7. Hardcore Holly And Billy Gunn Were Not Happy Campers
The dress code wasn't the only thing bothering veteran Holly in 2004. He was also p***ed off with having to put over newer, less experienced guys. Holly was used to put over the likes of Luther Reigns, Mordecai, Kezo Suzuki and others on television, PPV and house shows. He was basically turned into a designated job boy. This just months after seeing his sole main event push get torpedoed and missing out on a WrestleMania XX payday (WWE had no place for him on the card). A company man through and through, Holly felt he had paid his dues and was owed something by WWE. He was a solid worker and did deserve a shot at something else. Joining him was Billy Gunn, who also had to put over the greenhorns. The two even formed a short-lived tag team in the summer, and had some good matches with the likes of Rico and Charlie Haas, but they never went anywhere. Gunn saw the inevitable and tried to sign a deal with TNA. He was released on November 1st, after an incident where he passed out an airport (he later checked into rehab). He joined TNA once his 90 day no-compete was up. Holly was also close to quitting but stuck it out. Reports from the time suggest that Holly was miserable backstage and didn't try as hard as usual in the ring. Holly famously decided to shoot on Rene Dupree on a house show in November. This incident stemmed from Dupree getting a speeding ticket while driving a car registered in Holly's name, which caused Holly some legal problems.
