Billy Gunn wasn’t supposed to spend nearly as much time wrestling in AEW as he eventually did. In fact, when he first signed with the company, his talent contract only called for 12 wrestling dates for the entire year.
Speaking to Inside The Ropes, Gunn explained that his original AEW role was mainly supposed to happen behind the scenes. He had separate talent and employee contracts, with most of his work centered around producing and coaching rather than getting back inside the ring every week.
“Yeah. So, my contract, I had 12 dates a year. Like, I really wasn’t going to wrestle, but I told Tony, ‘If you need me to, I’ll do some here and there.’”
Gunn wasn’t completely closing the door on wrestling, though. He told Tony Khan that he’d be available whenever AEW needed him, which is why the company kept a smaller talent deal in place alongside his regular employee contract.
“So, we put in — like, I still had a talent contract and an employee contract because I was mostly just producing, coaching and whatever else. And then the talent one was little because I was just going to, you know, if I even filled those dates.”
That arrangement didn’t exactly go according to plan. Instead of occasionally throwing on his gear for one of those 12 dates, Gunn suddenly found himself being used much more regularly.
“And then, lo and behold — oh, they cracked me out, and then I’m working both shows. I’m working all the time, about to fall apart.”
Gunn went from somebody AEW expected to use sparingly in the ring to working across both shows while still handling his responsibilities behind the scenes. What started as a dozen potential wrestling dates quickly turned into a much bigger in-ring role than he originally signed up for.
Considering how much Gunn eventually became part of AEW television, it’s pretty wild that wrestling was initially supposed to be such a small part of his job. His willingness to step in whenever Tony Khan needed him ended up turning those occasional appearances into a regular part of his AEW run.
What do you think about Billy Gunn originally being contracted to wrestle only 12 dates per year in AEW? Let us know in the comments below.
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