WWE Reportedly Considered AEW Graphic For Billy Gunn

WWE celebrated the 25th anniversary of the iconic faction D-Generation X a few weeks ago, live on "WWE Raw" at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York — with one notable omission. All Elite Wrestling star Billy Gunn did not appear on the show, despite several reports that WWE had attempted to get him.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Khan wasn't against the idea, with the one caveat that WWE had to mention, on camera, that Gunn works for AEW. The report states that WWE "dragged their feet on making that happen," ultimately leading to the Gunn appearance becoming a pipe dream. Fightful Select, meanwhile, reported that WWE entertained the notion of using a "lower third graphic with an AEW logo," but ended up nixing the idea. WWE "had gone as far as to prepare travel" for Gunn prior to the show, believing the DX member had an outside chance of appearing.

This news falls in line with WWE SVP of Live Events "Road Dogg" Brian James' recent thoughts on the situation — James said that WWE did all they could to get his New Age Outlaws partner to appear, even stating that Gunn had told him the day of "Raw" that he would be there. According to James the news of Gunn's unavailability "broke my heart, and I believe it broke his, too."

Despite Gunn's absence, WWE did make reference to him in the segment. James cued the crowd to scream "The Bad Ass, Billy Gunn" in his place, after which "Raw" commentator Corey Graves remarked that "the other guy's doing something with office equipment these days, I'm not sure," a reference to "Scissor Me, Daddy Ass" catchphrase that has given Gunn a resurgence of popularity alongside AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed.