Brian Pillman Jr has a well-documented connection to the Hart Family, and that’s one reason why missing the inaugural Owen Hart Foundation Tournament rubbed him the wrong way.
In the late 1990s, Brian Pillman (Sr.) aligned himself with The Hart Foundation. There, the faction would frequently team against the likes of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Legion of Doom, but Pillman Sr. had real-life established connections with the Hart family as well. Amongst the Hart family, Owen Hart rose as one of the best in-ring competitors ever. Unfortunately, he tragically passed away in 1999. In 2022, All Elite Wrestling honored his memory and legacy with the introduction of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
Adam Cole would win the inaugural men’s tournament at Double Or Nothing in May. However, the glaring omission of Brian Pillman Jr from the tournament struck many fans, and Pillman himself. In speaking on Counted Out with Mike & Tyler, Brian Pillman Jr expressed his thoughts on not being included in the tournament.
“I’ll just go ahead and say it straight up that I wish I was in it, you know what I mean?” he admitted.
“I wasn’t too upset about it at first,” Pillman continued. “Obviously, there’s a lot of great talent in there, a lot of people that I like. They’re on a whole other level than me and I know that Tony [Khan] just wanted to put on some great, great matches and stuff but looking back, I just wish that he had viewed me in a better way to want to use me for it because you know, [it] would’ve been a no-brainer in my opinion.
“I guess I’d take that a little bit to heart that maybe I should’ve worked harder or maybe been a better singles athlete at the time for him but, unfortunately, that was not the case. It is kind of a shame because there was no one in the tournament to really represent that connection to the family. I mean it wasn’t anybody at least that I can think of that was of a direct connection. So, I think it just makes me hungrier and more ready for the future.”
Pillman went on to further explain his hunger to be in next year’s tournament.
“I’ll train — I’ve been training every day just for the next year’s tournament. I’m so beat up about not being in it, that I wanna do everything I can to be in it next year because — and I just got back from wrestling in Calgary for Bret Hart and his son’s Dungeon Wrestling. They’re just starting back up, wonderful little promotion and just the amount of people that were there to see me and meet me just made me feel so proud to be connected to that city. [I’m] so proud to be connected to Calgary and its people and that family.”
“In a way, I felt like I sort of let ‘em down by not being in the tournament. A lot of people did ask me that, at the meet-and-greet, they’re like, ‘Why weren’t you in the tournament?’ I can’t really blame anybody but myself. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it. I don’t know. But again, it’s pro wrestling and everything is sort of put out there to tell a story and entertain people and that’s what the Owen Hart tournament did this year. It was incredible, the matches were incredible. It was very entertaining, very prestigious. I can’t be too selfish about not being in it but, I will say that it is a huge goal of mine going forward and I don’t want be left out next year. I think that would be a mistake on anybody’s part; my part or the company’s part to exclude me from it next year.”
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