10 WWE Mega-Pushes Fans Hated BEFORE Roman Reigns & John Cena

4. Billy Gunn

Billy Gunn
WWE.com

It was apparent just how much WWE wanted to eventually push Billy Gunn as a singles star long before the enormously successful New Age Outlaws had even passed their peak.

Creating a proto-meme tell on commentary, Jim Ross' constant references to him being the "best pure athlete" in the company (whatever exactly they wanted us to think that meant) was solo run stuff peppered atop 'Mr Ass' getting the hot tag and knocking heels all over the shop. Perhaps it was code for "tall, ripped and good looking", because the athletic element wasn't always apparent despite the fantastic height he'd sometimes for his Fameasser finisher.

The time came in 1999, but like the rest of D-Generation X in the immediacy of their split, the audience sat on their hands and refused to move. Triple H was getting rocket-strapped much to the chagrin of those that just wanted more Rock and Austin thanks very much, while X-Pac (more on him later) and Road Dogg were left looking like dumped exes hoping for another shot...that they eventually got when the group were hastily reformed as a goon squad for 'The Game' later that year.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett