As we’ve noted, AEW’s Billy Gunn expected to appear on the WWE RAW season premiere earlier this month for the 25th Anniversary Celebration for WWE Hall of Famers DX, along with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H, Senior Vice President of Live Events “Road Dogg” Brian James, Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels, and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman.
James revealed this week that Gunn still expected to be at RAW as of the day before the show, and that WWE did everything they could do to make it happen. James added that everyone in DX, including Gunn, was upset over the fact that the appearance could not be worked out.
It was then reported today, via the Wrestling Observer, that AEW President Tony Khan was happy to let Gunn make the appearance, but he wanted WWE to mention that Gunn was with AEW, or that AEW “allowed him to appear” on RAW. The report noted that WWE stalled on the idea and then at the last minute said no, which is why Khan pulled Gunn from the appearance.
In an update, a new report from Fightful Select notes that WWE actually considered putting the AEW logo on TV that night.
One of the possible solutions considered to finalize the deal was to include the AEW logo on a lower third graphic for when Gunn was introduced on TV. However, word is that WWE didn’t seem too keen on making that idea a reality, and the whole plan was nixed.
WWE reportedly went as far as preparing travel arrangements for Gunn to get to RAW, thinking it was a real possibility that he would appear.
WWE Reportedly Considered Showing the AEW Logo on RAW