Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
The WWE has been known to push the envelope from time to time with some of their gimmicks and storylines. While some have been crude and at times downright offensive, Vince McMahon was never fearful of taking chances. Heck, as the old saying goes, bad publicity is just as good as good publicity….or something like that. There was one particular gimmick and storyline that started in 2001 and became the talk of the wrestling world and beyond. This is the story of Billy and Chuck.
This was a love story of a different kind…or so we originally thought. Chuck Palumbo was paired with perennial tag team specialist Billy Gunn. According to Gunn, the original idea for the team was to make them into ‘swinging playboys.’ They were like male model types who were in love with their own physiques. That storyline started having some homosexual overtones with the fans and Vince McMahon loved it.
Every week, Vince kept on suggesting that Billy and Chuck try different things to keep pushing the envelope. At first, the team weren’t completely sold on McMahon’s ideas, but went along with Vince’s vision anyway. Chuck dyed his long brown hair bleach blonde to match Billy’s hair and the duo wore matching ring outfits complete with headbands. Chuck went as far as to put his hair in pigtails and did so…until his hair started falling out from the bleaching. Palumbo eventually had to cut his hair short.
Vince McMahon then gave the team a “personal stylist” named Rico Constantino…a wrestler from WWE’s developmental territory OVW. With the assistance of Rico, who was made to be even more flamboyant than Billy and Chuck, the tag team really took off. The duo would act and wrestle more effeminately…much to the hatred of the fans watching. Billy and Chuck would wrestle teams like the APA and the Hardy Boyz.
Billy and Chuck would go on to win the WWE tag team titles on two occasions. They were also awarded Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine’s Tag Team of the Year for 2002. While Billy and Chuck were finding great success as a tag team…behind the scenes the team dealt with harassment from fellow wrestlers. Billy Gunn claimed that many of his peers and close friends believed that he really was gay and they knew it all along. This, despite Gunn being married with children.
As successful as the gimmick was, Vince McMahon took it to an entirely different level. Vince was no stranger to religious and anti defamation groups on his tail for stuff he has put on television. In the middle of the Billy and Chuck storyline, GLAAD aka The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation started questioning Vince about where he was going with this story. McMahon laid out his plans for the wrestlers and actually formed a partnership with GLAAD.
On an edition of Smackdown, the Billy and Chuck love story took a new twist. Chuck went down on bended knee and actually proposed to Billy by asking that Billy become his “partner for life.” Billy Gunn of course said yes. The table was set for a huge commitment ceremony that would take place on September 12th, 2002. With the help of GLAAD (Who were under the impression that the team would come out as gay and actually get married) put both Billy and Chuck on a whirlwind media publicity tour.
They appeared on several morning talk shows including the Today Show and Howard Stern Show among others promoting their upcoming nuptials. GLAAD even went as far as to buy the couple a gravy boat from the Pottery Barn as a wedding gift. The publicity tour was extremely awkward for Billy and Chuck who knew what the real outcome would be for the angle. The TV Guide, Washington Post and New York Times also ran stories about this “historic WWE event.”
When the episode of Smackdown went to the wedding segment, there were the usual flowers and things. They also had a pink carpet rolled out for the groom and groom. Instead of the traditional song ‘Here comes the bride,” a group of women started singing the song “It’s raining Men.” The ceremony was completely over the top as you could imagine. When the old minister performing the ceremony asked if anybody objected to these two men getting married…The Godfather and his ho’s made their way to the ring.
The Godfather then revealed that Billy and Chuck were far from being gay and just spent time with some of the Godfather’s women. Reportedly, the Godfather was not the WWE’s first choice to be in that role. It was originally planned for Billy’s former partner…the Road Dogg to emerge and claim that Billy loved the ladies and always did from their days as the New Age Outlaws. The Road Dogg, at that time, had a falling out with the company and turned the offer down.
The end result was the minister ripping off a prosthetic mask to reveal himself as Eric Bischoff and had 3-Minute Warning attack Billy and Chuck. While the entire wedding segment was considered both a ratings success and one of the most entertaining “WWE weddings” of all time…not everyone was pleased.
GLAAD would denounce the angle and the WWE as a whole for lying to them. Billy and Chuck would continue as a tag team for a bit longer until a shoulder injury sidelined Billy Gunn for several months. The team would simply fade away and both wrestlers went on to different gimmicks. The entire Billy and Chuck storyline was controversial yet successful…but something that could never be done again.
david fullam
I still cannot believe folks though this was going to be real.