The match is screaming to be made, if you ask Bubba Ray Dudley.
The Dudley Boyz and the Hardys helped revolutionize the pro wrestling business when they squared off in Table, Ladders and Chairs matches against one another and Edge and Christian during WWE’s Attitude Era in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The Dudleys signed a legends contract with WWE in late 2023 and Matt and Jeff Hardy are currently working in TNA, which WWE announced a talent-sharing agreement with in January.
The Hardys are currently the promotion’s tag team champions.
Along with D-Von Dudley’s improved health – after a stroke in 2020 that left him with 25 percent of his strength on this left side and back surgery — the stars seemed to be aligned for the two legendary teams to have one more match together in some capacity.
“It just depends on what it is and who it’s against,” said Bubba Ray Dudley, who is a coach on WWE’s competition show “LFG: Legends and Future Greats” debuting Sunday (8 p.m., A&E). “I think it’s a no-brainer that the WWE Universe and even TNA fans would love to see the Dudleys and the Hardys sharing the ring one last time, one last match, one last whatever.
“We’re not doing another TLC because none of us want to do it. We can’t top what we’ve done, so why would we want to screw with perfection and greatness. But one last Hardys-Dudleys match? Absolutely. It’s there to be done.”
D-Von, 52, got back in the ring for a match for the first time since 2016 at Impact 1000 in 2023 with the 53-year-old Bubba Ray. The duo teamed again this past April at two independent shows. Bubba Ray said D-Von has been working with Diamond Dallas Page and his renowned DDPY yoga program.
Bubba Ray, also a co-host on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, has remained active, having been a regular in Ring of Honor and Impact and recently tagged with Trick Williams against Ethan Page and Ridge Holland in NXT in November.
“D-Von’s feeling better than ever,” Bubba Ray said. “He’s been working with with DDP. He’s been doing the yoga, been doing the program. D-Von is feeling great. He’s ready to go whenever we need. Me, I’m always ready to go. You know, Matt Cardona stole ‘always ready’ from me.”
When asked about the fact that the Dudleys, the Hardys, Adam Copeland and Christian are still working to this day, Bubba Ray said it speaks to the kind of people they are.
“We’ve done a good job taking care of ourselves and if any of us have slipped up, we’ve got up dusted ourselves off and tried to fix it and keep moving forward,” he said. “Considering what the six of us have put ourselves through and the matches that we’ve had together or just our careers in general, we’re all upright and we’re all in good places professionally and personally. I don’t think any of us had any complaints. We’re all working in a variety of different companies at the same time.”
He also cautioned wrestling fans to never say never that they will all be working for the same company at the same time again.
“Maybe we will all be in the same place at the same time one last time,” Bubba Ray said. “But if that never happens, that’s why it was so important for me and D-Von to bring Matt and Jeff, Edge and Christian on stage with us at the (WWE) Hall of Fame in 2018.
“That wasn’t for us. That wasn’t for any of the wrestlers on stage. That was for the fans because we knew we had created something special for wrestling fans all over the world with TLC.”
