TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,768
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jul 6, 2024 19:22:06 GMT -5
It is debatable, but the road they traveled during the trial run was definitely going to be an uphill battle. The Rock was absolutely on fire at the time after turning babyface following WrestleMania XV. There was no way Billy would have been able to keep up with him in that program especially when it came to the promos which were about as one-sided as one could have expected. He never recovered and was back in the tag team shuffle as part of DX by the end of the year.
If Billy Gunn was going to become a main event player in 1999, how would you have booked him? Was it even possible back then given the "Murderers Row" of depth at the top of the roster?
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Post by theoutlaw1999 on Jul 6, 2024 20:04:32 GMT -5
Billy Gunn had the look and character to be a solid main eventer, but the problem in 1999 were three things. The Rock, DX & HHH.
First, the loss to The Rock basically killed his single run and after that he and Road Dogg became The Outlaws again.
Second, DX reuniting also blocked any chances of him being a main eventer. HHH & X-Pac were huge heels in late 99. Austin & Taker were injured so that left Rock, Mankind & Kane as the top faces. There was really no one for Billy Gunn to feud with. Having him and Road Dogg feud with Too Cool & The Hardyz was best for business.
Third, from August it was the rise of HHH. He was the heel, the most hated man in the company at the time. He would've completely overshadowed Billy Gunn if they tried to push him in the main event scene. There was no room for another top heel.
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Post by The Brain on Jul 6, 2024 20:15:28 GMT -5
I personally never saw main event in Billy Gunn
Trips was the right choice for that mega heel push
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
Posts: 2,768
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jul 6, 2024 20:17:34 GMT -5
Billy Gunn had the look and character to be a solid main eventer, but the problem in 1999 were three things. The Rock, DX & HHH. First, the loss to The Rock basically killed his single run and after that he and Road Dogg became The Outlaws again. Second, DX reuniting also blocked any chances of him being a main eventer. HHH & X-Pac were huge heels in late 99. Austin & Taker were injured so that left Rock, Mankind & Kane as the top faces. There was really no one for Billy Gunn to feud with. Having him and Road Dogg feud with Too Cool & The Hardyz was best for business. Third, from August it was the rise of HHH. He was the heel, the most hated man in the company at the time. He would've completely overshadowed Billy Gunn if they tried to push him in the main event scene. There was no room for another top heel. I agree. It seems like between KOTR and SummerSlam they realized that HHH was the heel with the momentum who was worth pushing, but they had to at least follow through with the Billy Gunn angle they started. Looking back, even if he never touched a main event spot, X-Pac might have benefitted more from winning the 1999 KOTR. He was way more over as a babyface than Billy would be as a singles heel. |
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Jul 6, 2024 21:14:25 GMT -5
I'd say nah tbh. 99 was way too stacked. 2000 was even more stacked. I still would have loved Billy to win the big one at least once.
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Post by Nivro™ on Jul 6, 2024 21:26:27 GMT -5
Nope. Mid card was his peak
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jul 6, 2024 22:48:37 GMT -5
The New Age Outlaws could main event any show that they were on.
Billy Gunn and Road Dogg as good guys vs. Kane & Mankind, or Rock and D'Lo, or even Austin and Undertaker could have been a main event match at any wrestling event.
Billy Gunn on his own?? Unfortunately no. Billy and Road Dogg meshed so well together and made each other huge that they were so over that they were seen as a main event tag team.
But Billy Gunn on his own wasn't good. Though he should have won the IC Title in early 1999. He would have been perfect for an IC Title reign then. That reign he had in late 2000 for three weeks was horrible.
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Jul 6, 2024 22:51:12 GMT -5
I'd say he could have been a good US Champion on SD around 03-08. Maybe even ECW Champion around 06-09.
It sucked to see em get released in 04.
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Post by CM Tusk on Jul 6, 2024 23:36:22 GMT -5
I am currently in the middle of watching 1999 WWF. I just finished King Of The Ring 99. Do I think Billy Gunn was ready to be WWF Champion? No. Do I think it could have been the beginning of him being a main eventer and eventual WWF Champion? I do.
At the same time, I think Chyna should have won the 99 King Of The Ring to become Queen. And I think she should have gotten a run with the title.
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Post by hbkjason on Jul 7, 2024 0:48:02 GMT -5
I don't think so.
I really liked Billy Gunn, but he was a great tag team guy. He looked amazing, could play a good character and he was decent in the ring. However, for whatever reason it never clicked on his own. Hey nothing wrong at all with just being a good tag team guy. The fact he still looks great now and is super over, once again as part of a team is awesome.
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Post by Kill Em' All on Jul 7, 2024 10:31:19 GMT -5
I could see him having some quick and random 1999 title run like Show but I agree with everyone else
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Apocalypse
Superstar
Joined on: Nov 17, 2021 19:40:02 GMT -5
Posts: 734
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Post by Apocalypse on Jul 7, 2024 13:55:50 GMT -5
I am currently in the middle of watching 1999 WWF. I just finished King Of The Ring 99. Do I think Billy Gunn was ready to be WWF Champion? No. Do I think it could have been the beginning of him being a main eventer and eventual WWF Champion? I do. At the same time, I think Chyna should have won the 99 King Of The Ring to become Queen. And I think she should have gotten a run with the title. Billy gunn was kind of unique, he had the body, had the looks, was a fulltimer and was capable of putting in the hours. Yet he never put himself in main event status. I think his mic skills were one aspect that held him back but honestly i wonder if it was just a job to him and maybe he just didnt want to put in the extra work to be a top guy. |
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Post by CM Tusk on Jul 7, 2024 15:11:47 GMT -5
I am currently in the middle of watching 1999 WWF. I just finished King Of The Ring 99. Do I think Billy Gunn was ready to be WWF Champion? No. Do I think it could have been the beginning of him being a main eventer and eventual WWF Champion? I do. At the same time, I think Chyna should have won the 99 King Of The Ring to become Queen. And I think she should have gotten a run with the title. Billy gunn was kind of unique, he had the body, had the looks, was a fulltimer and was capable of putting in the hours. Yet he never put himself in main event status. I think his mic skills were one aspect that held him back but honestly i wonder if it was just a job to him and maybe he just didnt want to put in the extra work to be a top guy. The thing that’s interesting is how over he was as a babyface. His heel run just didn’t work. |
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Post by JokerFC on Jul 7, 2024 15:31:18 GMT -5
It was HHHs time...his heat was nuclear after turning on DX at WM15 and he never cooled off...it was great stuff. Billy going heel just didn't have the same impact.
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JimRiga
Superstar
Joined on: Feb 15, 2017 16:46:49 GMT -5
Posts: 934 
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Post by JimRiga on Jul 10, 2024 17:01:58 GMT -5
For me, he had that mid-carder look and would have needed to have changed his image for me to take him more seriously. Plus, Triple H was THE heel.
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Post by wolfpac on Jul 10, 2024 22:04:58 GMT -5
There’s potential for him if he didn’t get hurt early 2000 - he would have mixed it up in the lower main event
Gatekeeper for guys like rikishi, angle, Jericho, and Benoit as he would have probably been their first feuds.
Champion, not a chance - but the time for him to be on top he was hurt.
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Post by theoutlaw1999 on Jul 11, 2024 16:28:39 GMT -5
There’s potential for him if he didn’t get hurt early 2000 - he would have mixed it up in the lower main event Gatekeeper for guys like rikishi, angle, Jericho, and Benoit as he would have probably been their first feuds. Champion, not a chance - but the time for him to be on top he was hurt. I couldn't have seen them splitting The Outlaws again. They were just too over, even as heels. If Road Dogg still got fired it late 2000 Gunn probably would've ended up in the same spot he had in 2001. |
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Post by PJ on Jul 12, 2024 17:06:21 GMT -5
No. To me he was a midcard singles talent and main event tag team talent.
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Post by K5 on Jul 12, 2024 22:41:33 GMT -5
substance use was an issue I believe as well
but yeah, he had a ceiling. I could’ve seen him being huge in 1980s NWA though.
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Post by cordless2016 on Jul 13, 2024 8:53:43 GMT -5
No. If you don’t believe it, just watch the recent episodes of Reliving the War on YouTube. Billy had a great look and was athletic as hell, but when he finally did start feuding with The Rock, he just couldn’t keep up on the mic. After that, nobody could take him seriously as a main eventer.
Had he debuted a few years later, I think he would have. But during the era he was in, he was given multiple chances to be a singles star and didn’t capitalize on any of them.
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