AEW fans witnessed the final chapter of The Acclaimed at AEW Collision: Maximum Carnage, as Anthony Bowens and Max Caster offically split. After weeks of escalating tension, Bowens turned his back on Max Caster, opting to align with Billy Gunn instead during the latest episode.
Reflecting on the end of The Acclaimed, Caster shared that his desire for personal growth and pointed the finger of blame squarely at Gunn.
“Anthony Bowens is my best friend for life. I know he’s hardheaded, and ever since he started listening to Billy Gunn, he’s been a real stubborn guy. Billy is a bad influence—has been since the ’90s.”
Caster shared that his efforts to grow led to him asking the group to quit scissoring, a request both Bowens and Gunn rejected. The self professed best wrestler alive compared his parting from The Acclaimed to a passenger fleeing a sinking ship.
“That life raft was me. I found self-worth, self-confidence. I love myself, and I think that’s a good thing.”
The Acclaimed began teaming in 2020 and Caster and Bowens captured the AEW World Tag Team Championships in 2022. The following year, the pair and Gunn won the AEW Trios Championships, titles the faction would hold longer than any other group. Now, Bowens and Caster will have to forge separate paths in AEW as one of the promotion’s most popular teams has come to an end.
AEW has a few stables going, but they don’t have as many as they used to. Now, after their Big Business Dynamite, it is apparent that they have one less faction on their roster, but the war is not over.
The Bang Bang Scissor Gang joined up as Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and Billy Gunn joined Bullet Club Gold. Now, they are no longer together after Jay White betrayed the former AEW Trios Champions.
Bang Bang Scissor Gang Breakup
AEW recently disbanded the Bang Bang Scissor Gang, a stable that hadn’t been around for long, to set up a feud between its former members. The dissolution of the group was evident on the March 13 episode of AEW Dynamite when Jay White won a singles match against Darby Allin.
Following the match, White attempted to inflict more damage on Allin, prompting The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to rush to the ring to intervene. This did not set too well with Switchblade.
Initially, White appeared to back off, allowing Caster and Bowens to assist Allin out of the ring. However, when Caster and Bowens left the ring, White suddenly attacked Billy Gunn with a chair, surprising the Boston fans in a big way.
Despite Caster and Bowens’ attempts to intervene, they were overpowered by Colten and Austin Gunn. This caused a beatdown for the babyfaces.
Bullet Club Gold is showing their true colors tonight!
The dramatic turn of events marked the end of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang’s run. The trio had joined forces on the January 20 episode of Collision. Currently, The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn still hold the AEW World Trios Championship, while Jay White & The Gunns retain the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team titles.
SEScoops will have more on this story as additional updates are made available. Odds are, fans have not heard the last of this story at all. The Acclaimed will not likely go after the Bullet Club Gold stable to turned on them.
There’s no secret as to how Billy Gunn can compete at the level he currently displays, according to the AEW Trios Champion.
At 60 years old, Gunn is the oldest champion in AEW, and likely the oldest star on the roster. Despite this, the tag team specialist continues to wow fans with a performance you’d expect to see from talent decades younger than the former King of the Ring. Speaking to the A2TheK Wrestling show, Gunn was asked what his secret is.
“I wish I had one, I wish I had a secret I can tell. It’s just, the last [year] I just focus more on me staying healthy. I’ve never, luckily for me, I’ve nd Dr done any sort of crazy stunts. Other than bumping a lot which, yeah it has it’s wear and tear, but I just really focus a lot on my training and my food and all that. I have great people around me so it’s just as long as I’m going to do this, I want to make sure I can perform at the level that makes me happy. Because if I don’t, then I just want to walk away. Though my kids and wife will say different, I’m walking away.”
When asked if he has a retirement date in mind, Gunn made it clear he doesn’t intend to plan that far in advance.
“I don’t really look at things like that. It’ll just be when it’s right. When it’s done, it’s done. There’s no time schedule, I can’t go ‘Hey, All In in London next year will be [my last match]. My brain doesn’t function like that. My brain and me tell my body I can wrestle until I want to. Which I know is not really a thing… But me not doing something doesn’t really enter my mind.”
Gunn’s most recent match took place on the November 4, episode of AEW Collision and saw the Acclaimed retain the AEW Trios Championships against Dalton Castle and his boys.
For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.
WWE did not offer any money and AEW did not request any money for the WWE Hall of Famer to appear.
Instead, Tony Khan requested that WWE make reference to AEW on the show, similar to acknowledging Impact Wrestling during Mickie James’ return in January this year.
James appeared in the WWE Women’s Royal Rumble despite being with Impact and the promotion’s Knockouts World Champion at the time.
After agreeing and disagreeing on whether to have Gunn appear, the Newsletter reports that a “last-minute” call was made for Gunn not to appear.
Gunn did not appear but Corey Graves referenced a DX member who now works in office supplies.
Graves’ reference was a nod to Gunn who has been scissoring with AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed this year.
Payback?
Billy Gunn didn’t appear for WWE during the DX reunion, but he has made a WWE appearance while with AEW.
In 2019, Gunn, mere months into his role as an AEW coach, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of DX.
During the event, Gunn joked that he couldn’t be fired from WWE, and Triple H responded that then-CEO Vince McMahon could buy the “p*ss-ant” AEW.
In the report, Dave Meltzer writes that he is surprised that WWE and AEW had any discussions about bringing Gunn in, given the frosty relationship between the two companies at this time.
Corey Graves mentioned Billy Gunn during last night’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW.
D-Generation X celebrated their 25 year anniversary on the season debut of RAW last night, but were missing one notable member. While Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, and the Road Dogg were all in attendance – Billy Gunn was not present.
Gunn is currently employed by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). DX didn’t make any direct references to Gunn during their promos, but commentator Corey Graves certainly did.
X-Pac kicked things off by shouting out the late Chyna, who he called the “magic ingredient” to DX. Road Dogg followed up by doing his signature intro for The New Age Outlaws, letting the crowd do Gunn’s parts.
(WWE)
Just after the crowd said Gunn’s lines for him, Graves said “the other guy is doing something with office equipment these days, I’m not sure.” This was a play on Gunn’s current scissoring gimmick with The Acclaimed.
The segment wrapped up with Triple H doing the “Are You Ready?” line for the crowd, and Shawn Michaels saying “We Got Two Words For Ya!” RAW went off-air with DX celebrating and posing for the crowd.
Check out the segment, along with Graves comments on Gunn, here below:
Degeneration X reunited tonight on RAW and celebrated 25 years in WWE. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, and X-Pac were on tonight’s show but AEW star Billy Gunn was not.
The group drove down the entrance ramp on a mini-tank at the end of the show. X-Pac gave a shoutout to Chyna to begin the promo. Road Dogg grabbed the microphone and had the crowd chant Billy Gunn’s name.
Corey Graves joked on commentary that Billy Gunn is doing something with “office supplies” now, a reference to The Acclaimed scissoring catchphrase.
Shawn Michaels joked that if we are out here again in 25 years, please put DX out of their misery. Triple H fired up the crowd one final time as RAW went off the air.
Road Dogg Sends Message To Billy Gunn After WWE RAW
After WWE RAW went off the air, Road Dogg took to Twitter to send a message to the member of Degeneration X who couldn’t make it to RAW tonight. Road Dogg said that he survived the promo tonight and joked that it was touch and go for a minute. He then tagged Billy Gunn in the post and said that they missed him tonight on RAW.
The Acclaimed captured the AEW Tag Team Championships at Dynamite: Grand Slam from former WWE stars Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. Billy Gunn hit Swerve with a Fameasser after the match. The Acclaimed celebrated “National Scissoring Day” on last week’s edition of Dynamite but Swerve interrupted, likely leading to The Acclaimed versus Swerve In Our Glory III in the weeks ahead.
AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed have become wildly popular in All Elite Wrestling. They battled Swerve in Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) for the tag titles at All Out and came up short.
The crowd was so heavily behind The Acclaimed during the match and it got such rave reviews, that AEW President Tony Khan wasted no time and announced a rematch for Dynamite: Grand Slam. The Acclaimed captured the titles in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Daddy Ass (Billy Gunn) provided some assistance in the matchup.
Billy connected with a Fameasser on Swerve Strickland outside the ring and rolled him back inside. Max Caster hit the Mic Drop and Anthony Bowens fended off Keith Lee as the referee counted to three. The crowd went ballistic as The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass scissored in the ring.
Road Dogg On Billy Gunn With The Acclaimed
WWE is set to have a DX Reunion next week on RAW without Billy Gunn and there reportedly have already been preparations in case a “Daddy Ass!” chant breaks out. Billy was aligned with his sons (Colten & Austin Gunn) in the Gunn Club originally but they were separated.
The former DX member is now a massive part of The Acclaimed’s act and Colten & Austin have joined Stokely Hathaway’s The Firm stable alongside W. Morrissey, Lee Moriarty, and Ethan Page.
Road Dogg recently spoke about Billy Gunn on his “Oh… You Didn’t Know” podcast and praised his work with The Acclaimed. He said that Billy’s kids (Austin & Colten) needed to break away from their father to grow as performers.
The Ass Boys (Gunn Club) and Mr. Ass had to be separated sooner rather than later and now you can go on. Because with Billy, those kids couldn’t be heels and they didn’t have any room to grow because Billy’s star power overshadowed them. And that is all there is to it.
That is nobody’s fault, but they had to get Billy away from them so they had the kids turn on him. But look, those guys are really over right now and I think had I gotten a job with AEW, I think I could have helped The Acclaimed.
Road Dogg noted that The Acclaimed is capable of doing the same thing DX used to do with the long entrances and promos. He said that Billy being aligned with The Acclaimed is awesome and the group is on fire right now.
They’re on fire right now and they are only going to get greater. So look, Billy being involved with those guys is awesome to me. Billy does a job there too, he does what’s creatively written for him, he helps coach the kids, and he helps train people.
He does a lot other than just do his little TV show storylines. But you know, I’m proud of Billy. I’m happy where he is at, he’s happy where he’s at. So scissor away, my friend.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the “Oh… You Didn’t Know Podcast” and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
In 1993, just four years into his wrestling career, Billy Gunn debuted for the World Wrestling Federation and became a staple of the company.
Gunn’s first stint with WWE lasted until 2004, and saw him become part of D-Generation X, an Intercontinental, Tag Team, and Hardcore Champion, as well as the 1999 King of the Ring.
His second run in the company from 2012 to 2015 saw Gunn have one final run as a Tag Team Champion.
The Wild West
Gunn spent years with WWE, but was hired by AEW in January 2019, initially as a coach.
In addition to coaching, Gunn has transitioned into being an on-screen performer, and has noticed the differences between his current and previous employer.
“I’m very used to that [the structure in WWE.] I’m a very structured person. Especially in the wrestling business, the more structured you are, the better things are… and I’m not saying it’s not good in AEW. I’m just saying it’s a little bit on the Wild West side. Which I guess if you’re used to that then it’s okay. I am not used to that.”
” It’s a little bit on the Wild West side.”
Billy Gunn describes AEW’s backstage structure compared to WWE.
Gunn added that “the hardest adjustment” for him has been moving from how WWE works behind the scenes to how AEW operates.
Speaking about his sons, Colten and Austin Gunn, the WWE Hall of Famer said he has to fight the urge to control what they do in accordance to his own ideas about structure.
Coaching in AEW vs. WWE
Come one come all, sit under the learning tree of @RealBillyGunn! We talk teaching moments with talent and the Gunn boys, DX, Chuck and Billy, his relationship with Chyna, and…Yellowstone! Give us a listen! pic.twitter.com/TKq2u0nHUY
Billy Gunn has served as a coach in both WWE and AEW. According to Gunn, WWE talent has been more willing to tap into the wisdom of legends behind the scenes.
“In WWE, I don’t want to say they listen more, because that’s not true, [coaches] are just taken a little more serious, I think. Everybody in WWE knows that’s what we are there for and you can come to us anytime you want and run an idea by. Not that they don’t want to, I don’t know what it is.”
“AEW, I’ll have a couple guys, Hobbs, Ricky Starks, a couple of guys that come to me daily. They don’t realize how good that makes us feel. Because I’m not [going to] ask you, if you don’t want my help, then I’m not going to force myself on you, because that’s just not how it works.”
– Billy Gunn
“I’m more than happy to help you if you come to me and say, ‘Hey, would you help me with this, or could you watch this and show me this.’ So, there’s a few people that take advantage of that, I just don’t know.. I’m trying to figure out what it is, it’s not a bad thing, and it’s not like they know everything, maybe it’s just me and my demeanor [laughs].”
Renee suggests, maybe talent in AEW just want to figure it out on their own, or if it’s the looser culture. Gunn speculated, maybe talent thinks that if they ask his advice and don’t do it, he’d be really mad, which is not the case.
“The Badass” Billy Gunn and “The Road Dogg” Jesse James are best known for their time together as The New Age Outlaws.
Now that the latter is not working for WWE anymore, the former wants his tag team partner to reunite with him. He is actually trying to bring James into AEW.
Gunn recently took part in a virtual autograph signing of K&S WrestleFest. Speaking about his former tag team partner, he claimed that they are trying to bring him in:
“We’re trying to get him here, he’s got other things going on, his podcast that I have to hear about every single day.”
– Billy Gunn
Road Dogg was released from his WWE contract in January this year due to budget cuts. This ended his decade long run with the company in which he in worked various on-screen and backstage roles.
The former SmackDown head writer seems to be interested in joining Tony Khan’s promotion as well. He recently said that he would ‘love to’ join AEW in a backstage role.
With both the partners interested in a reunion, it only appears to be a matter of time before Road Dogg joins All Elite Wrestling. Fans would want to see them reunite on-screen too, but whether or not that happens will be revealed in future.
Oh, you didn’t know? The New Age Outlaws may be gearing up to ride once again.
The Outlaws are one of the most decorated tag teams in WWE history. “Road Dogg” BG James and “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn were icons of the Attitude Era. They’re both WWE Hall of Famers as part of the legendary DX faction.
Road Dogg James was released from WWE last week, paving the way for a reunion with his old partner. Interestingly, just days after Roadd Dogg’s release, Billy Gunn has taken steps to trademark their team name.
Last Friday, January 7th, Kipp Sopp (Billy Gunn) filed the paperwork to trademark the name, “The New Age Outlaws.”
According to the United States Patent & Trademark Office database, the name would be used for merchandise and wrestling ‘entertainment services.’ The attorney of record is Michael E. Dockins.
This trademark filing does not mean the New Age Outlaws will be tearing up AEW’s tag team division anytime soon. However, the NAO intellectual property is valuable.
The duo could probably make a killing doing autograph signings and selling merchandise using the Outlaws moniker. Now you know!
Brian James (Road Dogg of New Age Outlaws fame) was one of the many names released by WWE on Wednesday during another round of cuts. The former multi-time WWE tag team champion finds himself out of the company for the first time in over 10 years.
Over the last several years, James had worked backstage as a WWE producer as well as a contributor on the writing team at various times. Most recently, he had been working at the WWE Performance Center in helping young talents with their character development.
Reacting to his release on Wednesday, James wrote on his Facebook page, “Guys, I’m doing well and I thank you for all the love. I’m gonna take a few days for my self and process this. God is still on the throne and will provide. It’s just business!”
With 30 years of experience in the wrestling industry and still just 52 years old, it’s not hard to imagine James working for another wrestling company. Could that next stop be AEW?
James’ former tag team partner, Billy Gunn, works backstage and still wrestles on screen for the promotion as part of the Gunn Club. James was asked on Twitter about a possible reunion for the New Age Outlaws and seemed quite receptive to the idea.
There’s no doubt that a reunion with Gunn would be interesting, at least if for one night only. James could also contribute backstage as a producer for the promotion and help the young talent, a role he has several years of experience in.
James, who had been off Twitter in recent months, also made sure to thank the people at NXT whom he had been working with in recent years.
I just want to thank all the individuals from @WWENXT especially the young talent. The relationships we’ve built will last forever! #THANKYOU
Do you want to see Brian James end up in AEW? What would you think of an on-screen reunion with Billy Gunn? Let us know in the comments section below this article.
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
The war of words between AEW and WWE has heated up in recent months. Shots have been traded from both sides not only by the officials but performers from both companies as well. Though Billy Gunn doesn’t seem interested in joining this fight. The wrestling veteran recently had an interview with Riju Dasgupta of SportsKeeda.
There are many fans who want a full-blown war between the two promotions and believe that AEW can take WWE down. Talking about the notion, Billy explained that he doesn’t necessarily want to take the rival promotion down:
“Do we really want to take them down? Is it better that we just have competition? I think that’s what made the Attitude Era and the thing with WCW and WWE good is that there was competition. If you don’t have any competition, then I feel, and these are my opinions, I feel that we thrive on competition,”
Billy Gunn and DX were inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2019
Billy Gun explained that taking shots at the other promotion means that they are not focusing on their own product as much as they can:
“The minute we try to start poking the bear or try to say we’re better than them, I feel that we’re not concentrating on the best that AEW can do. Like WWE is always going to be WWE. AEW’s going to be AEW. So let’s just be us. If our paths cross and it becomes something like that, let it happen naturally.”
Billy Gunn has had a number of runs with WWE. His longest tenure started with his debut for the promotion in 1993 and lasted through 2004. The former DX member was hired as a coach by AEW in January 2019. He has since started making TV appearances as well.
The battle between WWE and AEW Vice President Cody Rhodes over the last name of the latter has made a number of headlines since Cody left the company and it appears that he is not the only star in battle with WWE due to a similar issue.
It was noted on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that former DX member Billy Gunn is not allowed to use his last name in AEW due to WWE.
While the exact details of the issues between the star and the company were not disclosed, it was noted that the veteran is not allowed to use his last name due to WWE lawyers getting involved.
This would explain why AEW has refrained from referring to the former WWE star using his full ring name. The star’s official ring name in the company is just Billy.
Though AEW officials have still managed to work around these restrictions and they usually refer to the wrestling star as “Billy of The Gunn Club”. They also bill him as “Billy and Austin Gunn” when he is teaming with his son.
Billy Gunn was hired as a producer and coach by AEW back in January 2019. He has made numerous on-screen appearances for the company since then and the wrestling veteran has also competed in several matches for the promotion.
At the River City Wrestling Con last night, Teddy Long made a surprise appearance and introduced WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn’s son, Austin Gunn.
Austin arrived sporting a Ring of Honor t-shirt and reportedly declared that he has signed with the company. Fightful say they have been able to confirm that the company has indeed signed Austin.
Austin was seen at All In’s pre-show Zero Hour on 1 September, 2018 where he took part in the Over the Budget battle royal. The 24-year old has made appearances for MCW Pro, Ohio Valley Wrestling, etc since he started wrestling in 2017 after receiving training from his father, Bully Ray, and Devon Dudley.
It’s interesting that Austin has headed the other way instead of joining AEW where his father currently works. Billy Gunn is a coach and a producer for the new promotion, but ROH can be a great ground for gaining experience.
During the Hall Of Fame event that took place over WrestleMania weekend, Triple H would make several jokes at the expense of Degeneration-X stablemate, Billy Gunn, and his new company, All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The two were inducted into the HOF as a part of DX, alongside Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Chyna.
Triple H would tease Gunn, thanking him for being “all in” in an obvious reference to AEW’s event of the same name. He went on to joke that “Vince will buy that pissant company just to fire you again.”
Speaking with 411 Wrestling Interviews Podcast, Billy Gunn discussed Triple H’s comments about his new employer AEW.
“I thought it was done very tastefully, so it was some good, funny stuff that was — yeah, you were right. It’s typical DX stuff. You shoot at something and then you try to knock it down. So yeah, it was good.”
He was asked if any of the AEW jabs were planned backstage prior to their speech. Gunn denied this, claiming that, although they had an initial plan, that quickly went out the window. Their entire HOF speech would then unfold live without any preparation.
“We had some stuff we were gonna go to…we had a couple of calls before the Hall of Fame just to kinda figure stuff out. But none of it came true. Because it doesn’t work like that for us. It never has worked like that for us. We’ve always just been, ‘Hey. You point us in the direction, we’re gonna go there. We have no idea what we’re gonna do,’” he said.
“So when you start planning stuff out, it takes away from what we are. Because I feel like that’s what a lot of things are doing right now, you’re planning a bunch of stuff out, so when something organic happens, you don’t react to it, because it’s not in the script. And we’ve never ever been ones to go by the script.”
Despite his appearance for WWE, Billy Gunn is currently signed to AEW where he is working as a producer for the company.
With the launch of AEW (All Elite Wrestling), the hope from fans is that they can be real competition to the WWE. The reason for this is due to them having big money baking them and having some big name talent under contract.
Billy Gunn, who will serve as a producer for AEW, told Chris Van Vliet when asked if AEW’s plan is to compete with WWE that they won’t be competing against them. He would elaborate on his belief by stating that a promotion already when after the WWE before and that was WCW.
They went out of business after taking the fight to Vince McMahon. However, he does think that they are as good as WWE but doesn’t think they will compete against them.
“Why can’t we have our own product and they have their product? You know what I mean? So do they intercollide at some point? I have no earthly idea. It’s way too early to tell.”
Gunn would continue by stating that they can be an alternative to WWE, have the same fan base and as good of a product.
He would add, “Do I say we compete and that we’re all sitting around going ‘I can’t wait to go live against them’? We don’t sit around and do that because I feel like you’re setting your sights on something away from what you should be focusing on. Let’s focus on our company.”
World Association of Wrestling (WAW) has announced that Billy Gunn will be taking part in the upcoming Fightmare event on June 2nd. The soon to be WWE Hall of Famer will be tagging alongside former Norwich City football player Grant Holt in the main event. Fightmare is scheduled to be taking place at Norwich City’s football ground Carrow Road. The show is being touted as the biggest in Europe. It could well beat PROGRESS’ recent show at Wembley Arena in terms of ticket sales.
Already announced for the Megashow are WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. WAW World Champion Roy Knight and WWE Superstar and former Smackdown General Manager Paige.
WAW is owned by Paige’s family, the Knights. This will be the former Champion’s first official appearance for the company since she joined the WWE a number of years ago. The Knight family are currently celebrating the release of ‘Fighting With My Family.’
The film is based on Paige’s journey to WWE and her rise to RAW and the Diva’s Championship. The motion picture has garnered critical praise and was produced by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
Hiring former WWE Star and future Hall Of Famer Billy Gun as a producer was a surprising move from AEW Officials, especially considering the fact that the company has only one announced show and no known TV deals.
Though during a recent interview, Gunn himself had claimed that he might work with the company as a talent too and expanding his comment, he has now said that he might takeover other duties for the promotion as well.
During a recent interview with WrestlingInc, Billy Gunn talked about his role in the promotion saying that he is dubbed as the head coach and they don’t use the word producer:
“They call me a head coach, we don’t use producer. My job will be to help the younger talent as we get going and I look forward to it. It. We have a lot of new, younger talent that needs to be developed and I’m gonna help them find their way. I’m not going to take control of talent. I’m just going to help them develop what they have.”
Continuing on the topic, the former WWE Star also discussed helping the prospects in adjusting to TV saying: “We’re gonna be doing TV eventually and a lot of these kids don’t have the experience that I have with TV, and I’ll help them with that”
Apart from this, Billy Gunn also talked about Chris Jericho’s signing with AEW and revealed that he will also be scouting talents for the new promotion.
Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chyna, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. All 6 will be inducted as members of the legendary DX faction. Two versions will be celebrated, the original and the “DX Army” version.
ESPN broke the story earlier today.
“I think it’s the most meaningful for us all to go in together and to be recognized together,” Tripe H told ESPN. “Because I think both groups were [just] as impactful.”
Triple H would continue to tell ESPN about how the faction formed.
“It’s a funny thing, because DX was something that, before Kevin [Nash] and Scott [Hall] left, at the time we all talked about using ‘The Kliq’ as it was — kind of morphing that into television, since it was so out there anyways,” said Levesque. “But things worked out the way they did — they left, and the timing was right.”
He mentioned Chyna’s involvement in the faction to ESPN as well.
“Shawn and I still wanted to do it. Vince saw the value in it, I guess, and finally let us go at it,” Levesque continued. “By that point in time I was looking for a heater, and we had brought Chyna.”
Triple H Says Chyna Deserves To Be In The WWE Hall of Fame
Triple H also stated his belief Chyna deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and addressed previous statements he made on the matter.
“Look, people believe what they want to believe. When I said a few years ago on the Austin podcast, or show, or whatever you want to call it, there’s complexities around it,” said Triple H. “But absolutely, definitely deserves to be in there. It’d be tough to pick a female that was more impactful on the business. She did something that was completely so out of left field that it wasn’t even being considered when we first brought it up for her to come in. It wasn’t even a consideration… it wasn’t an easy thing, and against all odds she did all of that.”
He even continued to say Chyna likely should go into the Hall of Fame as an individual as well.
“From that standpoint, absolutely 100 percent deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and should probably be more than once — as a group, but individually as well,” Levesque continued. “There’s more complexity to that than meets the eye, but here we are. I’m just happy that it’s here. I’m happy for her family, the people that she was close to, that hopefully this is super meaningful to them. I know it would be to her. It’s a great thing — very deserving.”
During all the excitement regarding All Elite Wrestling and their upcoming ‘Double Or Nothing’ event, a big name was attached to the company. Billy Gunn.
It was announced that he would be joining AEW as their first and, for now, only producer. Cody announced the news via a video uploaded to AEW’s official Twitter account.
Since then, Gunn has made an appearance on Busted Open Radio. During his discussion on the show, he commented on his role within AEW, and what he hopes he can achieve and do for the company.
“I Might Be Talent Too, Which Is OK With Me”
“I don’t know a lot about what’s going on,” he admitted. “I know I’m the only producer they have right now, so my role as of right now is just agent. I might work a little bit, also. I might be talent too, which is OK with me.
I work everywhere else; I might as well work [wrestle] for the company that I work for. I wish I could answer that. I really don’t know because, like I said, this literally just happened this week. We’re still in the process of trying to get things together, so as soon as I know more, I’ll be able to speak on that a little bit more.”
Billy Gunn competing inside of an AEW ring? It’s not out of the realms of possibility. Both Billy and his son, Austin Gunn, were a part of the Over Budget Battle Royal at the historic ‘All In’ event last August, after all.
But is Billy Gunn competing in AEW what you would want to see, or do you feel he will bring more to the company within his producer role?
Another familiar face has joined the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) crew. Former WWE star Billy Gunn was introduced as AEW’s first and only official producer. Rhodes announced the news in a video uploaded to AEW’s Twitter account.
Gunn and his son, Austin, were both at yesterday’s AEW rally. They also both competed in Cody and The Young Bucks’ “All In” pre-show in the Over Budget Battle Royal. Check out: Updated list of talent working with AEW.
There was plenty of news from yesterday’s rally. Some bits of information regarding AEW’s talent were also brought to light. Cody spoke at the post-rally media scrum and commented on select AEW talents, such as Chris Jericho and Joey Janela, being able to work elsewhere.
Jericho will still be allowed to run his cruises, and Janela can still run Spring Break shows. We spoke with one AEW star who said they will be allowed to work with other promotions, except WWE. This might be a window into AEW’s approach to signing talent.
Some of their stars might be exclusive, but others could be brought in on non-exclusive deals in order to give AEW access to more wrestlers who have other commitments. This might also lead to AEW forming partnerships with other promotions.
Billy Gunn is All In. On September 1st, the Attitude Era legend will participate in the Over Budget Battle Royal. The match will take place on the 2-hour All In Zero Hour pre-show, airing on WGN America broadcast TV in the US.
The winner of the All In pre-show Battle Royal will earn a shot at the Ring of Honor World Championship. That match against Jay Lethal will occur on the main pay-per-view card of All In. There will be 15 competitors in the Battle Royal, with 7 now announced:
Brian Cage
Moose
Ethan Page
Colt Cabana
Billy Gunn
Rocky Romero
Jordynne Grace
All In airs live on traditional pay-per-view and is doing iPPV streaming with FITE.tv. Top matches for All In from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL include:
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes
Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Rey Mysterio, Fenix & Bandido vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi
SEScoops will be covering All In weekend (including Starrcast convention) starting Thursday, August 30th.
Check out our exclusive interview with Conrad Thompson, organizer of Starrcast and podcast co-host of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, What Happened When with Tony Schiavone and 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff.
Son of former WWE Superstar Billy Gun, Austin Gunn, recently did his first-ever wrestling interview with WSVN-TV’s Chris Van Vliet while at Wrestling For Warriors in Florida. Austin first opened up about dealing with the backlash at school from his dad’s Billy & Chuck gimmick on TV:
“He kind of sat us down when that whole thing was getting really hot and he was like ‘Listen, your dad’s not really gay and this is a whole gimmick.’ But at school they’d be all like ‘Oh, your dad’s gay.
“Your dad’s kissing another dude.’ I’d be like ‘That’s not my dad. I have a mom. What do you mean?’ and I’d be trying to put the pieces together. I understood the business enough back then to know my dad wasn’t really gay. But I got a little heat for that.”
Austin is ready to begin his professional wrestling career after recently finishing college. He explained why he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and get into the business:
“Growing up and just being around the business, I met The Rock and Stone Cold and it was all normal to me at the time. In school kids would be like ‘What, your dad’s a wrestler?’ and it was just like an everyday thing for me.
“Growing up I kind of got a better understanding of the business and kind of how it worked and I was like ‘Maybe I’ll be kind of good at this.’ My parents said I couldn’t do it until I went to college and graduated first and that’s understandable. I just graduated this past Mother’s Day and I’m ready to get into it.”
As far as what his goals are in wrestling, Austin wants to establish his own name rather than ‘backpacking’ off his father’s gimmick:
“I think right now I just want to take it all in and be able to remember this experience. Remember coming here and having my first interview and having my first match and what that really meant to me and kind of establish a name for myself instead of backpacking off my dad’s gimmick.
“I don’t want to be known for that 100%, I want to make a name for myself so that other people know that I really want to do this and not just because my dad’s a wrestler. I really want to do this and I’m really passionate about it and I think I’m fairly good at it so I’m excited to see where it goes.
Austin then commented on whether or not he plans to use his “Gunn” name in wrestling:
“I have no idea because I’m not really in it yet. The ideas were flowing a little bit at first and obviously my father is Billy Gunn. I don’t know what my character is supposed to be yet because I’m not at that developmental stage yet in my wrestling career.
“Just to dip my feet in the water a little bit we had our first tag team match which was my first match just to kind of get into it and then I had a solo match and I had to go by something. So I was like my first name is Austin and I want people to know who I am at least just so they get an idea until I start taking that path.”
Billy Gunn appeared for an interview with Chris Van Vliet to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Gunn talked about RAW 25 feeling rushed, whether he gets paid royalties from DX merch. You can check out a few highlights from the interview, via WrestlingInc.
On the DX reunion feeling rushed:
“Well you’re looking at the end of the show, they’re trying to go back and forth between two buildings. We’re in the Manhattan Center and of course everybody says they were getting mad but how do you spread all of that out? It’s the 25th anniversary, you want to go back to the place you started, but you can’t have all of the talent there, I don’t know if you’ve been there but it’s little. It was rushed a little bit, but it’s the end of the show and you’re trying to shove 200 talents into a 3 hour show. So yeah, a little rugged.”
On getting paid royalties from DX merch:
“I do. I do. Anything that has my name that I own on it. Yeah, I get a little bit. But I mean you’re talking like of a half a cent of a half of a cent but it’s still something.”
When the New Age Outlaws will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame:
“I think they’ll put me and Brian in as strictly tag stuff, then it will be a few years and they’ll induct Hunter. When they induct Hunter, the next year it’ll be the DX thing.”
In the late 90s, the old NWO faction would release “paid advertisements” on Nitro. Bullet Club is now doing the same in NJPW.
The faction has been the focal point of NJPW’s marketing strategy for their July 1st and 2nd shows in L.A, and have now released the following video:
Bullet Club at NJPW G1 L.A Special
Somewhat surprisingly, Cody will receive an IWGP heavyweight title shot on night 1 of the 2-night event. At Dominion, Cody defeated Michael Elgin in what turned out to be a pretty important match.
The rest of the announced lineup so far:
NJPW July 1st 2017 Lineup
the Briscoes, Will Ospreay, & Roppongi Vice (CHAOS) vs. Bad Luck Fale, the Young Bucks, Yujiro Takahashi & Marty Scurll (Bullet Club)
Jushin Liger, Volador Jr., Dragon Lee & Titan vs. Sanada, Evil, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)
IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Jay White & David Finlay vs. Billy Gunn, Yoshi Tatsu, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
