The Smokin' Gunns
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The Smoking Gunns were a
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
of
kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...
brothers
Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to the WWE under a Legends contract and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also perfo ...
(Monty Sopp) and
Bart Gunn Michael Polchlopek (born December 27, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1993 to 1999 under the ring names Bart Gunn and ...
(Mike Polchlopek). They portrayed
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
s in the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWF) from 1993 to 1996, where they held the
WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...
three times.


History


International Wrestling Federation (1993)

Polchlopek and Sopp began teaming as the "Long Riders" in the International Wrestling Federation out of Orlando, Florida (not to be confused with the similarly-named promotion run by
Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...
). Polchlopek wrestled as Brett Colt, while Sopp was known as Kip Winchester. They won the IWF World Tag Team Championship together twice before signing with the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
.


World Wrestling Federation


Initial run (1993–1994)

The Smoking Gunns made their WWF debut on April 5, 1993 on the day after
WrestleMania IX WrestleMania IX was a 1993 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the ninth annual WrestleMania and took place on April 4, 1993, at Caesar ...
, defeating jobbers
Barry Horowitz Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his time in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Early life Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied spo ...
and Reno Riggins. Vignettes began airing on the WWF television promoting the debut of Smoking Gunns, beginning with the April 25 episode of ''
Wrestling Challenge ''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF C ...
''. Gunns made their televised debut in WWF on the May 15 episode of ''
Mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a Psychiatry, psychiatric Abnormality (behavior), behavioral syndrome defined as a state of Abnormality (behavior), abnormally elevated arousal, affect (psychology), affect, and energy level. During a mani ...
'' as fan favorites by defeating Damian Demento and The Brookyln Brawler. During their televised debut, Brett Colt was renamed Bart Gunn and Kip Winchester was renamed Billy Gunn. Their first pay-per-view appearance was at the
King of the Ring King and Queen of the Ring, formerly and still commonly known as simply King of the Ring, was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in 1993 and originally c ...
event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...
in an eight-man tag team match, in which they teamed with
Steiner Brothers The Steiner Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Rick Steiner (real name Robert Rechsteiner) and Scott Steiner (real name Scott Rechsteiner). The brothers wrestled as amateurs at the University of Michi ...
to defeat
The Headshrinkers In professional wrestling, the Samoan SWAT Team was a tag team comprising Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa'i, who work in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where they are former MLW World Tag Team Champions. The original Samoan SWAT Team primarily compri ...
and Money Incorporated when Billy pinned
Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
. Their next big match came at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
, when they teamed up with Tatanka to defeat
Bam Bam Bigelow Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close-to-400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned mo ...
and The Headshrinkers. From their debut until January 1994, they would fire blanks in the arena with real guns, but then they received complaints from families that they were scaring children, which caused them to stop firing guns in the arenas. Although they continued to wrestle as a team, they did not appear together again on a WWF pay-per-view for over a year. In the fall of 1994, the Gunns began a
feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
with the Heavenly Bodies (
Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler and author better known by the ring name Dr. Tom Prichard. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career ...
and Jimmy Del Ray). The Bodies attacked the Smoking Gunns and destroyed their
cowboy hat The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, C ...
s. In return, the Gunns grabbed the Bodies' robes and tore off the wings. The teams had a series of matches at
house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...
s, but the feud did not end with a blow off match. Instead, the teams faced off as part of a 5-on-5 elimination match at the 1994 Survivor Series. Billy and Bart became a part of Guts and Glory (
Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and gridiron football player. He is best known for his work with Jim Crocke ...
,
Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...
, and Adam Bomb) in a loss to Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Team (
King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 4, 2019) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he ...
, Tatanka, Bam Bam Bigelow, and The Heavenly Bodies).


Tag Team Champions (1995–1996)

The Gunns were scheduled to compete in a tournament for the vacant
Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling match types, professional wrestling matches, in which competitors a ...
after
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
and Diesel, the champions, began feuding. Injuries prevented the Gunns from entering, however. One day after their replacements, Bob "Spark Plug" Holly and the 1-2-3 Kid, won the belts, the Gunns returned to win the title on January 23, 1995 episode of ''
Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...
''. By 1995, Billy and Bart both shaved their mustaches and cut their long hair off. Gunns successfully defended the titles against Holly and Kid, The New Headshrinkers, Heavenly Bodies, and Men on a Mission. At WrestleMania XI, the Gunns faced
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
and a mystery partner, who was revealed to be
Yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...
and lost the belts. Smokin' Gunns received a rematch for the titles against Owen Hart and Yokozuna at the inaugural In Your House event, but failed to win. Gunns would then briefly feud with The Blu Brothers, defeating them at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
. On the September 25 episode of ''Raw'', Gunns regained the Tag Team Championship from Hart and Yokozuna, beginning their second tag title reign. Gunns enjoyed a lengthy title reign, defeating challengers like
Razor Ramon Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...
and 1-2-3 Kid at In Your House 4, and The Bodydonnas at the 1996 Royal Rumble. On February 15, 1996, the Smoking Gunns forfeited the titles when Billy was forced to undergo neck surgery. Billy recovered quickly. Around this time, the Gunns began to show signs of a heel turn and they won their final championship three months later by defeating The Godwinns at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog. During the match, Billy distracted Phineas I. Godwinn by kissing Sunny who came to the ring with the Godwinns. After the match, Sunny became The Gunn's manager and the team became tweeners with Billy acting more like a heel and Bart acting more like a face. Sunny manipulated the Gunns, causing the brothers to argue. Sunny and Billy had an on-screen relationship, which bothered Bart. Meanwhile, Gunns continued their successful Tag Team Championship reign, defeating Godwinns in a rematch at
King of the Ring King and Queen of the Ring, formerly and still commonly known as simply King of the Ring, was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in 1993 and originally c ...
. Gunns would then lose to Sunny's former clients Bodydonnas in a non-title match at In Your House 9: International Incident. At
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
, Gunns successfully defended the titles against The Bodydonnas, The Godwinns and The New Rockers in a
four-way elimination match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
. Gunns eventually lost the titles to
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
and the British Bulldog in September 1996 at In Your House 10: Mind Games.


Split and feud (1996–1997)

Sunny left the team because she only wanted to be a manager for title holders (although she did not become Hart and Bulldog's manager, Clarence Mason did become their manager replacing
Jim Cornette James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...
). Billy, frustrated with losing both the title and Sunny, began having miscommunications with Bart. Gunns failed to regain the Tag Team Championship from Owen Hart and British Bulldog in a rematch at In Your House 11: Buried Alive. On the October 27 episode of ''Superstars'', Billy eventually turned against Bart by walking out of a match against New Rockers. Bart, still managed to win the match. This led Gunns to implode and feud with each other. Billy and Bart competed in opposing teams in a Survivor Series elimination match at the
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
' '' Free for All''. Following that, on the December 16 episode of ''Raw'', the two competed in a match. During the match, Bart hit Billy with a botched hangman on the top rope that gave Billy a neck injury. It was then rumored that at
WrestleMania 13 WrestleMania 13 was a 1997 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 13th annual WrestleMania and was presented by PlayStation. The event was held on March 23, 1997, a ...
, the Gunns were supposed to face against each other but the match did not happen. The two former partners had a decisive match on the June 9, 1997 episode of '' Raw is War'', where Billy, who had changed his character to "Rockabilly", defeated Bart.


Aftermath

Soon after, Bart went to wrestle for the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
(NWA), and when he returned to WWF in 1998, he was mainly involved in storylines with other NWA talent, and his opponents in the Brawl for All tournament, which he won. At
Wrestlemania XV WrestleMania XV was a 1999 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 15th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelp ...
he lost to Butterbean in a boxing match. At the 1998 King of the Ring, Billy and Bart faced each other in a tag team match between the Midnight Express and the
New Age Outlaws The New Age Outlaws are an American professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) made up of Brian James ("Road Dogg" Jesse James) and Monty Sopp ("Badd Ass" Billy Gunn). The duo became popular in the late 1990s as membe ...
with the Outlaws winning. Bart was released in April 1999, before he could have another
angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle can refer to a number of concepts relating to the intersection of two straight Line (geometry), lines at a Point (geometry), point. Formally, an angle is a figure lying in a Euclidean plane, plane formed by two R ...
with Billy. After the breakup, Billy was given the new
gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...
of Rockabilly being managed by
The Honky Tonk Man Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 1986 to 1991, where he performed under the ring name The Honky Tonk Ma ...
. It failed to catch on, however, and he became "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn and later won the
WWF Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along ...
, the WWF Hardcore Championship twice, and the 1999 King of the Ring tournament, in addition to eight more tag team titles. He formed the
New Age Outlaws The New Age Outlaws are an American professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) made up of Brian James ("Road Dogg" Jesse James) and Monty Sopp ("Badd Ass" Billy Gunn). The duo became popular in the late 1990s as membe ...
with
Road Dogg Brian Girard James (born May 20, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the Senior Vice President of Live Events. James was best known for his initial tenure with World Wrestling Federation (WWF, n ...
. Gunn became a ten-time World Tag Team Champion with Road Dogg and Chuck Palumbo. He was released by the company in November 2004 after serving 11 years.


Championships and accomplishments

*International Wrestling Federation **IWF Tag Tag Championship (3 times) *
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
**
WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...
( 3 times) **Raw Bowl


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoking Gunns Championship-winning tag teams (WWE) Fictional siblings Independent promotions teams and stables WWE teams and stables