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Mark Lamonica (born July 14, 1971 in Massapequa, New York) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling as Buh Buh Ray Dudley and World Wrestling Entertainment as Bubba Ray Dudley. He currently wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name "Brother Ray".

Along with his storyline half-brother Devon, Lamonica 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 the name of a stable featuring Lamonica, Devon and their kayfabe half-brother, Runt.

Career

Lamonica was trained by Sonny Blaze and Johnny Rodz and debuted in 1991 as Mongo Vyle. He was later known as The Terminator.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Lamonica debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling as a bodyguard to Bill Alfonso, protecting him from the wrestler 911.

Lamonica he soon returned in the mid-1990s as Buh Buh Ray Dudley, the stuttering, dancing, overweight, hillbilly member of the sprawling Dudley Family. The unusual spelling of "Bubba" was a a result of his stutter. In saying his name Buh-Buh would stutter causing him to say "My name is Buh-buh-buh-buh" until Big Dick Dudley struck him in the chest, at which point he would snap out "My name is Bubba Ray Dudley!". The fans embraced the comical Dudley boys and during Buh Buhs matched would chant "Buh Buh Buh Buh". The spelling eventually stuck.

On April 13, 1996, D-Von Dudley debuted in ECW and began feuding 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. D-Von eliminated Dances With Dudley, Dudley Dudley and Chubby Dudley before joining forces with Buh Buh Ray, Big Dick, Sign Guy Dudley and Joel Gertner. Known collectively as the Dudley Boyz, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von 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. Buh Buh Ray, D-Von and Gertner all achieved a degree of infamy for their vitriolic interviews, which antagonized audiences to a point of near riot.

World Wrestling Federation

In 1999, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von left ECW following a pay dispute and joined the World Wrestling Federation, where Buh Buh Ray was renamed "Bubba Ray Dudley". 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 D-Von to SmackDown!. On RAW, Bubba Ray competed for the WWE Hardcore Championship and formed a tag team with Spike. However, D'Von's character on SmackDown! failed to get over, and he was reunited with Bubba Ray and Spike on November 17, 2002 when he returned to the RAW brand.

The Dudley Boyz became a staple 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 driving 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, Lamonica and Hughes (D-Von) announced that they intended to pursue legal action against WWE.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

No longer able to use the ring name "Bubba Ray Dudley", Lamonica adopted (and trademarked) the ring name Brother Ray Deadly (sometimes abbreviated to "B.R.D."), while Hughes became "Brother Devon Deadly". The team also trademarked "The Deadly Brothers" and "Deadly Death Drop". In August and September 2005, Ray and Devon 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).

Ray and Devon 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 identifed as "Brother Ray" and "Brother Devon" 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.

Ray and Devon 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". The team would go on to feud with The James Gang.

Wrestling facts

  • Finishing and signature moves

  • Managers

Championships and accomplishments

  • PWI ranked him # 354 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years (2003)
  • PWI Tag Team of the Year Award (2001, with D-Von Dudley)
  • PWI Match of the Year Award (2000, with D-Von Dudley, versus Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz)
  • PWI Match of the Year Award (2001, with D-Von Dudley, versus Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz)

Championship succession

World Tag Team Championship Preceded by:
New Age Outlaws First, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Edge and Christian Preceded by:
Edge and Christian Second, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
The Hardy Boyz Preceded by:
Edge and Christian Third, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Edge and Christian Preceded by:
Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit Fourth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
The A.P.A. Preceded by:
Brothers of Destruction Fifth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
The Rock and Chris Jericho Preceded by:
The Hardy Boyz Sixth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Tazz and Spike Dudley Preceded by:
William Regal and Lance Storm Seventh, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
William Regal and Lance Storm Preceded by:
La Résistance Eighth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Ric Flair and Batista WWE Tag Team Championship Preceded by:
Charlie Haas and Rico First, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Billy Kidman and Paul London WCW World Tag Team Championship Preceded by:
The Hardy Boyz First, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Unified with World Tag Team Championship ECW Tag Team Championship Preceded by:
The Eliminators First, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
The Eliminators Preceded by:
The Eliminators Second, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
The Gangstas Preceded by:
Vacant Third, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
The Gangstanators Preceded by:
Sabu and Rob Van Dam Fourth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Masato Tanaka and Balls Mahoney Preceded by:
Masato Tanaka and Balls Mahoney Fifth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Sabu and Rob Van Dam Preceded by:
Sabu and Rob Van Dam Sixth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley Preceded by:
Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley Seventh, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley Preceded by:
Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley Eighth, with D-Von Dudley Succeeded by:
Raven and Tommy Dreamer

Personal life

Lamonica is the co-owner of the "Fawnfeather Spa and Salon" outside of Orlando, Florida with his longtime girlfriend Fawnfeather Carr.

References

External link

1971 births | American professional wrestlers | Dudley wrestling family | ECW alumni | Living people | People from Long Island | Orlandoans | Roman Catholics

Mark Lamonica | マーク・ラモニカ

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Mark Lamonica".

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