Brian Pillman

At 35 years old, Brian Pillman has this physical status:

Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1990s. Pillman created a legacy as "The Loose Cannon", a wrestling gimmick that would see him do a series of worked shoots that would gain him a degree of infamy for his unpredictable character.

He was also known for being extremely agile in the ring, although a car accident in April 1996 from which he received extensive ankle injuries limited his in-ring ability.

By the end of his career he worked with his long-time friend and former teammate Stone Cold Steve Austin in a storyline involving a firearm and with The Hart Foundation during the first instances of the developing Attitude Era.

Early life

Pillman was born on May 22, 1962 to a Welsh mother named Mary; he had three sisters named Angie, Linda, and Susan, as well as a brother Phil. His father died of a heart attack when Pillman was three months old in August 1962.

As a child, Pillman developed multiple throat polyps and underwent between 31 and 36 operations to tend to them, many before the age of three. Due to his medical issues Pillman spent a large part of his early childhood in a hospital, only going home for Christmas. Because of this Pillman's mother chose to send him to a public school so that he could spend more time with his friends, which led him to become the only Presbyterian in his otherwise Catholic family. As a child Pillman played many sports, including basketball and hockey, but was rather fragile and was often made fun of by other children because of his raspy voice, which had been damaged by the many operations, this according to his mother prompted him to learn how to box.

Personal life

Pillman was a very close friend to the Hart family. Both Pillman and the Harts have referred to themselves as being as close as siblings. Pillman stated that he loved Bret and Owen enough to be willing to do anything for them. He was the only member of The Hart Foundation to not be related to the family through either blood or marriage.

Pillman dated Terri Runnels while they were in WCW together before her marriage to Dustin Rhodes, which would later be utilized in a 1997 angle between Pillman and Goldust. He later married Melanie Morgan (born September 23, 1965) on March 17, 1993. Melanie had two children at the time, Alexis Michelle Reed and Jesse Morgan from her previous relationships. At the time, he also had daughters, Danielle and Brittany, from two previous relationships. Brian and Melanie had two children together, Brian Zachary and Skylar King, the latter born after Pillman's death. Melanie also adopted one of Brian's daughters, Brittany. Despite not being their biological parent, Pillman is often referred to as the father of Melanie's children, Jesse Morgan and Alexis Michelle Reed. Pillman adopted Alexis before his death.

As per Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon, Brian and Melanie were involved in a heated divorce at the time of his death in October 1997. Melanie has said that she meant for the divorce to be a wake-up call for Brian, and they were still living together at the time of Brian's passing, but he was banished to the basement.

In 2017, Pillman's daughter Brittany claimed that Melanie's daughter Skylar King is not Pillman's biological daughter, but the child of another man whom Melanie married shortly after Pillman's death, and that all the money given by WWF and wrestlers to support Pillman's family was used by Melanie for drugs.

In 2021, Viceland did a two part episode about Pillman on Dark Side of the Ring and life. His sister, son, two daughters, Melanie and NFL Strength Coach Kim Wood talked about Pillman's life. Melanie Pillman was found dead from a drug overdose on June 1, 2022, as confirmed by Brian, Jr. She was 56 years old.

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Football career

Pillman graduated from Norwood High School in Norwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. Pillman, a football player at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, competed for the Redskins (now Miami RedHawks) as a defensive tackle, where he set the record in the "tackles for loss" category, where he set the record. Pillman struggled academically and needed assistance with school in order to continue playing; Bill Minnich, a Miami rugby player, tutored him. In the 1984 NFL Draft, he was a Division I Second-Team All-American in his junior year and a Division I All-American in his senior year. In 1986, he joined the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent (where he won the Ed Block Courage Award for his team) and later the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders. In 1985, Pillman appeared in preseason action for the Buffalo Bills, but he was the last player cut before the season began. In a series of articles in The Cincinnati Enquirer, Joe Barr's attempts to make the Bengals roster. While at Miami, Pillman and John Harbaugh, the Baltimore Ravens' current head coach, were roommates and defensive teammates.

Professional wrestling career

Pillman stayed in Canada and began training as a wrestler under Stu Hart and his sons after the end of his football career. He made his debut in November 1986 in Hart's Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling promotion.

Bad Company, not to be confused with Bad Company, formed by Pillman quickly. Bad Company won the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship in 1987 by defeating Ron Starr and the Cuban Assassin in the finals of a tournament. Their reign lasted until October 1987, when the titles were suspended following a tumultuous conclusion to a match between Bad Company and their opponents, Jerry Morrow and Makhan Singh. In November 1987, the Bad Company rematch defeated Morrow and Singh to regain the titles, before losing them to Morrow and the Cuban Assassin in July 1988.

Pillman had his sister as a protagonist by seated her at ringside and having heel wrestlers taunt her in the hopes of saving her.

In the main tournament, Pillman finished up with Stampede on August 13, 1988, teaming up with Bruce Hart and Jason the Terrible to defeat The Great Gama, Makhan Singh, and Johnny Smith. He will join the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis to continue his wrestling career.

In 1989, Stampede Pillman competed in singles matches against Masa Saito, Tatsumi Fujinami, Black Cat and Naoki Sano, as well as in tag team matches against Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami.

Pillman returned to the United States in 1989 and began competing for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was known as Flyin' Brian due to his athletic skills and a variety of aerial maneuvers. He was one of the first American wrestlers, as well as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, to include a number of Mexican lucha libre moves in his arsenal. He competed with The Z-Man in the NWA World Tag Team Championship from February 1990 to May 1990. After losing a Loser Leaves WCW, a Pillman later feuded with Barry Windham, who yelled while dressed as the masked Yellow Dog. (Pillman was later restored). He competed with Brad Armstrong, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Richard Morton, and Scotty Flamingo from October 1991 to February 1992.

When he was supposed to face Armstrong for the championship at Clash of the Champions XX in September 1992, Pillman turned heel, irritated by Brad Armstrong's knee injury and vacating the WCW Light Heavyweight championship. He and Barry Windham formed a team in November 1992, shooting for the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championships, fought by Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. At Starrcade on December 28, Windham and Pillman lost to Steamboat and Douglas. Windham didn't survive until January 1993, but their crew was determined to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Pillman continued his tag team championship hunt by forming a tag team with "Brillian" Steve Austin, nicknamed The Hollywood Blonds. The pair won the championships from Steamboat and Douglas on March 27, 1993 episode of Power Hour. They then went on to feud with the Four Horsemen, mainly Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, mocking their ages and parodying Flair's interview show, "A Flair for the Old" after the feud with Steamboat and Douglas concluded. Anderson and Paul Roma at Clash of the Champions XXIV will lose the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championships to Anderson and Paul Roma (Lord Steven Regal was recalled for Pillman, who sustained a leg injury in a tag team match during a WCW Main Event prior to Battle of Champions).

Pillman became a celebrity after the Hollywood Blonds broke up in October 1993, raging with his ex-girlfriend Austin. He would also attempt the WCW World Television Championship, hosted by Lord Steven Regal, with whom he challenged to a 15-minute time limit draw at Spring Stampede.

Pillman appeared with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in late-1994 as part of a talent swap between ECW and WCW. In a losing match between Ron Simmons and 2 Cold Scorpio, his most memorable match was with Shane Douglas to replace an injured Steve Austin, with Sherri Martel as their boss.

Pillman made his WCW debut in January 1995, originally to be renamed California Brian (which was cancelled after a week) as a babyface who had migrated to California to pursue acting work on Baywatch, with Pillman gradually becoming a tweener, feuding with wrestlers such as Brad Armstrong, Eddie Guerrero, Alex Wright, and Marcus Bagwell by the fall. Pillman formed a team with Arn Anderson in September 1995 and began feuding with Ric Flair. Pillman fought for the first match on Monday Nitro's inaugural episode by defeating Jushin "Thunder" Liger in a SuperBrawl II rematch on September 4, 1995. Flair recruited Sting to team up against Pillman and Anderson at Halloween Havoc after spending a match to Arn Anderson at Fall Brawl. Before the game, Pillman and Anderson assaulted Flair, causing Sting to come out alone. When Sting needed a tag the most, he came out at the last minute with a bandage on his head, tagged Sting and screamed at him, exposing the fake bandage from his head to reveal that it was all a collaboration between Pillman, Anderson, and Flair. The Four Horsemen's reuniting was demonstrated by these events. Flair, Anderson, Pillman, and Chris Benoit were among the new faces in this series.

Pillman appeared in Japan briefly in 1991 while with WCW, but his longest time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling began in 1995, when he competed in the Best of the Super Juniors. When he wrestled against Dean Malenko, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Black Cat, Koji Kanemoto, Shinjiro Otani, Gran Hamada, Wild Pegasus, Alex Wright, and El Samurai against Akira Nogami, Koji Kanemoto, Takayuki Iraiya, Malenko, and Malenko in singles matches and in tag team matches against Akira Nogami, Koji Kanemoto, he he he wrestledai, he wrestledaihawa, Black Cat, Tatsu, Tatsu, Tatsu hetani, Kojiro Otani, Shinjiro Otani, Kis, Black Cat, Wika, Sel e Grae, Kojiro Kanemoto, Ai, Koji Kanemoto, &Murai, Ai, Aya, Afa, Koji Kanemoto, Nada, Al Kojiro Hama, Kojiro emoto, Agama, Aka, Afa, and Miurai, Agama, Black Cat, Kojiro Kada, Yaro Hama, Black Cat, in Japan, Kojiro Hama, Bahawa, Kojiro Kojiro Kis and Malenko in singles matches and Malika, Ai, Otani, Mako In singles matches against Ai, Ai, Ai, Koji, Black Cat, Selkojiro Hamai, Avu, Koji Kanemoto, Ili, Black Cat, Black Cat, In singles matches against Arai, Mas, Auri, Mako Temada, Mase, Matata, o Kada, Kojiro Hama, Ai Kada, Malaga, Kada, Koji Kanemoto, Atari, Khae versus AKA, In singles vuda, Kada, El Samurai Kanemoto, Mase, Kada, Black Cat, Kada, Kada, Mako Kada, &Ma, Hama, Kaki Kada, Hama, Havoca, Kada, Otani, Kada, Hama, Matata, Havoce, Hama, Kada, Havoc, Hachi, Koji Kadada, Kazuka, Havochehe emoto, Kao, Kada, Before returning to WCW, he appeared in many multi man matches.

Pillman's "Loose Cannon" gimmick arrived at the end of 1995, establishing a reputation for unpredictable behavior. Pillman's once-British Blond and Flying' Brian clean athletic appearance for an edgy, out of sight picture at this time. Even his fellow Horsemen, particularly Anderson, were suspicious of his conduct and in vain attempted to keep him calm. Almost every day Pillman could be seen sporting leather vests, sunglasses, necklace, and graphic T-shirts with skulls, animals, and quotes about them. Pillman frequently blurred fact and fantasy in his work shoots. Pillman grabbed commentator Bobby Heenan by the collar in a match against Eddie Guerrero on January 23, 1996, causing Heenan (who had a history of neck injuries) to blurt out "What the fuck is doing?" Live on the air.

During the February 1996 SuperBrawl VI pay-per-view match in which the loser claims they respect the other wrestler, much like a "I Quit" match, Pillman defeated Kevin Sullivan as booker. After Pillman grabbed the microphone and said to Sullivan, "I respect you, booker man," the pillman lost to Sullivan. The word "booker man" was removed from the commercial tape. WCW President Eric Bischoff fired Pillman the next day after SuperBrawl VI. Pillman was shot so that he could go and develop the "loose cannon" gimmick in ECW and then return to WCW with more heat, according to Bischoff's autobiography. It was a bid that Bischoff and Pillman came up with together, according to him. Pillman did not return, and it would come back to Bischoff.

Following his release from WCW, Pillman returned to ECW and appeared at the promotion's annual Internet convention, ECW CyberSlam, on February 17, 1996. Pillman insulted Bischoff during an interview conducted in Joey Styles' Ring, describing him as a "gofer" and a "piece of shit." He turned his attention to the ECW audience, dismissively referring them as "smart marks." Pillman threatened to "yank out (his) Johnson" and urinate in the ring as Styles tried to end the interview. Tod Gordon, booker Paul Heyman, and wrestler Shane Douglas, who had him removed from the arena by security guards, confronted Pillman. Pillman assaulted a plant in the audience with a fork he made from his boot while being dragged from the stage. Although Pillman did not compete for ECW, he made many more appearances with the organization, including a verb war against Douglas, setting up a potential feud.

At Fight the Power, he gained the backstage ire of New Jack when he referred to Jack's tag team with Mustafa Saed as "Niggas with Attitudes," a nod to the rap group N.W.A. Pillman became the talk of all three major competitions as he headed to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) after he was supposed to face Shane Douglas in ECW. Pillman was seriously injured after falling asleep while driving his Hummer H1 in Kentucky and turning into a tree trunk, flipping the car on April 15, 1996. Pillman was in a coma for a week and sustained a fractured ankle, requiring doctors to fuse it into a set walking position, and subsequently compel Pillman to abandon his previous high-flying wrestling style for a more grounded style.

Pillman signed a deal with the WWF on June 10, 1996, the first step was announced in a press conference. After Marc Mero, he became the second wrestler to have a guaranteed deal with the WWF, highlighting the time when Vince McMahon was attempting to shield the company from losing workers to WCW, with Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall all previous doing so. Pillman acted as a commentator while recovering from his fractured ankle and transitioning to a wrestling role after assaulting an unruly fan during a WWF Superstars episode in Detroit on June 29, 1996.

Pillman appeared on the popular "Pillman's got a pistol" angle with his ex teammate Stone Cold Steve Austin on November 4, 1996 episode of Raw. When Pillman first joined the WWF, he immediately joined his long-time companion and former teammate Austin, who remained as his poverty while he recovered. Nonetheless, Pillman began loving Austin's nemesis, Bret Hart, before Austin had enough and assaulted him viciously in the ring during an interview on an episode of Superstars on October 27, 1996. Austin and Pillman had been feuding for several weeks, and Austin decided to take matters into his own hands and visit Pillman, who had been injured at his home in Walton, Kentucky. Kevin Kelly, a WWF photographer and the Pillman family, sat in Pillman's home, while Pillman's family surrounded him to shield him. Pillman became enraged and produced a Colt-45 pistol, angrily saying, "I'm gonna blast his sorry ass straight to hell" as the interview progressed. Pillman's friends sacked Austin as soon as he arrived, but he subpoenaed them as soon as he arrived. He then proceeded to break into Pillman's house and advance on his nemesis. Pillman responded by taking out the pistol and pointing it at a terrified Austin, while Kelly and Pillman's wife Melanie screamed for assistance. With the scene going black, the camera stream was now disrupted. Vince McMahon, the on-scene director, contacted commentator Vince McMahon and reported that he had heard "a few explosions." The transmission was restored shortly before the end of Raw, and viewers caught Pillman's friends dragging Austin from the house while Pillman fired the gun at Austin and declared his intention to "kill the son of a bitch." The pillman also said, "Get out of the fucking way." It was on live television, which prevented it from being edited out. The WWF and Pillman eventually apologized for the entire story.

Pillman returned and joined his real life, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart as part of the Anti-American Hart Foundation, winning the Pillman heel, which the majority of whom were familiar with from his Stampet Wrestling roots. Steve Austin, his ex partner, began feuding with him. Austin was on-screen for destroying Pillman's ankle in late October 1996 after putting it in between the seat and backrest of a folded chair and then leaping on the chair (this particular style of attack has since been dubbed "The Pillmanizer" in honor of this occurrence). Pillman first played in May and June as a full-fledged contestant, often competing with Hart Foundation members in 6 man tag matches against Austin and the Legion of Doom. In In Your House 16: In a 10-man tag team match in Bret's hometown, Pillman, Ken Shamrock, and The Legion of Doom defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, and The Legion of Doom.

He feuded with Goldust over Marlena from his time in Austin until his death. Pillman lost to Goldust at SummerSlam, when Pillman was forced to wear a dress during his matches for a month, or if Goldust wins, Pillman will abandon the WWF for the remainder of his life. In Your House 17: Ground Zero. Pillman defeated Goldust at In Your House 17: Ground Zero. This was his last WWF pay-per-view appearance. During the feud, they would appear in "Brian Pillman's XX-Files" segments, in which Marlena was forced to wear sexually provocative clothing. On the October 4, 1997 episode of Shotgun Saturday Night, the Patriot defeated The Patriot by disqualification due to interference by Goldust. After the match, Goldust followed Marlena and Marlena out of the arena.

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