On balance Dudleys are probably my favourite team overall. Their longevity and the excitement they brought to matches without being outright spot monkeys or deathmatch guys was unparalleled at their best imho. They added just enough unpredictability to make things interesting at all times.
Yes they had their predictable routines, but the whassup groin headbutt, the ‘get the tables’ and the 3D were all actual highlights of the show right the way through into their runs.
In ECW they were absolute killers, but Vince booked them very well at the height of the Attitude era too. They weren’t always the tag champs but they were the team that could believably mix it up with the top, top stars in the business. So often they’d be in the main events against yer Rocks and Austin’s etc and booked in a way that the Hardys and E&C just weren’t. Especially during the (albeit deeply flawed) Invasion, they and RVD were practically the only folks taken seriously from that side of the angle. The whole Bubba-hates-women thing from 2000 has not aged well at all but it got them over as fuck.
Spike was a trailblazer too in his own way, of the jobber who’s tough enough to get the odd underdog win. He was kooky enough to have genuine babyface sympathy too. Also another great finisher.
Believable against other big guy teams but really shone against cruiserweights, Hardyz, E&C, the entirety of tna’s X division, etc.
