The Loose Cannon

[Winds-Of-Change]

Brian Pillman was trained in the Hart Family Dungeon by the Head of the Hart Family, the late Stu Hart. He made his debut in 1986 with Stampede Wrestling and quickly formed a tag team with Stu's son Bruce and become known as Bad Company. With Bruce as Bad Company, the team became the Stampede International Wrestling Tag Team Champions on two occasions. After his stint in Stampede he began wrestling for the NWA in America, with the name 'Flyin' Brian Pillman. The NWA eventually became WCW and Whilst there, he was one of the first American wrestlers to incorporate a variety of Mexican lucha libre moves into his arsenal, Putting on classics with Jushin Liger, Lex Luger & Richard Morton. And later teaming up with Steve Austin to become a great & very underrated team held down by backstage politics, The Hollywood Blondes.

Later days saw him become aggresive, unstable and just down right nuts when he started to evolve into "The Loose Cannon" and developed a massive reputation for unpredictable behavior. Pillman frequently blurred fact and fiction with his worked-shoots against the business. During a respect match with Kevin Sullivan at Superbrawl VI in 1996, Breaking Kayfabe, Pillman grabbed the microphone. Saying, sarcastically, "I respect you, booker man". Pillman was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff soon after. In Bischoff's autobiography he claimed that Pillman was fired so that he could go and develop the "loose cannon" gimmick in ECW then return to World Championship Wrestling 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. During his very brief stint in ECW, he would attack a fan, try to piss in the ring and do many other crazy things.

Also During this time he was involved in a very serious near fatal car accident when he flipped his Humvee after falling asleep at the wheel, leaving him with a shattered ankle and in a coma for a week.

He joined the WWF in Mid 1996 soon after and left a Huge mark there with the
Infamous "Pillman's got a gun" Angle with Steve Austin. He later went back to his roots and joined The Hart Foundation and became one of the best heels in the company.

Tragically, months later on October 5th 1997 he passed away from an un-diagnosed heart condition.

If Brian Pillman was still alive today,

1)Where do you think his career would of ended up?

2)What his role of been during the Attitude Era?

3)Would he be in the Hall of Fame?

4)What would he be up to today?

 

[I am Mr. Excitement]

You know it's a coincidence because, I was actually thinking about this last night and thinking about making a post today. Thanks for making it easier on me!
But anyways.
1)Where do you think his career would of ended up? To be honest i'm not really sure it's just hard to predict where he would have ended up because of his death. But my best bet is he would've been in mid-card level example maybe someone like Cody Rhodes right now.
2)What his role of been during the Attitude Era? Well, obviously his death was near the attitude era and I think he and Austin really sparked the fire to the attitude era with the Pillmans got a gun angle. I think he would have fit in fine and would play a major role possibly doing shoot promos like only he could do. I could have deffenately seen him doing a tag team with Stone Cold too. Both of them on the mic were great. Especially since Austin improved on the mic since going to WWE.
3)Would he be in the Hall of Fame? Yea, I think so. I think if Drew Carrey is in the Hall of Fame, Brian Pillman would fit in the Hall just fine.
4)What would he be up to today? I think he would be part of creative and would make occasional appearances like Stone Cold.

 

[Dysturbed]

1)Where do you think his career would of ended up?

2)What his role of been during the Attitude Era?

My answer to both can be summed up with the following. The Pillman dvd made is pretty clear that he was in a lot of pain when or after performing so unfortunately I don't know how much longer he would have been healthy enough to compete. Hypothetically though, if he was able to compete with less pain, despite the accident (meaning with the lessened high flying ability), I think that he would have eventually ended up as one of the top stars, or at least feuding with them of having a big midcard role. Just as The Rock and Triple H as well as The Rock and Austin had midcard feuds that eventually translated into main event feuds, Austin vs Pillman could have ended up that way as well, in theory at least. At some point he could have maybe become a face since certain heels tend to eventually get cheered. At that point maybe a renewed Austin/Pillman team (more likely just an alliance) could have existed, even if there was tension involved. Things of that nature. Realistically though, he probably would have lasted only a few more years of active competition. I do use him heavily in wwe13 with an attitude era save since we sadly didn't see the kinds of things that could have happened.

3)Would he be in the Hall of Fame?
If he competed for at least a couple more years and made an even bigger impact most likely. Then again, he could end up there in real life for all we know, since pre WWE(f) accomplishments are also considered.

4)What would he be up to today?
I think that he'd make some appearances like Foley, Piper, HBK, Austin, and others do. Maybe he would have become a full time announcer or been part of creative

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Great thread... one of the most underrated and underappreciated wrestlers of all time.

First off, it is important to note one crucial part of Pillman's life which cannot be ignored. He had overcome cancer at a very early age, the numerous operations on his throat led to his famously hoarse voice... but as an inspirational person, to overcome that to first of all survive to adulthood, become an NFL player with the Bengals and later one of the top 10 wrestlers of the early 90's is second perhaps only to Ric Flair's tale.

To answer your questions you have to look a bit deeper because it's not a case of "if he survived". His health problems had meant he was always perhaps been destined for a shorter life, that he chose to spend so much of it "partying" is something I can, as someone with birth problems can attest to... you make the most of what you got while you got it.

The incident that your questions need to refer to really is the crash that all but ended his career, not the fact he died as that is the moment that Pillman's life fundamentally changed. From that moment he was dealing with crippling pain for the rest of his life, his in ring career being gone and despite being at his creative peak, being consigned to angles and feuds with Goldust rather than what could have been...

So I'm gonna go from what if the accident never happened but first the burning question is 2)... and his role IS the following regardless of the accident.

Brian Pillman was the father of Attitude - without him, there is no Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Puppies, The Godfather, Sable wearing only paint or Mr. McMahon character.

Go back to that WCW phase - In that match with Sullivan, it was the first time anyone had ever broken kayfabe during a live event on PPV. Bischoff likes to claim credit but the fact they sent Arn Anderson out there proved it wasn't meant to happen. In that moment Pillman showed that there was more than just went on in the ring - there was politics, skullduggery and all of it as important as what went on in the ring.

Just weeks later, Pillman built on this by going after Bobby Heenan during a live Nitro - Heenan had recently had neck surgery and Pillman went for him, causing the first live F-Bomb. Now we all know on the old WM6 tape you can hear Heenan yelling at Andre "I'm the F**ing boss, but that was a kayfabe situation. This was real, and caused a large number of complaints and problems for WCW and that more than anything is probably what led to the firing as Billionaire Ted didn't want F-Bombs on his wrassling show.

Brian shows up in ECW and all hell breaks loose and this is the period that the accident occurs... after his signing with WWF.

When he showed up on WWF TV at KOTR 96 his promo was at the time the most controversial ever, he swore before Austin did - He opened the door that Austin then kicked... Attitude began when Pillman showed up on WWF TV - NOT with 3:16. Had Pillman been able to "go" he'd have been the one winning that tournament and making the controversty...it's why Vince signed him.


So let's erase that accident and go from there with the What Ifs... After a couple of matches in ECW he is snapped up by Vince who realises that WCW are starting to win the war with the defections of Hall and Nash and Shawn Michaels desperately trying to join them. Bret Hart isn't cutting it and other signings such as Ahmed Johnson are not getting over as quickly as intended. Vince notes that Brian had exceptional chemistry with another guy who has struggled - Steve Austin, who recently went to his Stone Cold gimmick and proposes teaming the two up again as they did in WCW under their "Hollywood Blondes" gimmick, only this time they would be out to raise hell, cause disruption and within reason cause mayhem. They would upset the natural order, feuding with Face and Heel alike and particularly the hated rivals Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, the current champion. Here is what I think is the likely scenario would be.

At KOTR 96, Pillman makes his debut - he and Austin take out The Ultimate Warrior and Pillman very vocally announces he is taking his place in the tournament. This raises the ire of Marc Mero faces Pillman in the first round but is quickly beaten. setting up a semi final with Jake Roberts which Pillman wins, while in the other semi - Austin is DQ'd for repeatedly ramming Bret Hart's leg into the ring post.

Pillman and Austin mock Jake by pouring a bottle of Jack Daniels on him in the ring and then cracking the bottle over his head when he tries to fight back which Bret Hart limps out to make the save to his detriment -as the bell rings and Pillman is quickly crowned King Of The Ring - he and Austin make a controversial promo in which they proclaim themselves the New World Order of Wrestling, that all you know will soon end - they make reference to Bret as being a disgrace to the Hart name and that Stu should have drowned him at birth before turning their attention to Shawn Michaels - who is about to wrestle Davey Boy Smith in the main event. During that match Pillman and Austin show up ostensibly to cost Shawn but attack Davey instead to cause Shawn to lose by DQ.
The following night live on RAW IS WAR Bret confronts Pillman and Austin in the ring on crutches and is saved by Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith...Pillman and Austin appear to back off, only for Shawn to superkick Davey Boy and for the three to attack Bret. Shawn takes the mic and says things like "you never saw this coming, and bought into all the boyhood dream stuff... but like these guys I am sick of what this company stands for..." Pillman takes the mic and says if Vince McMahon was the Jesus of wrestling then we are the F***ing Anti-Christs...and I know there's two guys outside who feel the same.

Bear in mind all this occurs on June 23rd/24th 1996 - 2 weeks before the NWO angle in WCW with Hogan's turn. While arguably Shawn's turn would not have been as shocking as Hogan's - it may well have led to it's abandonment or another turn such as Sting being used. Certainly WWE would have had mainstream exposure for the use of profanity and religious imagery but perhaps the most important part could have been that Hall and Nash had NOT signed contracts at that time with WCW - they could have seen the noise back in the WWF and decided to be part of it.

But even had they not - the scenario could have kickstarted Attitude - Pillman would eventually vie for leadership with Shawn and later Austin would have turned on him. DX could have still come later as a faction and Austin and Pillman would likely both have been very famous indeed.

There may have been casualties - guys like Bret Hart and Undertaker might not have fit within that new Attitude era but it would certainly have been interesting see what the Unholy Trinity of Pillman, HBK and Austin could have done.

Should he be in the HOF? Absolutely, as the man who invented Attitude, as a man who beat the odds to become a WWF superstar and as a pioneer of the high-flying style he has a massive claim as being a HOF member. Sadly they can't induct too many dead guys at a time...

4) So assuming he'd stayed injury free and my scenario or a similar one had happened. I could see him now as colour commentator and working backstage as a producer. Eventually his style would have become old as people got used to it much as Austin's decended into an endless stream of "What?" chants.

But at the end of the day the odds were always against him reaching this stage - the heart condition was there, it was a matter of time - sadly some of his life choices just made things go a little faster.

 

[thebarber]

if he hadnt died in October 1997, I do not think he would be here now anyway. He was in a very bad way after the motor vehicle accident, the mix of pain relief and alcohol was always a mixture for disaster. Sure his character was brilliant once he finally found his groove with Hollywood Blondes then on to being the Loose Cannon in WCW/ECW and WWE. We can only speculate, but Pillman I dont think was World Champion material, but was an excellent in ring performer, cut intense promos and creatively was one of the best in the business.

 

[KingShaw3]

Great thread! Brian Pillman is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. I miss him as an entertainer all the time. Like most people have already stated, he was in pain and on medication due to his accident. So, to best answer your questions and give The Loose Cannon his full credit, let's just say if he was still alive and was able to rise to his full potential, what would that amount to?

1)Where do you think his career would of ended up?

I think Pillman could have been one of the most dynamic and most memorable wrestlers of all-time. He had the potential to be one of the absolute greatest heels to ever lace up a pair of boots. The guy oozed charisma and had facial expressions that could tell a story by themselves. He could have been a bit like a Jericho in that not only could have have easily worked both aerial and mat/submission moves, but could have been one to float back and forth from the mid-card to the main event over the years in order to make the best feuds and be the most valuable. Pillman would have either been one of those guys to only win the WWE title once or twice, or possibly been like Edge and stole it a bunch of times.. either way he would have been a relevant name in the title scene for years.

2)What his role of been during the Attitude Era?

Who knows? I could see him in a stable, possibly the Hart Foundation, but I think he would have worked well as leader/mouthpiece of a stable, where he got his boys to do most of the dirty work and he talked sh&% during and afterwards. With those crazy faces Pillman could do, as sick a thought it may be, he'd been perfect in the Attitude area kidnapping people's wives and holding people hostage or something. Pillman had that genuine "loose cannon" aspect to his character, he would have been great one way or another in the Attitude era.

3)Would he be in the Hall of Fame?

Yes, and still will one day anyway I hope.

4)What would he be up to today?

I wish I knew. Hopefully, somewhere being happy in life and proud to be one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. I've always been such a huge fan of his. He was one of the first wrestlers I really started liking, especially after I saw him wrestle at a little WCW show in Charlotte, NC as a kid. He just had that 'it' factor. So yeah, hopefully he'd still be in wrestling as someone's manager or something. I'd go buy a ticket.