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COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT: BRIAN PILLMAN JR. DISCUSSES TONIGHT'S AEW RAMPAGE, THAT BIG MOMENT ON DYNAMITE WITH MJF, THE EXPERIENCE OF AEW ALL OUT, PUNK & DANIELSON JOINING THE COMPANY, THE LEGACY OF HIS FATHER, THE IMPORTANCE OF AEW DARK, VARSITY BLONDS AND MORE

This has been a monumental week for Brian Pillman Jr.  With his nephew about to be born as we conducted this interview, the new Uncle celebrated quite the Homecoming in Cincinnati this past Wednesday on AEW Dynamite.  Tonight, he will compete on Rampage.  In this discussion recorded earlier today, Pillman reflects on everything that has gone down.in his career, life and family in recent days.

Mike Johnson: It is Friday, September 10th, 2021 and of course, that means it is almost time for AEW Rampage on TNT tonight at 10:00 PM. We've got a big card on that show, including PAC against Andrade, Sting and Darby Allin to appear. There's going to be a big six women tag featuring AEW women's champion, Dr. Britt Baker, and Ruby Soho captaining opposing sides. Max Caster will be facing our guest at this time, who just had quite a interesting series of developments on AEW Dynamite in his hometown of Cincinnati.  Brian Pillman Jr. How are you, sir?

Brian Pillman Jr.: I'm great. I'm wonderful. I'm still here in my hometown. Excited to go into this match tonight.

Mike Johnson: Let's ask the most important question first. Are you an uncle yet?

Brian Pillman Jr.: Oh my gosh. I was going to try and keep it under wraps but I just got a text, let's see, about 20 minutes ago saying that Brittany is in labor. She is in labor. It is now September 10th, a day after my birthday. We could be having a kid. We could be having another descendant of the late, great, fine Brian Pillman.

UPDATE:

Mike Johnson: Let's hope everything goes well, and early congratulations to you and the family. That family is the most important thing in the world, as everybody knows.  Let's talk, first of all, Rampage is tonight. You're going to be facing Max Caster. What can the audience expect when they tune into TNT tonight?

Brian Pillman Jr.: I  think they can expect an explosive show. I think they can expect a very decisive hour of wrestling, a very decisive episode of Rampage. You're going to be looking at a guy, Brian Pillman Jr., wrestling in his own town with a whole lot of purpose, a whole lot of intent, a whole lot of fire going up against one of the rivals. One of the rivals of the Varsity Blonds. We have history with these guys. We've been through the ringer with them. We know their style and we know how to beat them. So you're going to see Brian Pillman Jr. hit the ring at about a hundred miles an hour and take the fight to Max Caster.

Mike Johnson: As you mentioned, you're still in Cincinnati, which is where Rampage is emanating from. There was quite an interesting situation this past Wednesday on Dynamite with MJF involving your Aunt Linda. Who, if anybody's seen Dark Side of the Ring, the woman should be anointed for sainthood, in my opinion, and your sister, Brittany. To me, this was the first milestone Brian Pillman Jr. moment within AEW. There had been great wrestling matches and obviously, you and Griff Garrison and Julia Hart have formed this great unit in the Varsity Blonds. But to me, this was the coming out party. Almost like a celebration of all things Pillman, where you get this great dramatic moment with MJF. Obviously there's a lot of buzzworthy things happening in elite wrestling right now, but to me, this was something really special for you. Obviously something very unique that takes you in a new direction as we head into Dynamite next week. Thoughts on that entire scenario when you first heard about it and going through that moment, because that reaction in Cincinnati ... i have goosebumps now talking about it. I wasn't even in the building. I can't imagine what it was like for you on an emotional level.

Brian Pillman Jr.: When you're talking about MJF coming out and addressing my hometown on AEW Dynamite, it's funny. It's reminiscent of, this always seems to happen to me. First, we had Miro that wants to come out and pick a fight, and now you have Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who, he knows good and well that he's going out there. He knows where I'm from. He knows my history. We go back to two different indies and different promotions in the past. We've come up in this business together, he knows I'm from Cincinnati. He knows the story of my father. And he knew on that night that I was going to come out there and have some words to say to him.  What you saw was a very genuine reaction from the crowd, a very genuine rivalry being formed. This isn't just some made up storyline. Me and Max have been going at each other's necks for years now competing to decide who the fastest rising wrestling star in the world is, who is really going to be the future of this industry.  I think he knows that and I think he sees me as a threat. He's going to come out in my own town and try to get emotionally under my skin. Well, once the emotions settle and Brian Pillman Jr. collects himself, I'm a very dangerous guy in the ring. I think it's going to be a rude awakening for Max and Arthur Ashe. Especially, you want to talk about being in the ring and with Max Caster tonight, that could be an even better situation for me. I get to face a guy with another man ringside. I get to have the odds stacked against me. Well, if I come out victorious tonight, what does that say going into my match with MJF? It means that I'm going to be in a very good position as far as my confidence level. Going against higher numbers than myself, if I can beat two guys tonight, how does Max stand a chance against me?

Mike Johnson: Your dad's legacy obviously speaks for itself. Getting to have that embedded so deeply in your career and having a moment like that in Cincinnati where your aunt is pointed out, not just by Max but by CM Punk and having your sister Brittany there, when you think about that legacy and everything that came before you, is it still in your mind of, I have to try and live up to what my dad accomplished? Or with Liam O'Rourke's book that came out that was excellent a couple of years ago now, the Dark Side of the Ring documentary, do you feel like some of that has been put to rest and you get to figure out who Brian Pillman Jr. is on his own? How much of deciphering who you are and figuring out the right way to present yourself is easier or harder when it comes to separating yourself from your dad?

Brian Pillman Jr.: Well, I guess you brought up the documentary. Well, I think that was a great transitioning period for me to tell my story and explain why. I think people now understand who Brian Pillman Jr. is a little more. Before, I was just the son of the legendary Brian Pillman. People get to hear my story and go, "Oh shit. This kid's got a little bit of a legend to himself as well." I think that story's going to continue and continue to be told.  The further I dive into this business, I think the further I solidify my own uniqueness and my own talents and my own contributions to the wrestling business. Starting out is definitely a tough hill to climb over. There's expectations in that casting shadow. But it feels like everyday I step more and more out of the shadow and solidify who I am.

Mike Johnson: This coming weekend, AEW is going to be taping Dark at Universal Studios for the first time. You were a regular on that series. You still pop up on it from time to time along with Griff and Julia. How did the experience on AEW Dark help mold you and help you improve as a performer? Their fans were like, why are they doing content for YouTube? Why are they doing this? I don't think they realize that that ring time is so important in the development of talents and helping discover talents. I was curious what your experiences were like on Dark as you found your way towards eventually signing with AEW.

Brian Pillman Jr.: I think it was a great experience. Especially, a guy like me, who, not a lot of tag team experience. It was something I could learn and challenge myself with in more of a team environment. I grew up playing team sports. I grew up playing football and lacrosse and all these things and we had practice far more frequent. We had way more games. To be able to go out there and be able to get a nice live round, a nice live match with another group of talent, whether it's signed AEW talent which is going to be a much tougher match on the schedule, or whether it's just a couple of students to enhance their talent that are trying to make a name for themselves.  I appreciate and respect every opponent I ever stepped in that AEW Dark ring with because that's the foundation of this company. And then most of our matches, if you look at the wall, you look at the board, most of our matches are going to be on Dark: Elevation. That's the foundation of AEW. That's how our athletes get better. That's how we determine the strength of schedule and what people's wins and losses are and everything. What we have here is a very sport-focused, very action-focused show. It was definitely an honor to be one of the mainstays of that show and team with Griff Garrison to develop myself as a tag wrestler.  All that has contributed to the performer I am today. I think anybody that was in that Jacksonville Dark period where we always rocked the place, whether it was with fans or even before that, we had no fans in the building, I think we all got a lot better at our craft.

Mike Johnson: You mentioned pushing yourself and learning the tag, the craft of tag team wrestling with Griff. Obviously now, Julia Hart is with you as well. What was it like figuring out that chemistry and figuring out and taking that shift from what's best for Brian Pillman Jr., and changing it to, what's best for the overall team?

Brian Pillman Jr.: I've always been a creative person, so it wasn't hard for me to come up with what we were going to look like and what we were going to be named. There was a great dynamic with Julia. Obviously, that came in later on where she was just the icing on the cake of the whole thing.  As far as getting in the ring, shoot, we got it beat into us. We went out there with guys like FTR, guys like Santana and Ortiz and all these different tag teams. All these veterans that just beat the wrestling into us. They showed us the level and the speed that you have to be at to be in an All Elite tag team. I think me Griff just molded into that very quickly. We're so competitive that we were like, well, if these guys are just going to take liberties on us and beat us up and work circles around us, well, we're going to start getting a little pissed off and we're going to start working circles around people, too. It's a very competitive, very sport-based environment.

Mike Johnson: You mentioned veterans. We've seen a lot of very interesting personalities pop up in AEW just in the last couple of weeks. Thoughts on CM Punk coming into the company and what it's been like sharing a locker room with him the last several weeks?

Brian Pillman Jr.: I think that the AEW product just continues to rise to greater and greater heights, and it starts to receive that polished coat with these stars coming in like Punk and Bryan that are very polished. They're polished on the microphone, they're polished in the ring.  It raises everybody's stock. When you go out there and you work with those guys, it's like ... Talking about getting it beat into you earlier, these guys are going to beat a whole lot of greatness into you, a whole lot of experience into you. It's definitely an honor and I'm really looking forward to working with these gentlemen.  I know CM Punk has as expressed interest. Again, like I said, it seems like everybody sees the potential and wants to work with me and I'm open to it. Miro wants to come out, start some crap, well, he got a little taste of Brian Pillman. MJF, he's going to get a taste. Whoever wants to get in the ring with me, it's going to make for some great moments. It's a great company to be a part of and you can see a lot of people want to be here. There's a lot of energy. There's a lot of excitement surrounding AEW.

Mike Johnson: I was going to ask you about All Out. I feel like there are lots of wrestling pay-per-view events, but so few that I feel rise up to the rarefied air that years later we'll look back at them and see them as this perfect moment in time. They'll also hold up to that when we look back and they'll hold up as strong as they were in the moment.  Give us an idea of what it was like being backstage over the course of that night and not just performing, but getting to witness and feel that energy of the audience and watch the show unfold as it happens.

Brian Pillman Jr.: It was just an incredible pay-per-view from top to bottom. And then when you talk about how, just how solid it was. It wasn't all dependent on one thing. It was a very well-balanced pay-per-view and everybody got their shot to make history and to really shine.  It was definitely a historical night for me, and having known that my schedule was going to pick up and that I knew that things were going to get going for me in my hometown of Cincinnati, I was just happy to just be in Chicago, to witness it all unfold. 

Mike Johnson: We'd be remiss to not mention Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole coming into the company. Same level of excitement as CM Punk? Obviously, you mentioned Punk has talked about wanting to work with you, but with Cole and Bryan, you've got two amazingly well-rounded performers who have been at all levels and all stages of the game. That's got to help you raise your game and also give you a new competitive edge to live up to and be able to compete at that level. Thoughts on those men entering the AEW locker room this past week?

Brian Pillman Jr.: Well, like I said, I think we're starting to form all the different pieces of the puzzle. All the factions are starting to fill out, all of these old rivalries and these different athletes that worked with each other at different companies in the past are starting to come together to finish ... It's their art. It's their artwork and they've probably been planning out things. Some guys are going on five to 10 years ahead of time of really micro-managing their creative and their careers.  That's the beauty of AEW is that these guys, that's the reason they want to be here. They want to come here. Every man has his vision. Every man wants to enact his vision of what his career should look like. You can't get that done everywhere else. So sometimes that creative freedom and that drive to succeed and that ambitious attitude definitely blends better at a company like AEW where there's a lot more freedoms, I think.

Mike Johnson: There was a great book about your dad written a couple of years ago, Crazy Like a Fox. I was interviewed for it by Liam O'Rourke. I feel like even though there's a documentary about your dad through Dark Side of the Ring, that book should be adapted into a film. If somebody came to you and they wanted to do what O'Shea Jackson did, where he went and played his father Ice Cube in the NWA movie, would that be something you'd be interested in? Would you be interested in playing your dad or maybe dabbling in some acting of some sort if that film was ever actually made? Your dad lived a crazy life. He had insane life experiences. I feel like it just lends itself so cinematically to a film, and I can't think of anyone who would be a better person to play your dad than you 

Brian Pillman Jr.: I think it'd be incredibly interesting. I've always been interested in acting and delving into that realm. That's the beauty of wrestling, is that it's so ingrained in my life and I love it and I believe in it so much that when I'm out there, in a TV sense, in the wrestling world, I don't have to act or mimic or fake anything. The emotions and the story is always real to me because of the way my brain processes things, so I think I would make for a great actor.  I also think that just like the movie, Fighting with My Family, that was a great wrestling movie, a great story, and I think we have a very captivating story here. We have a story about my dad and his career and what happened with his kids going out after. And then the whole, like you said, the documentary told a great story that would make for a very cinematic experience, I think.

Mike Johnson: What did Aunt Linda think of the entire AEW experience after the fact?

Brian Pillman Jr.: I think she had a great time. I think she told MJF, she said she's going to beat him up if she sees him and he better keep his head on a swivel. Linda's coming for you Max!  No, I think she had a great time and she got to see a lot of different facets of what we do with this company. I think she was very impressed and I think she knows that I'm in good hands at AEW.

Mike Johnson: When you think about everything that you've been through in life and your career, if we could jump ahead a year from now, where would you like things to be for you on a personal level and a professional level within the confines of AEW?

Brian Pillman Jr.: In one year? Gosh, if we look at the age of the company, the company's only going on four years. Three years now. I was there for the very first AEW pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, at the MGM Grand Arena. I was in the very first Casino Battle Royale there. A year after that, I'm all of a sudden, I'm wrestling for them, and then I have wrestled for them for a whole year as an extra Dark talent. And one day, eventually getting signed this past July.  A lot can happen in a year. We saw that me and Griff came into the fold about a year ago, worked our asses off and finally got our legitimate contract. I feel like the sky's the limit of what can happen in another year. I don't want to put any specific holds or restrictions on what can happen, but I definitely see a lot happening.

Mike Johnson: Well, ladies and gentlemen, one thing we can promise is that Brian Pillman Jr. will be in action tonight on AEW Dark. And then this Wednesday, he'll be facing MJF on AEW Dynamite from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. And of course, the following week is Dynamite Grand Slam in New York City. Lots of big things happening for AEW, featuring our guest, at this time, Brian Pillman Jr.  We wish you and your family nothing but the best on all levels. We look forward to getting you back on here down the line. If you've got any final words for everybody who has supported you over the course of your career, loved to give you the forum to speak to them personally.

Brian Pillman Jr.: I just want to thank all my fans for sticking with me through the indies and through the different companies I was working for and the contracts I was stuck in, and finally sticking it out and not losing sight of what I was trying to show on my journey and finally make it at the AEW. I thank everybody for following me.  You guys can follow me on Twitter at FlyinBrianJr, Instagram FlyinBrian41. I'm only a click away. Let me know what's going on and please stay tuned to Rampage tonight at 10:00 PM EST, 9:00 Central. It's going to be quick. It's going to be short. I'm coming at Max Caster at a hundred miles an hour. I'm going to run straight to the ring and tackle him to the ground and beat his butt.

Mike Johnson: All right, everybody, you can watch that tonight on TNT and you can watch AEW on TNT every week on Wednesday and Friday nights. Of course, you can find Dark and Dark: Elevation on AEW's YouTube channel.  Until next time, I'm Mike Johnson. Thank you so much for your support.   Take care, everybody. And Brian, thank you again for the time.

Brian Pillman Jr. :Thank you.

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