Brian Pillman Jr. On Hart Foundation - WWE Hall Of Fame Rumors, Possible Induction For His Father
Brian Pillman Jr. has followed in his father's footsteps and is currently wrestling with MLW as part of the latest version of the Hart Foundation alongside Teddy Hart and Harry Smith.
As for the original Hart Foundation, there has been talk of the faction going into the WWE Hall of Fame. Pillman discussed that possibility when he joined WINCLY.
"I haven't heard anything from [WWE] about it, but it's possible," said Pillman. "I don't think my mom has too much bad blood with the company even though she wasn't always the easiest person to work with."
Pillman says his mom has a Legend's deal with WWE but she's never petitioned to get Pillman Sr. inducted with the Hart Foundation.
"She's not trying to get it in but I think the people know it. Vince knows it. Everybody knows he deserves to go in," stated Pillman. "If he goes in with the Hart Foundation, I think that would be a good way to do it. I'm not gonna sit there and complain that he deserves it on his own."
Another way that Pillman Jr. followed his father was by going to the ECW Arena in Philadelphia. The younger Pillman got to debut there some 23 years after his father cut a promo in the ECW Arena.
"It's great. It's very timely as well as I just debuted in that arena in February as well," said Pillman.
Pillman addressed the Philly crowd just as his dad did and he introduced Harry Smith as his tag partner.
"Me and Harry went out there and took the beatdown on Sandman and Tommy Dreamer as historically as we could," stated Pillman before adding that his dad and Sandman were friends and he was excited to be able to work with Sandman as well.
"He was very excited about it and I think I definitely impressed him as well. It was a successful set of tapings and the crowd was very into it. I think we just keep making history and that's what a lot of my career is about.
"A lot of the older guys?kinda their sendoff to the next generation of guys [is to work with younger talent]. Guys like Kevin Sullivan, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer ? it's truly wonderful to be sitting underneath that learning tree whether they're my opponents or tag partners."
Despite being a second-generation wrestler and the son of one of the most iconic Superstars of his era, Pillman Jr. said he doesn't feel any extra pressure due to the experienced guys he works with.
"It's almost a position of comfort when you're put in a position with some older guys. It helps you cover yourself and you can go out there and have fun," said Pillman.
"It's a different ballgame today ? it's kinda harder to get over with the high expectations and athleticism. But that's where I'm different as I have a real story and a lot of those moments of entertainment value that we can get the most out of."
Brian Pillman Sr. notoriously suffered many injuries during his career, but his son says that he can preserve his body some by telling a story out there instead of just high spots.
Pillman Sr. and Davey Boy Smith were a part of the Attitude Era's Hart Foundation and now each of their sons are a part of MLW's version. Pillman talked about working with Davey Boy's son, Harry Smith, and Teddy Hart.
"Harry is a pure athlete, one-of-a-kind. He's very traditional in preserving what's important in wrestling and too many guys are willing to throw that out the window," stated Pillman. "Being from the Hart Family, he is a man of tradition and intense conditioning. He keeps me grounded in reality while Teddy is a bit more abstract in wrestling and "indie" if you want to call it.
"I learn a lot of good things for crowd reactions from Teddy and a lot of that deep psychology and realism from Harry."
Brian Pillman Jr will be competing twice next month in Chicago, IL: March 2nd at MLW's Intimidation Games and on March 15th at Warrior Wrestling 4.
You can listen to Pillman's full WINCLY interview in the embedded player below. In it he also discusses his emotional ECW Arena debut, Davey Boy Smith Jr and Teddy Hart as mentors, what he thinks of AEW, why signing with MLW was smart and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here.
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