Mid 20th Century
123-487: Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1990s. Pillman created a legacy as "The Loose Cannon", a wrestling gimmick that would see him do
246-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
369-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
492-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
615-649: A tag team with Hart's son Bruce known as Bad Company (not to be confused with Badd Company ). In April 1987, Bad Company won the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship by defeating Ron Starr and the Cuban Assassin in the finals of a tournament. Their reign lasted until October 1987, when the titles were held up following a controversial ending to a match between Bad Company and their opponents, Jerry Morrow and Makhan Singh . Bad Company defeated Morrow and Singh in
738-406: A tweener , feuding with wrestlers such as Brad Armstrong, Eddie Guerrero , Alex Wright and Marcus Bagwell by the fall. In September 1995, Pillman formed a team with Arn Anderson and began feuding with Ric Flair. On September 4, 1995, Pillman wrestled the first match on the inaugural episode of Monday Nitro by defeating Jushin "Thunder" Liger in a SuperBrawl II rematch. After costing Flair
861-530: A 1997 angle between Pillman and Goldust. He later married Melanie Morgan (1965–2022) on March 17, 1993. Melanie had two children at the time, Alexis Michelle Reed and Jesse Morgan from her previous relationships. At the time, he also had daughters, Danielle and Brittany, from two previous relationships. Brian and Melanie had two children together, Brian Zachary and Skylar King, the latter born after Pillman's death. Melanie also adopted one of Brian's daughters, Brittany. Despite not being their biological parent, Pillman
984-688: A Division I All-American in his senior year, he went undrafted in the 1984 NFL draft . He joined his hometown Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent (where he won the Ed Block Courage Award for his team), and later the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders in 1986. Pillman also played for the Buffalo Bills in preseason action in 1985, but he was the last player cut before the start of that season. His attempts to make
1107-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
1230-520: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
1353-513: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
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#17328724781051476-574: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
1599-408: A child, Pillman developed multiple throat polyps and underwent between 31 and 36 operations to tend to them, many before the age of three. Due to his medical issues Pillman spent a large part of his early childhood in a hospital, only going home for Christmas. Because of this Pillman's mother chose to send him to a public school so that he could spend more time with his friends, which led him to become
1722-399: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Badd Company Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in
1845-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
1968-623: A face, feuding with his old partner Austin. He would also pursue the WCW World Television Championship , held by Lord Steven Regal, with whom he wrestled to a 15-minute time limit draw at Spring Stampede . After several months of inactivity, Pillman made his return to WCW programming in January 1995, originally to be renamed California Brian (which was scrapped after a week) as a babyface who had moved to California to pursue acting work on Baywatch , with Pillman slowly progressing into
2091-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
2214-460: A firearm and with The Hart Foundation during the first instances of the developing Attitude Era . In October 1997, he died unexpectedly due to an undetected heart disease. Pillman was born on May 22, 1962, to a Welsh mother named Mary; he had three sisters named Angie, Linda, and Susan, as well as a brother Phil. His father died of a heart attack when Pillman was three months old in August 1962. As
2337-476: A football player and played at the high-school level while attending Dixie Heights High School before graduating in 2011. In February 2017, he announced his decision to follow in his father's footsteps to become a professional wrestler. He added that he wants to follow his father's high-flying style and keep his legacy alive. The younger Pillman was trained by Lance Storm and uses the Twitter handle @FlyinBrianJr as
2460-596: A full-time in-ring competitor in May, frequently teaming with Hart Foundation members in 6 man tag matches against Austin and the Legion of Doom . On July 6, 1997, at In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede in Bret's hometown Calgary , Pillman and The Hart Foundation defeated the American team of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Goldust , Ken Shamrock and The Legion of Doom in a 10-man tag team match in
2583-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
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#17328724781052706-417: A losing effort to Ron Simmons and 2 Cold Scorpio . Immediately following his departure from WCW, Pillman returned to ECW and appeared at the promotion's annual Internet convention , ECW CyberSlam , on February 17, 1996. During an interview conducted in the ring by Joey Styles , Pillman insulted Bischoff, calling him a commentator, a " gofer ", and a "piece of fucking shit". After Styles attempted to end
2829-689: A loss to Kuniaki Kobayashi , Shiro Koshinaka , and Takayuki Iizuka . In August 1991, Pillman wrestled for NJPW as part of its "Summer Night Fever in Nagoya " and "Violent Storm in Kokugikan " tours, facing opponents including Jushin Thunder Liger and Kensuke Sasaki . Pillman turned heel in September 1992, frustrated by Brad Armstrong's knee injury and vacating the WCW Light Heavyweight title, when he
2952-652: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
3075-425: A match to Arn Anderson at Fall Brawl , Flair recruited the help of Sting to team up against Pillman and Anderson at Halloween Havoc . Pillman and Anderson attacked Flair before the match, forcing Sting to come out alone. When Sting needed a tag the most, Flair came out at the last minute with a bandage on his head, tagged Sting and immediately turned and attacked him removing the fake bandage from his head to show it
3198-569: A match with Eddie Guerrero on the January 23, 1996, episode of Clash of the Champions XXXII , Pillman grabbed commentator Bobby Heenan by the collar, causing Heenan (who had a history of neck problems) to blurt out "What the fuck are you doing?" live on the air. Pillman outed Kevin Sullivan as booker during the February 1996 SuperBrawl VI pay-per-view in an I Respect You Strap match where
3321-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
3444-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
3567-666: A rematch in November 1987 to regain the titles, eventually losing them to Morrow and the Cuban Assassin in July 1988. While in Stampede Wrestling, Pillman had his girlfriend at the time, Trisa Hayes , portray his sister in order to get him over as a face by seating her at ringside and having heel wrestlers taunt her so that he could rescue her. Pillman finished up with Stampede on August 13, 1988, teaming up with Bruce Hart and Jason
3690-419: A series of worked shoots that would gain him a degree of infamy for his unpredictable character. He was also known for being extremely agile in the ring, although a car accident on April 15, 1996, from which he received extensive ankle injuries limited his in-ring ability. By the end of his career, he worked with his long-time friend and former tag-team partner Stone Cold Steve Austin in a storyline involving
3813-468: A suburb of Cincinnati. While attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio , Pillman played football for Redskins (now Miami RedHawks) as a defensive tackle where he set the record in the "tackles for loss" category. Pillman struggled academically and needed help with school to continue to play; he was then tutored by Miami rugby player Bill Minnich. A Division I Second-team All-American in his junior year and
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3936-761: A tribute to his father. He made his debut in December 2017, and wrestled for All Elite Wrestling beginning in the summer of 2020, where he, Griff Garrison , and Julia Hart formed a stable, the Varsity Blondes, paying tribute to the 1980s era and to his father's tag team with Steve Austin. He left AEW in 2023 and soon after debuted in WWE's developmental brand, NXT , under the ring name Lexis King. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
4059-497: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
4182-418: A very brutal revenge on Badd Company as they defeated the duo in a "South Philly hood" match the very next day at November to Remember . At Holiday Hell 1993 on December 26, 1993 Pat Tanaka defeated Rocco Rock in a "Body Count" match. As 1993 turned to 1994 Badd Company set their sights on ECW Tag Team Champions Kevin Sullivan and The Tasmaniac , defeating them twice in non-title matches. At The Night
4305-575: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
4428-565: Is Hawaiian of Japanese descent, later signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he formed another tag team called The Orient Express with Akio Sato , managed by Mr. Fuji and billed from Japan. Paul Diamond was soon signed with the WWF as well, as a singles competitor. When Sato decided leave the American wrestling scene, Diamond donned a mask and wrestled as "Kato" with Tanaka throughout 1991 and early 1992. During this time
4551-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
4674-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
4797-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
4920-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
5043-504: Is often referred to as the father of Melanie's children, Jesse Morgan and Alexis Michelle Reed. Pillman adopted Alexis before his death. Pillman's wife Melanie, died on June 1, 2022, at the age of 56. As per Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon , Brian and Melanie were involved in a heated divorce at the time of his death in October 1997. Melanie has said that she meant for the divorce to be a wake-up call for Brian, and they were still living together at
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5166-697: The American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song " Bad Company ", by the band of the same name as their theme song. Both Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond had competed in the Championship Wrestling Association during 1986, Tanaka had teamed with Jeff Jarrett to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship while Paul Diamond had held
5289-581: The CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship also with Jeff Jarrett. In late 1986 the two tag-team specialists Tanaka and Diamond were teamed up to form “Badd Company", where they held the federation's tag-team titles four times., a move that paid off pretty soon as the two won the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship, beating Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato on December 15, 1986. The first reign
5412-609: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
5535-543: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
5658-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
5781-517: The "loose cannon" gimmick in ECW then return to WCW with more legitimate heat . Bischoff claims it was a plan he and Pillman came up with together. It would later backfire on Bischoff as Pillman did not return. In late-1994, Pillman appeared with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as part of a talent exchange between ECW and WCW. His only match there was teaming with Shane Douglas to replace an injured Steve Austin, with Sherri Martel as their manager, in
5904-577: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
6027-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
6150-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
6273-641: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
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#17328724781056396-709: The Gold ", with their own called " A Flair for the Old ". They would lose the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Titles to Anderson and Paul Roma at Clash of the Champions XXIV ( Lord Steven Regal substituted for Pillman, who suffered a leg injury in a tag team match on an episode of WCW Main Event prior to the Clash of Champions). After the Hollywood Blonds separated in October 1993, Pillman became
6519-624: The International tag team titles as they won the vacant titles on May 25, 1987 and held them until July 6, 1987 where they lost the titles to Bill Dundee and Rocky Johnson (who were the last International tag team champions). While in Memphis Badd Company also won the CWA's main tag team titles, the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship defeating Jeff Jarrett and Billy Joe Travis for the gold on August 8, 1987. Tanaka and Diamond soon lost them as
6642-516: The Line Was Crossed on February 5, 1994 Tanaka and his one night only partner The Sheik defeated Sullivan and Tasmaniac, unfortunately the team had been stripped of the titles the night before. When Tanaka was rejoined by Diamond the team lost to the (once again) tag-Team champions when the gold was finally on the line. On March 27, 1994 Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, a house show victory over Rockin' Rebel and Pittbull #1 . By
6765-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
6888-477: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
7011-509: The Nasty Boys took the gold from them just over a month later. After working as a team for almost a year Badd Company moved on from the CWA to the American Wrestling Association . In the AWA they were given identical ring gear, and were accompanied by flamboyant manager Diamond Dallas Page , who always had a number of valets , known as the Diamond Dolls , with him. The team's first feud
7134-451: The November 4, 1996, episode of Raw , Pillman took part in the infamous "Pillman's got a gun" angle with his former teammate Stone Cold Steve Austin . When Pillman initially arrived to the WWF, he aligned himself immediately with his long-time friend and former teammate Austin, serving as his lackey while he recovered. However, Pillman began noticeably favoring Austin's nemesis, Bret Hart, before Austin had enough and brutally attacked him in
7257-504: The Power , a reference to the rap group N.W.A . With his "Loose Cannon" persona, Pillman became the talk of all three major promotions, as he was on his way to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) after he was scheduled to wrestle Shane Douglas in ECW. On April 15, 1996, Pillman was badly injured after falling asleep while driving his Hummer H1 in Kentucky and driving into a tree trunk, flipping
7380-462: The Ring , Pillman's family talked about his life. Melanie Pillman was found dead from issues surrounding her years of drug abuse on June 1, 2022, as confirmed by Brian Jr. She was 56 years old. In 2024, daughter Brittany Evans signed a Legends Contract with WWE allowing merchandise of the senior Pillman to be offered under her authority. On October 5, 1997, Pillman was scheduled to wrestle Dude Love at
7503-745: The Terrible to defeat The Great Gama, Makhan Singh, and Johnny Smith in the main event. He would head to the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis to continue his career. After finishing with Stampede Pillman worked briefly in 1989 for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of its "Battle Line Tokyo Dome" tour where he wrestled in singles matches against people such as Masa Saito, Tatsumi Fujinami, Black Cat and Naoki Sano as well as in tag team matches with Big Van Vader against Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami. In June 1989, Pillman returned to
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#17328724781057626-600: The United States and began wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was known as Flyin' Brian due to his athletic ability and variety of aerial maneuvers. He was one of the first American wrestlers, along with "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, to incorporate a variety of Mexican lucha libre moves into his arsenal. He held the NWA United States Tag Team Championship with "Z-Man" Tom Zenk between February 1990 and May 1990. Pillman later feuded with Barry Windham , who he harassed while dressed as
7749-516: The WWF after Marc Mero, indicative of the period in which Vince McMahon began to protect the company from abruptly losing talent to WCW, with Lex Luger , Kevin Nash , and Scott Hall all previously doing so. Pillman acted as a commentator while recovering from his broken ankle, transitioning to a wrestling role after attacking an unruly fan during an episode of WWF Superstars on June 29, 1996, in Detroit. On
7872-455: The WWF after only a handful of matches together. Tanaka would leave the WWF in February 1992. Diamond went on to wrestle as a singles competitor in the WWF first as Kato then later on he was chosen to take over the Max Moon costume after Konnan left the WWF, neither gimmick meeting with very much success. Diamond was released by the company in February 1993. After Paul Diamond also left the WWF
7995-504: The WWF for the rest of his life. Pillman defeated Goldust at In Your House 17: Ground Zero . This turned out to be his final WWF pay-per-view appearance. During the feud they would for several weeks later appear in segments called "Brian Pillman's XXX-Files", in which Marlena was made to wear sexually provocative clothing. His final WWF televised match came on the October 4, 1997, episode of Shotgun Saturday Night , defeating The Patriot by disqualification due to interference by Goldust. After
8118-512: The WWF pay-per-view In Your House 18: Badd Blood . Steve Austin relayed that Jim Cornette was instructed to find the whereabouts of Pillman. Cornette contacted the Budgetel Motel in Bloomington, Minnesota , where Pillman had stayed the previous night, and was told by the receptionist that Pillman was found dead in his hotel room by the maids earlier that day at 1:09 p.m. Central Time. He
8241-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
8364-408: The arena, Pillman attacked a plant sitting in the audience with a fork he produced from his boot. Although he did not wrestle for ECW, Pillman made several further appearances with the promotion, engaging in a war of words with Douglas, setting up a proposed feud. He gained the backstage ire of New Jack when he referred to Jack's tag team with Mustafa Saed as "Niggas with Attitudes" at Fight
8487-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
8610-550: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
8733-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
8856-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
8979-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
9102-508: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
9225-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
9348-656: The end of 1995, Pillman developed his "Loose Cannon" gimmick , cultivating a reputation for unpredictable behavior. During this period of time, Pillman changed his once Hollywood Blond and Flyin' Brian clean athletic look for an edgy, out of control image. Even his allies in the Horsemen, especially Anderson, were wary of his behavior and tried in vain to keep him in check. Almost all of the time Pillman could be seen wearing leather vests, sunglasses, jewelry and graphic T-shirts with skulls, monsters and sayings on them. Pillman frequently blurred fact and fiction with his worked shoots . In
9471-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
9594-597: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
9717-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
9840-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
9963-455: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
10086-432: The house to protect him. As the interview progressed, Pillman got infuriated and produced a handgun, angrily exclaiming, "when Austin 3:16 meets Pillman 9-millimeter glock, I'm gonna blast his sorry ass straight to hell." Austin was attacked by Pillman's friends as soon as he arrived, but he quickly subdued them. He then proceeded to break into Pillman's home and advance on his nemesis. However, Pillman responded by pulling out
10209-477: The house while Pillman aimed the gun at Austin and announced his intention to "kill that son of a bitch!" Pillman also slipped up by saying "get out of the fucking way!" on live television, which prevented it from being edited out. The WWF and Pillman eventually apologized for the entire angle. After WrestleMania 13 , Pillman returned and aligned himself with his real life close friends Bret Hart , Owen Hart , The British Bulldog , and Jim Neidhart , all of whom he
10332-513: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
10455-471: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
10578-487: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
10701-420: The interview, Pillman prevented him from doing so, and turned his attention to the ECW audience, derisively calling them " smart marks ". He then proceeded further by threatening to "yank out (his) Johnson " and urinate in the ring, before being confronted by ECW owner Tod Gordon , booker Paul Heyman , and wrestler Shane Douglas , who had him removed from the ring by security guards. While being dragged from
10824-436: The loser announces that they respect the other wrestler, much like an "I Quit" match . Pillman lost to Sullivan, after Pillman grabbed the microphone and said to Sullivan "I respect you, booker man." The words "booker man" were cut from the commercial tape. The next day after SuperBrawl VI, Pillman was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff . In Bischoff's autobiography he said that Pillman was fired so that he could go and develop
10947-425: The main event. After his feud with Austin, he feuded with Goldust over Marlena until his death. Pillman lost to Goldust at SummerSlam in which Pillman was forced to wear a dress during his matches for a month, Pillman then challenged Goldust again to a match with two stipulations, if Pillman won he would take Marlena away from Goldust to be his personal assistant for 30 days or if Goldust won, Pillman would leave
11070-561: The masked Yellow Dog after losing a Loser Leaves WCW (Pillman was eventually reinstated). He also held the short-lived WCW Light Heavyweight Championship twice between October 1991 and February 1992, feuding with Brad Armstrong , Jushin "Thunder" Liger , Richard Morton , and Scotty Flamingo . In March 1991, Pillman wrestled at the WCW/New Japan Supershow I in the Tokyo Dome , teaming with Tim Horner and "Z-Man" Tom Zenk in
11193-791: The match, Goldust chased him and Marlena out of the arena. Pillman was a very close friend to the Hart family . Both Pillman and the Harts have referred to themselves as being as close as siblings. Pillman stated that he loved Bret and Owen enough to be willing to do anything for them. He was the only member of the Hart Foundation to not be related to the family through either blood or marriage. Pillman dated Terri Runnels while they were in WCW together before her marriage to Dustin Rhodes , which would later be utilized in
11316-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
11439-450: The only Presbyterian in his otherwise Catholic family. As a child Pillman played many sports, including basketball and hockey, but was rather fragile and was often made fun of by other children because of his raspy voice, which had been damaged by the many operations. This, according to his mother, prompted him to learn how to box. Pillman graduated from Norwood High School in Norwood, Ohio ,
11562-410: The pistol and pointing it at a hesitant Austin, while Kelly and Pillman's wife Melanie screamed for help. The camera feed was then disrupted, with the scene fading to black. The on-scene director contacted commentator Vince McMahon and reported that he had heard "a couple explosions". The transmission was restored shortly before the end of Raw , and viewers witnessed Pillman's friends dragging Austin from
11685-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
11808-714: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
11931-556: The ring during an interview on an episode of Superstars on October 27, 1996. Austin and Pillman had been feuding for several weeks, and Austin finally decided to take matters into his own hands and visit Pillman, whom he had already injured, at his home in Walton, Kentucky . WWF interviewer Kevin Kelly sat in Pillman's house with a camera crew and the Pillman family, while Pillman's friends surrounded
12054-715: The roster of the Bengals were covered in a series of articles in The Cincinnati Enquirer written by Peter King . Pillman and John Harbaugh , current head coach of the Baltimore Ravens , were roommates and defensive teammates while at Miami. Following the end of his football career, Pillman remained in Canada and began training as a wrestler under Stu Hart and his sons. He debuted in November 1986 in Hart's Calgary -based Stampede Wrestling promotion . Pillman quickly formed
12177-536: The show Badd Company and the Public Enemy would clash again, this time in a three way , steel cage match that also included "Bad Breed", this time Public Enemy were victorious. At ECW's next big show Terror at Tabor on November 12, 1993 Badd Company beat the makeshift team of Don E. Allen and Mr. Hughes . After the match Badd Company called out Public Enemy resulting in an impromptu match between Paul Diamond and Rocco Rock which Diamond won. Public Enemy quickly got
12300-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
12423-529: The tag team title hunt by forming a tag team with "Stunning" Steve Austin known as the Hollywood Blonds . On the March 27, 1993, episode of Power Hour , the duo won the championships from Steamboat and Douglas. After the feud with Steamboat and Douglas ended, they went on to feud with The Four Horsemen , mainly Ric Flair and Arn Anderson , mocking their ages and parodying Flair's interview show, " A Flair for
12546-566: The team had a very well received match with their old enemies the Rockers at the 1991 Royal Rumble and another match against the New Foundation at the 1992 Royal Rumble , which were the only two PPV appearances for the New Orient Express. Sato briefly rejoined the team in 1991 to team with Tanaka and “Kato" for a series of 6-man tag-team matches on various WWF house show but Sato left
12669-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
12792-475: The time Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, Tanaka and Diamond had already signed with World Championship Wrestling . Tanaka then made his on-screen debut as "Tanaka-San". Paul Diamond showed up with the Kato mask on using the name "Haito" only days after their last ECW match. The duo reprised their "Orient Express" gimmick but could not use the name since the WWF owned the trademark to it. The two men wrestled
12915-424: The time of Brian's passing, but he was banished to the basement. In 2017, Pillman's daughter Brittany claimed that her half-sister Skylar King is not Pillman's biological daughter, but the child of another man whom Melanie married shortly after Pillman's death, and that all the money given by WWF and wrestlers to support Pillman's family was used by Melanie for drugs. In a 2021 episode of Viceland 's Dark Side of
13038-505: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
13161-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
13284-679: The two reunited as “Badd Company" to work for Eastern Championship Wrestling (the forerunner to Extreme Championship Wrestling) in 1993. The team made their debut at NWA Bloodfest: Part 1 on October 1, 1993 where they beat The Bad Breed ( Ian and Axl Rotten ). Later in the night Tanaka and Diamond got a shot at the ECW Tag Team Champions Tony Stetson and Johnny Hotbody, Badd Company lost. The next night at NWA Bloodfest: Part 2 Badd Company came up against one of ECW's new creations Public Enemy ( Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge ) in one of their very early matches. Later in
13407-415: The vehicle. He was in a coma for a week and suffered a shattered ankle, forcing doctors to fuse it together in a fixed walking position and thus forcing Pillman to abandon his previous high-flying wrestling style for a more grounded style. Pillman signed a contract with the WWF on June 10, 1996, with the signing announced in a press conference . He was the second wrestler to sign a guaranteed contract with
13530-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
13653-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
13776-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
13899-429: Was 35 years old. An autopsy attributed Pillman's death to a heart attack . However, Steve Austin explained that this was caused by previously undetected atherosclerotic heart disease , a condition which had also led to the death of Pillman's father. The next night on Raw , the WWF paid tribute to Brian Pillman. Later that night, Vince McMahon interviewed Melanie Pillman; the interview was seen as being in poor taste and
14022-601: Was against The Midnight Rockers , whom they defeated for the AWA World Tag Team Championship on March 19, 1988. They held the titles for a year, and feuded heavily with Chavo and Mando Guerrero before losing their titles on March 25, 1989 to “the Olympians" ( Brad Rheingans and Ken Patera ). Shortly after losing their titles they split from Page, and had a short feud against each other before wrestling in singles competition until early 1990. Pat Tanaka, who
14145-1015: Was all a plan between Pillman, Anderson and Flair from the start. These actions signaled the reuniting of The Four Horsemen . This incarnation was Flair, Anderson, Pillman and Chris Benoit . Pillman had worked briefly in Japan in 1991 while with WCW but his longest time there was working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in the middle of 1995 when he participated in the Best of the Super Juniors . When in Japan he wrestled against Dean Malenko , Tatsuhito Takaiwa , Black Cat , Koji Kanemoto , Shinjiro Otani , Gran Hamada , Black Tiger , Wild Pegasus, Alex Wright and El Samurai in singles matches and in tag team matches together with Wright, Norio Honaga , Hamada or Malenko against Akira Nogami , Koji Kanemoto, Takayuki Iizuka , El Samurai, Malenko and Honaga. He also participated in several multi man matches before returning to WCW. At
14268-408: Was awarded Wrestling Observer Newsletter ' s Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic award for that year. In early 2008, Pillman's adopted daughter Alexis Michelle Reed entered professional wrestling as a valet and ring girl under the name "Sexy" Lexi Pillman. On November 26, 2009, Reed died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Reed was 26 years old. Like his father, Brian Zachary became
14391-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
14514-521: Was familiar with from his Stampede Wrestling roots, turning Pillman heel as part of the anti-American Hart Foundation . He began feuding with his former partner, Steve Austin. In the course of the feud, Austin was given on-screen credit for damaging Pillman's ankle in late October 1996 after placing it in between the seat and backrest of a folded chair and then jumping on the chair (this particular style of attack has since been dubbed "The Pillmanizer", in honor of this incident). Pillman began competing again as
14637-568: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
14760-631: Was scheduled to wrestle Armstrong for the title at Clash of the Champions XX . In November 1992, he formed a team with Barry Windham, gunning for the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championships held by Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas . Windham and Pillman lost to Steamboat and Douglas at Starrcade on December 28. Their team lasted until January 1993, as Windham had his sights on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Pillman continued
14883-457: Was short lived as The Sheepherders ( Luke Williams and Butch Miller ) defeated the young duo on January 10, 1987. Badd Company quickly regained the titles only to lose them to Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato on February 5, 1987. The Third run with the tag-team titles came on May 9, 1987 when the team beat Mark Starr in a handicap match, but lost them back to Mark Starr and his new tag team partner Billy Joe Travis. Badd Company had one last run with
15006-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
15129-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
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