10 Problematic WWE Storylines That Have Aged HORRIBLY
3. Billy & Chuck's "Publicity Stunt"
The implicit messaging behind Billy and Chuck's tag team was - virtually from Day One - that they had entered into a relationship in their personal lives that was actively benefiting their professional ones.
It's easiest said off the top in a way WWE refused to, because it brings to light the main problem with the execution of the story as it moved forward and the supposed "payoff" between the pair and their stylist Rico when WWE had no choice but to sh*t or get off the pot.
Both were on the fast track to nowhere when they linked up in 2001, and though playing lovers as well as partners was cheap heat that absolutely wouldn't fly now, it was a boon for both by WrestleMania season the following year. A tag team division on life support was propped up by their efforts, with Billy Gunn at long last discovering a post-New Age Outlaws purpose and a freewheeling Chuck Palumbo going all in on WWE's creative to shed unfair critiques about his WCW past.
It peaked with their wedding, which stood the chance of being a landmark moment - GLAAD sent a gravy boat as a gift! - if it had been earnest. Instead, the two "turned babyface" by admitting that the whole thing had been a "publicity stunt" that had gotten out of hand. The wedding angle itself was legendary in its execution, but the undercurrent set conversations about homosexuality in wrestling back years.