The New Age Outlaws: Would You Be Interested If They Returned?

[Jack-Hammer]

On a couple of occasions, The Road Dog Jesse James and Bad Ass Billy Gunn have popped up on WWE television. They were part of the DX reunion that kicked off the 1,000th episode of Raw and they appeared on the Slammy Awards episode of Raw as presenters.

According to a report, The New Age Outlaws are scheduled to actually wrestle for the WWE this coming weekend. At a show in Raleigh, North Carolina this coming Saturday, the former 5 time tag champs are scheduled to face Team Rhodes Scholars. As of right now, there isn't any word on whether or not they'll be wrestling at any other WWE events. Because of that, It has me thinking that their match against Team Rhodes Scholars this weekend might be something of a trial run for the Outlaws to see if they've still got it.

From what I understand, Billy Gunn is also now working as a trainer at NXT and Road Dogg has been either a producer or an agent for a while now. With the revival we're seeing of the tag team division, I think it would be kinda cool to have a veteran tag team that's still able to go inside the ring as a part of it. If they're still able to go, I'd like to see them make a return to WWE. Billy Gunn is 49 and the Road Dogg is 43 but both look to be in good shape. Gunn still has an impressive physique and Road Dogg, while never a great athlete, looks healthy. I'm guessing that since they're scheduled for a match, they've undergone the extensive WWE physical and things are ok on that end.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Personally I would have absolutely no interest in seeing the New Age Outlaws return to regular WWE televised programming. The occasional nostalgic appearance, absolutely. House shows? I guess that would be OK, assuming they were being used to put over a newer team such as Rhodes Scholars. But in terms of seeing them serve as regular competitors on RAW, Smackdown, or PPV, I would have no interest in this whatsoever.

Sure, they are not that old, and I'm sure they are both still competent in the ring. But I'm not typically a fan of nostalgia, unless the returning superstar is someone particularly significant, and for me, the Outlaws just don't fit the bill. I would use their knowledge and experience in a backstage capacity, but that would be about it for me.

 

[Wald]

I'm a big NAO fan, genuinely think they were behind the rise of DX as a massively over face group, and I would like to see them wrestle one more match or enter the Royal Rumble, but I wouldn't want them in the ring full time.

I read an interview with Road Dogg two or so years ago where he said he actually can feel the years on him and that his knees are pretty banged up. Billy Gunn still looks like he could go full time, Road Dogg I don't could. I wouldn't mind Billy coming back full time to put over a younger guy, but that would be about it.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Wow 49! I had no idea he was that old. Good for him for staying in such good shape.

These guys were at their best when they were doing things that just didn't feel right:

1. They didn't feel like they belonged together as a team - one guy was this roadie rapper jobber with a big mouth and the other guy was a personality free tag specialist with his 'brother'.

2. They didn't feel like they belonged in DX - DX was a Kliq stable. Gunn and James kind of came out of no where when they joined HHH and X-Pac.

3. They certainly didn't feel like champions - when they held the title at first it seemed wrong. That two guys who were not the best had the title.

My point is that these two trolled the WWE in to submission and they became stars in the process. They built up heat and made the titles meaningful because they and the bookers found a way to get the fans emotionally invested in the tag team titles. I don't think that can happen again but that doesn't mean there is no place for those two on the roster.

Maybe they can reunite as a team. Have a couple matches and then have a falling out. The falling out could lead the two to manage two respective competing teams. James would get the crowd going with his catch phrase opening and Gunn is an easy target of entertainment with his long past of being a cowboy, Mr. Ass, and Billy (of Billy and Chuck fame). I don't know, it's not going to lead to big money but it just seems these two are still more interesting than 75% of the roster right now.

 

[BC1978]

On a couple of occasions, The Road Dog Jesse James and Bad Ass Billy Gunn have popped up on WWE television. They were part of the DX reunion that kicked off the 1,000th episode of Raw and they appeared on the Slammy Awards episode of Raw as presenters.

According to a report, The New Age Outlaws are scheduled to actually wrestle for the WWE this coming weekend. At a show in Raleigh, North Carolina this coming Saturday, the former 5 time tag champs are scheduled to face Team Rhodes Scholars. As of right now, there isn't any word on whether or not they'll be wrestling at any other WWE events. Because of that, It has me thinking that their match against Team Rhodes Scholars this weekend might be something of a trial run for the Outlaws to see if they've still got it.

From what I understand, Billy Gunn is also now working as a trainer at NXT and Road Dogg has been either a producer or an agent for a while now. With the revival we're seeing of the tag team division, I think it would be kinda cool to have a veteran tag team that's still able to go inside the ring as a part of it. If they're still able to go, I'd like to see them make a return to WWE. Billy Gunn is 49 and the Road Dogg is 43 but both look to be in good shape. Gunn still has an impressive physique and Road Dogg, while never a great athlete, looks healthy. I'm guessing that since they're scheduled for a match, they've undergone the extensive WWE physical and things are ok on that end.

I'd bring them back. Hell I'd put the tag titles on them. But if the WWE plans to go this route create a dominate team from the FCW Ranks like Rowan & Harper or Devlin & Tac and have them destroy the NAO and end their careers.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

I'd bring them back. Hell I'd put the tag titles on them. But if the WWE plans to go this route create a dominate team from the FCW Ranks like Rowan & Harper or Devlin & Tac and have them destroy the NAO and end their careers.

Thats what I would do as well. Have them comeback get a couple of nostalgia wins, play on the fact that they are old but are getting into a groove so they start to wrestle more frequently and get on a winning streak and eventually become #1 contenders to the Tag Belts. Have them win the belts from Rhodes Scholars or Prime Time Players and have decent one last run with the belts before be utterly destroyed by some new up and coming tag team. Would be similar to how the New Age Outlaws were pretty much made legit when they decimated the Road Warriors back in the day. This way we get a above average team on TV for a few months that we know are going to be entertaining and they will put over a future potentially great tag team that we hope will be as entertaining down the road.

 

[midgensa]

I touched on this way back when they appeared on the 1,000th ... but YES ... without a doubt I would have interest in seeing these guys perform for a little run.

Both are in plenty good enough shape to perform in the ring like we "remembered" so it would not hurt their "legacy" at all and it would turn a lot of eyes to the fantastic growth in the tag team division.

I think that there would be big interest and that people would definitely tune in to see them. I know that Road Dogg can certainly still bring it on the mic and the crowd definitely pops when they see them.

People would watch. Might not be a huge moneymaker, but at worst it helps put some other talent over. Give them another run in the E!

 

[xavyer]

I wouldn't mind seeing them have one more run, these guys were definitly entertaining and fun to watch, if they are about to start a feud with the Road Scholars i would definitly love to see a verbal war between The Road Dogg and Damien Sandow, that right there would be epic, unlike Hogan or Flair, these guys have enough on the tank to have another run, and what better start that with the Road Scholars, just a thought......

 

[ccotreau1]

I wouldn't mind seeing them go occasionally, putting over new guys like Team Rhodes Scholars, The Shield, etc. Other than that and what we have seen from them this past year as previously mentioned above, I would rather them work backstage as trainers/agents etc

 

[LeviCook]

I don't really have any interest in seeing them return. Maybe a one time deal, but definitely not consistently. The Tag Team Division needs to improve, having the New Age Outlaws return will only slow down that process. I think seeing them in one more match would be cool but only if it doesn't take away from anything else. Personally i think they should have Wrestled the same Raw they returned. They could have had Rhodes Scholars interrupt them and easily set up for one more match. It would have preferred over that than seeing Rhodes and Sandow in singles matches

 

[JohnJohnson]

I say yes why not.
1)They are definitely still over. The newer crowd recognizes them from older footage, while the older crowd remembers them from when they were younger. This alone helps bring in more attention to the slowly revolving tag scene. Some of the fans that quit for a while might even tune in just to see them perform.

2)The tag scene needs them,. They need an actual, credible team. A lot of the teams seem to be just thrown together for some slight commonality or lack of anything else to do. This will help the tage division seem more serious.

3)They appear to still have it. Billy Gunn has maintained his physique, and Road Dogg was still doing well in the Royal Rumble, not to mention he lost some weight since then. I think them winning the Tag Team Championship would be good for the division. Some of you might think that is crazy because they don't "need" the belts. I personally think that is what ruined the credibility of certain titles. Instead of being "championships" they just come across as these building tools to kind of help push a star. It seems almost like the next check on a checklist rather than a team actually winning the titles. I think with the Outlaws winning the titles, it would bring an element of credibility back to the title, because they aren't just simply being used as another tool in conjunction with the title to get a newer talent over. IMO you aren't over unless you can do it without the belt or having an old legend/past big name put you over.

4)Because they are just simply amazing!

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Damn, I had no idea Gunn was 49. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I can still remember his days in The Smoking Gunns, but that did catch me off guard.

I'll be honest, as much as I loved them in their day, I'd rather not see them back full time. I understand that the WWE needs to create new stars in a big way, but bringing back the stars of yesteryear won't help in the long run. If they came back to work one short program to put over a team that will be a staple of the tag division for the foreseeable future, I wouldn't mind it, but there is no reason to bring them back and put the belts on them. In my opinion that would devalue the belts even more. Letting a team that hasn't wrested a match in the WWE in twelve years come in and win would make others look bad.

Plus I doubt they would get over today like they did in the late 90s.

 

[OneLoneSapper]

I think it would be great to have them back for a little while. The nostalgia reason that everyone has touched on is definitely one reason. But also because the Tag Titles (as well as the IC Title and the US title) are missing something. They are missing relevance.

With an older team, a team who were tag champs when the belts meant a bit more, coming back it could possibly mean that the titles are worth something. "Hey, look these guys are willing to fight for it. They seem to really want it." That is alot of the trouble with the WWE these days. Except for the WWE title or the World title, the rest of the titles seem to come across as meaningless props.

I think that the NAO could help the titles seem to be actually worth having as well as give some of the new, younger tag teams the exposure that they need to get over. And they have the added bonus of being an actual tag team. Not just two guys that someone in creative threw together. That has been my biggest complaint about WWE tag wresting for years, they don't seem to ever have real tag teams. Even Rhodes Scholars has the thrown together and see what happens feel to it.

 

[Wrestling101]

I would love to see them every Monday night. I'd love it if they could have a run of about a year. They'd help put over a few teams and make them more relevant. Let them have a a title reign or two. A year from now, if WWE does it right and devotes 2-3 segments per RAW and 5 segments per week, you could have some really good tag teams, and NAO could greatly help them.

 

[thebarber]

On a couple of occasions, The Road Dog Jesse James and Bad Ass Billy Gunn have popped up on WWE television. They were part of the DX reunion that kicked off the 1,000th episode of Raw and they appeared on the Slammy Awards episode of Raw as presenters.

According to a report, The New Age Outlaws are scheduled to actually wrestle for the WWE this coming weekend. At a show in Raleigh, North Carolina this coming Saturday, the former 5 time tag champs are scheduled to face Team Rhodes Scholars. As of right now, there isn't any word on whether or not they'll be wrestling at any other WWE events. Because of that, It has me thinking that their match against Team Rhodes Scholars this weekend might be something of a trial run for the Outlaws to see if they've still got it.

From what I understand, Billy Gunn is also now working as a trainer at NXT and Road Dogg has been either a producer or an agent for a while now. With the revival we're seeing of the tag team division, I think it would be kinda cool to have a veteran tag team that's still able to go inside the ring as a part of it. If they're still able to go, I'd like to see them make a return to WWE. Billy Gunn is 49 and the Road Dogg is 43 but both look to be in good shape. Gunn still has an impressive physique and Road Dogg, while never a great athlete, looks healthy. I'm guessing that since they're scheduled for a match, they've undergone the extensive WWE physical and things are ok on that end.

The Roaddogg not a good athlete???? He may not look like Paul Orndorff, but a former Navy Seal who fought in Desert Storm, Im guessing he is fit enough to be a pro wrestler, even at 43. And Road Dogg's greatest strength was not his in-ring ability, it was his charisma and microphone skills.

Used properly, the New Age Outlaws have a lot to offer the curren crop of tag teams. Built right, having them Outlaws go over slap up teams of guys who are already over and would not be hurt by a loss to them, build the Outlaws up so when they take on Prime Time Players or Rhodes Scholars, it will mean alot more when they are putting them over. Hell have them beat Bryan and Kane, they are over, and do not need a win over these guys. Hell Kane was feuding with them 12-14 years ago, they have history.

Hearing them announced as the 6 time tag team champions of the wooooooooooorld would be ok for a month or so, then at the right time, elevate the next team that is going to head the tag team division.

 

[HBsam31]

I like the idea of them coming back just for an up and coming team to decimate them. The New Age Outlaws did it to The Legion of Doom. When Billy Gunn and Road Dogg first teamed up they destroyed Hawk and Animal and even shaved their mohawks. That was a big deal. It helped in the fans taking them seriously as a team so for them to do that for another team would be fitting. I don't think they should make regular appearances long, but just long enough for them to give a young team the rub they got many years ago.

 

[Ol'Canucklehead]

2. They didn't feel like they belonged in DX - DX was a Kliq stable. Gunn and James kind of came out of no where when they joined HHH and X-Pac.

They actually were very much involved in the HHH/HBK DX and were considered unofficial members. Have you not played WWE'13? They give you a taste.

As for the returning? I for one believe it would be good for the Tag Division as a whole. You always need veterans around to help show the youngans how it's done. In wrestling or any sport. Bring em back Jack!

 

[fenderjapan]

I saw them wrestle at an indy show a few years ago. It was while Billy was still in TNA but they were working indy dates as New Age Outlaws. They worked the crowd like nobodies business. I'd love to see them again. I see no reason why they can't breathe life into the tag division.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

Id say bring the Outlaws back. I think they would need a heel tag team to feud with. I would have the Rhode Scholars win the tag titles and then bring them back. They already had some history with Sandow when DX attacked him on the 1000th Raw. You could throw Triple H in the mix by by having The Rhode Scholars attack him and then "reinstating"The Outlawss. As others have said they are both still in ring shape and could probably sell some more DX merchandise.

 

[Menski]

They both look in good shape and are entertaining on the mic, Road Dogg more than Billy but the really work well together so why not. Once Hell No and Rey and Cara split the NAOs could help the tag division retain star power. Iwouldn't expect or want big singles pushes but as a tag team they could play a worthwhile part. Help elevate other teams.

 

[tvcolosi]

Absolutey, not for a long run but think about how they can help to get a heel team over. A PTP vs NAO 2 month fued over the titles I think would be money.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The Old Age Outlaws, huh?

The consensus seems to be to allow them to do an occasional appearance, rather than having them return full-time and taking over the tag team division. I agree with it; the good thing about having had your day in the sun is that it should be accepted that the time is past for you to do what you did years earlier....there are reasons your era came to an end, whether it be old age, loss of popularity (i.e., the fans got sick of it), injury.....or simply that every act has a shelf life and it's good to gracefully accept that yours has come and gone.

Billy and Jesse were gone for a long time, so it was great to see them again. Yes, absence made the heart grow fonder, but they shouldn't push it.....and I believe WWE is smart enough to realize this. But if Sergeant Slaughter can come back once in a while and make a lot of noise, even as he's sacrificing himself to push someone to the forefront, the Outlaws can do the same.....on a hopefully limited basis.

 

[Trill Co$by]

I'd love to see the Outlaws in full affect. Here's the thing people are forgetting... neither one of these men are "past their prime" nor are they unable to go. Billy Gunn is in the healthiest shape I've ever seen him in, and Road Dogg is still one of the best mic workers in the business. Bringing them back for a title reign helps the division a lot and adds credibility where it's needed. Beating the Outlaws, for a team like Rhodes Scholars or even Prime Time Players would be a great way to boost a new team.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing Gunn back and in a single's run. He's still able to go, and in my opinion, has a lot of time left on the clock before he's "past his prime".

 

[Pedigree1]

"Oh You didnt know Your Ass Better Call Somebodyyyyyyyyyyyy! Absolutely i would have interest in seeing these two back together. I had no idea Mr Ass was 49 dude looks incredible for his age good for him. Road Dogg is 43 if im correct? When these two were together name another tag team at that time that was as popular as those two?

I wish i was there to see them face team RS this saturday. The Outlaws if they still got it and can go why not sign em? If the reports are true that the E is gonna get edgier,then signing the outlaws would be a smart move for a bit.

 

[GeneralKarim]

Me personally I wouldnt say I'm a big fan of them BUT if they can still go and creative actually have some good storylines for them, then yes, I would like to see them back to put over some tag-team ( rhode-scolars) .

But they need good booking, as other people have said, im not too much of a nostalgia addict. I love some appearences periodically but that is it.

They need a good plan for them that's all im saying if they are gonna bring back a 43+49 year old to compete against young guns who are fast and athletic as hell.Make them use their experience to fool them, stuff like that.