Brian Pillman Jr. Talks Steve Austin Apologizing To Him For WWE Angle
Brian Pillman Jr was just four years old when his father died at the age of 35. The younger Pillman followed in his father's footsteps and is now a professional wrestler signed to Major League Wrestling.
Pillman Sr was known for always willing to go the extra mile to put on a great show or give the boys in the back a laugh. Pillman Jr says he has many of those same characteristics when he chatted with Wrestling Inc's Andy Malnoske.
"You've seen the videos of him wrestling a pencil or trying to work the boys," Pillman Jr said of his dad trying to entertain others. "He runs back to the locker room and [screams], 'Oh my God! He's hurt. He's killed.' It turns out he's just working the boys.
"He was always in a mood to entertain and to pop people and make people laugh. I feel like I share that similar trait and I think that's what makes me a good entertainer to follow in his footsteps because I like to get people to pop and have fun. You can't take life too seriously."
The elder Pillman's most memorable angle was when Steve Austin broke into the Pillman house on Raw which resulted in Jim Ross infamously screaming, "Pillman's got a gun." Pillman Jr. was just three years old when that happened but he vividly remembers Austin destroying his kiddie swimming pool in the process.
"Yeah, Steve broke into my house and there was glass on the floor for like three weeks," stated Pillman Jr. "Like, wasn't somebody gonna clean this up [laughter]? He literally broke into my house and rest in peace to that kiddie pool, I never saw it after that.
"He apologized and I'm still a little salty about it. We buried the hatchet and of course Steve Austin is someone great to have in your corner, constantly calling me up, giving me advice and looking over my matches. It's great. I hope I can follow in Steve's footsteps as well and hopefully become a huge star."
Even though Pillman Jr. is carving out his own name in wrestling, he still owes a lot to his father and the legacy he left behind. Pillman Jr. was asked what message he would give to his father.
"I would say thank you," stated Pillman Jr. "Thank you, dad. Thank you for this legacy. Thank you for giving me the name Brian. I know a lot of people don't believe it, 'Oh, it's just a gimmick!' But no, my shoot name is Brian Pillman."
Pillman Jr. says that he and his dad have different middle names, so he's technically not a junior, but still uses the suffix.
"If there's a work, the junior is a work," revealed Pillman Jr. "I'm not legally a junior but wrestling is cool and we can use that. I'm Brian Pillman II, Junior, the second coming, 2.0 ? whatever you wanna call me. But thank you dad. Thank you for this legacy and thank you to the fans for not only loving him but also respecting my work as a separate entity because it's all coming together now."
You can listen to Pillman's full interview with Wrestling Inc. in the video above.