Exclusive: AEW Star Off Big Indie Show This Weekend Due To Concussion
Wrestling Inc. has learned that AEW star Brian Pillman Jr. is off of tomorrow's Warrior Wrestling 18 show in South Bend, IN due to a concussion he suffered in his AEW Dynamite tag team match against the House of Black. Pillman Jr. was scheduled to face former ROH star Silas Young. Young will now take on young Chicago native Davey Bang.
Brian Pillman Jr. has been a staple at Warrior Wrestling shows for years now. He infamously won the Warrior Wrestling Championship at Warrior Wrestling 8 in a War of Attrition match. Earlier in the night, Pillman Jr. lost to Bully Ray in a street fight but earned the ECW original's respect in the process. Later in the show, former Warrior Champion Brian Cage selected Pillman Jr. to compete for the title in the main event, which he went on to win.
Davey Bang has competed in several multi-man matches for Warrior Wrestling but this will easily be his most high-profile bout for the promotion. Last month, Bang and his partner August Matthews competed for the Freelance Wrestling tag team titles against The Take It Home Wreckers (Bucky Colins and Mikey) but sadly came up short. Bang began wrestling in 2019 and is a product of the Freelance Wrestling Academy.
Back in 2020 Brian Pillman Jr. spoke with the AEW Unrestricted podcast about the pressure of living up to his father's legacy.
"Absolutely, I think I've had that pressure since the first day," Brian Pillman said. "I've always been kind of looked at a little bit differently. Even from the first week, in training, people have sort of treated me differently or spoken to me a little bit differently, and I think the pressure wears off the more comfortable I get in the profession. I think with the amount of traveling and things I've done prior to the pandemic and prior to coming to AEW, I really learned a lot on the road.
"A lot about myself and stuff, and those long drives, and you're cutting promos, and you're kind of finding out who you are and your character. How can I tribute to my father while also staying true to myself is something that I've looked inwards at a lot. I think the more experienced I get, I think the less pressure I have because I know what the goal of wrestling is at the end of the day.
"If we're doing good business, whether that's telling a story that connects to me in the real world — I don't have a gimmick per se. I do kind of playoff being a second-generation because wrestling's very real to me. It's very serious to me. I try to just be myself in all aspects and turn that up as much as I can."
You can watch Warrior Wrestling 18 tomorrow night on FITE