Brian Pillman

Brian Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was a professional wrestler in the 1980s and 1990s.

Profile

• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 226 lbs.
• Birthday: May 22, 1962
• Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
• Trainer: Stu Hart
• Other Gimmicks: Yellow Dog, Flyin' Brian, California Brian, "The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman
• Valets: Marlena

Football Career

Pillman began life with throat cancer, and underwent some 33 operations to remove it. As a result, his voice would be permanently raspy. The somewhat smallish Pillman would go on to survive this bout with illness and play football for Miami University and the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1980s. It was at this time that he began to take steroids and painkillers to perform. He would have problems with addiction the rest of his life.

Stampede Wrestling

Pillman broke into wrestling in the mid-1980's for Stampede Wrestling, the Calgary-based promotion run by legendary wrestler/promoter Stu Hart. He was half of the tag team "Bad Company" with Bruce Hart. He used his girlfriend at the time, Beulah McGillicuty, to get him over as a face. He put her at ringside and had the heels taunt her so he could rescue her. It worked as he was one of the top faces ever in Calgary.

WCW

After moving to World Championship Wrestling, he would be known as "Flyin' Brian" Pillman for his aerial style. He held the WCW United States tag team championship with Tom Zenk, and also held the short-lived WCW Light-Heavyweight championship, feuding with Brad Armstrong, Jushin Liger, Richard Morton and Scotty Flamingo. He also did a gimmick where he was the masked Yellow Dog that Barry Windham knew was him but could not prove it. Pillman had lost a retirement match and then became the Yellow Dog to harass Windham.

Pillman's greatest wrestling achievement was the revolutionary tag team of the "Hollywood Blondes", with "Stunning" Steve Austin. In March 1993, the duo won the (then-combined) NWA/WCW World tag team championship, which they would hold for six months. The team quickly became popular for their brash attitudes and legendary catchphrases. They had some classic matches against Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas, whom they had won the titles from. They also feuded with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson and mocked their ages and even mocked Flair's interview show, "A Flair For the Gold", with their own "A Flare For the Old".

After the demise of the Blondes, Pillman would flounder in WCW before joining the legendary Four Horsemen with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit in late 1995. During this time, Pillman began to transition into his "Loose Cannon" gimmick. He was, as the name would suggest, known for his unpredictability. He did one of the first "worked shoot" gimmicks, blurring the lines of reality and storyline, and he famously outed Kevin Sullivan as a backstage booker in their strap match at Superbrawl 1996. Pillman's erratic behavior also caused legendary manager/commentator Bobby Heenan to use the "f-word" on live broadcast television during a televised WCW event.

Pillman also made several posts during this time to the Usenet newsgroup rec.sport.pro-wrestling, shilling his 1–900-PILLMAN hotline. Later on, his wife Melanie would also post there, updating fans on his medical condition.

ECW and the WWF

Pillman used his "Loose Cannon" gimmick to secure a release from his WCW contract (alledgedly under the guise of being "fired" for his conduct), and would briefly appear for Extreme Championship Wrestling before heading to the WWF, to become the first wrestler to ever signed a guaranteed deal with the WWF. However, just before he signed his WWF contract, a near fatal accident in his Humvee shattered his ankle, forcing doctors to fuse it together in a fixed position. This injury essentially destroyed his wrestling ability, and restarted his addiction to painkillers. When he arrived in the WWF, he was unable to wrestle, and had to get himself over solely on his own personality.

In November 1996, Pillman took part in the infamous gun incident with Steve Austin, where Austin "broke into" Pillman's home on a "live" telecast of Monday Night Raw, and Pillman pulled a gun on him. Of course, the entire incident was staged, but the resulting controversy was long before the WWF's "Attitude" era, and their network deal with USA was jeopardized, as USA had just moved Raw back one hour to better comepete with WCW's Monday Nitro.

Pillman wrestled sporadically in 1997, aligning himself with the Hart Foundation and feuding with Goldust. Sometime during the night or early morning prior to the October 1997 "In Your House: Badd Blood" pay per view in St. Louis, Pillman died in a Minnesota hotel room. While he was heavily into prescription drugs, an autopsy found a previously undetected heart condition had led to his death. He did not know he was about to become a father once again when he died.

For the next few years, a Brian Pillman memorial wrestling show would be put on in Cincinnati, featuring WWF, WCW, and local talent, and benefitting his children.

Championships/Accomplishments

• 1-Time WCW/NWA World Tag Team Champion (with Steve Austin)
• 2-Time WCW World Junior Heavyweight Champion
• 1-Time NWA United States Tag Team Champion (with Tom Zenk)
• 2-Time Stampede Wrestling Tag Team Champion (with Bruce Hart)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 84 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. PWI also ranked him # 50 of the best tag teams during the "PWI Years" with Steve Austin.

Trivia

• Pillman dated Terri Runnels while they were in WCW before she married Dustin Rhodes.

Sources

• Tributes by Dave Meltzer, 2001, ISBN 1–55366–085–4.