Having been part of The Smoking Gunns tag-team for years, the WWF were looking to launch a singles career for Billy Gunn in 1997. To do so, they enlisted the help of The Honky Tonk Man. During later shoot interviews, Honky would reveal that he pitched the idea of mentoring a young star on TV, who would get the rub from his association. Billy Gunn wasn't his first pick. As the 'Disco Inferno', Glenn Gilbertti had been making a name for himself in WCW since 1995. Sharing a lot of the same posturing and dancing traits as Honky Tonk Man, Gilbertti was the latter's first choice to play his protege in the WWF. Sadly for Honky, the WCW star signed a new contract to stay where he was. This led to the introduction of 'Rockabilly' in 1997. The gimmick bombed badly, and was abandoned just months into the run. Incredibly, the fact that the persona failed directly led to the creation of 'The New Age Outlaws'. Road Dogg suggested that the pair weren't doing anything of note and should form a team. Billy Gunn must be thankful for that, because under the Rockabilly guise, he was going nowhere.