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Yes, I know that the title of this column was a horrible, horrible pun. No need to email and tell me.
Billy Gunn, has spent over a decade in World Wrestling Entertainment, entering the company after only a year of working on the independent scene as Kip Winchester. He was paired up with Mike Barton (Bart Gunn) as the Smoking Gunns, and the duo stuck together for almost three years, winning the Tag Team Championship three times. After the duo was split up (with the storyline reason that Billy wanted Sunny to manage them again), Billy seemed directionless, but was quickly given the god-awful gimmick of Rockabilly, the protégé of the Honky Tonk Man.
Thankfully, after only a few months of that horrid gimmick, Road Dogg Jesse James convinced Gunn to turn on Honky, and the New Age Outlaws were born. This period, from 1997-1999, as a member of DeGeneration X, would prove to be his most successful, winning the tag team championship three times with Road Dogg. He held the Hardcore Title as well, and when DeGeneration X started to splinter, with Gunn going with Triple H and Chyna, he won the King Of The Ring Tournament. However, he was losing momentum quickly after that, losing to the Rock in a "Kiss My Ass" match at SummerSlam '99 and slowly moving down the cards. The Outlaws were soon put back together, winning the tag belts two more times, for a total of five reigns together.
However, injuries began to affect his career. Gunn suffered an injured rotator cuff, and needed surgery, so he was booted out of DX on television, and disappeared from the wrestling scene for six months. When he returned, he was giving a new character "The One", and despite winning the Intercontinental title from Eddie Guerrero, he simply wasn't making an impact anymore. He dropped the I-C title after only 19 days to Chris Benoit. At the time, I wrote a column stating that WWF had found the one person Chris Benoit couldn't carry to a good match in Gunn. His work in the ring was uninspired, and soon he found himself as a bit player in the Hardcore Division, holding that title for a whopping minute. Seriously, he traded the title back and forth with Raven in sixty seconds.
Perhaps realizing his strength was as a tag team wrestler, Gunn was paired with the Big Show as "The ShowGunns". Remember that? It's okay, no one else remembers it either.
2002 would see Gunn get another chance to be a major player in the company, but in a very bizarre way. He was teamed with Chuck Palumbo, and with Rico as a manager, played a trio of very effeminate characters. They had a pair of tag title reigns, one of which stretched for three months, but they will be best remembered for the infamous "wedding" angle. Gunn and Palumbo made media appearances, claiming that their gay characters would be getting married on television. It didn't happen, and the "hetero" version of Billy & Chuck didn't garner anywhere near the attention. Gunn suffered a shoulder injury, sidelining him for the rest of 2002 and into 2003.
When he finally was able to return in June of 2003, Chuck Palumbo had joined the FBI, so Gunn was again put in the role of singles wrestler. Bringing back the "Mr. Ass" character, Gunn was paired with Torrie Wilson, with the gimmick that both of them would show off their thong-wearing rear ends after matches. A bizarre storyline was carried out where Gunn, Wilson, Jamie Noble and Nidia ended up sleeping together, and Noble & Gunn formed a tag team. However, Gunn quickly was back on the shelf, as his shoulder required further surgery.
WWE obviously likes Billy Gunn, and gave him a great deal of television exposure on Smackdown leading to his return at the Royal Rumble. Gunn wasn't a factor at the end of that match (or the Smackdown Rumble later that week), but was put over by the announcers as being a major talent. This week, he wrestled The Big Show, and had a competitive match before losing clean to the monster. It seems that WWE is willing to give Gunn another try as a singles competitor. After having so many chances and never really establishing himself as anything other than a tag wrestler, this could be the last chance for Gunn to prove he can make it by himself. If "Mr. Ass" doesn't grab the proverbial "brass ring" this time, he might never get the opportunity again.
Smackdown Thoughts
Last night's Smackdown was certainly not as good as last week's show, but very few episodes were as good as last week's show, so that is not a mark against them. The talk of WWE wanting wrestlers to work holds more, rather than just go from spot to spot, seems to be taking effect, as there was a lot more grappling than you usually see in television matches. I made a joke in my Smackdown Report on the site about them cutting out the Yoshihiro Tajiri-Ernest Miller match, and heard from several fans that attended the taping live that cutting the bout was a good thing, as the match was definitely not worth the TV Time. ... I liked the opening of the show, with Heyman talking about Smackdown being the "Land Of Opportunity" then getting right to the action. I like when title shots are earned through winning matches, like the Rumble and the No Way Out Triple Threat match. ... After teasing the match several times, Rikishi & Scotty finally got their bout and won the tag championship. To be honest, the Bashams, despite the S&M gimmick, have been barely an afterthought on Smackdown. Perhaps they need to be repackaged. Rikishi & Scotty are a big hit with the live crowds, so I was glad to see them given the straps. ... The Cena-Heyman-Dawn interplay was humorous, as Heyman continues to make things tough for Cena. ... I have to say, I was absolutely shocked at how good a wrestling match Big Show and Billy Gunn had. It wasn't Benoit vs. Angle, but it was a perfectly fine match, with Show working the cobra clutch and countering the Fameasser for the win. Show has really upped his game of late. As I mentioned above, this might be Gunn's last chance to make a splash as a singles wrestler. ... The heel father-son duo of Chavo Sr. and Jr. is fantastic, and I am glad to see that Chavo Jr' isn't being brushed aside while Eddie gets his megapush. ... Speaking of Eddie, he entered the Foley and Flair echelon of great promos with his performance on Smackdown. Great stuff, and Brock deserves credit for selling the first punch from Guerrero like a gun shot. Fantastic build for No Way Out. ... To be blunt, I can think of about 30 people I would rather watch wrestle Jamie Noble than Nidia, and none of them are Billy Kidman either. I wish they had given Paul London or Ultimo Dragon this match, as Kidman, when not doing a shooting star press, does nothing for me. ... Sable doesn't know what men find appealing of two naked women posing together? Yeah, right. ... Mysterio vs. Chavo Sr. wasn't much of a match, but Chavo Jr. laying out Rey afterwards was a nice set up for No Way Out. ... Angle vs. Holly was probably the best non-Hardcore match I've ever see Hardcore in. I don't think anyone thought he had a chance of winning, but they still worked a competitive match, with Holly concentrating on the arm, and Angle pulling off some cool spots, including the finish. ... The angle at the end to set up the Triple Threat match at No Way Out was fine, but I am really getting tired of Cena having to get overly disgusting with his raps. Obviously someone in WWE thinks fecal comments are funny. I just think it's uncreative.
You can write me at BuckWrestling@aol.com.
