2005 was a strange time in the WWE. The Attitude Era was over, but the PG Age had yet to begin. It was a transitional period during which the company attempted to continue pushing the envelope with shocking gimmicks and storylines, but had already said goodbye to most of the gritty in-your-face characters that had made the adult-oriented programming of the past several years a success. The result was lots of sophomoric humor akin to what the WCW was producing during its death throes, with plenty of offensive stereotypes to boot. This may not have been as evident anywhere as it was in the tag team division.
The 2005 WWE tag team division featured: A team of swinging club-goers, a trio of tractor-riding Mexican stereotypes, a Road Warrior / Rapist combination, two Middle Eastern terrorists, some tobacco-chewing rednecks, a superhero and his protégé (a Super Hero In Training, otherwise a S.H.I.T.), an Englishman and his mentally challenged nephew, and of course, The Dicks.
Comprised of Chad Wicks and Tank Tolland, The Dicks were standouts in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where they first began teaming. By the time they reached the main roster, however, it was failure by design. Saddled with a Chippendales gimmick that saw them use baby oil to blind their opponents, The Dicks were, well, a couple of dicks. During their five-month tenure on Smackdown, The Dicks primarily interfered in the matches of other teams, but did manage to notch a few victories of their own along the way. In early 2006 it looked like The Dicks may be on the rise, but a real life altercation quickly derailed any momentum that the duo had.
Most likely due to a combination of their juvenile gimmick and their short statures, The Dicks found themselves the targets of heavy locker room ribbing during their stint in the WWE. According to the Wrestling Observer, James Dick (Tolland) was able to take the pranks in stride, while Chad Dick (Wicks) had a harder time dealing with the situation. Chad’s poor reaction to the ribbing only caused locker room leaders like JBL and Chris Benoit to heap it on more heavily. Eventually fed up with his partner bringing this heat down on them, James Dick punched Chad square in the mouth, breaking his own finger and busting his partner’s lip. Shortly after the real-life altercation, the WWE unsurprisingly released The Dicks. Upon his release, Tank Tolland continued his career in Ring of Honor, while Chad Wicks faded into the sunset. The days of The Dicks were over before they ever really began.
