Training and early career (1991–1996) Hughes was trained by Johnny Rodz and began wrestling in 1991, competing in
independent promotions in the
Northeast. His character was based on
Jules Winnfield, the
Bible-quoting
hitman portrayed by
Samuel L. Jackson in the
1994 film Pulp Fiction. Dudley feuded with the other members of
Dudley Brothers (his kayfabe half-brothers), claiming that their
comedic antics were not the way true Dudleys should act, and faced
Buh Buh Ray Dudley on numerous occasions, defeating him at
Ultimate Jeopardy, but losing to him at
November to Remember. They also won the
WWE Tag Team Championship one more time but were upset by the high-flying team of
Paul London and
Billy Kidman. On July 5, 2005, WWE announced that it had opted not to continue contract renewal negotiations with the Dudley Boyz. Concurrently, fifteen other wrestlers were released by WWE, . In August 2005, they were issued with legal notices instructing them not to use the (WWE
trademarked) name "Dudley". In August and September 2005, Devon and Ray made several appearances on the independent circuit, most notably
Hardcore Homecoming, an unofficial ECW reunion show organized by ECW alumnus
Shane Douglas, who frequent was critical of WWE and Chairman
Vince McMahon. On September 21, Hughes (together with LoMonaco) signed with
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), under the name of "Brother Devon". Devon and Ray debuted in TNA on the October 8 episode of
TNA Impact!.
Team 3D quickly established themselves as fan favorites by confronting
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett and his allies, the NWA World Tag Team Champions,
America's Most Wanted. Team 3D defeated AMW at
pay-per-view events in November and December but failed to defeat them in a title match at
Final Resolution on January 15, 2006, due to the interference of
Team Canada. Devon and Ray continued to feud with America's Most Wanted and Team Canada over the following months. On the April 13 episode of
Impact!, an attempted ambush by Team Canada was foiled by the debuting Spike Dudley, identified as "Brother Runt". Devon and Ray then took time off to tour Japan, before returning to compete in tag team matches on
Impact! and soon began feuding with
NWA World Tag Team Champions The
Latin American Xchange (LAX). At
Final Resolution, they beat LAX by disqualification. Subsequently, they lost to LAX in a "Little Italy Street Fight" at
Against All Odds, and a "Ghetto Brawl" at
Destination X. At
Lockdown, Team 3D defeated LAX in a
Steel Cage match to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship. They were the final NWA World Tag Team Champions in TNA as on May 13, 2007, the NWA stripped them of the Tag Titles and Christian Cage of the NWA World Heavyweight Title due to Cage's refusal to defend the title in NWA territories, and cut business ties with TNA. The successfully defended their status as World Tag Team Champions at Sacrifice later that evening. Because of this, TNA awarded Team 3D the new TNA World Tag Team Championships and crowned them as the first champions. They feuded with several tag teams before losing the belts to
Samoa Joe at
Victory Road. At
Final Resolution, they teamed with
Johnny Devine and took part in an
Ultimate X match against
The Motor City Machine Guns and "Black Machismo". They won by taking the X Division belt down with a ladder while the
referee was not looking. At
Against All Odds, a rematch took place in a Hardcore Street Fight. Early in the match, the Motor City Machine Guns were 'taken out' with two 3-Ds, leaving
Jay Lethal to singlehandedly save the X-Division. As a result of their loss at AAO, both Devon and Ray were subjected to weigh-ins prior to their matches. If they weighed in over 275 pounds, they would be unable to compete. During this time, they engaged in a feud with
Christopher Daniels under his Curry Man gimmick, and
Shark Boy. At
Destination X, Team 3D was given an ultimatum when Curry Man and Shark Boy won an elimination match to choose the stipulation for each of the wrestlers matches; if they weighed in at over 275 pounds, the duo would be fired; but if they weighed in under, they would never again be subjected to the weigh-ins. They were able to weigh in under the mark, but Team 3D would end up losing to Curry Man and Shark Boy after a blinded Ray accidentally helped Curry Man hit Devon with the 3-D. On the November 28 episode of
Impact!, Team 3D turned into fan favorites, joining
The Front Line. After appearing to join
The Main Event Mafia, they double-crossed them, and attacked along with The Front Line leaders Samoa Joe,
AJ Styles and
Rhino. At
Lockdown Team 3D won the
TNA World Tag Team Championship and retained the
IWGP Tag Team Championship against
Beer Money, Inc. (
Robert Roode and
James Storm). At
Slammiversary they lost the TNA tag titles to Beer Money, Inc. and on the July 30 edition of
Impact! the IWGP tag titles to
The British Invasion of
Brutus Magnus and
Doug Williams. On October 18, 2009, at
Bound for Glory, Team 3D captured their 24th tag team championship when they defeated Beer Money, British Invasion, and The Main Event Mafia's Scott Steiner and Booker T in a
Full Metal Mayhem Tag Team match. With both the IWGP and TNA Tag tiles on the line, they captured the IWGP titles which were formerly held by The British Invasion. During the following weeks, Team 3D turned heel and aligned themselves with Rhino in a battle against the younger talent of the company. On the November 19 edition of
Impact! Team 3D Academy of Professional Wrestling and Sports Entertainment graduate
Jesse Neal joined Team 3D and Rhino and two weeks later
Suicide joined Morgan, Hernandez and
D'Angelo Dinero to level the playing field. At
Final Resolution Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero and Suicide defeated Neal, Team 3D and Rhino in an eight-man elimination tag team match. On January 4, 2010, at
Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome Team 3D lost the IWGP Tag Team Title to
No Limit (
Tetsuya Naito and
Yujiro) in a three-way hardcore match that also included
Bad Intentions (
Giant Bernard and
Karl Anderson). When
Hulk Hogan and
Eric Bischoff took over TNA at the beginning of 2010, Team 3D's angle with Rhino and Neal was discontinued and they reverted to being faces, while starting a feud with
The Nasty Boys (
Brian Knobs and
Jerry Sags), who were a part of the new wave of wrestlers brought in by Hogan and Bischoff. At
Against All Odds The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3D in a tag team match, when
Jimmy Hart made his return to the company and interfered in the match on the Nasty Boys' behalf. Team 3D avenged their loss on the February 25 edition of
Impact!, when Jesse Neal helped them defeat the Nasty Boys in a tables match. On the March 15 edition of
Impact! Team 3D and Neal were scheduled to face the Nasty Boys and Hart in a six-man tag team match, but prior to the match the Nasty Boys attacked Neal backstage and put him through a table. Team 3D found Neal a replacement in the returning Brother Runt, but were still defeated in the match by the Nastys and Hart. At
Victory Road Devon faced Jesse Neal and Ray in a three-way match. During the match the members of Team 3D attacked each other, before Neal accidentally speared Devon and was then pinned by Ray. On the following edition of
Impact! Devon joined fellow ECW alumni
Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer,
Raven,
Stevie Richards, Rhino,
Pat Kenney and
Al Snow and
TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam in attacking Abyss, Brother Ray and the rest of the TNA locker room. The following week, Ray declined Devon's offer to join the ECW alumni, before TNA president,
Dixie Carter, agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event,
Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company. However, on the July 29 edition of
Impact! Ray decided to join the ECW alumni and seemingly buried the hatchet with his brother. On August 8 at Hardcore Justice Team 3D, accompanied by Joel Gertner, defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney, billed as Kahoneys, in a South Philadelphia Street Fight. After the match Devon and Ray were assaulted by the Gangstas. On the following edition of
Impact!, the ECW alumni, known collectively as
Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0), were assaulted by A.J. Styles,
Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of
Ric Flair's stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA. This would mark Team 3D's final appearance on their old TNA contracts, which expired shortly thereafter. The two then entered negotiations over new contracts. Team 3D returned to TNA television two month later on the October 7 live edition of
Impact!, promising a major announcement at
Bound for Glory. At the pay-per-view Team 3D announced their retirement, but asked for a one final match against the TNA World Tag Team Champions, the Motor City Machine Guns. Their new multi–year contracts with TNA were confirmed shortly thereafter. At
Turning Point the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Team 3D to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
Television Champion (2010–2012) During Team 3D's retirement ceremony on the following edition of
Impact!, Ray turned heel by attacking Devon, reigniting the feud between the two. The following week Ray claimed that Devon had gotten weak, since Sabin had managed to kick out of a 3D at Turning Point, calling him the
Marty Jannetty and himself the
Shawn Michaels of the team. On January 9, 2011, at
Genesis, Devon was disqualified in his match against his former partner, now known as Bully Ray, after using Ray's own chain against him. In the following weeks Devon's sons Terrence and Terrell began making appearances on
Impact! and were regularly abused by Ray. On March 13 at
Victory Road, Devon and his sons interfered in a Falls Count Anywhere match between Ray and Tommy Dreamer, costing Ray the match. On the following edition of
Impact!, the feud between the former members of Team 3D was seemingly ended as Ray joined
Immortal and moved on to feuding with
Fortune. saving Devon from
Mexican America In June, Devon entered a storyline where he was saved from
Mexican America by D'Angelo Dinero, despite the fact that he had previously declined his help, claiming that he was a bad influence on his sons. Later that month, Devon and Dinero were both entered into the
Bound for Glory Series to determine the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, during the course of which Dinero handed Devon a win in a tag team match, but Devon did not return the favor and save Dinero from a post-match assault at the hands of Samoa Joe. During the tournament, Devon also picked up impressive victories over Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles. On August 7 at
Hardcore Justice, Dinero defeated Devon in a Bound for Glory Series match. At the start of the match, Dinero offered to lay down for Devon, but he refused the offer. On the August 25 edition of
Impact Wrestling, Devon was forced to pull out of the Bound for Glory Series, after suffering a storyline injury at the hands of Samoa Joe, who had vowed to ruin the tournament. Later in the event, Devon returned to save Dinero from a similar attack at the hands of Joe. On the September 8 edition of
Impact Wrestling, Devon and Dinero defeated The British Invasion to become the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On September 11 at
No Surrender, Devon and Dinero failed in their attempt to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship from
Anarquia and Hernandez of Mexican America. On the December 1 edition of
Impact Wrestling, Devon and Dinero defeated
Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and
Shannon Moore) and Mexican America to become the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship, now held by the team of
Crimson and Matt Morgan. On December 11 at
Final Resolution, Devon and Dinero failed to capture the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On the following edition of
Impact Wrestling, Dinero and Devon's sons Terrence and Terrell joined forces and turned on Devon. On January 8, 2012, at
Genesis, Terrence and Terrell turned on Dinero and helped their father defeat him in a singles match. On March 18, at
Victory Road, Devon answered
Robbie E's open challenge and defeated him to win the
TNA Television Championship, marking Devon's first major singles championship. On April 15 at
Lockdown, Devon defeated Robbie in a rematch, contested inside a steel cage, to retain the title. On the following episode of
Impact Wrestling, general manager Hulk Hogan announced that from then on the Television Championship would be defended every week on the program. Devon started his series of defenses by defeating
Gunner. During the next month, Devon developed a rivalry with Robbie E and
Robbie T, successfully defending the Television Championship against each of them in singles matches on
Impact Wrestling and finally in a three-way match on May 13 at
Sacrifice. On the May 24 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Robbie E and Robbie T interfered in a TNA Television Championship match between Devon and
Garett Bischoff, causing the match to end in a no contest. Following the match, Devon and Bischoff united to fend off the attack by the two. The following week, the Robbies also interfered in Devon's title defense against
Jeff Hardy, causing another no contest. On the June 7 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Devon successfully defended the Television Championship against Robbie E, following outside interference from Garett Bischoff. Three days later at
Slammiversary, Devon and Bischoff defeated the Robbies in a tag team match. Devon's weekly Television Championship defenses ended after the June 14 episode of
Impact Wrestling, where he successfully defended the title against Hernandez. Devon returned to
Impact Wrestling on August 9, when he and Garett Bischoff unsuccessfully challenged Christopher Daniels and Kazarian for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Three days later at
Hardcore Justice, Devon successfully defended the TNA Television Championship against Kazarian. On August 29, Devon, still the reigning TNA Television Champion, announced that he had parted ways with TNA, after his contract with the promotion had expired the previous day and the two could not come to terms on a new one. With Devon still being recognized as the TNA Television Champion, on September 15, 2012, he became the longest reigning champion in the title's history, beating Eric Young's record of 180 days as champion. On September 26, TNA officially stripped Devon of the Television Championship, ending his reign at 192 days.
Aces & Eights (2012–2013) member
DOC On October 14 at
Bound for Glory, Devon returned to TNA turning
heel, when he attacked Bully Ray and Sting, costing them their tag team match against the heel
Aces & Eights stable, who, as a result, earned full access to TNA. Devon, the first unmasked member of Aces & Eights, wrestled his first match back in the main event of the following episode of
Impact Wrestling, losing to Sting via disqualification following interference from Aces & Eights. On November 1, Devon and Bully Ray faced off in the main event of
Impact Wrestling, however, the match ended in a brawl between the Aces & Eights and the TNA locker room. On November 11 at
Turning Point, Devon was defeated by
Kurt Angle in singles match via submission, despite the rest of Aces & Eights trying to interfere. On the December 6 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Devon defeated Samoa Joe to win his second Television Championship, after Aces & Eights member
DOC hit Joe with a
ball-peen hammer. Three days later at
Final Resolution, Devon teamed with DOC and two masked members of Aces & Eights in a losing effort to Kurt Angle, Garett Bischoff, Samoa Joe, and
Wes Brisco. On the December 20 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Devon successfully defended the Television Championship against Kurt Angle, following interference from Aces & Eights, Garett Bischoff, Samoa Joe, and Wes Brisco. On January 13, 2013, at
Genesis, Devon defeated
Joseph Park in a non-title match. On the February 7 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Devon and DOC were defeated by Bully Ray and Sting in a Tables match. On March 10 at
Lockdown, Aces & Eights, consisting of Devon, DOC, Garett Bischoff,
Mike Knox, and
Mr. Anderson were defeated by Team TNA, consisting of Sting, Eric Young, James Storm, Magnus, and Samoa Joe in a
Lethal Lockdown match. On the April 18 episode of
Impact Wrestling, Devon was scheduled to defend his Television Championship against Magnus, however, he was attacked by DOC and Knox before the match could start. Samoa Joe was then awarded the title match in his place, but Devon retained the title after interference from Aces & Eights. On June 2 at
Slammiversary XI, Devon was originally booked to defend his title against Joseph Park but Park was attacked by Aces & Eights before the match and Devon was awarded a count-out victory. Following this, Park's brother Abyss returned and defeated Devon to win the Television Championship, ending his reign at 178 days. On the August 22 edition of
Impact Wrestling Devon was pinned in the five-on-five match against the Main Event Mafia by AJ Styles and per match stipulations was, in storyline, fired from TNA as a result. Hughes later confirmed that his departure from TNA was legitimate.
TNA Hall of Fame (2014) Devon returned to TNA as a
face, at
Slammiversary XII getting inducted into the
TNA Hall of Fame with Bully Ray as Team 3D. It was later announced that he had returned to TNA full-time. Devon made his return to
Impact Wrestling saving Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer from
Ethan Carter III and Rhino which culminated in Carter receiving a 3D through a table. At
Bound for Glory, Team 3D defeated Abyss and Tommy Dreamer. The event was the final contracted date for each member of Team 3D.
Sporadic appearance (2023) At the September 9, 2023 taping of
Impact 1000 (aired September 14), Hughes made his return to TNA, now known as
Impact Wrestling, after a nine-year absence, teaming up with Bully Ray, effectively reuniting Team 3D, who competed in a winning effort against the returning Desi Hit Squad. After the match they put
Rohit Raju through a table.
Return to the independent circuit (2013–2016) Devon appeared at
House of Hardcore 3, where he and
Matt Hardy defeated
Homicide and
Eddie Kingston. He also came out later that night during
Bully Ray's segment involving
Tommy Dreamer and
Spike Dudley, teasing a confrontation with Bully only for the two to hit Dreamer with a 3D. On June 6, 2014, Devon was scheduled to face Abyss and Tommy Dreamer along with Bully Ray. However, Ray was pulled out of the event, so the main event was Devon and Dreamer vs Rhino and Abyss. Dreamer and Devon won the match. On June 7, 2014, he and CW Anderson defeated Eddie Kingston & Homicide at
House of Hardcore 5. On July 13, 2014, Team 3D made their debut in Squared Circle Wrestling, where they won the 2CW Tag Team Championship by defeating Axe and
Kevin Steen. On July 26, 2014, Devon defeated Abel Andrew Jackson at
Reality of Wrestling's Summer of Champions. On September 6, 2014, Devon made his debut in Wichita Falls, TX for Pure Action Championship Wrestling's Brawl In The Falls III, winning and becoming the promotion's final heavyweight champion. At House of Hardcore VII, Team 3D made their debut in the promotion. They defeated
Killer Elite Squad. On March 8, 2015, Team 3D lost the 2CW Tag Team Championship to
The Young Bucks. On August 28, it was announced that Team 3D would compete for
Insane Championship Wrestling at
Fear & Loathing IX on November 20, where they challenged Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo and
Mark Coffey) for the
ICW Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. On December 17, Hughes wrestled once again as one half of The Dudley Boyz, in a losing effort to capture the
House of Glory Tag Team Championship at HOG VI. That match is his last known match to date. January 2015 D-Von wrestled for WUW at gleasons gym 30 year anniversary show taking on Mike Iannuzzi.
Return to WWE (2015–2023; 2024) Dudley Boyz reunion (2015–2016) in January 2016 On the August 24, 2015, episode of
Raw, D-Von and Bubba Ray made a surprise return to the WWE, reviving their Dudley Boyz tag team persona. They attacked WWE Tag Team Champions
The New Day, and gave a 3D through a table on
Xavier Woods. On the August 27 episode of
SmackDown, they defeated
The Ascension and after the match they put
Viktor through a table. On the August 31 episode of
Raw, they defeated The New Day. After the match they attempted to put
Big E through a table with a 3D, but
Kofi Kingston and Woods saved him. On the September 17 episode of
SmackDown, D-Von quickly defeated Kingston in his first singles match in WWE since 2004, after a distraction by Woods. At both
Night of Champions, and
Live from Madison Square Garden, the Dudley Boyz challenged The New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but would win both matches by disqualification, which allowed The New Day to retain their titles. At
Hell in a Cell, the Dudley Boyz would challenge for the titles again, where they would lose to The New Day. At
Survivor Series, the Dudley Boyz would team with
Goldust,
Neville and
Titus O'Neil to defeat
Stardust, The Ascension,
The Miz and
Bo Dallas in a
5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match. In December, the Dudley Boyz began a feud with
The Wyatt Family, and later aligned themselves with the returning
Tommy Dreamer and
Rhyno in the feud, known as
The ECW Originals. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, The Wyatt Family defeated The ECW Originals in an 8-Man Elimination Tables Match. At the
2016 Royal Rumble kickoff, the Dudley Boyz,
Mark Henry and
Jack Swagger, The Ascension and
Darren Young and
Damien Sandow competed in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match to qualify for the Royal Rumble match itself, in a losing effort. On the February 8 episode of
Raw, the Dudley Boyz attacked
The Usos after a match involving them against The New Day and Mark Henry, thus turning heel in the process. Explaining that they did not come back to WWE to be a "nostalgia act" and reminding the fans that they are "the baddest tag team on the planet", the Dudley Boyz abandoned using tables. In the following weeks, the Dudley Boyz and The Usos began a feud, setting up a tag team match between the two teams at
WrestleMania 32, where the Dudley Boyz lost to The Usos. The following night on
Raw, the Dudley Boyz defeated The Usos in a tables match, breaking their vow to never again use tables and officially ending the feud. Afterwards, the duo were interrupted by the debuting
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, who proceeded to insult them and ignite a new feud. In a tournament set up by
Shane McMahon to determine the new number 1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship, they would defeat
The Lucha Dragons to advance to the semi-finals, where they clashed with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in a losing effort. On July 19 at the
2016 WWE draft, the Dudley Boyz were drafted to
Raw. At
SummerSlam, they would lose to
Sami Zayn and Neville. The day after SummerSlam, the Dudley Boyz announced that they were announcing their departure from WWE on that night's
Raw. During their farewell segment, they were confronted by
The Shining Stars. After receiving insults from The Shining Stars, the Dudley Boyz attacked them, turning face once again in the process. As they set up
Primo for a 3D through a table,
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attacked both Bubba Ray and D-Von, sending D-Von through the table.
Producer; Hall of Fame (2016–2023) On September 26, a month following his departure from the company, Hughes would return to WWE as a backstage
producer. While mainly working backstage, Hughes occasionally appeared on WWE television to separate brawls between wrestlers. On January 22, 2018, at
Raw 25 Years, the Dudley Boyz returned for one night only, by interrupting a fight between
Heath Slater &
Rhyno and
Titus Worldwide, giving a
Dudley Death Drop to Heath Slater through a table. The Dudley Boyz were inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018. In July 2019 during the Raw Reunion, D-Von returned in a one-off appearance to be in the corner of
The Revival in a tag team match against
The Usos with
Rikishi in their corner, in a losing effort. On January 19, 2023, D-Von announced on Twitter that he left WWE.
Sporadic appearance (2024) On October 27, 2024, D-Von, as Reverend D-Von, made a special appearance in
NXT Champion Trick Williams'
diss track video aimed at
Ethan Page. At
NXT 2300 on November 6, Bubba Ray and Williams lost to Page and
Ridge Holland in a tag team match. After the match, Bubba Ray and Williams put Page through a table that was brought to the ring by D-Von, reuniting the Dudley Boyz for the first time in WWE since 2018 in the process.
Retirement (2025) Hughes would retire at TNA's Bound for Glory event, where he and Ray wrestled
The Hardys (
Jeff Hardy and
Matt Hardy) in a tables match for the
TNA World and
NXT Tag Team Championship. The match was named "One Final Table", since it took place 25 years after the first table match between the two teams at the 2000
WWE Royal Rumble. At the event, Ray and Devon lost, retiring from in-ring competition. == Personal life ==