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                                     Brian Pillman.

                                              BIO.

As soon as Brian Pillman was born he faced his first battle. Young Brian, born the 22nd of May 1962 was diagnosed with throat cancer. He underwent a total of thirty-six operations during his lifetime, and as a teen was given an artificial larynx.
This ordeal gave him an instantly recognizable raspy voice.
Despite these problems, Brian succeeded as an athlete during high school.
He was accepted to Miami of Ohio University on a football scholarship.
Though Brian didn't make the NFL draft, he joined the Cincinnati Bengals training camp and made the team. He spent a year playing with the Bengals before he suffered an ankle injury and was released. He moved to play for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL. But during his time there he suffered more problems with his ankle and decided it was time for a new vocation.
It was in Calgary that Brian met up with the Hart family and he was soon training in Stu Hart's infamous "Dungeon" with Stu and the other Hart brothers.
He began his wrestling career in Stu Hart's promotion Calgary Stampede Wrestling.
Here Brian proved to have a natural flair for the business and formed "Bad Company" with Bruce Hart. They went on to win the International Tag team titles, but soon thereafter the team suffered a loss and fell from tag team contention.
About a year later, Brian was contacted by WCW and packing his bags he moved to Atlanta, GA for his first shot at the big time.
Brian immediately impressed people with his high flying, daredevil style of wrestling and three months after making his debut, he was granted shots at Lex Luger's United States Heavyweight Championship. Although Luger retained his title, during bouts at Halloween Havoc and Clash of the Champions IX, Brian gave every match his all which produced some thrilling contests.
The next setp in Brian's career came with a partner.
He and Tom Zenk were a successful tag team. They held the resurrected United States Tag team Titles for three months, between February 1990 and May 1990.
Following their loss to the Midnight Express at Capital Combat, the team disbanded and Brian spent much of the next year in one of his many career ruts.
He continued winning, but had no established program at the time. That all changed come the Spring of 1991.
Brian joined forces with Sting and the Steiner brothers to battle the Four Horsemen. Sting's team met the Horsemen team of Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious and Larry Zbyszko [substituting for Arn Anderson] in the two ring double cage in War Games. It was a brutal, bloody match which the Horsemen won after Sid knocked Pillman out with two devastating powerbombs.
Pillman then went on to face Horsemen Barry Windham in a taped fist match at Superbrawl and again at Clash XV teaming with El Gigante against Windham and Anderson. He lost both matches, and unfortunately the second match was a loser leaves town match. So Brian was forced to 'leave' WCW.
He returned to WCW shortly thereafter as the masked "Yellow Dog", a moniker Windham had used earlier in his career in Florida.
Pillman enjoyed a fairly successful time in WCW, winning the newly created Light Heavyweight Title and having several tremendous matches with Jushin Liger whom the WCW had brought over from Japan.
Later on though, Liger returned to Japan, leaving Pillman with no serious opponents. He successful defended his title against Johnny B. Badd, then went on to face his former partner Tom Zenk.
Zenk was followed by Scotty Flamingo at Beach Blast and Brad Armstrong.
It was during this time that WCW instituted a stupid rule banning moves off the top rope. This killed all of Brian's 'air pillman' moves until September when the rule was lifted.
Shortly afterwards though, Brian fell into another career rut and was teamed with another man going nowhere fast, Steve Austin.
The two became a regular team and named themselves the Hollywood Blondes. They went on to win the tag team titles and defended against such as the Four Horsemen team of Arn Anderson and Paul Roma.
They beat the Four Horsemen in their first match, but before a rematch at Clash of the Champions, Pillman injured his ankle once again.
Later, the Blondes split up with Austin being pushed towards the U.S. title.
Pillman's career fell sharply and after losing to Austin at Clash of the Champions XXV in November, he achieved very little of note. He made a few brief appearances in ECW and linked arms with Sting and Dustin Rhodes to face Steve Austin, Paul Orndorf and Rick Rude in a Thunderdome match.
Pillman was beaten quite bloody by the heels.
In April of 1994, Pillman's contract came up for renewal. Following enormous speculation, Brian was resigned for $450,000 over a two year period. He faced Steve Regal at Spring Stampede for the TV title, achieving a draw when the time limit expired.
Then along came the 'Orange Skinned One' Hulk Hogan and his band of decrepit cronies [the nWo] and Brian fell into obscurity.
Then at the beginning of 1995 he was repackaged as "California' Brian Pillman. He teamed with Austin again, reforming the Hollywood Blondes. Unfortunately, the reformation ended abruptly when Austin was fired from WCW in September, following a serious muscle tear.
Brian appeared to have been left in the lurch, but he recovered and got the win over Jushin Liger in the opening match of the debut edition of WCW Monday Nitro on Labour Day 1995.
Pillman then went on to become a member of the Four Horsemen with Ric Flair, Chris Benoit and Arn Anderson. The symbol of excellence in pro wrestling had been reborn. Two months later, following the typical Horseman formula of running in whenever needed Brian's unstable side emerged and so was born the "LOOSE CANNON".
The Horsemen went on to feud with the Dungeon of Doom after Pillman badmouthed them on an episode of Nitro, but after only a short time, Pillman fell out of contention with the group.
He went on to engage in an intense feud with Kevin Sullivan, before being fired from WCW.
Later, he showed up in ECW and threatened to take a piss in the middle of the ring during a broadcast. Shane Douglas, Tod Gordon and Paul E. Dangerously ran in to stop him.
Pillman rolled out of the ring and a fan took a swing at him. Brian pulled the fan into the ring and attacked him with a fork.
He was then ejected from the building by security.
On March 11th, he purchased ringside seats for Nitro. He had with him several handmade signs for his independant 1-900 number and ended up being escorted from the building.
He received surgery the next day for a throat injury suffered whilst being ejected from Nitro, and returned the following Monday. He hopped the railing and joined an attack on Hogan and Savage. He was offered a spot in the main event of Uncensored 96' but because of throat complications pulled out.
Apparently Pillman was still under WCW contract and they were trying to create an image of Pillman being completely nuts before he returned to WCW to face Kevin Sullivan again. If that was the plan then the night of April 15th was a bloody big stumbling block. It was the night Brian Pillman almost died.
Pillman was driving in his humvee along Kentucky Route 33 and hit a tree trunk. He shot across the road and hit another which caused his vehicle to flip. Pillman was thrown thirty feet through the air.
He went to hospital with a severely broken left ankle, dislocated jaw, broken nose and cheekbone and severe facial cuts.
Pillman had a steel rod inserted into his ankle and his ankle was fused into a walking position. He was released on April 19th, returning for plastic surgery on his face. On April 17th Brian's contract with WCW expired.
Brian was confined to a wheelchair and returned to ECW on June 1st. During the interview he mentioned the rap group 'NWA' and New Jack of the Gangstas took offense to this. This led to a backstage confrontation between the two and ended Pillman's stay in ECW.
Afterwards he went on to join the WWF on a three year contract.
He spent the next few months commentating and interviewing until October when he needed his ankle breaking again. Doctors found his ankle was not healing correctly so were forced to break it and reset it.
On TV his absence was explained by having Steve Austin attack him before his operation. This led to one of Vince McMahon's lowest points, the gun angle on Monday Night Raw.
Pillman was being interviewed from home when it was revealed that Steve Austin was on his way over. Austin arrived and broke into the house and Brian pulled a gun on him. The signal was cut, but not before Brian yelled "Let him go, I'll f**king kill him"
Under orders from the USA Network the gun incident was neither shown nor mentioned again. Brian was kept from TV for several months following it. He showed up to present an award at the Slammys.
He returned to Raw on April 21st, attacking Steve Austin. He became an unofficial member of the Hart Foundation and took great delight in attacking Austin. Pillman went on to, along with the other members of the Foundation, become embroiled in a feud with Austin. He tagged with Owen Hart and Davey-Boy Smith in one match to face Austin and the LOD and tagged with Jim Neidhart in another match.
In the main event of In Your House XVI, Pillman joined the rest of the Harts to beat Austin, Goldust, Shamrock and the LOD in a ten man tag team match. Pillman then turned his attention on Goldust. He met him at Summerslam with the stipulation that if he lost he would wrestle in a dress until he won again.
Naturally Brian lost and donned a dress, Goldust interfered in every match attacking his opponent so Pillman would continue to lose. Another dress shot, then Pillman snapped and began what would have been one of the most heated feuds of 1997.
Pillman was in the ring taunting Goldust when he said "You know your daughter Dakota? She's my love child, it was so good"
Goldust went nuts and Pillman demanded a match where if he won, he would acquire the services of Marlena for thirty days. Marlena accepted on Goldust's behalf, leading many people to believe that the two had something going on. Goldust lost and Pillman gained the services of Marlena.
He then began to make his "XXX Files". During them he made many comments about Marlena. Such as.
"I'm taking Marlena for a long, hard ride"
Naturally Goldust went nuts every time and a match was scheduled between Brian Pillman and Dude Love at In Your House XVIII: Badd Blood. If Pillman lost he would have to face Goldust in a no DQ match. Unfortunately that match never took place.
 

                                                   TITLES HELD.
The Stampede International Tag team Titles twice.
The NWA United States Tag team Titles once.
The WCW Light Heavyweight title twice.
The WCW World Tag team titles once.
 
 

                                                  HIS DEATH.
When Brian failed to make the plane that would take him to the Pay-Per-View, police were asked to search his hotel room at the Budget Inn, Bloomington, MN. It was in that room that Brian Pillman was found dead.
An autopsy carried out later, determined that he had died of a heart attack.
There were wild rumors flying that his death was due to drugs or booze, but his heart was 75% diseased and this was what led to his death. It was the same thing that had killed his father when Brian was just a kid.
Brian was not aware that anything was wrong with his heart. He died peacefully in his sleep on the 10/05/97.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
 
 


 
 
 

The superstars of the WWF mourn the passing of their friend and their work mate, Brian Pillman.
The man who will be remembered for his toughness, his spirit, his loving nature and by the moniker, the Loose Cannon.
Rest well, Brian, and know, that you will never be forgotten.

[Thanks to Scotty of the best Brian Pillman page on the web, for information contained within and for the pic of the WWF Superstars above. You can visit Scotty's page here. Thanks man]
 
 

                                                             MEMORIES.