Dark Side Of The Ring - Pillman Part 2 FULL RECAP
In Part 2 of Dark Side of the Ring's Pillman, the episode picks up by detailing Brian Pillman's near-fatal crash and how it impacted the remainder of his wrestling career and personal life.
Catch up on the full Part 1 recap.
Pillman Part 2
It was Melanie who called Brian’s sister, noting that the accident was quite bad. Brian was airlifted to University Hospital.
Melanie walked past the room until Brian’s sister Linda would stop her and invite her into the room. Melanie was outright shocked at her husband’s appearance since it looked nothing like him. His hair was red from all the blood while also wearing a neck brace. His head was swelled up resembling a beach ball. Brian had six different doctors just for his face due to the fact that literally everything was shattered. He eventually underwent facial surgery where four titanium steel plates were drilled into his skull with skin pulled back over the top.
There was even talk of him losing a foot since his ankle was shattered. The doctor noted his ankle would need to be fused into a walking position, but it was unlikely that Brian would ever be able to run or even wrestle again.
Kim Wood, Brian’s close friend and former NFL strength coach during his days with the Bengals visited Pillman in the hospital. Kim was shocked by what he witnessed which was a titanium mask and pins holding his leg together.
When asked by producers about Brian’s reaction to the accident, Linda noted that she remembered him crying in the hospital claiming, “I really messed up.”
When Melanie was asked what happened to Brian, she believes he fell asleep behind the wheel and that his medication hit him too soon before he arrived at home. When producers asked if there were substance abuse issues with Brian, Melanie would state there weren’t and that he was only taking muscle relaxers.
A clip of a radio interview is heard with Brian explaining the following:
“Seventy miles per hour and I instantly became Evel Knievel. Shot up in the air, then proceeded to come straight down, nose first and luckily for me, I didn’t have a seatbelt on because it shot me straight out and I pierced the convertible top of that vehicle with my head like a bullet. Shot out fifty feet away from the vehicle would end up doing two end-over-end flips.”
Brian’s daughter Brittany recalls being terrified of her dad. It freaked her out to see him so messed up.
Brian Pillman Jr does have some memories of his father, which specifically were the rusty bolts screwed into his leg.
Dani, another one of Brian’s daughters, noted that he was completely run down.
Jim Cornette brought up how many of the boys were convinced that the wreck was just part of the Loose Cannon gimmick because he was always working everyone. Was it really an accident or did he do it on purpose for publicity?
Dave Meltzer brought up how Kim, who Brian would never work, specifically told him it was definitely real. Meltzer noted how some wrestlers compared this to an Andy Kaufman angle.
Cornette touched on an outlandish rumour that some legitimately speculated that Brian went through plastic surgery to resemble an evil version of Shawn Michaels to feud with him over the title? Oh, come on now. Yes, guys actually believed that.
Dave Meltzer pointed out how Brian was mostly always honest with him, but the one time he wasn’t was following the accident. Pillman told Dave that doctors informed him that he would eventually be 100%, which was the opposite of what he was told.
The wreck occurred during negotiations with WWF, so Brian purposely kept the severity of his injuries quiet so he wouldn't jeopardize the contract. Brian couldn't allow anyone to know that what he was now able to physically was not how he was before. A shell of his former self.
Kim noted that the object was to play Vince for money. Despite the accident, Brian was offered a guaranteed 3-year contract. Eric Bischoff ultimately offered Brian more money, but the terms would have to be re-negotiated every three months.
Footage from the Brian Pillman contract signing is shown in 1996 was shown.
Jim Ross explained that what changed with Brian coming into the company at that time was the fact he wasn’t able to wrestle to any degree or even comparably to what he was.
Despite rehabbing the injury, The Loose Cannon persona was already in full force.
Steve Austin remembers him coming in and just wondering what he was going to do in the land of WWF. They will let him push the envelope, but only so far. Steve believed that if Brian could heal up, he could go right to the top.
When Brian would return home, he still had an IV. He would unhook himself from the IV, go attend the show then hook himself back up upon returning. It stopped being fun for him. This what Brian Pillman Jr considers the beginning of the end.
As Brian Pillman continued to struggle with his crippling injuries, an upcoming surgery kept him out of any in-ring action. To disguise that from fans, the WWF devised a shocking storyline involving Steve Austin, his old tag-team partner.
Steve needed to do something to get some heat and they were in Cincinnati, Brian's hometown, so it was logical to attack someone in their hometown.
Jim Cornette brought up how Brian and Steve were still friends, wanted to see each other make it to the top, so management put them together because the fans would enjoy it.
Steve gave Brian a stiff beating because it had to look legit given Austin’s ruthless character at the time. The metal folding chair was placed around the bad ankle and Austin would stomp the seat of the chair. The “Pillmanizer” was merely an excuse for Brian to further heal.
In the middle of a rating war with WCW, Vince was willing to push the envelope even further than before in an effort to capitalize on the heated feud between Pillman and Austin.
Jim Cornette wasn’t consulted on it, but joked, “They felt it would be a wonderful thing if they did a remote from Brian Pillman’s house in Cinncinati. Steve Austin came to find him and stage a home invasion on Monday Night Raw.”
When producers asked Steve and he was excited to do something real and gritty at the time, Austin responded that he always wanted to, especially something that would have the volume turned up. Steve theorized that even non-wrestling fans could flip by this, watch it for 10 seconds and not change the channel.
Melanie brought up how Vince instructed, “We’re going to have Stone Cold then you all just wing it from there.”
Austin approaches Pillman, the gun is pointed back at Steve and the camera cuts off.
Dave Meltzer brought up how nothing like that had ever been done before in wrestling. It was groundbreaking and it’s clear that people weren’t ready for it since it was received very negatively.
The next week, Vince had to go on television and apologize for the gun being shown due to the negative reaction. This might be the only angle that Vince McMahon had ever apologized for.
While still recovering from the car wreck, Brian was temporarily sidelined as a commentator for Shotgun Saturday Night in 1997 alongside Jim Ross.
Jim Ross was the one who informed Brian that he could make a great living and take care of his health as a commentator, but he didn’t want to hear it. Instead, Brian simply wanted to receive encouragement that he could return to the ring that way he was. Jim never told him that as it would have been a lie.
Brian eventually returned to the ring, but the pain was excruciating. It’s clear he wasn’t the same anymore his dependency on painkillers only increased. Couple that with the pressure of providing for a big family and he was pushed to the point of no return.
While rushing through recovery, Brian hampered any progress on his injuries by choosing to still perform in the ring, which resulted in his pain becoming all-consuming.
Linda noted that one of the only things Brian told her about the pain is that he would take pills until the pain went away. He was physically sick with an infection in his ankle.
Dave Meltzer brought up chatting with wrestlers and they shared how Brian could barely walk through the airport due to the pain sustained.
Steve Austin admitted that he could have seen the writing on the wall, but based on the regard he held him in, Steve thought he would be just fine.
When asked by producers about their relationship, Melanie admitted that she and Brian had some problems. Brian was wrecking rental cars, nodding off at the wheel and constantly hinting at his own death.
Kim had become a bit estranged from Brian because, in his words, Pillman was f**cked up. Kim brought up a story of how Brian showed up at his house with a big hole in his arm, likely from an HGH (Human Growth Hormone) injection and was clearly messed up. Kim gave him the count of 10 to leave since his kids were upstairs sleeping.
While Jim Ross was Head of Talent Relations, he noted that many of Brian’s friends had noted that his behaviour was becoming a bigger issue to the point of intervention.
Jim Ross contacted the lead agent and arranged for a drug tester to be present. Brian was instructed to be tested and felt as though Jim had betrayed him. Brian would tell Jim, “I can’t believe you of all people would betray me. You always had my back. You were always there for me. Now, this.” Jim responded by telling Brian that he was just merely trying to save his life.
Brian would call up Dave Meltzer claiming that he hated Jim Ross and that many people were doing drugs at the time. They wouldn’t find anything illegal in his system. At the time, prescription medication and steroids were found in his system.
Jim Ross believed that he failed in convincing Brian that he could be a star in other areas of wrestling.
Brian was scheduled to compete at Badd Blood: In Your House 1997.
Jim Cornette explained how in those days, the call time for PPVs was 1:00 pm. Sometimes, talent would be late, oversleep, miss their flight, traffic etc. By 5:00 pm, everyone was accounted for except for Brian, which was extremely late for a PPV. Bruce Prichard instructed Jim Cornette, who was in Talent Relations, to go find where he might be.
Cornette called Brian’s hotel, explained who he was and the front desk put him on hold. Figured he was just checking records, the individual would get back on the phone and say, “Mr. Pillman is dead." The first flash going through Jim Cornette’s head was, “What’s he doing now? Is this a rib?” The guy said, “No the police are here now.” Jim instructed one of the production assistants to go get Bruce. Eventually, Bruce would get on the phone and Cornette walked off because he simply didn’t want to hear that. He was clearly emotional while relieving this story.
On October 5, 1997, Brian Pillman was found dead in his hotel room in Bloomington, Minnesota. He was only 35 years old.
To this day, it’s still very difficult for Jim Ross to think about, how that heart of that athlete, of that performer, stopped. It just didn’t seem believable.
It almost didn’t register with Steve Austin because he never pictured Brian dying. There was a force field of energy that surrounded him, to the point where it would never be stopped.
State Police informed Melanie of Brian’s death.
Brian Pillman Jr didn’t even know what to think since it felt like show business. He was expecting a camera crew, but then reality set in.
The next night on Monday Night Raw, the news of Brian’s death was broadcast live.
When the bell tolled 10 times, Steve was extremely emotional as it registered that his friend was gone.
Melanie was chatting with Jim Ross and asked him to hand the phone to Owen, who didn’t know much of what was going on. Vince then asked if she wanted to be on camera. She figured the show must go on. Melanie’s one request to Vince was that he didn’t ask her about drugs, but the first thing he did was ask about prescription medication.
Jim Cornette absolutely despised the grieving widow interview. He was very uncomfortable with it on a wrestling program. Cornette suggested that Vince send her a check for $100,000 and keep her off the television.
Melanie claims to have not been pressured into the interview.
Jim Ross also hated it and didn’t want to relive that matter to pop a rating.
The official cause of death was heart disease. Brian’s father died of a massive heart attack at 55.
When the family arrived at the funeral, Linda (Brian’s sister), noticed a camera crew there. Since it was a private matter, she asked why they were there. They responded that Melanie had allowed it. Linda told them to leave.
When asked if many wrestlers showed up, Linda said no. Jim Ross was there and noted it was an open casket, which was really tough. When looking at Brian’s corpse, Jim Ross thought, “This shouldn’t be part of my wrestling career or my crazy journey. We shouldn't be burying a guy who is this young.”
Dave Meltzer relived how his daughters, who were young at the time, were running around, having fun, ran to the casket and said, goodbye daddy.
Brian Pillman Jr believed the person his death hurt the most was Melanie, his mom.
Brian’s children were jolted into their new reality. Melanie spiralled out of control and admitted to not being the best mother in the world.
Dani, one of Brian’s daughters, noted that she has not seen one cent of his royalties since they all go to Melanie.
Water and electricity would be turned off. Brittany explained that it was so odd to go from having a silver platter to not knowing where your next meal is coming from.
Melanie was depressed, sleeping, drinking and almost died of alcohol poisoning while Brian Pillman Jr was 12 years old.
When Melanie re-married, there was a lot of drug abuse and neglect from both of them. This step-father was very abusive towards Brian Pillman Jr and his sister. This step-father even had dogs trained to keep Brian in his room when grounded to the point where they would physically bite him.
Calls to Brian Junior’s stepfather for comment went unreturned.
Brian Junior, who was breaking down, explained that no one ever took him out to throw a baseball with him, throw a football or anything. He couldn’t play sports, but he was big into video games. Eventually, the stepfather would catch onto that, unplug the Gamecube and throw it against the wall. Everything he ever latched onto or loved was taken away.
The siblings would all drift apart while Aunt Linda took action by getting Dani, Brittany and Brian Junior together. Brittany noted, in tears, how Linda is the closest thing she’s ever had to a mom.
Jim Cornette believes that Brian Pillman is still remembered because he created a character that people still talk about today since it was in large part, himself.
Austin brought up how Brian overcame a lot of odds and kicked ass in an industry of guys who were much larger than him. Steve would have loved to see what the next 10 years would have looked like had the car wreck never occurred.
Jim Ross believes that Brian knew the cards he was dealt following the accident.
Eric Bischoff noted how Brian’s death created a domino effect that brought to light the steroid issue but mainly put the extra focus on the real reason why people were dying young and it was due to prescription pills.
Jim Cornette pointed out that the biggest part of Brian’s legacy is “What could have been? Where he would have gone? What heights he would have achieved? Would he have been as big as The Rock, Steve Austin and other guys 5 years later?” Probably, one of them.
Melanie’s biggest goal is to rebuild the relationship with her children. She’s hoping they will no longer be mad at her by the time she dies.
Brian Junior brought up how he could spend the rest of his life hating his mother, but where does that get him? He’s been happier in his life and more mature after burying the hatchet with his mom
Steve would sporadically call Brian Junior out of the blue, which Brian noted was a sign from the Wrestling God’s. Steve had a weight-lifting belt that belonged to his father that he wanted to send along.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Brian Pillman Jr decided to become a professional wrestler. Melanie was initially scared until she saw him perform.
Jim Cornette believes that Brian Pillman Jr would be making his father proud, but that Brian Pillman Sr would want to be there looking out for him.
Jim Ross has spoken to Brian Junior about the great traits he possesses but also hopes he realizes where to draw the line and not become a loose cannon.
Brian Junior believes he’s in wrestling to eventually become a father. There’s a photo of Brian Sr proudly holding up Brian Junior and kissing him. Brian Junior noted this photo provides him with so much inspiration and he only hopes that he one day have a son to relive that moment. Very touching.
Steve Austin concluded the episode by explaining the Loose Cannon gimmick was one of the best ones ever created and Brian was one of the best friends he ever had in the business. “I hope he thought the same about me. Loved Brian.”
Having spent decades obsessed with Brian Pillman’s career, this two-part episode almost provided me with a sense of closure as it was told with integrity without glossing over any details.