Exclusive with Billy Gunn: ‘Unstoppable Force’ Vince McMahon will take control of WWE again, AEW needs better storylines and shorter matches, Dave Meltzer tried to bury me

Promoting their popular wrestling themed online slot game WWE Bonus Rumble Gold Blitz, Jackpot City speaks exclusively to professional wrestler Billy Gunn about his thoughts on All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and his iconic moniker.

Would you be surprised if a deal ended up on the table for Vince to claim back his company?

It's Vince. Like, that should answer itself.  He will find a way. Let's look at his history, right? He started a phenomenon, a global phenomenon, off of nothing. He turned it into a gigantic whatever we want to call it. And to figure out how to get back in there? No, it's not surprising. It's Vince everybody.

An unstoppable force? He is, because he knows his business. There's nobody that knows the business as good as he. Yeah, he's lost back in the day once in a while, but he still knows what he's doing, and if he wants it back, he'll figure out a way to get it back.

Eric Bischoff has heavily criticized AEW, and continues to criticize it, why?

Eric knows wrestling. He's going to have his opinion. The only thing I wish people wouldn't do, and I'm not saying he did that, is do it in a hurtful way. And I'll tell you where that's coming from, is this whole Dave Meltzer shit that went on when he told me, "Hey, you're not even in the top 200 wrestlers."

Me and Austin didn't work Takeshita and Kyle as a competition to see who could wrestle better. That was not even remotely what it was. It was, we didn't have enough guys, our show got canceled, Tony went, "It would be a great opportunity for you and your son to work together again," and I went, "100%." No part of me ever said that I was a better wrestler than either of those two. They're racehorses, they're amazing, they are awesome. And I, 30 years ago, was the same as them. But nobody understands the dynamic of how that comes together, because those two were just as ecstatic to work with me. It's because I've done so much in this business, and they get to share the same ring. That's why I do what I do, right?

So, you have to understand what the whole dynamic of it is. It wasn't me and Austin are gonna be better than them at wrestling, but he just went off and tried to bury me for no reason at all.  I don't care if you have an opinion of what it was, but don't be so hurtful that you're trying to bury somebody in the process. Dave thinks he knows everything, and he doesn't know shit.

What would you change to help grow AEW tomorrow?

How do we grow AEW? 1. We start doing a little bit better storylines. 2. We back down the length of matches. I think our matches are way too long, because in somebody's head, 20-25 minutes of wrestling is good. It's bad. I don't mean this negatively, but nobody wants to watch two guys wrestle for 20 minutes, especially on TV, it's boring. It's not the talent that's boring, to people watching, it's boring, because they don't know what they're doing. And they have a tendency to give you everything in spurts. It's, I give you some action, we have to wait a little while, because we've got a long time and my lungs aren't gonna hold up. Then we do it again in spurts, and it's just the structure of how we do stuff for TV purposes. Only because I think it holds people's attention better when you have eight or nine minute matches, and maybe your main event is a little bit longer. That's probably the biggest thing. It's just the length of matches.

AJ Styles was just announced into the Hall of Fame. Can you give me your opinion on AJ, his career, and why you think he's been inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Because if he's not inducted, who do you induct in the Hall of Fame? He's an amazing person. He's an amazing entertainer and performer. He went from one company to another and made just as much as an impact. He makes an impact everywhere he goes because he's just that good. And I think him still working and being able to be inducted in the Hall of Fame is really cool. I think that's awesome. Why not while he's still fresh in everybody's mind? Why wait 10 years and induct him when our generation goes away by then? But I think it's amazing.

How do you compare Tony Khan and Vince McMahon?

Vince is super intense and very intimidating. When Vince talks, you do exactly what he says. There is no negotiating; you might briefly consider a "what if," but quickly concede, "Never mind, I'll do it the way you want."

Flexibility is the key difference between AEW and WWE. Tony Khan is more apt to listen to talent. While he has a vision, he isn't rigidly fixated on it. In contrast, Vince McMahon is fixated on the direction, leaving very little flexibility. It's like moving steel compared to moving rubber.

Tony is very flexible, allowing guys who know what they're doing to structure the approach to achieve his desired outcome. With Vince, if you think a different approach might work better, your way doesn't matter. Vince knows the way to get there, and while he is right nine times out of ten, you would like to have some creative play in the process. Tony allows that, and Vince did not.

Do you like the way that Gunther's being built at the moment, kind of similar to Randy Orton's Legend Killer Gimmick?

Do I like Gunther's "legend killer" gimmick? I kind of like what they're doing with him. His win over Goldberg was one thing, but I feel the push with John Cena was a bit too much, in my opinion. I think Gunther is great and excellent in his heel role. Should he have beaten Cena? 100 percent. But I feel the steam he could have had is a little diminished and I don’t know why. It's just a feeling. He beats Goldberg and AJ and Cena, but I feel he needs to be further on than he is.  I feel he should be smoking hot right now after those three right there, but I feel he does not have the total heat that he should have right now.

Where did the moniker "Daddy Ass" come from?

It's just all the stuff that I've done, from Badass to Mr. Ass. I'm literally everybody's dad in AEW. Not everybody, but a select few people call me dad. I think either my kids or The Acclaimed called me that, and it was just for fun. It's like most things in wrestling. You just do it, and oh my god, it just becomes super hot. So, I think it was just something that just kind of goes along with my "ass" for the past 30 years.

In this year's Elimination Chamber, new main roster talent Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans are featured in the men's chamber match. Do you think it's far too early for them to be thrown into the deep end, or are they ready to rise to the occasion?

Yeah, I think that's too soon. Do we need to siphon some new guys in here? Yes. Do I think those two are ready? No. No, I don't. That again goes back to, if you stick them in there, that means we're trying to do something with them, so everybody tries to get on board. We're always trying to make new talent, right? Because guys like me just don't last that long anymore. So you take your top stars, like Randy's a genius at not totally diminishing them, but brings them along with him. And you can still beat them, but it just puts some value in the way that the guys work with them. Do I think the Chamber's a place to do it? I don't think so, because that's a pretty elite group of guys that you have in there, but I don't run that company.