10 Wrestlers WWE Pushed At The EXACT Wrong Time

6. Mr. Ass

Bob Backlund Royal Rumble
WWE

'Daddy Ass' Billy Gunn is one of the most over acts in wrestling in 2023.

It's bizarre, and utterly improbable, but no less true. The wholesome giant of a boy who delights in scissoring his non-biological sons is a weirdly great bit. People just think he's neat.

This... wasn't the case in 1999.

Billy Gunn simply wasn't a wrestler that fans took seriously in the role of a headliner, even in the wildly exaggerated universe that was Vince Russo's 1999. The man's gimmick was that he was obsessed with his own ass. His was perfectly manicured, where the Rock's, his SummerSlam opponent, was not. In a lame gross-out gag, Gunn built the PPV match with - of course - a visual punchline on the TitanTron. Gunn "revealed" that the Rock's ass was a bulging misshapen blob of cellulite. Jerry Lawler pretended to find it funny.

A terrible act in and of itself, Chris Jericho made his memorable debut bang in the middle of the feud.

Something that was never going to get over was suddenly even worse in comparison to a realistic dream match with an elusive WCW Vs. WWF slant.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!