The best part of AEW at the moment is the organic rise of the tag team The Acclaimed. They were fun midcard, rapping heels, but when Billy Gunn as Daddy Ass joined their side, the group took off, becoming AEW Tag Team Champions. That success comes down to their goofy and raunchy charisma, tapping into what Billy Gunn so successfully did in WWE with DX. It has also given Gunn a chance to resurrect his career after being fired by WWE in 2015.
The Longevity Of Billy Gunn’s Career Is Astounding
It’s mind-blowing to take a look at the chiseled physique of Billy Gunn and realize that the man just turned 59 years old. It’s just as shocking to realize that his wrestling career goes all the way back to the 1980s. It was the 1990s, however, when Gunn’s career took off. As a member of WWE’s roster starting in 1993, Gunn got his name as part of the cowboy tag team The Smoking Gunns, with Billy Gunn alongside his kayfabe brother Bart Gunn. The duo would be three time tag team champions, but it was when Gunn was paired with the “Road Dogg” Jesse James as part of The New Age Outlaws that his career hit the stratosphere.
Gunn was an integral part of the Attitude Era, appearing weekly as part of the massively over DX. He would win six more tag titles with The New Age Outlaws. Though a singles career never took off, it still led to him being a King of the Ring winner in 1999 and an Intercontinental Champion, before becoming a tag team specialist again with Chuck Palumbo in the controversial pairing of Billy and Chuck.
In 2004, Billy Gunn was released by WWE for the first time, but he kept looking forward, going to TNA and reuniting with Road Dogg. Years later, in 2012, Billy Gunn would return to WWE, working as an NXT trainer and wrestling in WWE from time to time with the New Age Outlaws. In 2015 though, everything went wrong.
Billy Gunn Was Fired By WWE In 2015
Take one look at Billy Gunn and you can tell he spends a lot of time in the gym. He was always in good shape earlier in his career, but never with the level of muscularity that he has now. He’s a physical specimen. He was also a powerlifter. There were two big problems with this hobby though. One, while working with WWE he never told them that he was a competitive powerlifter on the side. Two, Gunn started using performance enhancing drugs.
In 2015, Gunn tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone at a powerlifting meet. He was tossed out and banned from competing for four years. It wasn’t until months later that WWE found out about it. They were dealt the double shock of learning of his side hobby for the first time and also why he had been banned from it. In November 2015, Billy Gunn was released by WWE for the second time.
In a 2018 interview with The Ring, The Cage, and The Stage, Gunn gave his side of the story while also owning up to what he did. “The strength and conditioning coach at the Performance Center came to me to do a powerlifting contest. So I trained for it, they tested me, then someone leaked the information about failing my PED test. More to it, but I would rather hold up my end of the bargain to not talk about it… People thought I was doing it to cheat, but I wasn’t. I’m 50 years old, I was on the drug because my levels were completely drained. That’s about it. I don’t hold any grudges, it was bad on my part, but I told them, and didn’t hide anything either."
Billy Gunn Didn’t Let Public Humiliation Stop Him From Keeping His Passion Alive
Despite his age and his firing from WWE, Billy Gunn didn’t stop wrestling. For years, he worked in independent promotions, and even did a short stint in New Japan. WWE even welcomed Gunn back for a one-time DX reunion on the 25th anniversary of Raw episode.
In 2019, Billy Gunn’s career was resurrected. He was hired by the new promotion AEW as one of their coaches and worked a few times as an onscreen wrestler. Better for him, his sons Colten and Austin joined AEW as well. 2019 also saw DX put into the WWE Hall of Fame. In an extremely rare moment, the now AEW talent was able to appear in WWE to get his deserved recognition.
It’s a shame that WWE and AEW couldn’t come to an agreement again with Raw’s recent DX reunion, but even in his absence, Gunn’s presence was felt. It’s also felt every Wednesday night, where Billy Gunn, pushing 60 years old, is putting over the next generation while still reminding everyone of how great and entertaining he can be. In a company with such big stars, few get as big of a pop as Daddy Ass Billy Gunn.