In WWE, legacy is everything.

From Vince McMahon, to Cody Rhodes, Charlotte Flair, and the entire Bloodline faction, WWE is known for playing on nostalgia, history, and familiarity to either build up a Superstar or subvert said legacy in favor of being a Dominik Mysterio-style heel.

And yet, in a curious decision that still hasn't sat right with some wrestling fans, Brian Pillman Jr. has decided to subvert his father's name entirely in order to go it on his own as Lexis King, a name with similar family roots, just ones that aren't directly associated with a WWE Hall of Famer.

Discussing his, shall we say, controversial decision to go all-in on his father's legacy by not using his name with Booker T on his Hall of Fame podcast, King revealed the reality he tries to bring to the ring and how he hopes to chart his own course through the WWE Universe.

“It was 100% real. I felt that way for a very long time. It was just a shot in the dark, a 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. I don't have a gimmick. 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,” Brian Pillman Jr. said via Fightful.

“It's impossible to be better than. 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 been an uphill battle to be Brian Pillman II or Brian Pillman Jr. I've gone 30 years with his name, and to come here and have this company give me the opportunity to create my own name, it was a dream come true, and it all just fell together. They gave me a few things to say, but there wasn't really a script. ‘Tell us your story.' I went on the camera, and everything I said was true and 100% from the heart. I didn't know him. Everybody loved him. 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. It's his name, and now it's time for me to make mine.”

Since making his professional wrestling debut in January of 2018, King has yet to be able to live up to the Brian Pillman name in terms of external hype and charisma, though not from a lack of trying. No, despite having a featured role in MLW and being afforded spots to shine in AEW, Pillman was allowed to leave both promotions because neither viewed him as a core performer worth building around in the same way as Alexander Hammerstone, Alex Kane, MJF, or Daniel Garcia. Fortunately, King has the foresight to see that, and by embracing a new name, he can attempt to become his own man, which was never going to be possible as BPJ.

Lexis King reveals the origins of his WWE name.

Continuing his conversation with Booker T, Lexis King revealed the origin of his moniker, which is a loving tribute to his older sister Alexis, who passed away in 2009.

“I'm never going to outshine him and what he did, especially the way he passed. It's like 2Pac and these great artists. When they die at their peak, they are immortalized at their peak. There is no outdoing that. He was revered for what he did. I thought about starting out that way, starting my career as a new person. My first indie match, I was Alex King. To come in here and be given the creative go, ‘You pick your name.' They didn't even go back and forth with me. They said, ‘We want you to be you,'” King explained.

“This is my older sister's first name, I actually knew her. She would take me to Dairy Queen. She was an indie wrestler and a performer, a dancer, and my little sister Skyler, who I went through all the hard times with. She eventually got adopted by her grandma. To come in with a real, raw story that I don't have to fake or read from a script, this is who I am. No one else has that on me. If you watch Dark Side of the Ring, this business has had a severe impact on my life. Despite all that, I'm stronger than ever. I got here because of this business, because of the great impact that it has had. While it may have put me back a few steps in my childhood, here I am now, thriving, traveling the world, and I finally made it to the biggest stage of them all. I think I deserve a shot, 100%, on everything I can do, inside this career and outside. A fresh start for Lexis King.”

Will Lexis King work? Will he find a way to become the next big thing in WWE developmental, taking his talents up to the main roster in order to become one of the top stars in the entire promotion, much like his father? Or will he burn out and have to return to his old moniker back in MLW, or worse, have to go by Brian Pillman Jr. in WWE? Considering he's already working an angle with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams, it's clear he'd going to be afforded a legitimate chance to sink or swim based on his own name.