Billy Gunn Banned From Using Surname In AEW?
"Making his way to the ring... Billy."
It appears that Billy Gunn is no longer competing under his longstanding ring name in AEW, with the promotion exclusively referring to him as "Billy" at the moment.
This was the case on last night's episode of Dynamite and the previous week as well. He was also introduced as "Billy" for his match with John Skyler on the 27 May episode of Dark.
AEW is going down the Cody route here, as having Austin Gunn on the roster allows the promotion to roll with "Billy and Austin Gunn." Cody did this after losing his surname upon departing WWE, with wife Brandi serving as his manager, though he recently filed a trademark application for "Cody Rhodes."
Why the change, then? Figure Four Online/The Wrestling Observer suggest that WWE may have filed a cease and desist order, as Gunn was on their roster for a long, long time. An interesting situation, as a quick search reveals that the "Billy Gunn" trademark is currently owned by Kip Sopp, the performer, himself. Not WWE. This was registered in August 2016.
Billy is currently booked to face MJF on next week's Dynamite, having clashed with 'The Salt of the Earth' last night.