Billy Gunn has revisited Triple H’s infamous dig at AEW during D-Generation X’s 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction, describing the remark as “a dick move” and suggesting it was an unnecessary attempt to save face.

The moment happened at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 6, 2019, when Gunn joined Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg and Sean Waltman for DX’s induction, which also honoured Chyna.

Gunn was already working for AEW, although the promotion had yet to hold its first show. When fans began chanting “AEW”, Triple H joked that Vince McMahon would buy “that piss-ant company” just to fire Gunn again.

Speaking with Kenny McIntosh on Inside The Ropes, Gunn explained that he had expected his AEW role to become a talking point. He also credited Tony Khan for supporting his appearance at the WWE ceremony.

“I knew it was coming. I kind of knew they were going to do something AEW because it was hot at the time and I was there and they were all wondering how I got to go there, and that’s because Tony Khan was super cool. I went, asked, and he said ‘100%. Of course you can. I would never hold you back from that,'” Gunn said. “I didn’t know what they were gonna do, but I knew they were going to do something. I also knew that if they were, Hunter was going to have something to say. Once I set myself up for that, I just let it go.”

Looking back at Triple H’s response, Gunn said he believed the comment reflected more poorly on the person delivering it.

“The only one that got hurt out of that whole deal was him. I don’t want to say it, but it was a dick move. It was kind of trying to save face, and you didn’t need to because it’s going to happen. It’s the wrestling business. It’s what we do. They like to stir up shit. When you have somebody in another company, which was me, they can’t believe it, and then you see me, they have to do it. It’s like an unwritten thing in a book. ‘If another guy is in another company, we have to say or do something.’ They started chanting it, and you get a response from the guy leading the company.”

Gunn’s comments offer a different perspective from his initial reaction. Shortly after the induction, he told the 411 Wrestling Interview Podcast that the joke was funny and was not intended to hurt anyone’s feelings.

During a For The Love of Wrestling Q&A in 2022, however, Gunn said he could have punched Triple H and that his wife had encouraged him to let the incident go.

WWE later removed Triple H’s AEW remarks from its television broadcast of the ceremony.

Was Triple H’s comment harmless DX humour, or did it go too far? Share your thoughts in the comments.