Billy Gunn’s AEW career has given the veteran something that relatively few wrestlers ever experience: the opportunity to share a national stage with his own children, and then work against them in a storyline built around a family fracture.
Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn have grown into regular figures on AEW programming as The Gunns, with their careers putting them in the ring not only beside their father but, at times, directly opposite him. Billy Gunn recently reflected on that unusual family dynamic, explaining that while both of his sons chose professional wrestling, they arrived at the profession with very different personalities and approaches.
The former multi-time tag team champion has spent decades in the industry, from his earliest national exposure through long runs in major promotions and his current role in AEW. That experience has made him particularly aware of the difficulty involved in building a sustainable wrestling career. For that reason, his view of Austin and Colten is not simply that of a proud father watching his sons follow a family tradition. Gunn made clear that he believes they are genuinely capable performers.
He also admitted, with his customary blunt humor, that he initially hoped his children would not be drawn to the business at all.
For more background on this topic, read The Swirl Warn AEW Tag Division After NJPW Super Junior Tag League Win.
“I wanted my kids to actually suck so they didn’t do this job, but unfortunately...”
The remark captures the complicated reality behind wrestling families. The industry can provide extraordinary opportunities, but it also demands physical sacrifice, travel, uncertainty, and an ability to endure intense public scrutiny. Gunn knows those pressures firsthand. Rather than simply ushering Austin and Colten into the business because of their surname, he wanted them to complete an important step in their lives before training began.
Education Came Before the Ring
Gunn said he required both sons to study before he would give them his blessing to pursue wrestling. That condition became particularly memorable in Austin’s case. Austin, Gunn’s youngest son, was ready to begin his wrestling journey as soon as he completed his graduation.
“Austin, the day he graduated, walked from the stage, up the balcony where I was sitting, handed me [his diploma], and goes, ‘When do we start?’ And I went, ‘F***!’”
It was a moment that apparently left little doubt about Austin’s determination. Rather than needing to be convinced, Austin was eager to move immediately into the next stage of his life. For Billy Gunn, the response mixed parental concern with the recognition that his son had clearly made up his mind.
Colten’s route was different. Gunn described him as the more analytical of the two brothers, someone who had mapped out his future well beyond the immediate present. Colten had a detailed plan that stretched all the way to retirement, only to reconsider that direction when wrestling became a serious possibility.
That decision surprised Gunn and his wife, Paula. Colten did not want to look back with regret over a path he had not attempted, and he approached the choice with the same thoughtful mindset his father associates with him. Once he began pursuing wrestling, however, Colten’s natural ability also became evident.
“[Colten] came and said that he wanted to do it, and didn’t want to have regrets, and then, f***, he was good at it, too.”
That combination of preparation and aptitude has helped shape The Gunns’ presentation in AEW. Though they are united as a team, Austin and Colten bring distinct energy to their work. Their differences have become an advantage rather than an obstacle, allowing the pair to play off each other in promos, character work, and matches.
Two Brothers, Two Very Different Personalities
Billy Gunn’s description of Austin and Colten offers a revealing look at the dynamic behind their on-screen partnership. He sees Austin as an amplified version of himself, saying his younger son is “me amped up to about a thousand.” It is an assessment that fits Austin’s loud, impulsive, highly expressive persona. Austin has often brought an unmistakable urgency to The Gunns’ promos and ringside interactions, with his enthusiasm and bravado making him difficult to ignore.
Colten, meanwhile, was described as being very much unlike both Billy and Austin in temperament. Gunn characterized Colten as analytical, suggesting a more measured, detail-oriented approach. In tag team wrestling, that contrast can be valuable. A successful team does not need two performers with identical instincts; it often benefits from complementary strengths.
AEW has presented The Gunns as an act with considerable confidence and a willingness to provoke opponents, fans, and even allies. Yet beneath the attitude is a partnership built on familiarity that extends far beyond the usual team dynamic. Austin and Colten are brothers who entered the same profession under the guidance of a father who has lived through multiple eras of wrestling.
That history also gave AEW a ready-made emotional foundation when the family was placed at the center of an angle. Billy Gunn was not merely a veteran paired with younger talent. He was their father, making any conflict between the three immediately more personal.
The Chair Shot That Changed the Family Dynamic
Before aligning himself with The Acclaimed, Billy Gunn was involved in an AEW story in which Austin and Colten turned on him. The betrayal included the brothers attacking their father with a chair, creating a sharp break from their previous association.
For most wrestling acts, a chair-shot betrayal is a familiar mechanism used to launch a rivalry. In this case, the segment carried an added layer because the people involved were actual family members. The angle moved Billy Gunn toward The Acclaimed, where he would become an important part of their act, while Austin and Colten continued on a more antagonistic path.
Gunn’s recollection of the storyline underscores the unusual position he has occupied in AEW. He has worked as a father, mentor, partner, opponent, and target for his sons’ character development. The wrestling business has long featured family legacies, but the chance for a father and both sons to participate in a sustained televised narrative together remains rare.
Even with the fictional family betrayal, Gunn’s real-life assessment of Austin and Colten remains overwhelmingly positive. He did not frame their AEW standing as an achievement that came solely through his own reputation. Instead, he stressed that he would be candid if he thought they were not good at the job.
That honesty matters coming from someone with Gunn’s longevity. He has seen what separates performers who can enter a wrestling ring from those who can connect with a national audience and continue improving under the demands of weekly television. His sons had an undeniable point of entry through their family name, but they also faced the expectations that come with it. Every performance is viewed through the lens of Billy Gunn’s legacy, and every success invites questions about whether they can establish an identity of their own.
The Gunns have responded by leaning into their confidence, developing a clear team identity, and accumulating experience in high-profile environments. Their development has taken place in full view of an audience that knows exactly where they came from, which can be both a benefit and a burden.
A Father’s Pride, With No Illusions About Wrestling
Billy Gunn’s comments make it clear that he did not romanticize his sons entering professional wrestling. His initial desire for them to be bad enough at it to choose another path was rooted in the awareness of what the profession costs. But once Austin and Colten committed themselves, completed the requirements he set, and demonstrated they had real ability, his reluctance gave way to pride.
That pride is not diminished by the fact that their careers have included tension on television. If anything, AEW has allowed Gunn to witness multiple sides of their growth: their work as a team, their comfort in character-driven segments, and their ability to build heat when positioned against a beloved veteran who also happens to be their father.
For Austin, the journey began with an immediate question after graduation: when could training start? For Colten, it began with the realization that a carefully planned life could still leave room for a dream worth pursuing. Their father’s stories show two different roads leading to the same destination.
And while Billy Gunn may still joke that he hoped his sons would avoid the profession, he has no hesitation in recognizing what they have accomplished. Austin and Colten Gunn did not just follow in his footsteps. In AEW, they have had the opportunity to stand beside him, turn against him, and continue creating their own place in the family business.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.