Brian Pillman Jr can still very much be considered a newbie in wrestling terms. Despite this, he is attracting a lot of attention for his performances and the people who matter the most in the wrestling industry are standing up and taking notice. Brian is still only 27 years old and has competed in a vast number of indie promotions throughout the US.
Among his most notable achievement includes winning the MLW rookie of the year in 2018. He has also of course made a few appearances in AEW and made a good impression with the fans. So, How did he get to this point?
In a recent interview with the TheSockMonkey Show, Pillman displayed a refreshing amount of gratitude for the position he finds himself in. He spoke very eloquently about the help he had in getting to his position and I for one love to see this softer side of these successful athletes.
“It’s a powerful feeling,” Pillman said. “Obviously, I’ve had so much help and resources along the way, and the best trainer in the world Lance Storm. So, I kind of set myself to be ahead of the game as much as I could before I got started. Do you know what I mean? So, I was taking all the steps to ensure the safety of my body and health, and also to protect myself as far as not being overexposed.”
Pillman also touched upon how helpful modern technology is in guiding people to spot natural talent. He admits that he was lucky enough to have some connections that helped him get into the business (most notably his father) but also acknowledges that the use of social media can help people reach a large audience without a televised platform.
“It’s a blessing to have the internet in these times too. It’s possible for young talent to get themselves over regardless of what promotion they’re at,” Pillman said. “People can express themselves, and I was able to express my story through pro wrestling and how it’s affected my life and how I eventually came around to wrestling. So I think that helped with my passion and my rise in the business, you know? And my ability to work with a lot of good guys and learn I’m very blessed.”
Although he has made some appearances on The AEW network Pillman confirmed that he is still contracted to MLW talent.
“I’m pretty sure I’m still under contract with them,” Pillman said. “I’ve been working with whoever wants to work with me even though MLW – I’m assigned to them. It’s a pretty liberal deal where I can do a lot of things, you know? I’m not super exclusive to them; some of the later ones are. [My contract] was a little older and they were more lenient on what I could do, so I’m very happy and blessed for that. I’m also able to do AEW, MLW, and OVW television all at the same time.”
Although Pillman is not yet a regular on AEW, it is becoming apparent that the company has an easy avenue to take him. His tag partnership with Griff Garrison has the makings of a potentially successful one and they have already achieved two victories on AEW. During the interview, there was even a suggestion that the tag team could fully embrace their ‘blonde’ tag despite there actually not being an official name for the partnership yet.
This will make many a wrestling fan nostalgic as Brian’s dad, Brian Pillman Sr tagged up with Steve Austin back in the day to form ‘The Hollywood Blondes in WCW. Maybe like most people, I am a sucker for nostalgia but I for one wish him all the best and will look on with interest to see how the AEW utilizes his obvious talent and drive.
