Brian Pillman Jr. Initially Thought His Father’s Passing Was An Angle

Brian Pillman Jr. was a guest on Wrestling Observer Radio over the weekend. The son of the late “Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman spoke with Dave Metlzer and Bryan Alvarez about a wide variety of topics during their half hour discussion.

Pillman spoke about his decision to follow in his father’s footsteps in becoming a pro wrestler, what he perceives to be his strengths and weaknesses, his father’s legacy and much more.

Pillman was only four years old at the time of his father’s tragic passing. It was such a surreal moment that when his family was called and informed about the tragedy, he thought it was a television angle, “like Austin and the gun.” Young Pillman Jr. was so unsure of the nature of the call versus the reality of it that he actually thought “my dad’s death was a work.”

The second generation wrestler recently made his debut for Major League Wrestling. Pillman, along with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Teddy Hart, comprise the new Hart Foundation faction that is already making waves in MLW.

Brian Pillman was at the forefront of edgy storylines during the 90s, and seemed to relish the opportunity to push the boundaries of his character and whatever feud he was involved with.

From his time with the Four Horsemen and the initial beginning of the “Loose Cannon” gimmick, where he would court controversy through a myriad of worked shoots, including grabbing the mic during SuperBrawl VI and directly referring to Kevin Sullivan as “booker man,” to the previously mentioned altercation between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and a more developed “Loose Cannon,” where the infamous WWF segment took place with Austin breaking into Pillman’s home only to be confronted with a gun as the camera faded with the sound of screams, supposed gunshots and carnage. The then WWF would later have to apologize for the entire angle.

With Pillman Sr. being so willing to blur the lines of his own reality and character, it’s not surprising that a four-year-old Pillman Jr. would believe the initial reports of his father’s unfortunate passing were a work.