WWE News: Billy Gunn Fired Due To Positive Drug Test

Billy Gunn, legendary tag team wrestler and current trainer at the NXT Performance Center, has been fired after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WZR Online).

Gunn, 52, reportedly entered the powerlifting world recently, which is where the positive test was triggered. It was at a powerlifting meet on July 25 that Gunn tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. That means that Gunn’s positive test has been in existence for nearly four months prior to his dismissal from the company.

But Gunn’s options now are limited because not only was he fired from WWE, he was also suspended from powerlifting for four years due to failing the drug test. Speaking of that test, Gunn triggered a 37-1 testosterone/epitestosterone ratio, according to the report. The legal limit is 4-1, just to put his test in perspective.

As mentioned, Gunn is a legendary tag team wrestler, as he’s accumulated 10 reigns as a tag team wrestler with three different partners. He began his WWE career in 1993 with partner Bart Gunn. The duo known as The Smoking Gunns were a team for nearly three years, winning the WWF Tag Team championships on three different occasions. The team officially disbanded in 1996 and never tagged again.

After his run with Bart Gunn, Billy Gunn went on to be one-half of one of the most popular tag teams in WWE history alongside “The Road Dogg” Jesse James. One of the staples of the famous Attitude Era in the WWE, Gunn and James, known as The New Age Outlaws, went on to hold the tag team championships on four different occasions in the late 1990s.

In-between tagging with James, Gunn also received a significant push as a singles wrestler under his moniker of Mr. Ass. Despite winning the 1999 King of the Ring tournament and capturing the Intercontinental championship, Gunn was never able to enjoy any major success as a singles wrestler.

In the years after his partnership with James, Gunn engaged in several different feuds, mostly on the low-to-mid-card scale. After losing a match to the now infamous Right to Censor faction, Gunn dropped his Mr. Ass name in favor of “The One” Billy Gunn. In 2002, Gunn teamed with former WCW competitor Chuck Palumbo to form one of more controversial tag teams of all-time.

Simply known as Billy & Chuck, the duo captured two Tag Team championships, bringing Gunn’s total to nine at that point. However, throughout their union, Billy & Chuck were teased as a homosexual tag team, eventually having a wedding on SmackDown. The team ended in late 2002 due to Gunn suffering an injury.

Upon his return to WWE in 2003, Gunn was a regular performer on SmackDown, primarily losing most of his matches to make his opponents look good, which is known as being a “jobber.” Gunn was released in 2004, ending his 10-plus year tenure with the company.

After leaving WWE, Gunn made a stop at TNA for a few years, reforming his tag team with The Road Dogg and being involved in some prominent storylines. But despite being critical of WWE after his departure, Gunn returned to WWE in 2012 to serve as a trainer and agent for WWE.

The New Age Outlaws returned to WWE for the first time in nearly 15 years in 2012. In addition to that, the team won another Tag Team championship in 2014, their first tag titles since the 1990s. That brought Gunn’s career total to 10.

Gunn served a head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Florida, helping train future WWE superstars. He most recently appeared on the last season of the reality series Tough Enough as a coach.

He talked about his coaching gig.

This marks the second time that Gunn has been released from a WWE contract, and it would likely be safe to assume that he will not be back for a little while.

[Images via WWE]