Examining WWE-to-AEW Jumps - Part II
It's time for Part II in my #DEEPDIVE series examining every single WWE-to-AEW jump throughout the past 7+ years. Part I focused on three Day1 hires: PAC, Chris Jericho, & Dustin Rhodes, all still part of the All Elite Wrestling/Ring of Honor families. I determined that all 3 were worthy hires, though not without their Fed warts that pop up from time to time (particularly with Jericho and Rhodes).
So, what does Part II entail? We're going to look at two superstars who departed the comfortable confines of the World Wrestling Entertainment to enter the new and exciting AEW. Let's jump right into it:
2019 Signees
Billy Gunn
- Departed WWE: November 13, 2015
- Debuted in AEW: January 2019
- Current Status: Still contracted to AEW
Note: this is not an example of someone jumping straight from WWE to AEW, because the thought of AEW had not yet existed. There's a large, large gap; that said, I feel he's most recognizable from his time in WWE, so we'll count him as part of this series.
So many asses
So little time
Only a tight one
Can stop me on the dime
I'm a lover
Of every kind
The best surprises always sneak up from behind
I'm an Ass Man!
Status before joining AEW:
Say what you will about Billy Gunn, but the Assman theme is one of the greatest themes in the history of professional wrestling. An absolute banger in every way imaginable, from the beat to the lyrics. What a fucking rad - and relatable - theme.
Gunn's last WWE tenure saw him reforming the New Age Outlaws with longtime tag partner and perpetual victim, Roaddogg. They even had another run with the World Tag Team titles, because nostalgia must be shoved down our throats no matter what. The Assman was released on November 13, 2015, after failing a PED test. The test was given before a powerlifting event, and he was subsequently barred from competing for the next 4 years. Woof. How dare anyone put the Ass Man in a corner?
Gunn also coached and trained at WWE's Performance Center, which produced a memorable segment from the Tough Enough digital extra, where he tore contestant ZZ a new asshole:
Typical dad/insufferable football coach ranting from Mr. Ass, but he was also speaking the truth, regardless of whether this was a shoot or not. Gunn spent the next several years taking independent bookings, including some shots with New Japan Pro Wrestling, before finding his next home...
AEW Run:
Gunn was hired as a coach by All Elite Wrestling in January 2019. On the one hand, Tony Khan was onboarding a 20+ year veteran to his brand-spanking-new wrestling promotion; on the other hand, one could argue that a decades-long WWE competitor influencing younger talent could be a mistake, but that's a fairly shallow argument. We simply don't know because we aren't professional wrestlers signed to AEW, and I haven't found anything online suggesting his effectiveness as an AEW coach either way. Simply put: I cannot speak to his effectiveness as a coach.
What we can examine is Gunn's placement on AEW television.
Following his shocking Casino Battle Royal loss (ultimately won by someone named "Hangman" Adam Page), Gunn would next compete six months later on the 11/20/19 edition of Dynamite...in a Battle Royal, this one featuring the likes of Chuck Taylor, Jimmy Havoc, Joey Janela, Jungleboy, Kip Sabian, Marko Stunt, MJF, Orange Cassidy, Peter Avalon, Sonny Kiss, and Wardlow. Again, keep idolizing the early AEW roster, you Sickos.
Gunn's next match would occur just after the new year, where he teamed with one of his sons against Peter Avalon and Shawn Spears (woof again). Gunn would continue to be an occasional Battle Royal filler, though there seemed to be momentum toward him successfully managing his inexperienced but talented sons.
Soon enough, The Gunn Club was born. Mr. Ass was officially managing - and occasionally competing with - his sons, Colten and Austin, though the act was largely featured on AEW Dark programming (I miss you so much, AEW Dark).
But it was his pairing with two other youngsters that brought The Ass Man back into the spotlight.
Colten & Austin predictably turned on their father, who was saved by the babyface tag team of Max Caster & Anthony Bowens, The Acclaimed. Bowens would refer to Gunn as "Daddy Ass," and the rest is history. Daddy Ass was born and brought to AEW to scissor Caster and Bowens, baby.
The Acclaimed were a very popular act during the early days of AEW's history. Caster would rap his way to the ring, often causing offense or causing a big social media stir, while Bowens would scream "SCISSOR ME DADDY ASS!" They were a fun team, and the absolute best use of someone of Gunn's veteran standing: he was in the background. The focus was largely on Caster & Bowens, but it may not have worked as well without Daddy Ass.
Gunn is still signed to AEW, though largely remains off television. He's since scored an additional role as a producer in Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.
Verdict:
Gunn was brought in as a coach and served as a warm body for battle royals and the occasional tag team bouts, a more than appropriate role for someone of his experience. It led to him managing and teaming with his sons, who have become quite popular with the AEW fanbase, and was likely an incredible experience for a father to share with his boys.
It also led to The Acclaimed, who memorably captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship by defeating Swerve In Our Glory at the second Grand Slam. Listen to the ovation:
Gunn's biggest sin was competing against Jay White, someone who should be part of the AEW World Championship chase. Gunn didn't just wrestle White; he was bizarrely booked to dominate him. Still, that's Khan's fault, not Gunn's. He was just doing what his boss asked.
Also, he simply looks better than most competitors his age. Is he likely juiced to the gills? Probably. He's fucking jacked at 62 years old, but the man is also tall as hell. I once rode in an elevator with him and Austin the night before a major wrestling convention, and Mrs. JCup and I were blown away by his height. He's a large, large dude who still looks like a convention pro wrestler.
Fun-fact: there was a rumor, since confirmed by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, that Gunn had reached out to WWE in hopes of securing the rights to the Assman gimmick - theme song and all - with the hopes of utilizing it for a retirement match, potentially held at All In: Wembley. I think retiring someone in their full WWE gimmick in an AEW ring would have been a bridge too far, though I really wanted to hear that damn song!
Gunn was ultimately brought in to serve a role, and he's done just that and then some. If anything, Gunn is a good example of an experienced veteran who comes in to help where he can, and he added another successful chapter to his career, thanks to the birth of Daddy Ass.
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Shawn Spears
- Departed WWE: February 22, 2019
- Debuted in AEW: May 2019
- Current Status: Left AEW to re-join WWE/NXT
Status before joining AEW:
After an uneven run in WWE's former developmental territories, Ohio Valley Wrestling & Florida Championship Wrestling, Spears was released in January 2009 and toiled around the indies for roughly 5 years before returning in 2013 to WWE's newest developmental brand: NXT.
Spears would once again float around the mid-card until finally developing a gimmick that connected with the Fullsail faithful: "The Perfect 10." Spears, now re-named Tye Dillinger, would wave and wiggle around his 10 fingers during his entrance and throughout his matches. Hey, less is more, right?
Dillinger would face newcomer Apollo Crews, f.k.a. Uhaa Nation, in his NXT debut at TakeOver: Brooklyn, and would be Andrade's first opponent at TakeOver: The End, losing both contests. Bobby Roode would convince Dillinger to team up and enter the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but Roode would walk out on Dillinger during their first-round contest against SAnitY. Dillinger challenged Roode to a match at TakeOver: Toronto, ultimately in a losing affair.
It became clear that Dillinger was a perfectly fine, reliable, and safe WWE-style worker, yet I never saw anything to suggest there was more. I never once came away from a Dillinger match telling myself, "Man, this guy would be so great elsewhere."
Dillinger would get called up to the main roster in 2017, first competing in the Royal Rumble as a "surprise" entrant - he actually entered as the 10th entrant because THAT is proper cinema, Sickos. It became apparent that Dillinger's success in NXT would not carry over to the main roster, something that was almost entirely out of his hands. He would go on to request - and was granted - his release on February 22, 2019.
AEW Run:
Spears debuted during AEW's inaugural show, Double or Nothing, as a surprise entrant in the pre-show Casino Battle Royal that featured someone named Dustin Thomas, fucking Glacier, and Tommy Dreamer in Dusty Rhodes-inspired pants.
Spears would return at the June 12 Fyter Fest and deliver a very memorable chairshot to friend, former tag team partner, and AEW EVP Cody Rhodes:
It marked the birth of "The Chairman" heel persona, though he would go on to lose to the Codester in their 1-on-1 bout following the chairshot. They paired him with legendary wrestler and former Horsemen Tully Blanchard serving as his manager, and Dillinger would often appear throughout the "Codyverse" segments featured on Dynamite.
I thought "The Chairman" persona - something that's been done several times before by other workers - ultimately proved one big point: Khan was capable of taking someone who was popular in NXT but dicked around with on the main roster - to the point where they themselves requested their release - and was able to do something nearly instantaneously memorable with him, something that felt like a bigger deal in 2020 as opposed to 6 years later.
Still, Khan was working with what he had at the time. We were still a bit away from the more meaingful talent becoming available, and I thought it was worth seeing if there was something there with Spears.
Spears got arguably the biggest break of his career by joining a new, powerful faction in AEW: The Pinnacle, which included top AEW star MJF, the tag team FTR, plus Spears and Blanchard. There was this bizarre push for Cody to reform the Horsemen, with guys like Spears and Wardlow considered possible members, which always seemed so bizarre to me, considering Spears is nowhere near the same stratosphere as most of the Horsemen of days past. Yet, here he was, in a faction where everyone wore suits, managed by a former Horsemen.
The Pinnacle did not last nearly as long as you may have thought, and Spears ultimately did not do very much. Spears always felt like a hanger-on, someone who was clearly not even an upper mid-card act, but rather the guy who associates with that particular group. Spears would announce his departure from AEW on January 1, 2024, and would return to WWE/NXT as Tye Dillinger yet again - this time keeping "The Chairman" persona.
Verdict:
My mentality was a bit different during AEW's early days. On the one hand, AEW felt so new and refreshing that I believed there was merit in giving almost anyone a shot. WWE was - and still is - so homogenized that maybe, just maybe, there's some untapped potential in guys like Spears.
The reality, though, was that Spears was a boring, if not dependable, wrestler. The "10" persona did almost nothing for him, aside from being attached to a chant and entrance the WWE audience will never let go of.
There was a natural connection to Rhodes but, again, we're playing off their WWE history, and I don't particularly care about it. The guys were OVW Southern Tag Team Champions in the mid-2000s, for goodness sake. The chairshot - which was not gimmicked correctly, a fortuitous circumstance for Spears - was memorable, but hardly something to build your entire career around. There simply was never an avenue for Spears to be anything more than a background player, and that's exactly the role he should continue to play for promotions like WWE or TNA, but certainly not for AEW.
I will vouch for AEW offering opportunites, albeit I'm far more selective now compared to 2019, but I never saw the benefit of featuring someone like Spears. He's the first person I think about when certain Sickos put on their rose colored glasses and laud the earlier days of Dynamite. I would much rather see a Tommaso Ciampa and most certainly an Ilja Dragunov than someone like Spears.
In hindsight, Tony should've passed. In the moment? I understand the motivation, but I think he could've passed back then, too. There's always a false hope that inserting someone like Spears' caliber into a faction filled with other actual stars, as if "getting the rub" from actual successful wrestlers is a winning formula to follow. Someone far, far more interesting could've been involved instead.
This is the first true "Tony should've passed" signing of the #DEEPDIVE series thus far.
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Part III will be entirely devoted to one man. The man who would emerge as the undisputed Ace of All Elite Wrestling:
Jon mother fucking Moxley.
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