Brian Pillman’s legacy is still strong today with new fans enjoying his ‘90s work back in WWE and WCW. Unlike many other wrestlers of the time, Pillman was ahead of his era when it came to captivating the wrestling fan base. The incredible matches of Pillman in the WCW cruiserweight division helped him break out to become a valuable asset to the industry.
Pillman’s desire to introduce an edgier character allowed him to continue growing in star power. The life and career of the legend was unfortunately cut short when passing away at a young age in 1997. Fans ended up appreciating his work more as the years went on. The man behind the madness also had some wild backstage stories.
10 Tricked Eric Bischoff into releasing him
The story of Brian Pillman fooling Eric Bischoff into giving him a release from WCW is a legendary backstage tale. Pillman was growing frustrated with WCW’s use of him over a few years as he transitioned into his loose cannon gimmick.
Bischoff agreed to let Pillman wrestle for ECW and other smaller promotions to sell the angle, but Pillman wanted more. The selling point of legitimately releasing him made Bischoff think it would fool the wrestlers as well. Pillman however wanted out so he could negotiate a deal with WWE as the ultimate swerve.
9 Winked at Chris Jericho during shoot angle
Brian Pillman took his character to the next level during his appearances in ECW. Each moment featured something controversial to upset the fans and the talent feeling he was legitimately disrespecting the company.
One of the stranger moments came backstage when Pillman was confronted by other wrestlers and did not break character. Chris Jericho claimed that Pillman’s only moment breaking was winking at him. The ties of both wrestlers training with the Hart family likely made him trust Jericho.
8 Received historic WWE contract
WWE never gave out guaranteed contracts until WCW passed them in the pecking order during the rise of Monday Nitro. Brian Pillman getting out of his WCW contract made it WWE’s move to either sign him or let him return with his agreed deal with Eric Bischoff.
Vince McMahon gave Pillman the first 100% guaranteed contract in company history. Marc Mero was the first to have a guaranteed deal, but it was for the downside. Pillman clearly had WWE’s interest with a press conference announcing his signing.
7 Wanted to streak at the Super Bowl to promote character
Former WCW booker Kevin Sullivan shared one of the wildest tales from working with Brian Pillman in WCW. The idea pitched from Pillman was going to see him run on the field at the Super Bowl in 1996 and chain himself to the goal post.
Pillman likely would have been stopped by security long before getting to the goal post, but he wanted a way to create a buzz with his loose cannon character. The idea thankfully never came to fruition or Pillman would have likely been in huge trouble with the law.
6 Legitimately scared Bobby Heenan during unplanned moment
One of the most memorable moments from Brian Pillman’s loose cannon run came during an interaction with Bobby Heenan in WCW. Pillman ran outside of the ring to avoid his opponent and made Heenan stand up to hide behind him.
Given how unpredictable Pillman was acting to everyone backstage at the time, Heenan was legitimately terrified. Many fans thought it was scripted since moments like that weren’t too shocking, but Heenan dropping a swear word showed that he wasn’t expecting it. He was also fresh off of a neck injury and didn't want to get physical.
5 Steve Austin initially didn't want to team with him
The Hollywood Blondes tag team of Steve Austin and Brian Pillman provided a stellar run in the WCW tag team division. WCW initially wanted Pillman to team with Barry Windham, but they decided to end it when moving Windham to the heavyweight title picture.
Steve Austin was unhappy when Pillman revealed that they were now going to work together since he needed a new partner. The goal of Austin was always to become a top singles star, so he was against joining a tag team. Once realizing it was going to happen, both wrestlers made the most of it to find chemistry and have a great run together as the Hollywood Blondes to set up their future.
4 Sid wanted to fight him with a squeegee
Brian Pillman often had to stand up for himself in WCW due to being one of the smallest wrestlers in the locker room of giants at the time. Sid Vicious got into a confrontation with Pillman and Mike Graham when running down WCW’s business compared to WWE.
The size of Pillman and in-ring style of Sid were criticized shortly after Sid almost severely injured him in a War Games match. Pillman challenged Sid to a fight until he stormed out of the bar they were at. Sid returned with a squeegee of all items calling out Pillman and Graham until other wrestlers separated them.
3 Lex Luger mocked him for trying to improve
The smaller size of Brian Pillman placed him in WCW’s original cruiserweight division where he tried to improve his in-ring work. Pillman was innovative in the ring and often utilized the top rope moves to earn his “Flyin’ Brian” nickname.
Lex Luger was an enemy of Pillman for years and developed disdain when criticizing him before a show. Pillman was practicing new moves from the top rope before showtime and Luger mocked him for it. WCW prioritizing Luger for his physique saw him talking down to Pillman and many others at the time.
2 Was planned to receive singles push with Terri as his manager
The WWE run of Brian Pillman was a disaster with various injuries delaying his planned pushes. Other top stars had emerged by the time Pillman was ready to go as a member of the Hart Foundation heel faction with his friends.
Pillman received one noteworthy singles feud with Goldust that saw his ex-girlfriend and Goldust’s then-wife Terri Runnels involved in a love triangle. The stipulation for their big match saw Terri forced to live with Pillman for a month. A future match was planned to see Terri turn on Goldust to become Pillman’s love interest for a bigger push, but the heartbreaking news of his unexpected death came shortly before it could play out.
1 Hulk Hogan wanted to bury him in WCW
One of the most ridiculous matches in WCW history featured Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage facing off with eight heels in a triple-decker cage match. Brian Pillman returned to WCW after a short break and was advertised as part of the match one week before the show.
Reports indicated that Pillman was livid about Hogan trying to bury him by adding him to the match as an irrelevant jobber when he had momentum. Pillman refused to work the show and had no love for Hogan moving forward. Part of the reason Pillman tricked Eric Bischoff into releasing him was knowing that Hogan’s WCW influence would hurt his career like many others he buried.