Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling recently spoke with 2019 WWE Hall of Fame inductee and AEW’s Head Coach, Billy Gunn. Gunn talks about his role in AEW, enshrinement in the WWE Hall of Fame and the turning point in the Monday Night War. Here are the highlights and full podcast:
Full Episode:
Billy Gunn On His Role And Joining AEW
Billy Gunn On Chyna And The WWE HOF Induction Of DX
Excitement for the launch of AEW and Official Title:
“So they call me “Head Coach” because we are trying to get away from what WWE uses. So I’m pretty much head of talent because a lot of these talented kids haven’t really done live TV or haven’t done TV, so they are going to need some guidance and stuff so that is where I come in and it is going to be awesome. You have some of the most and some of greatest talent on earth that has ever laced up a pair of boots in it and it is going to be awesome and like I can’t wait for it to get going and for the people to start getting into it and realize how good it is actually going to be and it is going to be a lot of fun and it is going to be refreshing.”
WWE Hall of Fame Induction:
“It is going to be great. It is going to be great to around all of those guys and you know I wish Chyna was there but she’ll be there in spirit and I’ll probably wear my little Chyna shirt under my tuxedo but it is going to be good and it is going to be awesome for the fans and it is going to be awesome for us because it just solidifies what we did in the business. We were really doing stuff just to have fun but it actually turned into being something that was awesome and obviously they are putting us in the Hall of Fame so that is cool too.”
Did he think that when he and Road Dog were paired together that they would be Hall of Fame material:
“No. I really didn’t and I never got in the business to do that. I just got in because someone was going to go give me a platform where I could go act like an idiot and be silly and goofy and have people that would actually pay attention to me when I’m doing these things. Me and Brian in our own right as The New Age Outlaws, we were sky-rocketing at that point and in the point of our career where they put us with DX it was just a natural fit because we were running neck and neck. Hunter needed some guys that would fit that mould and we fit the mould perfectly and obviously now because we are going in the Hall of Fame but it is cool to be acknowledged for what we did and it is cool to be with all of those guys. It is really good.”
Did the 2nd version of DX supersede the original?
“But they set the tone so you can’t as much as I’d like to say yeah, I say it all the time and I think Brian does too that they weren’t very good until we got with them (laughing). It was an all-around effort and I’ve said this in a couple of interviews and I don’t think that I would’ve went because there is no way that you can put in DX and not put Chyna in with them. There is just no way. One, there would’ve been a riot I’m sure and yes, I understand people want her to go in by herself and eventually she will because I feel like this will open the door for that but let’s just be happy that she is going and that she is going with a group that really put her on the map and yes, she did some great stuff by herself and she was probably the greatest female entertainer that we will ever see. I’ve said it before, I don’t think I would have went if they didn’t put her in there.
What was the turning point in the Monday Night War:
“I think it was when we invaded WCW because that put the final nail in the coffin. I don’t feel like anybody else could have done that. It was so made for DX just to go up in there and totally cause havoc and we were just having some fun and it turned out to be one of the greatest moments ever in wrestling. So Kid had a big part in it and he is very underrated because he is awesome in the ring and he is awesome out of the ring and he fit DX perfectly. That was the good thing about what we did too was we didn’t let anyone else in. They tried to stick some other people in there but we just put the brakes on it because and I’m not comparing that to nWo because they let everyone that was in WCW in there at one time or another but when they had just the three of them (Hogan, Hall and Nash) it was a great chemistry. When they just had them it was good. When you start adding all of those elements like well they are over so we all want to be a part of that, we never let that happen and that was on Hunter not letting that happen because we didn’t have much say so.”
Did they fear retaliation by WCW:
“No. Never. They literally just hung their heads and just went yep we lost. We lose. You couldn’t come over the top with anything over that. That is kind of one of those shots that you fire and you will never find it again. No matter what they would’ve done, we did it first so if they tried to come it would be so watered down because they didn’t think of it first and we did and we just had the cojones to just go do it and it worked out perfectly.”
