By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
The rise of one Bobby Gunns over the course of the past year has been nothing short of stratospheric. I admit wholeheartedly that I didn’t care much for him when I saw him wrestling at 16 Carat Gold 2017, but upon returning to watching the promotion in a more full time capacity at the turn of the year, I’m yet to be disappointed in anything Gunns has been involved in. Sure, his match against Absolute Andy at Dead End XVII threw a bit too much extracurricular activity into the mix that meant it didn’t live up to the contest they had at Back to the Roots, but a strong showing across the 16 Carat Gold weekend has him on the cusp of greatness. With the Shotgun Title still around his waist following a brutal victory over Mike Bailey – one replete with the first ever use (seemingly) of Bailey’s double-jointedness in order to create some horrific finger-based visuals – and his in-ring work and promo skills continuing to develop week in, week out, Gunns could be wXw’s next big star.
However, there is a big problem. Where does he fit in the grand scheme of things? Are there too many people at the top table, thus not allowing Gunns his big chance to shine?
There is an argument that could be made, indeed one somewhat made by Gunns himself prior to Road to 16 Carat, that suggests the Shotgun Title has been elevated by being around the waist of a red hot prospect like Gunns. It becomes debatable at that point as to whether Gunns necessarily needs to be a guy who is thrust into the main event to challenge for the wXw Unified World Championship. The problem the promotion has – not a horrible one to have – is that they have too many men involved in high profile feuds that Gunns falls somewhat on the periphery at this moment. It speaks a lot that his big feud for 16 Carat was with an outsider, though Bailey did a great job at making himself a potential long term booking for wXw in the future over the course of the past few weeks.
Gunns, you have to believe, is going to be a huge babyface for the company. Whilst he will continue to skirt the line between the two polar dispositions of heel and face, the fans have effectively voted with their hands and with their voices. How does the ascension of Gunns up the card work alongside the storylines and angles that come off of the back of 16 Carat weekend? A face versus face feud with Ilja Dragunov seems out of the question, especially with Absolute Andy the 16 Carat tournament winner and wrestlers such as WALTER, David Starr, Jurn Simmons (upon return from injury) and John Klinger all are wrapped up in bigger picture elements of the show that don’t easily facilitate Gunns.
The worry becomes simple. If not now, when?
wXw has been praised oftentimes for its long term booking, rightly or wrongly. Over the past couple of years, it feels that they have got more things right than wrong, so deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to booking strategy. The promotion does have a number of irons in the fire at this moment that are waiting to be played out: the future of RISE, David Starr’s inability to make it happen when it matters most, even other potential big turns such as Lucky Kid after his popularity with the crowd at the tournament weekender outstripped many of the other bigger names on the card.
In the long run, Gunns just may be a victim of poor timing. He can’t help that his hottest run in the promotion lines up at the end of the emotional rise to the championship of Dragunov. Considering the outpouring of emotion for Dragunov’s return to win the title, it would be churlish of the promotion not to give him some time to run with it and provide some high end action along the way. That could leave Gunns kicking his heels for a while yet; too big for the Shotgun title, but not in a position to feasibly take the Unified belt.
Not everyone needs to have their value to a company verified by winning the top belt. Gunns will still provide great action and a bunch of profanity-laced promos that provide the wXw fan with an impish grin, but there is the feeling that Gunns is one big feud away from taking his seat at the top table. Whether wXw can find that for him in the near future remains to be seen.
