BRIAN PILLMAN, 1962-97, by Julian Radbourne

BRIAN PILLMAN, 1962-97
by Julian Radbourne

On Sunday, October 5th, 1997, Brian Pillman was scheduled to wrestle Mick Foley, in his Dude Love persona, at the WWF pay-per-view Bad Blood.

This match never happened. Brian had been found dead a few hours later, having apparently suffered a heart attack at the relatively young age of 35.

When satellite television gave the British viewer the chance to explore the US wrestling scene a great deal in 1989, one of the first performers to virtually leap from the screen at you was one "Flyin'" Brian Pillman, at the time competing for Jim Crockett's National Wrestling Alliance. With a combination of good mat work, high-flying skills, natural athleticism and natural charisma, Pillman was one of the most over wrestlers one could find in the early days of the British wrestling fan's new-found love affair with the American wrestling scene.

A former linebacker with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, Pillman was trained for the wrestling world in the infamous Hart family dungeon in Calgary, having been spotted playing in the Canadian Football League. He later competed in Canada and the American independents before making his debut for the NWA in the late 1980's.

British fans got their first look at Pillman when the NWA shows were shown on various satellite channels in 1989, mainly on the now defunct Screensport channel. At the time Pillman was feuding with "The Total Package" Lex Luger over the U.S. Title. The mix of Pillman's high-flying, high impact style against Luger's power-based game could have proved to be a bad match, but the matches the two had against each other were highly entertaining.

When the U.S. Tag-Team titles were brought out of retirement, Pillman formed a team with "Z-Man" Tom Zenk. The duo won the ensuing tournament, and the team proved to be a firm hit with the fans, Pillman and Zenk's styles suiting each other greatly.

In the early 1990's, as Jim Crocket Promotions morphed into World Championship Wrestling, the promotion introduced a Light-Heavyweight Championship, and made a valiant effort to push the smaller wrestlers. Pillman once again showed his skill as he reached the tournament final, facing off against former Rock 'N' Roll Express member Richard Morton on pay-per-view. The two put in an exciting contest as Pillman emerged as the first WCW Light-Heavyweight Champion.

Pillman proved to be a fighting champion, defending against all-comers, and held the belt for a number of months, before dropping it to Japanese legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger, on Liger's American debut. The duo had an exciting series of matches all around America as the title went back and forth. Pillman and Liger later teamed in a tournament when the NWA World Tag-Team Championship, which had been discontinued when Crocket Promotions became WCW. They were unsuccessful, the straps being won by the team of "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy.

After Pillman regained the Light-Heavyweight championship, he began a feud with Brad Armstrong over the title, a feud which saw Pillman leave his baby-face ways behind and make a heel turn. Armstrong defeated Pillman for the title, but was unable to defend the title against Pillman when he suffered an injury. It was these events that solidified Pillman's heel turn. The Light-Heavyweight title was discontinued a short time later.

Pillman moved back into the tag-team division, and found the perfect partner in a pre-Stone Cold Steve Austin. "Flyin'" Brian and "Stunning" Steve formed the Hollywood Blondes tag-team, and later won the WCW Tag-Team Championship, but just as the duo began to get into their stride, the promoters split the team up. It wasn't long before Austin was heading towards the WWF, while Pillman joined the next incarnation of the Four Horsemen.

It was as a member of the Four Horsemen, along with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit, Pillman began to move onto his next character, that of the "Loose Cannon". Pillman's tenure as a Horseman was cut short due to a severe leg injury, and his departure from WCW. This, coupled with other injuries he had suffered over the years meant that he had to change his style a little, adopting a more ground-based style.

Pillman, still suffering from injury, was signed by the WWF. Even though he was injured for the first few months of his WWF tenure, he played a pivotal role on television. This was around the time that his former tag-team partner Steve Austin won the King of the Ring tournament, and was starting to build momentum after being saddled with the useless Ringmaster gimmick. While Bret Hart took a few months off after losing the WWF title to Shawn Michaels, Austin let it be known that he would like a match with Hart. It was when Hart announced that he would be returning to the WWF rather than going to WCW, and would accept Austin's challenge, that Pillman showed a great deal of pleasure at the Hitman's return. This annoyed Austin. Austin later attacked Pillman in the ring, and smashed his ankle with a steel chair.

The ensuing events were, at the time, shocking to the television audience, but were a fore-runner to the events that would send the WWF on it's hottest streak in years. During a Monday Night Raw telecast, Pillman, recovering at home with his wife, was informed that Austin was on his way. Austin managed to get through the security that Pillman had arranged, and got into his house, only to be greeted by a gun toting Pillman. Such scenes, a few years later, would not have battered an eyelid on WWF television, but back then, this was revolutionary stuff, and had never been attempted before.

When Pillman returned to active duty, it was part of the new Hart Foundation faction a few months later, along with Bret and Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Although he was never listed as an "official" member of the faction, Pillman joined because of his past association with the Hart family. The faction was formed after Bret's classic Wrestlemania match with Austin, in which Bret turned heel and Austin turned face. The ensuing matches between the Harts and the faces provided some good television moments. It also meant that Pillman and Austin could continue the feud that had begun the previous year, although this time the heel/face roles had been reversed.

While still a part of the Foundation, Pillman began to feud with Goldust. Pillman lost a match to Goldust on pay-per-view which meant that until he won again, Pillman would have to wrestle in a dress. The feud continued for a number of weeks as each time Pillman wrestled, Goldust would interfere on his behalf, meaning that he actually lost. This led to a rematch on pay-per-view, with stipulations that Pillman insisted on - if he won, Goldust's manager, Marlena, would become his "personal assistant" for thirty days. Pillman won the rematch, and Marlena. As the weeks went on, fans watching WWF television were treated to Pillman's video diary, documenting what Pillman had made Marlena do in his hotel room.

Which took Pillman to October 1997. Pillman had been scheduled to wrestle Dude Love on the same pay-per-view that featured the first Hell In A Cell match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, and the WWF debut of "The Big Red Machine" Kane. During the broadcast, Vince McMahon announced to the world the sad news that Pillman had been found dead in his hotel room earlier that day. A post-mortem later revealed that his death had been caused by a congenital heart complaint, something that wouldn't have been picked up on during a routine physical.

Brian Pillman died at the age of just 35. He gave so much to the world of wrestling, and whether it be as the baby face "Flyin'" Brian, or the villainous "Loose Cannon", Pillman always entertained the fans, and was a part of some of the most memorable story lines in the 1990's, for both WCW and the WWF. He is sadly missed by the fans, and will never be replaced.