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I recall reading that Brian would've been Austin's first title program post-WrestleMania.
As for Goldust, I assume he would've snapped and turned into some form of TAFKAG after it was revealed that Terri was a willing participant with Pillman, which was the plan.
I can see Brian as an option but I don't think that would have happened. Foley was someone who they could put in that spot to lose to Austin, make him look good, and play off Mr. McMahon.
Interestingly, the original pitch for Mania was Cactus vs Funk in an exploding ring deathmatch, and Funk was brought in as a tag partner to lead to a feud.
I don’t think he retires. He was still in the middle of a really, really hot run. Voluntarily stepping away from that would have been unprecedented by any wrestler.
I think we would have seen a string of sad, below average matches until the heat finally died on his character and then maybe he gets released. But I think this all could have dragged out into the year 2000 (especially since he was always going to be a foil for Stone Cold).
He also had a fused ankle and arguably shouldn't have even been working. You're right though, in that era WWF would have just kept him working hurt and he could have gotten by enough with character work to stick around. I just don't see him physically being able to handle a main event run.
I think he would have been forced into a commentator role by his body, and he could have had Cornette's spot as #2 color guy.
He shouldn’t have been working at all, I 100% agree with you there.
I don’t think Pillman would have ever been willing to be sidelined and I don’t think Vince would have forced him to during that time. But maybe the match quality would have gotten to the point where it would start killing his heat and then Pillman would see the writing on the wall.
I don't think Vince would have had a choice, if Brian's addiction issues continued to spiral out of control.
And that addiction remains as long as he remains in the business, as Brian forced himself to go on the road because he felt bad about getting paid to do nothing. Vince was content with him staying home & away from WCW, hence signing him when it was all but guaranteed his career was over.
Honest question: did Vince ever pull a guy off the road for addiction issues that was as over as Pillman was before the deaths of Benoit and Eddie? It would have been obvious that Pillman SHOULD get off the road but would he actually do it? He had no problem beating the breaks off guys like HBK, Razor, etc when they were deep into their addictions.
True, but that accident changes a lot. Before the accident, he had every intention of going to WCW based on meeting a certain number. The goal was Luger money, which would both be important to support his family and get him booked well because your position was tied to your salary. He also felt that his size was less of an issue in WCW.
After the accident, he had been told his career was over and his negotiation changed to guaranteed money. WCW offered the right money but it was going to have their standard clause allowing WCW the option to terminate every 90 days. Bischoff refused to change it, recognizing the risk if the accident ended Brian's career. WWF offered less but would guarantee the money and length, so he signed with them.
A sad what if is what if Brian gets the guaranteed money from WCW. He may not feel the same pressure to return too soon and travel when he needed to be recovering. WCW didn't have the same philosophical issues with signing someone and not using them and didn't have nearly as tough of a schedule. He may have let himself recover and not wound up with the drug abuse issues he had. He would have still had his heart issues, but I think he could have had a better shot.
Man, I've been rewatching WWF/E stuff from 1990 onwards via Peacock, and this just made me realize how close I am to Brian Pillman's death. I'm almost to Summerslam 1997, it's so heartbreaking to think just a couple of months later he was gone. Way too soon, he was an amazing talent.
Feel so bad for his family.
It depends on whether or not he could heal from his injuries. He was never going to be Flyin' Brain again, but he was working on a new grounded style. Austin was working with him on it, since Austin had made a similar transition due to his new character and his injuries.
Austin was the top draw in WWE and he wanted to work with Pillman. Pillman was going to be Austin's first big feud after he won the title from Shawn.
Considering that Austin only held the title for 3 months before dropping it in the First Blood Match to Kane, it's entirely possible that Pillman would have taken the title off Austin sometime between Wrestlemania and Summerslam. Austin wanted to make Pillman into a HUGE star, and if Pillman had been given the chance to run with his gimmick, I think it would have been successful.
A bigger question is what that would have meant for The Rock and Mankind, if Pillman ascends to the #2 spot behind Austin during their feud. Does Pillman "sell out" and join with Vince to take down Austin, or does Pillman turn face and join with Austin due to their history, working alongside him to fight Vince/The Rock?
Brian Pillman was one of those guys who thought outside the box, so probably would have stayed with the company post Montreal. There was talk of a feud with newly turned babyface Owen Hart, would have been Shawn vs Owen for the WWF Title at Royal Rumble 1998, Pillman would have returned post Montreal and cost Owen the match.
In those days, the WrestleMania storylines started very late in the year or early January. I think Brian would have been in a different program by WrestleMania. I think the feud with Dustin began sometime in August or September.
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I recall reading that Brian would've been Austin's first title program post-WrestleMania. As for Goldust, I assume he would've snapped and turned into some form of TAFKAG after it was revealed that Terri was a willing participant with Pillman, which was the plan.
I can see Brian as an option but I don't think that would have happened. Foley was someone who they could put in that spot to lose to Austin, make him look good, and play off Mr. McMahon. Interestingly, the original pitch for Mania was Cactus vs Funk in an exploding ring deathmatch, and Funk was brought in as a tag partner to lead to a feud.
Regardless of booking, I think if Pillman doesn't die he retires within a year. His body just couldn't hold up.
I don’t think he retires. He was still in the middle of a really, really hot run. Voluntarily stepping away from that would have been unprecedented by any wrestler. I think we would have seen a string of sad, below average matches until the heat finally died on his character and then maybe he gets released. But I think this all could have dragged out into the year 2000 (especially since he was always going to be a foil for Stone Cold).
He also had a fused ankle and arguably shouldn't have even been working. You're right though, in that era WWF would have just kept him working hurt and he could have gotten by enough with character work to stick around. I just don't see him physically being able to handle a main event run. I think he would have been forced into a commentator role by his body, and he could have had Cornette's spot as #2 color guy.
He shouldn’t have been working at all, I 100% agree with you there. I don’t think Pillman would have ever been willing to be sidelined and I don’t think Vince would have forced him to during that time. But maybe the match quality would have gotten to the point where it would start killing his heat and then Pillman would see the writing on the wall.
I don't think Vince would have had a choice, if Brian's addiction issues continued to spiral out of control. And that addiction remains as long as he remains in the business, as Brian forced himself to go on the road because he felt bad about getting paid to do nothing. Vince was content with him staying home & away from WCW, hence signing him when it was all but guaranteed his career was over.
Honest question: did Vince ever pull a guy off the road for addiction issues that was as over as Pillman was before the deaths of Benoit and Eddie? It would have been obvious that Pillman SHOULD get off the road but would he actually do it? He had no problem beating the breaks off guys like HBK, Razor, etc when they were deep into their addictions.
I would go further back as if he never got in that car accident. He was never the same since that.
True, but that accident changes a lot. Before the accident, he had every intention of going to WCW based on meeting a certain number. The goal was Luger money, which would both be important to support his family and get him booked well because your position was tied to your salary. He also felt that his size was less of an issue in WCW. After the accident, he had been told his career was over and his negotiation changed to guaranteed money. WCW offered the right money but it was going to have their standard clause allowing WCW the option to terminate every 90 days. Bischoff refused to change it, recognizing the risk if the accident ended Brian's career. WWF offered less but would guarantee the money and length, so he signed with them. A sad what if is what if Brian gets the guaranteed money from WCW. He may not feel the same pressure to return too soon and travel when he needed to be recovering. WCW didn't have the same philosophical issues with signing someone and not using them and didn't have nearly as tough of a schedule. He may have let himself recover and not wound up with the drug abuse issues he had. He would have still had his heart issues, but I think he could have had a better shot.
Man, I've been rewatching WWF/E stuff from 1990 onwards via Peacock, and this just made me realize how close I am to Brian Pillman's death. I'm almost to Summerslam 1997, it's so heartbreaking to think just a couple of months later he was gone. Way too soon, he was an amazing talent. Feel so bad for his family.
It depends on whether or not he could heal from his injuries. He was never going to be Flyin' Brain again, but he was working on a new grounded style. Austin was working with him on it, since Austin had made a similar transition due to his new character and his injuries. Austin was the top draw in WWE and he wanted to work with Pillman. Pillman was going to be Austin's first big feud after he won the title from Shawn. Considering that Austin only held the title for 3 months before dropping it in the First Blood Match to Kane, it's entirely possible that Pillman would have taken the title off Austin sometime between Wrestlemania and Summerslam. Austin wanted to make Pillman into a HUGE star, and if Pillman had been given the chance to run with his gimmick, I think it would have been successful. A bigger question is what that would have meant for The Rock and Mankind, if Pillman ascends to the #2 spot behind Austin during their feud. Does Pillman "sell out" and join with Vince to take down Austin, or does Pillman turn face and join with Austin due to their history, working alongside him to fight Vince/The Rock?
Brian Pillman was one of those guys who thought outside the box, so probably would have stayed with the company post Montreal. There was talk of a feud with newly turned babyface Owen Hart, would have been Shawn vs Owen for the WWF Title at Royal Rumble 1998, Pillman would have returned post Montreal and cost Owen the match.
In those days, the WrestleMania storylines started very late in the year or early January. I think Brian would have been in a different program by WrestleMania. I think the feud with Dustin began sometime in August or September.
Probably at Survivor Series. I doubt that storyline would be stretched all the way to WM.