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Brian Pillman was one of the biggest stars of WWE during the early Attitude Era. Vince McMahon brought him from WCW, much like a lot of top stars, like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Eddie Guerrero. Pillman was one of the biggest prospects of WCW as he was pushed as the "Loose Cannon." WWE fans were quite excited to have him in their favorite promotion.
Vince McMahon kept his Loose Cannon character intact in WWE as he was having an excellent run in the promotion. In 1997, he was already one of the biggest prospects of the promotion, and at Badd Blood: In Your House event of the mentioned year, he was supposed to face Dude Love.
JBL remembers the death of Brian Pillman
But just a number of days before the event, Brian Pillman was found dead in his hotel room. The reason for his death is reported to be a heart attack. WWE organized a tribute show in his memory the following week. WWE Hall of Famer JBL recently remembered the demise of Pillman and discussed how Vince McMahon dealt with this situation. Speaking on Something to Wrestle With Podcast, he said the following;
Brian Pillman passed away at the age of 35 in 1997
"I don't see how you can possibly say no to this, after it was brought up that Melanie had requested to do the interview about her husband. "You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. If you don't put her on there, and years later you find out the widow wanted to come on, why didn't you have her on? Because she wasn't a draw? People are gonna bash Vince for that."
Vince McMahon brought him from WCW in 1996
"There's no right answer to this. Vince is a standup guy, and he was willing to sa,y 'Okay, I did it, I made the decision. If you want to shoot arrows at somebody, shoot them at me.' And a lot of people did. Are you gonna tell the family themselves, 'We don't want you to do a eulogy on television'? Then you're gonna look like the biggest jerk in the world!"
Brian Pillman passed away at the age of 35, and he could have definitely been a huge star in the future. His Legacy continued as many wrestlers took inspiration from his gimmick. One of the biggest examples is the character that Dean Ambrose played in WWE, which had similarities with Pillman's character. Pillman's legacy will continue forever.
