"They didn't let us do that" - Former WWE Tag Team Champion discloses return plans AEW rejected

Last year in October, a former WWE Tag Team Champion returned to the wrestling industry after over a decade in AEW. Rico made his surprise AEW debut in October 2024. He managed the MxM Collection (Mason Madden and Mansoor) in a match against The Acclaimed at WrestleDream Zero Hour. He was there to neutralize his former client, Billy Gunn, if necessary.

During an interview with the Rewind Recap Relive podcast, Rico revealed he had pitched an idea to Tony Khan regarding his return, but it got rejected. He wanted a physical confrontation with his old rival, Billy Gunn, ahead of the tag team match to spice up the storyline. Billy ultimately cut a promo on the 63-year-old before the bout, before attacking Rico mid-match to set up a win for The Acclaimed.

The only thing that, kind of, disappointed me is that I thought of it as a pre-tape against Billy because not everybody knew Billy and I had a connection, except for the old school fans, and the promo was Billy and The Acclaimed getting on MxM. And all of the sudden, I yell, here I come and they part, and I'm standing face to face with Billy Gunn, and then he was gonna say something, and then I was gonna say something back, and then he would slap me, and I'd say, 'Who do you think you are? Will Smith? And then I go back on him and say, 'I'll see you in the ring,' and when I was gonna start to turn, I'd go, 'Oh, Billy, I'm not Chris Rock,' and boom, hit him with a kick!'' he said.

The former WWE Superstar continued:

''They downed it. That was my idea to get to the match. So since they didn't let us do that, Billy, on the way to the ring, cut the promo without letting them know, 'Hey, you're the guy that almost made me marry another guy,' and the old people picked up on it and it tried to bring in the younger audience, but I think if they'd done the pre-promo that I just said [it would have been incredible].'' [0:45-2:11]

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How did Rico's AEW debut come about?

In an episode of his Stylin' podcast in October 2024, Rico revealed the circumstances that led to his debut in AEW. He didn't give it a second thought and hopped on a plane to Seattle to work with MxM Collection when AEW executives told him that Billy Gunn was involved in the storyline.

"Executives from AEW called, and they said their tag team, MxM Collection, needed my guidance because they were going against The Acclaimed, and guess who was Acclaimed’s manager? Saggy-a** Billy Gunn. My old client. The largest disappointment of my entire illustrious career. When I heard that, I was on the plane. They sent a private plane; I got on that, flew to Seattle, and started working with Mason and Mansoor, getting them all ready," he said.

In March 2002, Billy Gunn and his then-tag team partner, Chuck Palumbo, introduced Rico to the WWE Universe as their homosexual stylist. However, later that year, he turned on Billy and Chuck after they revealed that their homosexuality was a facade.

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While using any quotes from this article, please credit Rewind Recap Relive podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.