Wikipedia

Austin Gunn

Austin Sopp (born August 26, 1994),[4] better known by the ring name Austin Gunn, is an American professional wrestler and reality television personality, signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW)[5] and Ring of Honor (ROH) where he is in a tag team with his brother Colten as The Gunns, and is a member of the Bang Bang Gang stable. Gunn is a former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champion and a one-time AEW World Trios Champions and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions (collectively held as the Unified World Trios Championship). Sopp is a second-generation professional wrestler, as he is the son of professional wrestler Monty Sopp, better known as Billy Gunn.[6]

Austin Gunn
Gunn in 2022
Birth nameAustin Sopp
Born (1994-08-26) August 26, 1994 (age 30)
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Alma materRollins College (BA)
Parent(s)Billy Gunn (father)
FamilyColten Gunn (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Austin Gunn[1]
Billed height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[2]
Billed weight215 lb (98 kg)[2]
Billed fromOrlando, Florida[3]
Trained byBilly Gunn
The Dudley Boyz
DebutMarch 18, 2017

Early life and education

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Sopp was born on August 26, 1994, in Orlando, Florida. He is a son of professional wrestler Billy Gunn and Tina Tinnell Sopp [7] and the brother of professional wrestler Colten Gunn. Sopp was nominated Computer Science King in 2010 at Lake Brantley High School.[8] Sopp attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, from 2013 to 2017.[9][8] He was a member of the lacrosse team and graduated with a degree in elementary education.[8]

Professional wrestling career

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Ring of Honor (2019)

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In June 2019, Gunn confirmed that he had signed a contract with Ring of Honor (ROH).[10] He made his ROH debut on August 26, 2019, in a dark match as part of the ROH Top Prospect Tournament, defeating Brian Johnson in the quarterfinals[11][12] and Dante Caballero in the semifinals.[13] On September 28, 2019, Gunn was defeated by Dak Draper in the finals of the Top Prospect Tournament.[14]

All Elite Wrestling / Return to ROH (2020–present)

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On January 9, 2020, it was announced that Gunn had officially signed with All Elite Wrestling.[15][16] On January 14, Gunn made his AEW debut in a tag team match on AEW Dark teaming with his father Billy Gunn as The Gunn Club defeating the team of Peter Avalon and Shawn Spears.[17] Gunn suffered a torn PCL injury during the match.[18] On November 4, 2020, Gunn (who had previously been involved with his father in tag team matches on Dark)[19][20] officially made his debut on AEW Dynamite, teaming with his father and Cody Rhodes to defeat Dark Order members 10, John Silver and Colt Cabana.[21][22] On the November 17, 2020 episode of Dark, Austin's brother Colten, now wrestling as a fellow Gunn Club member, would team with Austin and their father in a match which saw the Gunn Club defeat BSHP King, Joey O’Riley and Sean Maluta by pinfall in a six-man tag team match.[23][24] The three man Gunn Club would then defeat Cezar Bononi, KTB, and Seth Gargis in another six man tag team match on the November 24, 2020 episode of Dark.[25][26] On the December 8, 2020 episode of Dark The three man Gunn Club-which entered the ring on a golf cart with the words "Taz Taxi" on the side, defeated Shawn Dean, Sean Maluta & RYZIN.[27] On February 9, 2022 (during a match that aired two days later on AEW Rampage), Austin and Colten Gunn wrestled for the AEW Tag Championship, losing to reigning champions Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus).[28] On the April 15, 2022 episode of AEW Rampage, the Gunn Club lost a six-man tag team match to Blackpool Combat Club.[29][30]

Somewhat outside of AEW, in November 2021 Ring of Honor wrestler Danhausen began a Twitter feud with the Gunn Club, referring to Colten and Austin as "Ass Boys", in reference to Billy Gunn's infamous "Mr. Ass" gimmick in the Attitude Era. While Billy Gunn himself initially had no comment, the rest of Gunn Club despised the nickname after fans began chanting "Ass Boys" during their matches. Billy Gunn finally commented when he surprised his sons by wearing an "Ass Boys" shirt, encouraging them to "embrace the assness" and even started teasing mooning the crowd again.[31]

On the February 8, 2023, episode of Dynamite, The Gunns would win their first AEW World Tag Team Championship from The Acclaimed. At Revolution in March 2023, the Gunns successfully defended their titles in a four way match against the Acclaimed, Danhausen and Orange Cassidy, and Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. On the April 5, 2023 episode of Dynamite, the Gunns lost the AEW World Tag Team Championship to FTR in a title versus career match. This would effectively disband The Firm, with the Gunns allying with Jay White and Juice Robinson of Bullet Club Gold.[32][33]

On January 17, 2024, The Gunns and White defeated Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun and Toa Liona) for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.[34] On the January 20 episode of Collision, The Gunns, White, The Acclaimed, and Billy Gunn joined forces to form a stable known as the Bang Bang Scissor Gang, reuniting Austin and Colten with their father Billy. On March 13 at Big Business, Bullet Club Gold turned on The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, disbanding the Bang Bang Scissor Gang. On April 5 at Supercard of Honor, Austin returned to ROH, teaming with Colten and White to retain their ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships against Monstersauce (Lance Archer and Alex Zayne) and Minoru Suzuki. At Dynasty: Zero Hour on April 21, 2024, Bullet Club Gold defeated The Acclaimed for the AEW World Trios Championship in a winner takes all championship unification match to unify the titles as the Unified World Trios Championship.[35][36] During this time, Bullet Club Gold would be renamed to the Bang Bang Gang.[37] On the June 5 Rampage tapings, a returning Robinson wrestled his first match since his return, teaming with The Gunns to win a trios match. After the match, White announced that he was giving Robinson a share of the Unified Trios Championship held by White and the Gunns, thus invoking the Freebird Rule.[38] However, on the July 13 episode of Collision, interim AEW Executive Vice President Christopher Daniels overruled Bang Bang Gang's attempt to invoke the Freebird Rule and stripped them of the Unified World Trios Championship.[39] On the following week, The Gunns and Robinson failed to win the vacant AEW World Trios Championship, which was won by The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Killswitch and Nick Wayne) after interference from Mother Wayne.[40]

Other media

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On December 6, 2021, it was announced that Gunn would appear on the E! reality television series Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules, which aired in early 2022.[41][42]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ "Austin Gunn « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Cagematch.net. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "DAK DRAPER, AUSTIN GUNN SQUARE OFF IN TOP PROSPECT FINAL IN LAS VEGAS". Ring of Honor. September 11, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Austin Gunn vs Brian Johnson. Ring of Honor. August 29, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "Austin Gunn - OWW Profile". Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  5. ^ "Austin Gunn Signs With AEW". Fightful.com. January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Rose, Bryan (January 8, 2020). "Austin Gunn signs with All Elite Wrestling". Figure Four Online. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "Billy Gunn's Son Austin Gunn Signs With AEW". Prowrestlingsheet.com. January 9, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "2019 Top Prospect Tournament Entrant: Austin Gunn". Rohwrestling.com. July 16, 2019.
  9. ^ "Austin Sopp". rollinssports.com. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Austin Gunn Signs With ROH". Lastwordonprowrestling.com. June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  11. ^ "DANTE CABALLERO, AUSTIN GUNN CLASH IN TOP PROSPECT TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL IN CHICAGO". Rohwrestling.com. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "ROH Saturday Night At Center Stage". Cagematch.net.
  13. ^ "ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular - Night 2". Cagematch.net.
  14. ^ "ROH Death Before Dishonor : Fallout". Cagematch.net.
  15. ^ "AEW Signs Austin Gunn, Son of Billy Gunn". Comicbook.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "Austin Gunn Signs With AEW | Fightful News". Fightful.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  17. ^ "AEW Dark recap & reactions (Jan. 14, 2020): Gunn full of charisma". Cagesideseats.com. January 14, 2020.
  18. ^ Gunn, Austin [@theaustingunn] (July 17, 2020). "UPDATE: I suffered a torn PCL in my left knee during my debut match in January I've been doing PT since then to make sure my injury is taken care of, so I come back even stronger 💪🏽 the GOOD NEWS, is that I'm officially cleared! the Son of a Gunn is BACK 🔥 #GunnClub" (Tweet). Retrieved July 20, 2020 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Preview: AEW DARK (8/4/20)". Lastwordonsports.com. August 4, 2020.
  20. ^ Indi, Rafael (September 16, 2020). "AEW Dark Results (September 15, 2020)". Superluchas. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  21. ^ "Austin Gunn Has No Words After AEW Dynamite Debut". Ringsidenews.com. November 5, 2020.
  22. ^ "AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights for November 4". Bleacher Report.
  23. ^ Margo, Anthony (November 17, 2020). "AEW DARK Full Results For November 17, 2020: Jurassic Express VS TNT And More". The Ring Report. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  24. ^ Thakur, Sanjay (November 17, 2020). "AEW Announces 13 Matches For Tonight's Episode Of Dark". Prowrestlingnewshub.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  25. ^ Mango, Anthony (November 24, 2020). "AEW DARK Full Results For November 24, 2020: Jurassic Express VS Panda X-Press And More". The Ring Report. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  26. ^ Mango, Anthony (November 22, 2020). "AEW DARK Preview: Full Lineup Of Matches Advertised For November 24, 2020 Episode". The Ring Report. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  27. ^ Klyn, Parker (December 8, 2020). "AEW Dark Results: Varsity Blondes vs. Darks Order's Cabana & Reynolds". Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  28. ^ Rose, Bryan (February 10, 2022). "AEW Rampage spoilers from Atlantic City, New Jersey". Figure Four Online.
  29. ^ Mueller, Chris (April 15, 2022). "AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 15". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  30. ^ Pulido, Luis (April 15, 2022). "AEW Rampage Results for 4/15/2022: Adam Page vs Adam Cole AEW Championship Texas Deathmatch + More". Fightful. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  31. ^ "Billy Gunn thanks Danhausen for getting his sons' asses over". Cagesideseats.com. December 18, 2021.
  32. ^ "AEW Star to be ROH's New Authority Figure – TJR Wrestling". June 5, 2023.
  33. ^ Rose, Bryan (July 1, 2023). "The Gunns officially join Bullet Club Gold on AEW Collision". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW results. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  34. ^ Powell, Jason (January 17, 2024). "AEW Dynamite results (1/17): Powell's live review of Samoa Joe vs. Hook for the AEW World Championship, Christian Cage vs. Dustin Rhodes for the TNT Title, Mogul Embassy vs. Bullet Club Gold for the ROH Six-Man Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  35. ^ "Bullet Club Gold Are The Unified World Trios Champions". AEW. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  36. ^ Miller, Haley (April 21, 2024). "Bullet Club Gold Become the Inaugural Unified World Trios Champions at AEW Dynasty". ComicBook. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  37. ^ "Bang Bang Gang vs. Death Triangle Set For AEW Double Or Nothing". Yahoo Entertainment. May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  38. ^ "AEW Rampage Results for June 7, 2024". All Elite Wrestling.com. AEW Staff. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  39. ^ Powell, Jason (July 13, 2024). "AEW Collision results (7/13): Powell's live review of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett vs. Orange Cassidy and Kyle O'Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tommy Billington, Skye Blue vs. Harley Cameron". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  40. ^ Murphy, Don (July 20, 2024). "AEW Collision results (7/20): Murphy's review of Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, and Juice Robinson vs. The Patriarchy for the vacant Unified Trios Titles, Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a lumberjack match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  41. ^ "AEW Star Announced For Reality TV Show". Wrestlinginc.com. December 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  42. ^ "Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules". Eonline.com.
  43. ^ "Official AEW World Tag Team Championship Title History". All Elite Wrestling. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  44. ^ "NSW Resurrection". Cagematch.net. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
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