Most of Brian Pillman Jr.’s television exposure has come from being a member of the Hart Foundation on MLW television. Now, Brian is reflecting on what it means to be a Pillman, and the experience of working with The Hart Foundation in Major League Wrestling.
Speaking with Spencer Love, Brian opened up about all things Pillman and even discussed Teddy Hart's recent release from MLW.
The following quotes were passed along by Spencer Love.
The advantages and disadvantages of being a Pillman:
“I think it was both (an advantage and disadvantage). It was definitely both. It’s always an advantage because of the booking and being a positive draw. Every promotion I go to, they’re at least going to experience some kind of increase in draw or ticket sales, just by the nature of the beast y’know what I mean? There’s only one of me, there’s only one second-generation guy like me on the market right now. Whether you like it or not, fans are going to come [and] pay to buy a ticket to see me, so by default, I’m booked. It helps to have that on my side.”
“But yeah, the expectations are high. The expectations have always been high. My first year or so was a lot of failure, a lot of going out there and finding myself. These weren’t some great matches, these weren’t some f***ing five-star classics. This was the story of a young guy following in the footsteps of his father that set a huge, huge expectation above his head, a huge shadow cast upon me.”
“But, as we see right now after about two years and some change into doing this, I’m starting to figure it out, (I’m) starting to have some really good matches, have some really good synergy with some different wrestlers, some really good storytelling, and I could never be happier with my career right now as it stands.”
Working with the New Hart Foundation:
“It’s insane. It’s incredible. It’s incredible to have not only that legacy and that pedigree of the Hart Foundation, that awesome name, but also they’re awesome. Not just the name, but they’re another example of guys that are not only taking a name but also taking the ball and running with it. They kind of set the groundwork for me, they kind of paved the way so that guys like me can be good wrestlers and can get really good. It isn’t just about the name, they’re really frickin’ good.”
How Teddy Hart’s release impacted the New Hart Foundation:
“It’s definitely a good dynamic now, because it gives me and Davey Boy a time to shine and show who we are, because maybe Teddy, while he was such a good leader and impressive athlete, maybe he took up too much of the shine from us that maybe now we can start to look good. At the same time, that’s not the best situation. The best situation would be to have him with us here still. When the Hart Foundation, when it was the three of us, we were producing the clueless vignettes, we had so much friendship going on, so I definitely don’t see it as a positive that he’s gone. I feel that’s a huge negative, but in the same way, it’s not as bad as what I would have thought. I would have thought ‘oh my god, we’re screwed, what are we going to do now?’ That is totally not the case.”
Also in the interview, Brian discusses the recent nomination for Davey Boy Smith, The British Bulldog, to go into the WWE Hall of Fame. Read his thoughts on that matter at this link.
