Brian Pillman Jr. was awarded MLW’s Rookie of the Year award for 2018. He finished 3rd in the voting for the same award in the Wrestling Observer. Only Ronda Rousey and Stardom’s Utami Hayashishita finished ahead of him in the voting. His father won the award in 1987 when he was performing for Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. Brian Pillman Sr. passed away in 1997 when Brian Jr. was just 4-years old.

Pillman Jr. spoke to Cincinnati.com recently about what it was like growing up without his famous father.

“I didn’t have a father, but my mother also wasn’t there either,” Pillman Jr. said. “So, you can imagine the hardships going through school – not always having nice clothes, living in filth and things like that.”

Pillman noted that his father’s former roommate and current Baltimore Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, became an important figure in his life. Instead of going directly into pro-wrestling, Pillman went to school first and got a degree in Business Information Systems from Northern Kentucky.

“I took a route that most that become wrestlers don’t,” Pillman Jr. said. “A lot of people just say, ‘Oh, I’m gonna be a wrestler,’ and they’re not gonna do anything to better themselves outside of wrestling. I think I’m a more well-rounded person because of the adversity I’ve faced and also the education and the things I’ve undertaken.”

After a short foray into the corporate world, Pillman decided to attempt a career as a pro-wrestler. He sought out different places to train including Lance Storm’s academy in Calgary, where his father spent much of his career.

“I wanted to get the best training in the world,” Pillman Jr. said. “I wanted to be in a place where I would be taken care of and people would help me and not bullshit me.”