Brian Pillman

[Superstar Sleeze]

HEY! They are not that long!

[Superstar Sleeze]

The final piece...

 

 

Brian Pillman vs Kevin Sullivan - Superbrawl VI Respect Strap Match

 

 

 

 

"I respect you, bookerman" with those words Pillman immortalized the Loose Canon character and forever cemented his cult status in pro wrestling. I love his matches as a plucky babyface in the early 90s, but for better or worse Pillman is famous for the Loose Canon gimmick. Pillman sprinted to the ring and got in some pretty violent shots with the strap. Sullivan hit an absolute wicked right. At this point, Pillman grabbed the mic to utter his iconic words. Fellow Horsemen, Arn Anderson came out to give the fans their money's worth and to uphold Horsemen honor. It was actually a helluva street fight strap match. It could have been one of the all-time best strap matches if they got 10-15 minutes. It was gritty, violent with eye-gouges, low blows and violent strap shots. However, Ric Flair for the first time play Cap'n Buzzkill calling off the match. He unites Horsemen and the Dungeon of Doom in an Unholy Alliance to End Hulkamania. I love how Flair always calls Sullivan "Devil". Anderson always good for a badass line ends the segment with "In order to get Savage and Hogan, I would get into bed with the Devil himself". One of the biggest moments in pro wrestling history as kayfabe continued to be destroyed and Anderson/Sullivan put on helluva fight until it was stopped. 

 

 



[goodhelmet]

One of the biggest moments in history?

[Superstar Sleeze]

It was one of the first crippling blows against kayfabe. This predates MSG Curtain Call. The Curtain Call was at a house show. This was live on TV. Pillman was sarcastically stating he respected the booker and in turn the office. I am not going to say a worked shoot had never been done before, but this was the first of the Monday Night Wars where a wrestler openly complained about his push and broke down kayfabe in a Big Two promotion. I have always thought of it as a seminal moment in wrestling history.

[goodhelmet]

I always thought of it as one of those things wrestlers do that goes over the head of 99.7% of the audience that really had no effect on anybody outside of Brian Pillman. Sort of like Hulk Hogan burning a copy of the Observer.

[El-P]

I always thought of it as one of those things wrestlers do that goes over the head of 99.7% of the audience that really had no effect on anybody outside of Brian Pillman. Sort of like Hulk Hogan burning a copy of the Observer.

This. If anything it's one of the most overrated "moment" in wrestling history. It was a cute "WTF" moment for smart marks only, led to absolutely nothing in term of matches, angles or payoff, and didn't draw WCW any money.

 

What it did though, was mesmerize Vince Russo who even mentionned it in one of his "Vic Venom" columns in the Raw Magazine sometime in 97. And from there comes his fascination for shoot-angles. So yeah, in some twisted way it was important as it "inspired" the worst booker ever to do a hundred shoot-angles in WCW which all accomplished nothing in the end just like the original one did.

[Superstar Sleeze]

I always thought of it as one of those things wrestlers do that goes over the head of 99.7% of the audience that really had no effect on anybody outside of Brian Pillman. Sort of like Hulk Hogan burning a copy of the Observer.

This. If anything it's one of the most overrated "moment" in wrestling history. It was a cute "WTF" moment for smart marks only, led to absolutely nothing in term of matches, angles or payoff, and didn't draw WCW any money.

 

What it did though, was mesmerize Vince Russo who even mentionned it in one of his "Vic Venom" columns in the Raw Magazine sometime in 97. And from there comes his fascination for shoot-angles. So yeah, in some twisted way it was important as it "inspired" the worst booker ever to do a hundred shoot-angles in WCW which all accomplished nothing in the end just like the original one did.

 

Bingo! That's exactly what I meant. It was inconsequential from a kayfabe point of view because they never followed up on it and there was no payoff. However it did inspire Russo and TNA. It was a hugely important moment in turning the industry into it was today. I am not going to say that if it never happened we would be in idyllic bliss because somebody else was going to do. Pillman was the guy to fire salvo, which has led to monster CM Punk worked shoot of 2011 that went over huge at first before it lost its sizzle post-Summerslam. Everything in moderation and the worked shoot should be treated as a powerful weapon only used every once in a while. Russo and TNA lessened its impact with their constant use. Pillman would go overboard, but up until that time, he was still working a very effective heel style and was a great wrestling character.

[El-P]

Bingo! That's exactly what I meant. It was inconsequential from a kayfabe point of view because they never followed up on it and there was no payoff. However it did inspire Russo and TNA.

Well, Russo's booking, even without the shoot angle bullshit, was abysmal anyway and he would have killed WCW just as well. And TNA is irrevelant, always has been and always will be. So to me it was inconsequential in the big picture. It just produced a whole lot of inconsequential stupid angles and promos.

 

And really when you think about it, the real "shoot-angle"-that-wasn't-an-angle that shook the business forever was the Montreal screwjob. That's the one Russo and others always tried to reproduce. CM Punk's "shoot" promo has its roots in the will to create another Montreal. Re-acting Pillman's out of nowhere, out of context "bookerman" comment is more akin to Eric Bischoff telling Sid to "use a squeegee" on Nitro to me.

[The Chief]

That was a fascinating read from Meltzer, and what a sad story.

 

On a somewhat related topic, I remember reading somewhere that Pillman's daughter died in a car accident shortly after the DVD was released. Just checked Wikipedia: says Alexis Reed, Pillman's stepdaughter, died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident on 11/26/09. Apparently, she dabbled in Wrestling. I can't imagine her being much older than 20, what a terrible loss.

[Sidebottom]

That was a fascinating read from Meltzer, and what a sad story.

 

On a somewhat related topic, I remember reading somewhere that Pillman's daughter died in a car accident shortly after the DVD was released. Just checked Wikipedia: says Alexis Reed, Pillman's stepdaughter, died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident on 11/26/09. Apparently, she dabbled in Wrestling. I can't imagine her being much older than 20, what a terrible loss.

I hate to hear sad little bits like this. I was sad to hear JYD's daughter (the one who inducted him in the 04 HOF) died a few years back also.

[Superstar Sleeze]

"He is not Johnny B. Badd. He is Johnny B. Gay" - Brian Pillman. smh.

 

Yellow Dog vs. Johnny B. Badd - WCW Great American Bash '91

 

What a difference four years make! This is nowhere near as good as their Fall Brawl classic from 1995. It is mechanical, emotionless, stiff and awkward. Badd is very unsure of himself in the ring. He has the athletic ability as shown by his sunset flip from the top, but he waits around too much for Pillman's offense. Pillman does not seem to give a fuck on what is generally considered the worst PPV in history. The character work was all great from Pillman chopping Badd and him retreating into Long's arm or using Long to distract Pillman to get the advantage, but the rest looked like green as grass. I liked the little touch from JR stating that the Yellow Dog is Brian Pilllman's number one fan that why he emulates him so well. The finish was pretty lame with Long saving Badd from his first loss to a Pillman cross body. Pillman was able to take out Long with a clothesline to get a pop, but fell prey to Badd's Tutti Frutti punch. It was lame 50/50 booking reminiscent of today's product. At least Badd's robe was bitchin' as all hell.

 

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Yellow Dog w/Zeman vs Diamond Studd w/DDP - WCW Saturday Night 7/27/91

 

Haters be damned, the Yellow Dog angle was a great mid-card angle. It gave all the mid-card heels something to do gunning for Pillman's mask and could have made Pillman into even a bigger star as he outwitted all these heels. Of course, the payoff would have been Yellow Dog beating Windham or AA to get his favorite wrestler, Brian Pillman reinstated. The promo with Brian Pillman thanking the "Yellow Dog" for always believing in him and getting him back in WCW would have been over like rover (pun fully intended). Not only did WCW miss this, but holy shit Diamond Studd and DDP were a great pairing. DDP is such a great carny on the mic and the whole bit with a woman coming to pull off the Studd's pants was gold. It would not be WCW without all these missed opportunities. As for the match, it is not anything awesome, but it showcases how great Pillman could be at selling and bumping as he made Studd look great. Hall has a great working punch, but outside of that did not have much, but Pillman led him through a pretty decent match. Pillman frustrates the Studd early with his quickness and getting in some disrespectful slaps to the face. Studd gets caught up in going for the mask and not focusing on the match, which he pays for. Diamond Studd composes himself and throws Pillman up in the air and lets him fall. Hall hits the bearhug and ab stretch, but he does his best to work it, but it is pretty tame. Pillman bumping like crazy for everything for Hall and he is really milking the heat for his comeback. Studd thinks he has thrown Pillman over the top, but Pillman skins the cat. He hits a missile dropkick on Studd and a dropkick for DDP. It is breaking loose in Tulsa! DDP trips Pillman and Studd with a Nodowa and HE TAKES OFF THE MASK~! I did not see that coming. Zeman is there to cover his face with his shirt and Studd takes exception to that because he wants them c-notes. Pillman rolls him up for the win and hightails it. It was a close shave for Pillman, but he was able to escape and Hall is left holding his dick in his hand. It really feels like they were building to something with great teases, but instead WCW just reinstated Pillman with limited fanfare to start the ill-fated Light Heavyweight division.

 

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WCW World TV Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin w/Lady Blossom vs Yellow Dog - WCW Pro 7/27/91

 

The mask has forced Pillman to sell even better through body language I think it is a useful exercise for babyfaces to wrestle with masks on to improve their non-facial selling. Early on, we get a fun spot where Austin is in rhythm leapfrogging over Pillman and Pillman breaks that pattern with a dropkick. After kicking out, Austin dives to the outside to the very warm, very welcoming embrace of Lady Blossom. Lord Have Mercy! Back in, Austin had been complaining of Austin pulling the hair, but he pulls the mask to get Pillman down. The Dog is able to snap off a headscissors to send Austin to the floor. He chases Lady Blossom, but I can't blame him for chasing that skirt, Of course, he eats a clothesline. Austin hits a double axe handle off the top and whips him into railing. Lady Blossom gets in on the action going for the throat and the eyes. Pillman is selling pretty well and we have Capetta counting down the minutes before the time limit. I am usually a sucker for race against the clock gimmicks, but this was not too well executed. At about 4 minutes, we just get a lot of generic heel wasting offense from Austin like choking him on the top rope chinlocks and sleepers with a smattering of rollups. Pillman has some of the best babyface fire ever. Where are the chops and the cross bodies? With about a minute to go we finally get some chops, but it is too little too late. Lady Blossom trips Pillman and Austin drops down with elbow, which actually would not have been a bad finish. However, Pillman tries to get a crucifix pin, but time expires and Austin retains the title. Diamond Studd is out to take the mask of Yellow Dog, but Zeman is out to save. It is a pretty blase match outside of the cute leapfrog/dropkick spot and how foxy Lady Blossom looked there was not much that stood out. Just an average match.

 

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Brian Pillman & El Gigante vs Arn Anderson & Barry Windham - WCW Clash XV Loser of Fall Leaves Town

 

No 1991 Brian Pillman retrospective is complete without the sprint that triggered what should have been an awesome Yellow Dog angle. Clocking in under 4 minutes, this match was not given much time to develop, but still it was a real fun 4 minutes. Pillman, Anderson and Windham put over how important a loss here is by all going for pinfalls early so as to get this over with. Pillman would attack both Windham and Anderson with chops to set up an early pinning predicament. Windham got a huge right out of headscissors and a big DDT, but could not pin Pillman. Pillman dropkicked AA off the top rope sending him careening to the floor and follows that up with a springboard splash to the outside. AA is disoriented and ends up in the wrong corner and gets choked by Gigante. El Gigante is a BIG dude. Pillman with a rocket launcher off of Gigante's shoulders onto Windham and the crowd is rocking, The Enforcer breaks it up. Windham trips Pillman while he is top rope causing him to crash and burn. In typical WCW fashion, the camera is on EL Gigante putting AA in a head vice while Windham kicks Pillman in the head to send him home packing. WCW does have a replay to show us the finish so I can't complain too much. This was a fun sprint with plenty of action and put over the nature of the stakes. It just did not have time to develop.

[JaymeFuture]

Pillman is one of my all time favourites. Its a real shame that he wasn't destined to be more than he was, he had the potential to be a top level heel, but the environments he found himself in just didn't lend to it happening. Had the humvee wreck not happened and he stayed in WCW like he wanted, he would have got stuck behind the top 10 just like everybody else did. Had he gone to the WWF while perfectly healthy, who knows - the landscape was wide open for a hot new heel at the time since they screwed up Vader, and Austin and Helmsley didn't have any traction yet.