What if...Superstars Series 8 B.A. Billy Gunn was released?

As always in the action figure world, there are some that reach the prototype stages and don't make the final cut for whatever reason; wrestling figures are no exception.

Billy Gunn was coming off the heels of the biggest push of his career when he was crowned King of the Ring 1999, and he was destined for superstardom. Obviously, WWF management soon realized that Billy Gunn's star fell quicker than a hiccup when he was not able to garner an adequate reaction from the crowd. He didn't have the charisma to get himself over to the next level, but that didn't stop Jakks Pacific from capitalizing on his short success as a singles performer.

Yet another Billy Gunn repaint was scheduled for Superstars Series 8, this time in sparkling silver trunks, but it was replaced soon after by the first non-Slammers Kane figure. The eighth assortment was rebranded "Team Corporate" and featured six wrestlers/personalities involved with the popular stable of the time, headed by WWF owner Vince McMahon.

At first glance, the Billy Gunn prototype is nothing special, and one could argue that the figure would have been a re-release (or released at around the same time) as the 2 Tuff Series 4 Gunn figure, in sparkling black trunks. Only a few of Billy Gunn's BCA figures included full detail on the trunks, knee pads and boots (2 Tuff Series 1, Signature Series 2, Sunday Night Heat Series, etc), and the prototype shown so many years ago is missing all of the boot detail like the majority of his figures (Fully Loaded Series 1, 2 Tuff Series 4, Grudge Match w/Shamrock, etc).

It wouldn't have made much of a difference if another Billy Gunn repaint was released, but what would have happened to the first non-Slammers regular Kane? Jakks was planning on releasing it soon because of the demand for Kane figures at the time, so I have no doubts that one would have been made available not long after.

Besides, if Jakks had decided to include Billy Gunn in Superstars Series 8, I would have preferred pink trunks over silver or black, since he wore brighter colors more often.
Replacing him with Kane was the best possible choice, in my opinion, which is one of many reasons why you won't hear too many "what ifs" about the Billy Gunn figure among Jakks collectors.

Well, that and the fact that no one cares about Billy Gunn.

Until next time, thanks for looking and have a nice day!

- Alex