D-Generation X closed Raw last week to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the group's formation. There was one notable absence from the line-up though, presumably because he is currently under contract with AEW. Billy Gunn was a key member of DX during the Attitude Era, but despite working for another company, there was a belief until hours before that he would be on Raw.
An Incomplete DX Reunion
Road Dogg revealed on his podcast this week that as recently as the day before Raw, Gunn messaged him to confirm that he had been given the go-ahead to be a part of the reunion. That obviously didn't come to fruition, and Road Dogg revealed everyone involved, including Gunn, was incredibly disappointed that it didn't happen.
According to the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the reason Gunn couldn't appear on Raw was WWE's unwillingness to agree to AEW's terms. While Tony Khan was reportedly open to Gunn making a one-off appearance for the reunion, the AEW owner requested that WWE make reference to where he is currently employed. So simply mention AEW on its product.
No Mention Of AEW On Raw
It seems WWE wasn't willing to agree to those terms, and that's reportedly what led to the deal falling through. Another blow to the already damaged relations between WWE and AEW, relations that could have potentially been partially repaired had the Gunn appearance gone ahead. Corey Graves did drop a subtle reference to Gunn's whereabouts on commentary, tipping his hat to The Acclaimed's scissoring gimmick.
Khan has admitted he hoped WWE and AEW could potentially work together in the future under the former's new management. However, he revealed in the next breath that AEW's legal team has warned WWE about talking to its contracted wrestlers, something the latter has been accused of since Triple H was made head of creative.
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