D-Von Dudley Recalls Complaining About The Dudley Boyz’s Payout for the First TLC Match

– In a new video on his YouTube channel, WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley spoke about The Dudley Boyz’s payout for the first TLC match that took place at WWE SummerSlam 2000. The match saw the team of Edge and Christian beat The Hardys and The Dudleys in the bout. However, D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley (aka Bully Ray) weren’t happy with their payout check and complained about the amount to former head of talent relations, Jim Ross. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

D-Von on The Dudley Boyz’s payout for the first TLC match at SummerSlam 2000: “Never once did we complain, except for that one SummerSlam, the first TLC match, we felt like we deserved more because of what we put our bodies through, everything that we went through, the blood, sweat, and tears. We just deserved more. We did go to JR, at the time, he was head of talent relations, and complained to him. We let him know that we were unhappy.”

On Jim Ross getting a higher payout approved: “Sure enough, he said, ‘Well, I’ll get back to you. Let me go talk to Vince.’ He talked to Vince, came back, and sure enough, he said, ‘Okay, you guys got approved for this amount.’ We were like, ‘Oh, damn, we should do this more often.’ But it actually worked. It really did. So I will say this, keeping your mouth shut when you know that you are in the right is probably never a good thing to do in the wrestling business, but this is why we were the way we were, because of the fact that there was some regrets.”

The Dudley Boyz, along with Edge & Christian and The Hardy Boyz, participated in the first-ever TLC match at WWE SummerSlam 2000, a contest that introduced the now-iconic combination of tables, ladders, and chairs as legal weapons in a tag team match. The Dudleys, known for their high-impact use of tables, played a key role in shaping the match’s dynamic by incorporating their signature style of brutal, table-based offense. Bubba Ray and D-Von’s experience and familiarity with hardcore matches made them stand out, as they took significant risks throughout the bout. The match was a pivotal moment in the tag team division, and while the Dudley Boyz weren’t the only participants, their contribution to the structure of the match helped set the tone for the high-stakes, chaotic nature that would come to define the TLC stipulation in future years.