7 Times WWE Sold Out Its Fans

4. The Billy And Chuck Wedding

WWE and inclusivity just doesn’t mix all that well does it? Another unsavoury example of this, and one that does not get brought up very often, is Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo’s aborted wedding on an episode of SmackDown.

The story here had the potential to be ahead of its time and promote something very important at a time when systemic marginalisation was still very much a thing. But, this is WWE, so of course that is not what we got.

Instead, before tying the knot, both revealed this entire love angle had been a lie, which did little to further the storyline in any meaningful way, and the segment ended in a predictable melee. What makes it even harder to look at today is the overwhelming rejection from the crowd and their absolute glee when Gunn announced it was all a big stunt. It would not entirely be wrong to think the presentation of the whole storyline as one big joke had something to do with it.

For gay members of the audience and those watching, who believed their favourite entertainment brand was standing up for them, well, as a wise man once said, I’ve got some bad news.