Since its inception, the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship has always been considered one of the most prestigious accolades in the game. Many legendary competitors such as Andre the Giant, Adrian Adonis and Mr. Fuji have represented the Federation as a champion in the tag team division. Unfortunately for many of today's fans, they didn't have the opportunity to see these greats compete in the ring. However, what many fans don't realize is that every week on Federation television, they are witnessing the greatest tag team competitor of all-time.
In less than four years with the Federation, Billy Gunn has become the most decorated tag team competitor of all time. In hopes of gaining similar success, he has since expanded his game to focus more on singles competition. Recently at a Madison Square Garden house show, I had the opportunity to speak with Billy concerning his tag team success - dating back to his days with the Smoking Gunns - and his future as a singles competitor.
In talking with many of the superstars backstage, despite there being many different personalities, I have learned that there is often one constant - they are living out their boyhood dreams. However, in Billy's case, the same does not necessarily hold true. For Billy, professional wrestling just happened.
It was weird for me because I was one of those people who very rarely watched wrestling. I was never really into it," admitted Billy. "When I was a kid, I never walked around saying 'I want to be a wrestler when I grow up.' Then a guy came into a gym that I was working at in Florida, and he asked me if I wanted to mess around in a ring that he had set up. I picked it up very quickly after only a short time in the ring."
Before he knew it, Billy Gunn was a professional wrestler. As a member of the Long Riders, he and Bart Gunn competed on the independent circuit. They did small promotions whenever they had free time. Unlike many other independent wrestlers, they didn't compete full-time, mostly because of the lack of money involved with independent wrestling promotions. However, before long, the duo were given their big chance.
"We started doing TV tapings over at Universal Studios," said Billy. "It was then that Blackjack Mulligan called a Federation agent, Dave Hebner. Hebner called Vince (McMahon) about getting us a tryout. We came up, had a tryout, and they signed us the same day," said Billy.
Federation fans hear Jim Ross say it all the time: "Billy Gunn is the best pure athlete on the Federation roster." Upon entering the Federation, it didn't take Billy long to prove it. Alongside Bart, Billy captured his first Tag Team Championship in January of 1995 when they defeated Bob Holly and the 1-2-3 Kid. It was the beginning of the most successful tag team career ever.
Before going their separate ways, the Smoking Gunns captured two more Tag Team Championships. With three Federation title reigns under his belt, Billy made the move to singles competition. However, for Billy, the move proved to be premature. He aligned himself with the Honky Tonk Man and took the name Rockabilly. As a result, Billy's flourishing career took a nosedive. It was then that he went back to the tag team circuit, teaming up with the Road Dogg. The duo became equally as successful as the Smoking Gunns. However, unlike the formation of the Gunns, the New Age Outlaws were never supposed to happen.
"The New Age Outlaws were formed as a rib," claims Billy. "We were supposed to do a run-in during somebody's match, and we didn't do it fast enough. So they put me and him together the next night on Shotgun. From that moment, there was an instant connection, it really clicked."
What started out as a joke turned into three more Tag Team Championships for Billy Gunn, putting him at six for his career - a number matched by no other superstar. Looking back, what's equally amazing as six championships, is Billy's evolution into Mr. Ass - an evolution which occurred slowly over four years. Four years, six Tag Team Championships and a cowboy hat later, Billy Gunn is now ready for singles competition. As Mr. Ass, Billy finally feels comfortable with his character, something he wasn't feeling as Rockabilly. Many wrestling insiders claim his recent singles success is as a result of his HBK-esque attitude in the ring.
"They could compare me to Shawn Michaels all they want," commented Billy. "I think he's one of the greatest ever. He's done everything in this business you could ever do. If they're going to compare me to somebody, I'd rather they compare me to him than to Dusty Rhodes or somebody like that. Nobody could give a sh*t about that guy. I try not to be like him (Michaels), but we're almost out of the same mold - he's cocky, arrogant and flamboyant, the same way that I am. It's just that he put it on TV first. I always had it in me."
Regardless of who had it first, Mr. Ass seems to have perfected it - mostly because he admits to being an ass out of the ring as well. Now that Billy has been given the opportunity to portray his real personality on Federation television, the question isn't if he can achieve the same success as a singles wrestler, but when?
