Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971), known by his ring name Bubba Ray Dudley (also spelled Buh Buh Ray Dudley), is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as an ambassador. He is best known for being one-half of the Dudley Boyz tag team (also known as Team 3D) with D-Von Dudley, during his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and WWE.
Debuting in 1991, LoMonaco came to prominence when he joined ECW as a member of the Dudley Brothers in 1995, going by the ring name Bubba Ray Dudley. He formed a tag team with Devon Hughes (known as D-Von Dudley) called the Dudley Boyz, who became eight-time ECW World Tag Team Champions. In 1999, they moved to the WWF (now WWE) and became eight-time World Tag Team Champions, as well as one-time WWE Tag Team Champions and WCW World Tag Team Champions. An accomplished tag team wrestler, LoMonaco is considered one-half of one of the major teams that revived tag team wrestling during the Attitude Era. He also held the WWE Hardcore Championship eight times before leaving in 2005. Alongside Hughes, LoMonaco joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) later that year, changed their team name to Team 3D, in addition to changing his ring name to Brother Ray, and became one-time NWA World Tag Team Champions and two-time TNA World Tag Team Champions. After the team disbanded in 2010, LoMonaco competed as a singles wrestler under the name Bully Ray and went on to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice. He left TNA in 2015, and returned to WWE with Hughes as The Dudley Boyz for two years, before joining Ring of Honor (ROH), until 2020. He appears as a coach for WWE LFG.
LoMonaco has headlined several pay-per-view events, including the 2013 edition of TNA's flagship annual event, Bound for Glory. In addition to twenty three tag team championships won between ECW, WWE, TNA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), LoMonaco has won thirty six titles between ECW, WWE, TNA and NJPW factoring in the aforementioned tag team championships, eight WWE Hardcore Championships, two TNA World Championships, and one ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (held with the Briscoe Brothers). LoMonaco and Hughes were inducted as tag team into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2014 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
Mark LoMonaco was born in the Queens borough of New York City on July 14, 1971. He moved to Dix Hills, New York, in his youth and graduated from Half Hollow Hills East High School, where he was a member of the track and football team.
LoMonaco trained under Johnny Rodz, and debuted in 1991. He used the ring name Mongo Vyle with the gimmick of a biker billed from Hell's Kitchen who was inspired by The Nasty Boys, The Road Warriors, and Maxx Payne. From 1993 to 1994, he worked as The Terminator for International World Class Championship Wrestling based in New York City.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995–1999)
LoMonaco received a tryout with Extreme Championship Wrestling in September 1995, appearing as Mongo, the bodyguard of Bill Alfonso. After impressing ECW owner Paul Heyman by taking a chokeslam from wrestler 911, LoMonaco was hired. He was recast as Buh Buh Ray Dudley, the stuttering, dancing, overweight, hillbilly member of the sprawling Dudley family. The unusual spelling of "Bubba" was 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 shout "my name is Bubba Ray Dudley". The fans embraced the comical Dudley boys and during Buh Buh's matches would chant "Buh Buh Buh Buh". The spelling eventually stuck.
On April 13, 1996, at Massacre on Queens Boulevard, 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 World Tag Team Championship a record eight times and defeating the four major tag teams in ECW: The Public Enemy, The Eliminators, The Gangstas, and Sabu and Rob Van Dam. 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/Entertainment (1999–2005)
In 1999, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von left ECW and joined the World Wrestling Federation, where the "Buh Buh" stutter-spelling of "Bubba Ray Dudley" was rescinded. Throughout 2000 and 2001, the Dudley Boyz engaged in a three-way feud for the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian. The feud incorporated one Ladder Match and two critically acclaimed Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches, the Ladder at WrestleMania 2000, and the TLC matches at SummerSlam (2000), and WrestleMania X-Seven. While they were initially heels, one of the things Bubba Ray was known for was driving women through tables including WWE Divas Terri, Mae Young, Lita, Trish Stratus, Tori, Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler and Jazz. The Dudley Boyz were soon cheered by the crowd and were turned face in early 2000. On the December 28, 2000 episode of SmackDown!, Bubba Ray received a title shot against WWF Champion Kurt Angle, which he lost. In early 2001, The Dudleys were joined in the WWF by Spike Dudley.
In mid-2001, the Dudley Boyz turned heel once again by joining The Alliance, a large stable of former ECW and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) wrestlers led by Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley who attempted to take over the WWF (Spike, along with other ECW alumni, did not join The Alliance). The ECW-WCW invasion ended at the 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 Tag Team Championship, which they had unified with the WCW Tag Team Championship that night.
Hardcore Champion and Dudley Boyz reunion (2002–2005)
Following WrestleMania X8, the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE) in May 2002 and the roster was divided into two brands: Raw and SmackDown!. The Dudley Boyz were separated when Bubba Ray was drafted to the Raw brand and D-Von was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. On Raw, Bubba Ray found moderate success as he competed for the WWE Hardcore Championship, formed a tag team with Spike, and even competed in a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H. D-Von's new gimmick on SmackDown! failed to get over, however, and he was reunited with Bubba Ray and Spike at Survivor Series on November 17, when he moved to the Raw brand to help Bubba Ray and Spike defeat Rico and 3-Minute Warning (Rosey and Jamal) in a Six Man elimination tables match.
The Dudley Boyz became a force to be reckoned with in the Raw tag team division over the next sixteen months, feuding with teams such as 3-Minute Warning, La Résistance, and various combinations of The Un-Americans. They held the World Tag Team Championship several more times before being traded (along with Booker T) to the SmackDown! brand 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 the May 27 episode of SmackDown!, the Dudley Boyz kidnapped Paul Bearer, the manager of Heyman's enemy The Undertaker. On June 27 at The Great American Bash, The Undertaker defeated the Dudley Boyz in a handicap match. In July, the Dudley Boyz reunited with Spike. For the remainder of the year, they assisted Spike in his matches for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. They also won the WWE Tag Team Championship one more time. 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 an angle for them.