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Pro wrestling legend Bubba Ray Dudley will return to “WWE Legends & Future Greats” for the second season of competition as the next crop of talent looks to earn an NXT contract.
Dudley, one half of the famed pro wrestling tag team the Dudley Boyz, told Fox News Digital ahead of the start of the second season there will be mix of those who came up short in the first season and new faces in Season 2. He said he believed the intensity level for those competitors returning from Season 1 will be turned up a notch.
“I think fans can expect the same from Season 1 in Season 2 of ‘LFG’ only with the level of seriousness a lot higher,” he said. “I think a lot of the returning ‘future greats’ from Season 1 realized how serious this show really is and how big the competition really is and what it truly means.”
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Bubba Ray Dudley serves as a referee during Wrestlemania XL at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia April 7, 2024. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)
Dudley pointed to the impact Jasper Troy has made on the NXT roster almost immediately. Troy stepped up to challenge NXT champion Oba Femi and became one of only a few opponents Femi looked to struggle against.
“Jasper didn’t win the match, but he certainly caught the eye of wrestling fans all over the world. Definitely got the WWE Universe to sit up and take notice about who he was,” Dudley said. “Jasper Troy was throwing Oba Femi around the ring like no other competitor ever has.
“So, to get the opportunity to go through ‘LFG’ to get that contract, put on TV, be put in situations where you can face Oba Femi, huge deal. And I think that the people from Season 1 returning know that I believe it is a much more serious season with the stakes. Even though the stakes are the same, the level of intensity are kicked up.”
Zena Sterling was one of Dudley’s students from Season 1 who will compete in Season 2. She came up just short of earning an NXT contract, losing in the Season 1 finale to Tyra Mae Steele. An injury hampered Sterling at the end.
Dudley had high hopes for her with Season 2 about to begin.
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Professional wrestler Bubba Ray Dudley, also known as Bully Ray, attends the 2018 Wizard World Comic Con at Pennsylvania Convention Center May 18, 2018, in Philadelphia. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images)
“I believe Zena Sterling is the most popular future great coming out of Season 1. Tyra Mae Steele won the contract, but everyone was talking about Zena,” Dudley said. “Zena did a phenomenal job on Season 1 maximizing all of her television time. Zena does a phenomenal job maximizing her social media, and, in my opinion, Zena should have won Season 1.
“A knee injury at the absolute worst, worst time just days before the finals at Madison Square Garden knocked her down to 50%. Even at 50%, it was a struggle for Shawn Michaels to give that contract to Tyra.
“WWE NXT, they know what they had with Zena Sterling, and Zena is coming into Season 2 on a mission and that mission is to win. I don’t speak as highly as I do about Zena just because she is on my team. I would speak just as highly if she was on Booker’s team or Michelle McCool’s team or Undertaker’s team. This girl has it all. She has the ‘it’ factor, Zena is going to be a big deal in the WWE and a force to be reckoned with in the women’s division one day.”
Dudley named a few others fans should look out for, including men’s Season 1 runner-up Shiloh Hill, Haze Jameson, Elijah Holyfield, Bayley Humphrey, Sirena Linton and Dani Raye.
He told Fox News Digital he was proud to have the ability to mold the next generation of superstars and hoped the 16 competitors will take a step forward and compete for a contract in WWE.
A WWE Logo at the WWE Live Tryout at the Motorworld Nov. 7, 2018, in Cologne, Germany. (Marc Pfitzenreuter/Getty Images)
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“WWE Legends & Future Greats” Season 2 debuts Sunday on A&E at 10 p.m. ET.
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