When Brian Pillman Jr. officially made the jump from AEW to WWE and left his father’s name in the past to become Lexis King, more than a few fans assumed that the Cincinnati, Ohio native was going to leave the past in the past and forge forward as his own man without any mention of the “Loose Cannon” character some fans have come to consider one of the all-time best in wrestling history.
On paper, it makes sense, right? WWE largely wants to create the characters they market, especially when it comes to owning their names, and giving King his new gimmick and moniker would allow him to diverge from the past in favor of a brighter future, even if, as with Bron Breakker, using his father’s last name – real or Kayfabe – might have produced better results among casual fans.
Discussing the matter with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Pillman revealed that he isn’t totally against incorporating some “Loose Cannon” into his character; he just wants to make sure that he leaves the gimmick at work instead of living it like his father before him.
“I would say his career, his life ended the way it did because he was living on that edge, and maybe the character and the injuries and everything just all came to a head. I hope that if I ever do become a ‘Loose Cannon,’ in Kayfabe, my personal life is super boring. I hope I’m just super chill at home and, like, my kids are fed, and everybody’s money is saved, and the bills are paid, and then I can go to work and be a psycho,” Lexis King shared via Wrestling Inc.
“I don’t want it to be ‘I’m crazy,’ and then it’s like I come home, and there’s chaos at home. I want to make sure that there’s that balance. Right now, it’s just a building stage of getting my s**t together. But also building my stock in NXT and then WWE, and then building up that person of who I am. But I think at some point, there might be a little…I don’t know. Maybe never.”
Asked what his version of the character might look like, King noted he wasn’t sure, but assumed that it would draw on his own experiences growing up, instead of falling back on his father’s ways.
“Lexis King is Lexis King. If I’m crazy, it’s because of how my childhood went and how my stepfather abused me and how I was neglected by my mother, and how I have all this built-up hatred towards the world that I’m going to take out on everybody in the ring. That’s my crazy. I’m not crazy because my dad was the ‘Loose Cannon’ crazy. I’m crazy based on my real life, and how that plays into my wrestling, you know what I mean?” King asked.
“So I have all my own reasons for wanting to snap at some point. But maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Lexis King has a lot of composure… he’s in control. There’s probably a little sadistic mind in the back there, but right now, I’m just soaking up all the attention and having some of the best matches of my career.”
Would it be a good idea to bring back the “Loose Cannon” should King get far enough in his WWE career that he’s in need of a gimmick change on the main roster? Sure, it would certainly be easy to do and the merch would likely sell like hotcakes. Getting to that point, however, is easier said than done, as King’s NXT run is incredibly new, and he’s likely months, if not years, away from being RAW or SmackDown bound.
Lexis King reveals just how quickly his WWE contract came together.
Elsewhere in his conversation with Chris Van Vliet, Lexis King revealed just how quickly his deal with WWE came together, which, if you can believe it, was so quickly he actually drew a paycheck from both promotions during the very same month.
“I mean, it wasn’t so much of a decision as it was just a necessary transition. I think my time came up at AEW, and it was a great, great run, a great deal financially, I did very well there. But like I said, just that sort of that self-doubt of not knowing the future, not knowing if I’m going to be used, or if I’m going to do anything?” Lexis King asked via Fightful.
“Well, it was pretty apparent when they didn’t re-sign me that I wasn’t going to be doing anything there anymore. So God bless agents and attorneys that picked up the phone that day, my contract was up and got the conversation started. I think I got a paycheck from both companies in the same month. That’s how quickly the ball got rolling. Because you’re so worried it’s like, Oh, my God, like, are they gonna pick me up right away? Am I gonna be able to go there? But now the ball got rolling, and the King was crowned pretty quickly.”
Goodness, if King was so in-demand, maybe AEW was wrong not to use him more, let alone push to re-sign him and give him a Ring of Honor run so WWE didn’t get to use him. Oh well, I guess it’s up to King to prove his former employer wrong, as he’s been put in a position to sink or swim on his own merits, as opposed to his father’s name.
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