Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo’s pairing in WWE is often remembered for their “commitment ceremony” and the constant teases that the two were together in an on-screen romantic relationship. While the initial run received praise from organizations like GLAAD, once the “commitment ceremony” revealed that the two were never romantically linked, the angle then received criticism from the same organizations.
In an interview with Denise Salcedo, Gunn commented on the angle and admitted that it was one of the most challenging runs of his career.
“It actually wasn’t supposed to be that at first. It was just supposed to be me, and Chuck thought we were the most gorgeous people, the most gorgeous guys in WWE at the time,” he explained.
Gunn then added that they initially would’ve criticized how much time and attention women get backstage before things pivoted to romantic suggestions.
“So, now you want me to propose to Chuck on live TV? Alrighty then! Let’s try that?” he recalled. “By the time that came around, I had been doing – you know – I went from being a cowboy, to a rockabilly guy, to a Bad Ass, to ‘hey, can we really pull this off?’ ‘Cause, it’s like, playing – being straight and playing a gay character, I would say, to me, would be one of the hardest things to do.”
The veteran further expressed that portraying a believable character requires not just the fans buying it, but the actor themselves, and for that you’d have to go all-in with something, which WWE simply didn’t with “Billy & Chuck.”
“We always were suggestive, right? It was always the stretching and the funny suggestive stuff; we never went that far,” he recalled.
‘It’s two really straight, married guys, that have to pretend that they’re married!’
Despite WWE’s hesitance to fully lean into the angle, Billy Gunn noted that it would’ve been more difficult to portray an angle like that on television at the time, but he and Chuck Palumbo agreed to fully devote themselves to the role.
“I don’t think there’s a handful of people that are in wrestling, period, that can pull this off if you’re not truly gay, right?” he admitted. “It’s two really straight, married guys, that have to pretend that they’re married!”
“When we first did it, they were like, everybody got to breathe, because finally there are some people coming out on TV that aren’t afraid to do whatever,” he recalled. “And I think the biggest problem was it was just characters, and we were playing a role, so when we finally did the reveal and stuff, it was a bit of a kickback.”
Unfortunately for both Gunn and Palumbo, the angle was short-lived as he suffered another injury. In AEW, Gunn was paired with openly-gay pro wrestler, Anthony Bowens, for a long time which has naturally brought up many questions about his “Billy & Chuck” run. “I’ve never been, like, homophobic or whatever you want to call – whatever political name that is – I just, as long as you don’t push it on me, we’re good! You do me, and I’ll do me!” he stated. “Look, I was with Anthony Bowens forever, and I love that kid to death, you know? (…) So, none of that ever phases me! (…) I didn’t ever want to hurt anybody’s feelings in that genre.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Denise Salcedo and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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