Beginning at the end of September, vignettes began to air hinting at the debut of Brian Pillman Jr.
When Pillman Jr was finally revealed to the audience, he took on the name of Lexis King, saying that he didn't want to associate with his father because he didn't know his father and that wrestling took his father from him.
Speaking to Booker T on the Hall of Fame podcast, Lexis was asked about the direction of his character and his vignettes.
"It was 100% real. I felt that way for a very long time. It was just a shot in the dark, a pure chance that the creative happened to be right on board with that. I came into WWE, I told them my story, I told them my real story. I don't have a gimmick. This isn't a character. This is real life. Wrestling has had a real impact on my life and I said, 'this is what I need to do.' I wanted this. I wanted to become my own man. It's impossible to be better than. The second coming is never better than the original. I was never going to be a better Brian Pillman. I knew that and I knew that I needed to more or less disparage his name and create my own. I don't have any hatred towards my father, but it would have been an uphill battle to be Brian Pillman II or Brian Pillman Jr. I've gone 30 years with his name, and to come here and have this company give me the opportunity to create my own name, it was a dream come true, and it all just fell together. They gave me a few things to say, but there wasn't really a script. 'Tell us your story.' I went on the camera and everything I said was true and 100% from the heart. I didn't know him. Everybody loved him. I don't hate him. He was a great man. I inherited a lot of positive traits from him, but I don't owe him anything to use his name any further. It's his name, and now it's time for me to make mine.
I'm never going to outshine him and what he did, especially the way he passed. It's like 2Pac and these great artists. When they die at their peak, they are immortalized at their peak. There is no outdoing that. He was revered for what he did. I thought about starting out that way, starting my career as a new person. My first indie match, I was Alex King. To come in here and be given the creative go, 'you pick your name.' They didn't even go back and forth with me. They said 'we want you to be you.' This is my older sister's first name, I actually knew her. She would take me to Dairy Queen. She was an indie wrestler and a performer, a dancer, and my little sister Skyler, who I went through all the hard times with. She eventually got adopted by her grandma. To come in with a real raw story that I don't have to fake or read from a script, this is who I am. No one else has that on me. If you watch Dark Side of the Ring, this business has had a severe impact on my life. Despite all that, I'm stronger than ever. I got here because of this business, because of the great impact that it has had. While it may have put me back a few steps in my childhood, here I am now, thriving, traveling the world, and I finally made it to the biggest stage of them all. I think I deserve a shot, 100%, on everything I can do, inside this career and outside. A fresh start for Lexis King."
King made his in-ring debut at NXT Halloween Havoc, defeating Dante Chen.
He was in the middle of the story between Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes on Tuesday's NXT, egging on Trick to the point where Trick swung, but King moved and Trick ended up decking Carmelo.
Fans can find Fightful's report on Tuesday's NXT by clicking here.
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