Brian Pillman

Brian Pillman
Pillman, circa 1996
Born
Brian William Pillman

(1962-05-22)May 22, 1962
DiedOctober 5, 1997(1997-10-05) (aged 35)
Spouse
Melanie Morgan
(m. 1993)
Children6, including Brian Pillman Jr.
Ring name(s)
  • Brian Pillman[1]
  • Flyin' Brian[1]
  • Yellow Dog
  • Loose Cannon
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1][2]
Billed weight227 lb (103 kg)[1][2]
Billed fromCincinnati, Ohio[1][2]
"The kennel club"
(as The Yellow Dog)
Hollywood
(as California Brian)
Trained byStu Hart[3][1][2]
Debut1986

American football career
No. 41, 58
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Norwood
(Norwood, Ohio)
College:Miami (OH)[1]
Undrafted:1984
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Player stats at PFR

Brian William Pillman[4] (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling[5] 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",[1][2] a wrestling gimmick that would see him do 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 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.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "WWE profile".
  2. ^ a b c d e Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  3. ^ "Brian Pillman: Facts". WrestlingData.com.
  4. ^ "Son of Brian Pillman making own legacy". Archived from the original on September 25, 2013.
  5. ^ Copeland, Adam (2004). Adam Copeland on Edge. WWE Books. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-4165-1130-4.