The late 90s and early 2000s era WWE roster was absolutely loaded with talent. There have been some pretty good rosters in recent years, and the current one comes pretty close if we’re just talking about pure talent level. And, maybe it’s because I was born in 1986, fell in love with wrestling in the 90s and so I have a bit of a soft spot for that era. I’m perfectly willing to accept my biases and be transparent about them. But, I think from top to bottom, they had more people who could do it all back in those days. It’s easy for a guy like Spike Dudley to be lost in the shuffle of such an overwhelming talent pool, but he shouldn’t be. The guy deserves his flowers.
If you’re asking yourself, “Stoney, why the hell did you wake up today deciding to go to bat for the honor of Spike Dudley?” First of all, fair question. It’s NFL Draft season and I’m taking a break from film study to talk about one of the most underrated pro wrestlers of the Attitude Era. I get it – seems a little out of nowhere. Second of all, this meme popped up on the Twitter feed and it instantly took me down memory lane.
I’m sorry but I’m whuppin them like they used to do Spike Dudley back in the day 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/rae2IdI0Fc https://t.co/M3RtkWRrC4
— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) February 15, 2024
Quality work, Public Enemies Podcast. 20 bands? You damn right we’re making a new Spike Dudley highlight reel with a bunch of 3rd graders. Dudley’s legacy may be all of these crazy bumps that he took, and believe me, if you don’t remember, there’s hours worth of Spike Dudley bumps on YouTube. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably forgotten a good chunk of them. The man was a veritable crash test dummy that was game for just about anything it took to create a moment the audience wouldn’t forget. At the heart of that “it factor” is that desire in a wrestler.
But, Dudley was far more versatile than that. You want to talk about a pro’s pro. For one, he was a good worker. He could get in there and go with the best of ’em. But, he was a chameleon that could blend into whatever storyline they wrote for him. The stuff with Molly Holly was fantastic. His winning the Tag Team Championship with Tazz was fantastic. He had a fun run as Cruiserweight Champion in 2004 that, in hindsight, turned out to be one of the better runs that title had in its Ruthless Aggression era reincarnation. He worked a good program with William Regal in 2002 that saw him get a short run as European Champion. He was a guy that never looked out of his depths, even when he was in there with an act as legendary as the Undertaker. Dudley is a good example of what it means to truly understand how to stick and carve out a role for yourself in the wrestling industry.
There’s another element to his game that is under-appreciated though. There’s no doubt that Dudley was an “all gas no brakes” type of wrestler who was willing to pull off cringeworthy moves to make his opponent look like a million bucks. But, in watching old clips, it’s that mentality that seemed to rub off on whoever his dance partner was. With how hard he went, he seemed to draw that out of others too. I’ve learned after years of being adjacent to the wrestling industry what a cool thing that is – some guys just give you that adrenaline rush, and Dudley checks that box too.
I hope I’ll encourage you all to go down a Spike Dudley YouTube rabbit hole today, and hopefully, you’ll remember all of the other things he was good at beyond just getting his shit kicked in. He’s one of the most underrated and versatile performers of his era.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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