4 things you must know about Brian Pillman Jr. prior to his imminent WWE debut

WWE NXT was a big show this week. It was the program's final episode ahead of NXT No Mercy 2023, which is set to take place in Bakersfield, California, on Saturday. Stars such as Dominik Mysterio, Tiffany Stratton, Carmelo Hayes, and others appeared on the program.

As exciting as the standard stars showing up can be, there's something special about the tease of a new talent. NXT fans received exactly that when a mysterious vignette showed a superstar watching an old-school television set.

Two notable programs were shown on the TV. One was highlights from the Cincinnati Bengals, while the other clip showcased WCW Saturday Night. It didn't take long for people to put together two and two. The video was seemingly played to hype the debut of Brian Pillman Jr.

Pillman has been rumored to be joining World Wrestling Entertainment ever since his contract with AEW expired a few months ago. Now that he's seemingly set to debut, this article will offer some noteworthy facts about the 30-year-old star.

Below are four things you must know about Brian Pillman Jr. before his imminent WWE debut.

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#4 His dad is a WWE legend

Perhaps the most well-known but still notable fact about Brian Pillman Jr. is that he is a second-generation superstar. His father was Brian Pillman, a very popular and controversial star who rose to fame in both WWE and WCW in the 1990s.

While in WCW, Brian was one-half of The Hollywood Blondes, a tag team also featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin. When the two eventually went their separate ways, Brian created the outlandish and eccentric Loose Cannon character that often blurred the lines between reality and fiction in an era where that was rare.

Brian Pillman Sr. eventually joined WWE, where he was part of The Hart Foundation. Unfortunately, Brian passed away in 1997 while still working for the promotion. Brian Pillman Jr. is carrying on his family legacy.

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#3 Brian Pillman Jr. has an athletic background and is well-educated

The reason why the Cincinnati Bengals on the WWE NXT vignette was a hint towards Brian Pillman Jr. once again comes down to his legendary father. Brian Pillman Sr. played for the football team before breaking into pro wrestling.

While Brian Pillman Jr. had a tough life growing up, he had an impressive athletic background. He played football in high school and then later went on to attend Northern Kentucky University. He pursued and eventually earned a degree in information systems.

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#2 He was a champion in Major League Wrestling

While Brian is best known for his time in All Elite Wrestling and as part of The Varsity Blondes, he was in a fairly large promotion before signing with Tony Khan's company. Pillman Jr. was part of Major League Wrestling.

He first joined the company in 2018, just around a year into his pro wrestling career. The star teamed up with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Teddy Hart in a new version of The Hart Foundation, a stable his father was part of over two decades ago.

While in MLW, Brian Pillman Jr. won the MLW World Tag Team Championship. He and the New Era Hart Foundation lost the title to The Dynasty's Richard Holliday and MJF.

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#1 Wrestling legend Jim Cornette believed AEW didn't use Brian properly

Jim Cornette is a controversial figure in pro wrestling. The former WWE manager has two podcasts where he frequently offers his opinions on the state of pro wrestling, good or bad. Luckily for Brian Pillman Jr., Cornette seemingly likes the young star. However, the same doesn't necessarily apply to how he was booked.

Cornette was highly critical of All Elite Wrestling's use of the second-generation star. When Brian left AEW, the WWE veteran manager admitted it was for the best, claiming he was being misused by the Jacksonville-based promotion. You can view his comments below.

"It’s about time, and I wish they’d done it sooner. Because it’s been obvious for, what, how long, that they weren’t going to do anything with him [Brian Pillman Jr]. He was not going to be featured on any of the television programs. We don’t what they did on YouTube. But we’ve also heard that the YouTube matches were just, you know, just rapid-fire matches. Just, you know, three minutes with green guys against green guys. (…) He wasn’t learning anything."

Whether he was or wasn't misused by Tony Khan and AEW can be debated, but there's no denying that having the support of a long-tenured veteran of the industry is a major positive.