-Von had a great career there as a producer and did very well there.”
H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the above transcription.