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Bully Ray, known in WWE as Bubba Ray Dudley, has revealed that Vince McMahon once ordered him to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.
The 2018 Hall of Famer joined WWE in 1999 with D-Von Dudley after making their names in ECW. As someone who likes to work as a pure heel, he told McMahon upon arriving in WWE that he did not interact with fans.
Speaking on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions show, Bully Ray amusingly recalled how the WWE Chairman reacted to his comment:
“Me and D-Von being heels, I remember saying to him, ‘Vince, I just want to let you know something. Me and D-Von are old-school heels. We don’t sign autographs, we don’t take pictures,’ and he started to chuckle. He put his hand on my knee, like my dad would, and he goes, ‘Bubba, not only will you sign autographs, but you’ll take pictures also,'" Bully Ray recalled.
Performing as Bubba Ray Dudley, Bully Ray became a nine-time WWE Tag Team Champion and one-time WCW Tag Team Champion with D-Von Dudley in WWE. The legendary duo also held the ECW World Tag Team Championship eight times and the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice.
Why Vince McMahon had reservations about The Dudley Boyz
Before The Dudley Boyz joined WWE, The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) briefly worked for the company after enjoying success in ECW. Unfortunately, The Public Enemy developed a reputation as being difficult to work with, and they only lasted two months in WWE.
For that reason, Bully Ray felt that Vince McMahon and the WWE roster had doubts over whether The Dudley Boyz would succeed:
“I think this [first WWE meeting] was a feeling out for them because before us there was The Public Enemy," Bully Ray continued. "God rest Johnny and Rocco’s souls, but I think The Public Enemy left a bad taste in the entire WWE mouth. Everybody there.”
The Public Enemy famously tried to change the finish to a match against The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) seconds before their music hit. The short encounter turned into a legitimate brawl and ended in a no contest.
Please credit Broken Skull Sessions and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
