An innovative high-flying wrestler in the late 1980s and early 1990s who also proved to be a great character performer thanks to his “Loose Cannon” gimmick, Brian Pillman was one of the great wrestlers of his time. Fans can see his influence in wrestlers like Jon Moxley, whose persona -- particularly as Dean Ambrose in WWE -- feels like a blatant shout-out to Pillman.
Unfortunately, Brian Pillman tragically died in 1997, so many younger fans might not know too much about him, especially as All Elite Wrestling had done some tributes to Pillman during their Cincinnati shows in 2021. Let’s take a look at what wrestling fans should know about him.
10 Football Background
Growing up in Cincinnati, Pillman played football in college for Ohio’s Miami University before moving on to stints with the Cincinnati Bengals and then the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stompers. Pillman’s time in Canada would lead to a pursuit of pro wrestling, as he’d trained with Calgary’s Stu Hart in the mid-1980s, debuting in 1986 for Stampede Wrestling. There, he would form a tag team with Bruce Hart and spent a little time performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
9 Flyin’ Brian
Pillman would get wider exposure in 1989 when he signed to World Championship Wrestling and debuted as a high-flying babyface named Flyin’ Brian. Pillman proved to be a must-see talent, as he incorporated lucha-libre-inspired moves into his arsenal, which was extremely innovative at the time. Aside from a tag title run with the NWA US belts, Flyin’ Brian would be a top star in WCW’s short-lived Light Heavyweight division, becoming a two-time champion and putting on classic matches with Jushin Thunder Liger.
8 The Hollywood Blonds
In 1992, Brian Pillman turned heel, forming a tag team with Barry Windham and unsuccessfully challenging Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat at Starrcade ‘92. But when Windham decided to go solo, Pillman found a new tag team partner in future star and future rival “Stunning” Steve Austin, becoming The Hollywood Blonds in the process and beating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas for the WCW World Tag Team Championships, enjoying a 168-day run with the belts.
Unfortunately, an injury would sideline Pillman, requiring Steven Regal to fill in for him in a tag match where he and Austin lost the titles to Arn Anderson and Paul Roma at Clash of the Champions 24. Soon after, Austin would turn on Pillman, turning the latter into a babyface in the process.
7 Becoming A Horseman
By 1995, Brian Pillman would become a part of the feud between Four Horsemen founders Arn Anderson and Ric Flair, siding with Anderson. In response, Flair would beg top babyface Sting to help him out, leading to a match at Halloween Havoc 1995 where this whole storyline was revealed to be an elaborate ruse. Flair once again betrayed Sting, revealing that he and Arn were reuniting The Four Horsemen yet again, with Brian Pillman and Chris Benoit to round out the group.
6 The Loose Cannon Is Born
By late 1995, Brian Pillman’s persona started to evolve as he adopted a more “edgy” bad boy look and started acting increasingly erratic and unpredictable. In one notable incident, he unexpectedly grabbed Bobby Heenan at ringside, causing the legendary manager and color commentator to swear on live television. Pillman became impossible to control -- so much that even the other Horsemen were beginning to view him as a problem -- and this new iteration of the former Flyin’ Brian would be nicknamed “The Loose Cannon.”
5 “I Respect You, Booker Man”
Pillman’s wild behavior led to a special stipulation bout with Kevin Sullivan at February 1996’s Superbrawl VI: a strap match where the loser has to say “I respect you” to the winner. Sullivan was WCW’s head booker at the time and put himself into a few kayfabe-breaking matches on a number of occasions, but this one would prove to be the most infamous. After a minute into the match, Pillman abruptly took the microphone, said “I respect you, booker man,” and walked off. The incident was scripted with the intention that Pillman would spend some time in ECW to further develop his character and then return, but this didn’t work out.
4 ECW 1996
About a week after the SuperBrawl incident, Brian Pillman surprisingly showed up at Extreme Championship Wrestling’s CyberSlam show, where he cut a promo in the ring trashing ECW, ECW fans, and threatening to pee on the ring. As security tried to remove him, he produced a fork and stabbed a “fan” in the crowd on his way out.
The plan for Pillman in ECW was to build to a match with Shane Douglas, but that unfortunately never happened due to real-life circumstances. A horrific car wreck would result in Pillman not only shattering his ankle, but it also put him into a brief coma. While he had an earlier match in 1994, Pillman never had a match during this period.
3 Pillman’s Got A Gun
Brian Pillman was still recovering from his injury when he signed to WWE in 1996 but still appeared on TV, working color commentary and functioning as old buddy Steve Austin’s sidekick. However, Pillman started to side with Austin’s rival Bret Hart, resulting in Austin turning on him and leading to an infamous moment on Monday Night Raw.
During a live interview in Pillman’s home, Austin attacked and attempted a break-in, resulting in Pillman taking out a gun. Gunshots and unbleeped profanity ensued, and the segment proved so controversial that WWE was forced to apologize.
2 The Pillmanizer
One moment in Brian Pillman’s short WWE career would become a staple of the pro wrestling lexicon. In 1997, Pillman would join the now-heel Hart Foundation along with Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart and enter a full-on feud with Steve Austin. Another classic moment would ensue with Austin putting Pillman’s ankle in a chair and stomping it. It’s become a common trope in wrestling but is often called The Pillmanizer or Pillmanizing as a verb.
1 Carrying On The Family Name
Carrying on his father’s legacy, Brian Pillman Jr. debuted in 2018, wrestling on the indies before gaining wider exposure in Major League Wrestling, where he was a member of a new Hart Foundation stable with Davey Boy Smith Jr. (British Bulldog’s son) and Teddy Hart.
In 2020, Pillman got even wider exposure, debuting for AEW and gradually improving in in-ring skills and profile, teaming with Griff Garrison as Varsity Blonds, an obvious tribute to his dad’s classic tag team in WCW.