Triple H isn’t new to controversies arising from something he said, and in 2019 he pushed a little far with a joke that made Billy Gunn want to punch him.
The WWE opened their Hall of Fame doors to one of the pivotal factions in pro wrestling history, and D-Generation X happily accepted.
Created as the WWE’s answer to WCW’s nWo, DX left no stone unturned when it came to being as offensive as possible, and Triple H has carried that habit to this day.
While his last gaffe insulted Paige, he previously joked to Gunn that Vince McMahon would “buy that pissant company, just to fire you again” at the event.
Gunn, who was signed to Tony’s Kahn’s then fledgling company AEW, took offense to the comment but we never knew how much it bothered him until a recent interview on For The Love of Wrestling podcast.
Wanted to knock him out
During the interview, Gunn said he wanted to punch Triple H for the joke, but his wife managed to prevent it by calming Gunn down.
Special thanks to wwfoldschool.com for the transcript.
“I let it go strictly because my wife told me to. When everybody starts chanting AEW at the Hall of Fame, he’s got to try and shut it down somehow and whatever goes through his head, goes through his head, I’m not in control of that other than I could have punched him in the mouth. It is what it is. I’m gonna bypass that.”
Triple H’s humor is definitely pre-PC, and while he can be entertaining there are always things that can be taken too far, and this was one of those times.
While we’re grateful nothing more came from it, we are curious as to what would’ve happened had Gunn not listened to his wife’s voice of reason?
Could he have been removed from the WWE Hall of Fame? Would Triple H have accepted it as it was and apologized?
There are numerous possibilities, but it’s a moot point as everyone continued on with things and it worked out for the best.
WWE has remained and AEW has continued to make waves as both have remained true to their respective fanbases.
Stories like these are always fun to hear as we’re on the outside looking in, and it helps to humanize wrestlers and promotors and draw us in as fans.
What would you have done in Billy Gunn’s place? Let us know in the comments below.
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