Unsurprisingly, AEW didn't make the most of Brian Pillman Jr. when they had him and one of the company's biggest missteps was failing to capitalise on what could have been a red-hot babyface run following a Dark Side of the Ring episode about his late father.
There were rumblings several months ago that he was looking to make the leap to WWE and, after a series of vignettes aired on NXT, he finally made his debut...with a different name. Now known as Lexis King, he's putting his past - and his father's shadow - behind him, but what led to him making such a drastic change?
Talking to WWE Hall of Famer Booker T on his Hall of Fame podcast, King reflected on those video packages and why he needed to move forward without that association with his dad.
"All I can say is it was 100% real. I felt that way for a very long time. It was just a shot in the dark. It was just pure chance that the creative happened to be right on board with that. I came into WWE. I told them my story. I told them my real story and that I don't have a gimmick. You know, this isn't a character. This is real life. Wrestling has had a real impact on my life and I said, 'This is what I need to do.' I wanted this. I wanted to become my own man. The second coming is never better than the original. I was never going to be a better Brian Pillman. I knew that and I knew that I needed to more or less disparage his name and create my own. I don't have any hatred towards my father, but it would have just been an uphill battle to try to be Brian Pillman II or Brian Pillman Jr."
"You know, I've gone 30 years of my entire life with someone else's name, his name, and to come here and to have this company give me the opportunity to create my own name, I mean, it was a dream come true and it all just fell together. They gave me a few things to say but I mean, there wasn't even really a script involved. They said, 'Tell us your story', and I went on that camera and everything I said was true and 100% from the heart and that's how I feel. I didn't know him. Everybody loved him. I mean, I don't hate him. He was a great man. I inherited a lot of positive traits from him, but I don't owe him anything to use his name any further and now it's time for me to make mine."
As for how and why he chose "Lexis King," the NXT Superstar explained that, rather than it being WWE's attempt to brand him, it's actually a moniker which is deeply, deeply personal to him.
"There's a lot of emotion behind that last name. That was my stepfather's last name. He came into the picture, I mean, pretty much as soon as my father passed. I mean, my mom needed to be with somebody to help keep the lights on. So I mean, she was already one foot out the door, I'm pretty sure, before he passed, you know what I mean, because everything that was going on in the business and things. So she was looking for some stability and she met a guy with the last name King. He came from a great family, but he wasn't great to me."
"This man robbed my childhood. I'm going to rob his name. I'm going to take his name because that's a frickin cool name and I'm going to make it mean something positive because as much as he was a piece of garbage to me, you know, I'm not doing this to bring him any glory or fame. I'm doing this for me. I'm gonna take that name and make it something because in a way, he had much more influence on my life than my own father did."
"As much negativity and stuff that that name carries in my life, it's who I am, and if that means that when I step in the ring with you that I'm going to be a vile piece of sh*t and just beat the crap out of you, then that's what it's gonna be because all that's been built up and that's been given out to me. I've taken a beating. I've taken a whoopin. I've been thrown down a flight of stairs by a grown man, you know what I mean?"
"Like, nothing can stop me on this journey to take what I want from NXT and it's already started. So you guys have seen it. I made my debut, I made a statement, and this is who I am. I'm Lexis King. So people better get used to the name. People want to talk crap about the name, you know, but they're gonna be chanting it before long so get used to it."
It's fascinating to hear King get so candid here but he's looking to make his mark in NXT before eventually heading to WWE's main roster (that is, after all, the goal for every wrestler on that show).
Still, with NXT's viewership on the rise and a move to The CW in 2024 now confirmed, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the Tuesday night show continue to set itself apart as its own separate brand and not just a developmental territory viewed as a launching platform to "bigger and better" things.
Regardless, King has all the makings of a star...