Devon Hughes
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| Devon Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | A-Train, Brother Devon, Brother Devon Deadly, D-Von Dudley, Reverend D-Von |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (111 kg) |
| Born | August 1, 1972 New Rochelle, New York |
| Resides | Melbourne, Florida |
| Billed from | Dudleyville, New York City, New York |
| Trained by | Johnny Rodz |
| Debut | December 1991 |
Devon Hughes is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment as D-Von Dudley. He currently wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name "Brother Devon".
Along with his storyline half-brother Ray, Hughes is one-half of Team 3D, a tag team formerly known as the Dudley Boyz. Characterised by their unorthodox ring apparel and usage of tables in their matches, Team 3D are one of the most successful tag teams in the history of professional wrestling, having held eighteen world tag team championships. Team 3D is also occasionally a stable, when Ray and Devon's kayfabe half-brother Runt is included.
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[edit] Career
Hughes was trained by Johnny Rodz and began wrestling in December 1991 on the East Coast independent circuit as A-Train. He engaged in a feud with Latin Lover that was continued in many different promotions.
[edit] Extreme Championship Wrestling
On April 13, 1996, Hughes debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling as D-Von Dudley (sometimes spelled "D'Von"). He feuded with the other members of The Dudley Family (his kayfabe half-brothers), claiming that their comedic antics were not the way true Dudleys should act. Hughes eliminated Dances With Dudley, Dudley Dudley and Chubby Dudley before joining forces with Buh Buh Ray Dudley, Big Dick Dudley, Sign Guy Dudley and Joel Gertner. Known collectively as the Dudley Boys, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray dominated the ECW tag team division, winning the ECW Tag Team Championship a record eight times and defeating teams such as The Eliminators and The Gangstas. D-Von, Buh Buh Ray and Gertner all achieved a degree of infamy for their vitriolic interviews, which antagonized audiences to a point of near riot.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation
In 1999, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray left ECW following a pay dispute and joined the World Wrestling Federation, where Buh Buh Ray was renamed "Bubba Ray". Throughout 2000 and 2001, the Dudley Boyz engaged in a three way feud for the WWF World Tag Team Championship with The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian. The feud incorporated two critically acclaimed Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches, the first at SummerSlam 2000 and the second at WrestleMania X-Seven. While they were initially heels, and were known for Bubba Ray's penchant for driving women (including Terri Runnels and Mae Young) through tables, the Dudley Boyz turned face in late 2000. In early 2001, they were joined in the WWF by Spike Dudley.
In late 2001, the Dudley Boyz turned heel once again by joining The Alliance, a large stable of former ECW and WCW wrestlers led by Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley who attempted to take over the WWF (Spike, along with several other ECW alumni, did not join The Alliance). The ECW-WCW invasion ended at the 2001 Survivor Series, when five WWF wrestlers defeated five Alliance wrestlers in a match to determine the ownership of the WWF. The Alliance disbanded and its members left the WWF, but the Dudley Boyz retained their jobs due to their possession of the WWF World Tag Team Championship, which they had unified with the WCW World Tag Team Championship at the Survivor Series. They became faces once again shortly thereafter.
Following WrestleMania X8 in March 2002, the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE) and the roster was divided into two brands, RAW and SmackDown!. The Dudley Boyz were separated when Bubba Ray was drafted to RAW and Hughes to SmackDown!. On SmackDown!, D-Von adopted the character of Reverend D-Von, a corrupt preacher who was frequently accompanied by his enforcer, Deacon Bautista. The character failed to get over, and D-Von was reunited with Bubba Ray and Spike on November 17, 2002 when he returned to the RAW brand.
The Dudley Boyz became a stable in the RAW tag team division over the next sixteen months, feuding with teams such as Three Minute Warning, La Résistance and various combinations of the UnAmericans. They held the WWF World Tag Team Championship several more times before being traded (along with Booker T) to SmackDown! on March 22, 2004 in exchange for Triple H.
Shortly after arriving on SmackDown!, the Dudley Boyz turned heel once again, siding with Paul Heyman and feuding with Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio. On May 27, 2004 the Dudley Boyz kidnapped Paul Bearer, the manager of Heyman's enemy The Undertaker. On June 27, 2004 at The Great American Bash, The Undertaker defeated the Dudley Boyz in a handicap match. In July 2004, the Dudley Boyz reunited with Spike. For the remainder of the year, they assisted Spike in his matches for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship and unsuccessfully competed for the WWE Tag Team Championship. In early 2005, the Dudley Boyz were removed from WWE television and sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling while the WWE creative team attempted to devise a storyline for them.
The Dudley Boyz returned to WWE television in June 2005 in order to promote ECW One Night Stand 2005, an ECW reunion show. In the weeks preceding One Night Stand they, along with several other ECW alumni, vied with former WCW President Eric Bischoff and his "anti-hardcore crusaders". At One Night Stand on June 12, 2005, the Dudley Boyz defeated Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in the main event of the night after powerbombing Dreamer through a flaming table.
On July 5, 2005, WWE announced that it had opted not to continue contract renewal negotiations with the Dudley Boyz. In addition, fifteen other wrestlers (including Spike) were released by WWE, which was decreasing its spending as a result of a fall in projected revenue. In August 2005, all three former Dudleys were issued with legal notices instructing them not to use the (WWE trademarked) name "Dudley". This led to a degree of acrimony between the former Dudleys and their erstwhile employers, as they had used the names since 1996, several years before all ECW intellectual property was acquired by WWE as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. Soon after, Hughes and Lamonica (Bubba Ray) announced that they intended to pursue legal action against WWE.
[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
No longer able to use the ring name "D-Von Dudley", Hughes adopted (and trademarked) the ring name Brother Devon Deadly, while Lamonica became "Brother Ray Deadly". The team also trademarked "The Deadly Brothers" and "Deadly Death Drop". In August and September 2005, Devon and Ray made several appearances on the independent circuit, most notably Hardcore Homecoming, an unofficial ECW reunion show organised by ECW alumnus Shane Douglas, a frequent critic of WWE and Chairman Vince McMahon. On September 21, 2005, it was announced that they had signed multi-year contracts with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, arguably the second biggest and most popular wrestling promotion in the United States at the time (after WWE).
Devon and Ray debuted in TNA on the October 1, 2005 episode of TNA iMPACT! - the first episode of iMPACT! to be aired on Spike TV and in a prime time slot. They were identified as "Brother Devon" and "Brother Ray" respectively (with the suffix "Deadly" apparently having been dropped) and as "Team 3D" collectively. Team 3D quickly established themselves as faces by confronting the heel NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett and his allies, the NWA World Tag Team Champions, America's Most Wanted (AMW). Team 3D defeated AMW at pay-per-view events in November and December 2005, but failed to defeat them in a title match at TNA Final Resolution 2006 on January 15, 2006 due to the interference of Team Canada.
Devon and Ray continued to feud with America's Most Wanted and Team Canada over the following months. On the April 13, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, an attempted ambush by Team Canada was foiled by the debuting Spike Dudley, identified as "Brother Runt".
[edit] Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
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- Saving Grace (Lifting inverted DDT)
- Corkscrew elbow smash
- Diving headbutt
- Piledriver
- Rope hung neckbreaker
- Signature foreign object: Table
- Managers
[edit] Personal life
Hughes is married with children. He also has his children's names tattooed on his upper bicep.
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
-
- 1-time AJPW Real World Tag League tournament winner (with Brother Ray)
-
- 8-time ECW Tag Team Champion (with Buh Buh Ray Dudley)
- World Wrestling Organization
-
- 1-time WWO International Champion
-
- 8-time World Tag Team Champion (with Bubba Ray Dudley)
- 1-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Bubba Ray Dudley)
- 1-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (with Bubba Ray Dudley)
- Other Titles
-
- 1-time NEW United States Champion
- 1-time NSWA United States Champion
-
- PWI ranked him # 362 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (2001, with Bubba Ray Dudley)
- PWI Match of the Year (2000, with Bubba Ray Dudley, versus Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz)
- PWI Match of the Year (2001, with Bubba Ray Dudley, versus Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz)
[edit] References
- D-Von Dudley still looking higher
- Devon Hughes at Bodyslamming.com
- Devon Hughes at ObsessedWithWrestling.com
- Former Dudley Boyz trademark new names
- It's all in the family for 3D's Devon
- Outside the ring: Brother Devon
[edit] External links
