Jeff Jarrett Recalls Meeting with The Dudley Boyz in 2005 for TNA, Their Final Match Against The Hardy Boyz at Bound for Glory

On the latest episode of My World With Jeff Jarrett, the WWE Hall of Famer talked about the final match between The Dudley Boyz (aka Team 3D) and their longtime rivals The Hardy Boyz at TNA’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view. Jarrett praised the duo’s professionalism, their impact on TNA during its most profitable years, and more.  You can check out some highlights below:

On his first meeting with Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley, when he was bringing them into TNA in 2005: “I’ll never forget meeting them at the TGI Fridays across the street from the Doubletree in Orlando. And Frank Dickerson, the executive out of Panda, had zero clue. This is one of his first kind of big talent meetings, and I was doing my best. And man, Conrad, it takes me back to those days. I’m a talent. I’m running creative, wearing all the different hats. But when you know you got an executive from Panda, and we got to meet these talents, yes, I want them on board. It’s going to be a budget issue, but I think Bubba and D-Von kind of understand where we’re at, where we’re going, and what we want to do and all this. But yeah, hell yeah, I knew. And Cody showed me several clips, because we had the late day and all this. But he showed me several clips, and it got me really to thinking about how just life works out. Conrad, these four had their last match in a TNA ring. And when I look at my bud Nero, we exchanged texts this morning, not about wrestling, but about life. You know, he was at one of our first shows, in 2002 and 2003. And now here it is in 2025, like he’s been with the brand off and on. I get that for over 20 years. And Matt, you know, he came, whatever, 2010-2011. You know, he’s been with the brand off and on. But when I look at Bubba and D-Von, ‘05, you know, came on board the ID shoots.”

On them understanding wrestling: “And I say this, D-Von is great. Bubba’s ability connect, and I’m going to say this not with, not just with an audience live events all this, but like when you have a skill set of understanding the Impact Zone, 1000, however it may be, give or take, whatever it may be, and knowing that hard camera, but you’re working to a hard camera like Bubba’s really, really good at understanding, conveying messages and being able to call it. The simple term is polished that you’re putting out a TV product. But if you don’t create a good TV product, you gotta have the fans engaged and just all the different things. They were very instrumental. Wasn’t just ‘05, because you really look at ‘09, most profitable years by far, and they were right in the middle of it. So that’s why I’ve just got a ton of respect for those guys.”

On their last match: “But how life happens, those four have their final match in a TNA ring at Bound for Glory. Life just works out exactly, no matter how much we want to slice and dice and pull and plug and chess piece and play checkers one day and chess the next and Jenga, whatever it may be, life’s going to happen exactly the way it’s supposed to happen. And those guys in that ring, D-Von, you know, they started a school down in Orlando, there’s so many connections to that brand taking the boots off. It was cool. I mean, Cody really thought it was pretty cool. I don’t think, I think that he really kind of digested to him, and he’s a great focus group into the, you know, into the story and all that. So you just have to kind of look at that. I’m glad Santana won the belt. But if you think that those guys, people paid to see history last night, and that I don’t know any by the way, better way to say it is they pay to see history and to be a part of history, and you just think, in our industry that you know sports, you have playoffs and all that, but you don’t have the opportunity once Jordan was done, yeah, he came back and played a couple seasons, but you can’t really live that glory again and go for the titles and all that, all that kind of stuff. Music certainly doesn’t work out that way. You kind of go on a retirement tour but those guys got to pull out. And the announcers, I think it was Tom, yeah, that was the voice I heard on one of the bites. Really, really good sound bite. It gave closure to a wrestling fan who has gone on that journey. It so connects emotionally. It is what makes our business like none other. I think that is a part of why I love it today more than I ever have, because of the ability that we have to connect to audiences. And last night, they got the opportunity. I hope those four guys shook the powers that be last night, because, man, what an opportunity that was given to them, and they delivered.”

The Dudley Boyz had a monumental wrestling career that spanned ECW, WCW, and WWE, and earned them an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit My World With Jeff Jarrett with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.