Billy Gunn’s retirement was short-lived, but according to the star himself, he would have been ok if it stuck.
On the July 22nd episode of Collision, Billy Gunn teamed with The Acclaimed’s Max Caster and Anthony Bowens to take on House of Black. After they were unsuccessful, Gunn shocked the world by leaving his boots in the ring, indicating that he would be retiring.
The retirement didn’t last long, as Gunn made his return and reunited with The Acclaimed ahead of AEW All In. At the record-breaking event in London, England, the trio defeated House of Black to become the new AEW Trios Champion.
Speaking on the latest edition of AEW Unrestricted, Billy Gunn opened up about his mindset when he retired, saying he felt defeated after putting in a less-than-stellar performance against House of Black on Collision.
“I think they knew something was up, only because of how the match went; not good for me. When I decided to do that, they all went, ‘oh gosh.’ I think it was more shocking because there is one guy from wrestling phase that moved it to present time that we all still love and have watched for so long that it’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s over.’
“I don’t know exactly how to put that, but it was partly because of me leaving the ring, but it was mainly because it was the end of an era, the end of me taking my kids to show them the guy that I used to watch when I was their age.”
Billy Gunn Doesn’t Want To Be “Hanging On” In AEW
Continuing, Billy Gunn made it clear that he was ok with his career coming to a close, and said he knows he can’t wrestle forever. He wants to quit before he’s not able to perform at a high level.
“That was the thing. I was okay with it. I was really okay. People can say what they want about what I’ve done or haven’t done, but I’ve done so much in my career and I have no regrets, not one, not a single one. The only thing is, if I can’t live up to my standards of wrestling, I’m not going to do it, I’m just not going to. My phone blew up and they go, ‘please tell me…you can’t.’
“Everyone thinks I’m going to wrestle for the rest of my life. That’s not a thing. No matter how good I think I’m put together, things are going to have to come apart here before too long. I don’t want to be that guy who is hanging on for the sake of hanging on. I want to be able to contribute. I don’t want everyone to do everything for me. I have to hold up my end of the bargain. At that moment in time, I wasn’t, and I felt like that was the best thing to do. Then, just like before, they dragged me back.”
In recent news, Billy Gunn has stated that he has no immediate plans for retirement.
h/t Fightful