ECW--The Best Of The Dudley Boyz (DVD)
Pioneer 2001
Over the course of their WWE tenure, the Dudleys have cemented their spot as one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history. Thanks to this DVD, ECW: The Best Of The Dudley Boyz, you're able to relive how it all began. More than just a nice trip down memory lane for diehard fans, or a crash course history lesson for the uninformed, this DVD serves as a document that illustrates all the Dudleys are truly capable of as well as how much love and respect these men have for their artform.
With a team as rich in history as the Dudleys, it would be impossible to fit every great match and moment onto a single DVD. Still, ECW: The Best Of The Dudley Boyz does a good job in giving you a fairly fleshed-out overview of this team's years in ECW. From a wrestling standpoint, this is everything you'd expect of the hardcore ECW style--these guys beat the living hell out of everyone, including eachother, over the course of this almost three hour long DVD. Most of the classic Dudley spots are on here--from powerbombing Balls Mahoney through a flaming table with thumbtacks sprinkled on it, to jacking Beaullah Macgillicutty up into 3D and breaking her neck. The Dudleys really loved opening up their opponents via cheese grater, as evidenced by the volume of crimson masks staring across at them. A sure highlight for hardcore wrestling connoisseurs will be when Buh Buh strikes CW Anderson in the crotch with a machette. The bottom line is, if you're only familiar with the WWE version of the Dudleys, you won't be prepared for just how brutal they get on this DVD.
As great as spots are for newer wrestling fans to revel in, it's the psychology of the Dudleys' work which will blow away the more mature/seasoned fan. The feeling of hatred these guys were able to convey during the Beaullah neck breaking incident, as well as the anguish coming from Tommy Dreamer as he was helplessly handcuffed and unable to prevent the carnage, is chilling work. At a show from the Madhouse of Extreme in Queens, New York, the Dudleys show what Jake "The Snake" Roberts was talking about during the Beyond The Mat documentary regarding wrestling psychology--sometimes, all it takes is focusing in on one person, making them really feel what you're doing, then seeing that energy fall over the entire audience like a wave. At this particular show, the Dudleys' masterful heel promo work was so effective on one kid, they were able to make him jump down to the floor of the building from a second story balcony. After this, it looks like the crowd could break out into a full-scale riot at any second. It truly is magical stuff.
As serious as a lot of this comes off, the thing that makes the Dudleys masters of their form is their ability to keep things humorous without sacrificing the level or feeling of intensity they're generating. One example of this is Buh Buh converting the macarena into a way of flipping off fans during the aforementioned promo from Queens. It also goes without saying that, while it generates insane amounts of heat from the crowd, any time D-Von cusses a blue streak into the audience, it's gut-bustingly hilarious. Perhaps the best example of this particular gift comes from a promo cut after a Dudley title loss. As ferocious as they look about getting their straps back, Buh Buh's words add a sense of levity to the moment: (in a tone dead serious as one could be) "Nothing to lose--strong words. But when you're inbred and you wear tie-dye, you don't have much to lose." It's one masterful moment after another from these guys and all a joy to watch.
Perhaps the most enduring moments from ECW: The Best Of The Dudley Boyz come from the farwell speeches made by the duo after their final ECW match. You can tell that these are men who put everything they had to give on the line during their years with the company and considered it a privilege to do so. Seeing these scenes, as well as everything else on this DVD, one becomes extremely frustrated about the current state of pro wrestling. Essentially, ECW: The Best Of The Dudley Boyz serves as proof that the current problems of the WWE lie squarely on the shoulders of its writers, not its performers. It is the job of wrestling storyline writers to put their performers in situations they can succeed in--to undermine that through ego, politics, or anything else is disgraceful. These men and women who wrestle put their lives on the line everytime they step in the ring, all in the name of entertainment--a very selfless and admirable act, regardless of what many think. To be able to play part in their success, one way or another, and then treat that role with carelessness and disrespect is inexcusable. This DVD further emphasizes that the singles pushes given these men by the WWE were extremely mishandled--it's obvious watching this that the Dudleys are always capable of holding up their end of the bargain.
Watching ECW: The Best Of The Dudley Boyz, it's amazing how far this team has come over the years. Hopefully, they will be allowed genuine opportunity to shine for many years to come. Anything less would be criminal.
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