Colten Sopp (born May 18, 1991), better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Colten Gunn, is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is signed to

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

(AEW) and its sister promotion

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

(ROH), where he is in a tag team with his brother

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

as The Gunns, and is a member of the Bang Bang Gang

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

. Gunn is a former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champion, one-time AEW World Trios Champion, and one-time

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion The ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. It is defended by three-man tag teams, also referred to as trios. The current champions are The Sons o ...

. Sopp is a second-generation professional wrestler, being the son of professional wrestler Monty Sopp, better known as

Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to the WWE under a Legends contract and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also perfo ...

Early life

Sopp attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, graduating in 2013. Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, he worked in the construction industry in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Professional wrestling career

All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2020–present)

Gunn Club (2020–2022)

Sopp was trained to wrestle by his father,

. On June 17, 2020, he appeared with the

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

-based promotion

(AEW), accompanying his father to ringside for his match against MJF on ''

AEW Dynamite ''AEW Dynamite'', also known as ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' or simply ''Dynamite'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American Professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It air ...

'' and being confronted by Friedman's bodyguard Wardlow. Later that month, Sopp's father filed a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

for "Colten Gunn". On episode #53 of the

web television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable te ...

show ''

AEW Dark ''AEW Dark'', or simply ''Dark'', is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from October 8, 2019, to April 25, 2023, on AEW's YouTube channel. ...

'', which aired on September 22, Sopp accompanied his father and his brother to ringside for a

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

. Sopp made his professional wrestling debut with AEW on November 11, 2020 as "Colten Gunn", teaming with his father and his brother

(as "Gunn Club") to defeat BSHP King, Joey O'Riley, and

Sean Maluta Sean Maluta (born September 30, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently competing on the independent circuit. He made a number of appearances with WWE and took part in the first Cruiserweight Classic. He has also made appearances for ...

in a

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

. The match was broadcast on episode #62 of ''AEW Dark'' on November 17, 2020. He returned in the following weeks, teaming with his father and brother in further six-man tag team matches and tag team matches. As part of Gunn Club, Gunn became a member of

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...

Nightmare Family Nightmare Family was a professional wrestling stable signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group's name derives from "The American Nightmare", the nickname of the faction's leader Cody Rhodes. He described the group as "an ensemble of focused i ...

. On the March 3, 2021 episode of ''AEW Dynamite'', Gunn Club were at ringside for a tag team match pitting Rhodes and Red Velvet against

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

and

Jade Cargill Jade Cargill (born June 3, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. She is a former two-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. She is also known for her career in All Elit ...

; during the match, Austin Gunn attacked O'Neal at ringside, prompting him to beat down Austin and Colten. Gunn wrestled his first match on

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

on March 7, 2021, competing alongside Austin in a "casino" tag team

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

. Throughout the remainder of 2021, Gunn primarily teamed with his father in tag team bouts on ''AEW Dark'' and '' AEW Dark: Elevation''. Gunn wrestled his first match on ''AEW Dynamite'' on August 25, 2021, teaming with his father and brother to defeat

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's art studio in Manhattan, New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famous for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities, and ...

in a six-man tag team match. On the September 1, 2021 episode of ''AEW Dynamite'', the Gunn Club turned

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

by attacking

Paul Wight Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

. In November 2021, the Gunn Club began a short feud with

Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a former two-time AEW TNT Championship, AEW TNT Champion and a former AEW Wo ...

and

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

that saw Colten sustain his first defeat on the December 1, 2021 episode of ''Dynamite'' when he was pinned by Sting; this loss also marked the end of the Gunn Club's undefeated streak in AEW. On February 9, 2022, in a match which would air two days later on ''

AEW Rampage ''AEW Rampage'', also known as ''Friday Night Rampage'' or simply ''Rampage'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from August 13, 2021, to Dece ...

'', Colten and Austin Gunn wrestled for the

AEW World Tag Team Championship The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team championship, being contested by teams of two wr ...

, losing to reigning champions Jurassic Express. In May 2022, the Gunn Club formed an alliance with the Acclaimed which lasted until July 2022 when the Gunn Club turned on the Acclaimed; on the August 3, 2022 episode of ''Dynamite'', the Acclaimed defeated the Gunn Club in a dumpster match.

The Firm (2022–2023)

On the August 17, 2022 episode of ''Dynamite'', Colten and Austin turned on their father, aligning themselves with

Stokely Hathaway Stokely Hathaway (born November 12, 1990) is an American professional wrestling manager and professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs mononymously as Stokely and is the on-screen manager for FTR. He is ...

; the following week, Colten defeated his father in a singles match following a low blow. In September 2022, the Gunns formed a new stable, "the Firm", with Hathaway, MJF,

Ethan Page Julian Micevski (born September 20, 1989), better known by his ring name Ethan Page, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand, and is ...

, Lee Moriarty, and W. Morrissey. The following month, the Firm attacked MJF after he fired Hathaway. On the February 8, 2023 episode of ''Dynamite'', the Gunns defeated the Acclaimed to win their first

. At

in March 2023, the Gunns successfully defended their titles in a

four way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

against the Acclaimed, Danhausen and

Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, wrestling trainer. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is ...

, and

Jay Lethal Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his tenures in Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrest ...

and

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...

. On the April 5, 2023 episode of ''Dynamite'', the Gunns lost the AEW World Tag Team Championship to FTR in a

title versus career match ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

. The Firm formally disbanded in May 2023 after losing a match dubbed "Firm Deletion".

Bullet Club Gold / Bang Bang Gang (2023–present)

In June 2023, the Gunns joined Bullet Club Gold alongside

Jay White Jamie White (born 9 October 1992), better known by the ring name Jay White, is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Bullet Club sub-group Bang Bang Gang. White is a former ...

and

Juice Robinson Joseph Ryan Robinson (born April 10, 1989), better known by his ring name Juice Robinson, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Bang Bang Gang stable. He also wrestles in Ne ...

. On the January 17, 2024 episode of ''Dynamite'', the Gunns and White defeated

Mogul Embassy Mogul Embassy, formerly simply the Embassy, was a villainous professional wrestling stable. Formed by Prince Nana in Ring of Honor (ROH) in 2004, in 2022 the Embassy also began appearing with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). In 2023, the Embassy merg ...

to win the

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. It is defended by three-man tag teams, also referred to as trios. The current champions are The Sons o ...

. In the same month, the Gunns and White joined forces with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to form a new

, the "Bang Bang Scissor Gang". At

in March 2024, the Bang Bang Scissor Gang defeated

Satnam Singh Satnam Singh Bhamara (born 10 December 1995) is an Indian professional wrestler and former professional basketball player. As a wrestler, he is signed to the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He became the fir ...

Willie Mack Willie McClinton Jr. (born January 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Willie Mack, currently appearing in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Major League Wres ...

, and Private Party in a 12-man tag team match. Later that month, the Bang Bang Scissor Gang disbanded after White and the Gunns attacked the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. On April 5 at

Supercard of Honor Supercard of Honor was the first Supercard of Honor professional wrestling event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH), which took place on March 31, 2006 at Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. As with other Supercard of Honor events, it to ...

, Colten made his

(ROH) debut, teaming with Austin and White to retain the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship against Monstersauce (

Lance Archer Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977), better known by his ring name Lance Archer, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where is a member of The Don Callis Family and one-half of The Murder Machines w ...

and

Alex Zayne Alex Zayne Brandenburg (born October 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler primarily working on the independent circuit under the ring name Alex Zayne. He is best known for his tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He has also ap ...

) and

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, known for his tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Intercontinental Ch ...

. At

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

on April 21, 2024, Bullet Club Gold defeated AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed in a winner takes all

championship unification Championship unification is the act of combining two or more separate professional wrestling championships into a single title. History In professional wrestling, championships may be unified to consolidate the number of championships in a giv ...

match to unify the titles as the Unified World Trios Championship. During this time, Bullet Club Gold was renamed the "Bang Bang Gang". On the June 5 ''Rampage'' tapings, a returning Robinson wrestled his first match since his return, teaming with the Gunns to win a trios match. After the match, White announced that he was giving Robinson a share of the Unified Trios Championship held by White and the Gunns, thus invoking the

Freebird Rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

. However, on the July 13 episode of ''Collision'', interim AEW Executive Vice President

Christopher Daniels Christopher Daniel Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the Head of Ta ...

overruled this and stripped the Bang Bang Gang of the Unified World Trios Championship. On the following week, the Gunns and Robinson lost to

Christian Cage William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Christian Cage and is the leader of The Patriarch ...

, Killswitch, and

Nick Wayne Nicholas Wayne Finley (born July 10, 2005) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Nick Wayne. He is a member of The Patriarchy (professional ...

in a match for the vacant AEW World Trios Championship. On the February 5, 2025 episode of ''Dynamite'', the Gunns returned after a brief hiatus and challenged

The Hurt Syndicate The Hurt Syndicate is a professional wrestling stable in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group consists of Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, MJF, and Montel Vontavious Porter, MVP, who serves as their manager. Lashley and B ...

to a match for the AEW World Tag Championship; on the February 12 episode of ''Dynamite'', the Gunns were defeated by The Hurt Syndicate.

Independent circuit (2021–present)

Gunn made his independent circuit debut in September 2021, appearing with Battleground Championship Wrestling in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In October 2021, the Gunn Club participated in " Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea Triple Whammy", a professional wrestling event held aboard the '' Norwegian Jewel''. In March 2022 on New South Wrestling's "Resurrection" pay-per-view, Gunn won his first title, teaming with Austin Gunn to defeat TME for the NSW Tag Team Championship. The Gunn Club lost the titles to the Bad News Boyz later that month.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Gunn's finisher is the ''Colt 45'', a butterfly neckbreaker. He previously used a leg drop bulldog, also called the ''Colt 45''; adopted from his father

, who named it the ''Fame-Ass-Er''. Gunn and his brother Austin/his father also use the ''3:10 to Yuma'' as a double-team maneuver: a back body drop by Colton into a

neckbreaker In professional wrestling, a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent's neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or ...

by Austin/Billy.

Personal life

Sopp is the son of professional wrestler Monty Sopp, known as Billy Gunn. His brother Austin Sopp is also a professional wrestler.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) – with

Austin Gunn Austin Sopp (born August 26, 1994), better known by the ring name Austin Gunn, is an American professional wrestler and reality television personality, signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) where he is in a tag team with hi ...

AEW World Trios Championship The AEW World Trios Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a specialized tag team ...

( 1 time) – with Austin Gunn and

*New South Wrestling **New South Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Austin Gunn *

( 1 time) – with Austin Gunn and Jay White

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, Colten 1991 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers All Elite Wrestling personnel American male professional wrestlers Florida State University alumni Living people Professional wrestlers from Orlando, Florida Bullet Club members AEW World Tag Team Champions AEW World Trios Champions ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions