The history of professional wrestling is filled with second- and third-generation wrestlers who followed in their parents' footsteps. Brian Pillman, Jr. looks to be the next.
The younger Pillman began wrestling training back in May at Ohio Valley Wrestling and talked about his first steps in wrestling during an interview with Wrestelist.
Pillman was only 3 years old when his father, the former WWE, WCW and ECW star, passed away. He said he chose to train at OVW because it was only about an hour and a half away from where Pillman lives in Cincinnati.
On Father's Day, Pillman made a post about his decision to pursue a career in pro wrestling:
During the interview, Pillman said that most of his memories of his father come from watching what he did in wrestling.
"Unfortunately, being that I was so young [when he died], I really had no recollection of him as, like, a father in my home life, but I did get the chance to see him on TV as a kid," the younger Pillman said. "One of the things that I actually really remember watching him on TV was the dress match ... I remember me and my sister were crying, like, 'Our dad would never wear a dress.' We were so upset."
Pillman, Jr. noted that he got to know more about his father from interactions with other wrestlers and fans who had good memories of their time with the "Loose Cannon."
"It?s really strange, because as his son I never really got to know Brian Pillman as a father," he said. "I really only knew him in the same vein that every fan out there knew him, and that was his television personality and his loose cannon persona. It?s very interesting because it gives me a void to fill, it gives me something to look for, and that sort of draws back to my whole purpose in the wrestling world--each person I mean. He affected so many people, not just fans, but actually wrestlers and promoters and people in the industry ... to the point that people really felt a friendship with him. When I do meet these people I get to meet the real Brian Pillman, I get to find out about the stories of what he did and how he carried himself."
Pillman said that, long term, he aspires to make it to WWE since that company owns the trademarks and merchandising rights tied to his father's career.
"Obviously at the end of the day we want to make a good living for ourselves and we want to make it as big as we can," the younger Pillman said.
Pillman still is not sure of his athletic potential; he did not really start working out until after he finished college.
"Once I started getting in the gym and doing CrossFit, getting on the box jumps and seeing how high I can jump and how much weight I can lift, I started to realize that, wow, I really am a monster. I really am a beast," he said. "I really think my style is going to be very athletic and I don?t know that I?m this huge gymnastic acrobat. But I think with some training and some good coaching I can perform those high-flying moves and stuff. I do want to show off my speed; I want to show off my physicality in the ring. I think I have a lot of passion and emotion in my moves and in my selling."
Click here to check out Pillman's full interview.