Brian Pillman Jr. is coming to NXT with a new outlook — and a new name.
NXT has been teasing Pillman’s debut for several weeks, airing vignettes that hint at his father’s pro football and wrestling career. USA Network seemingly confirmed the former AEW star was coming to NXT, too.
Pillman was finally shown on camera on Tuesday’s episode of NXT, and he was sitting in front of another television set. Pillman said he wants to inflict pain on the same business that has given him so much grief. However, he doesn’t want fans to think of his dead father, he wants them to think about him. Now, he won’t be called Brian Pillman and he’s nobody’s Junior. He’s going to use the name of the man who really raised him, King.
After the promo aired, the newly-christened King wrote the following on Twitter:
“26 years ago my father was buried, and tonight I buried his last name. I will no longer be known as the lost son living in his father’s shadow. I will forge my own path and stop at nothing until I am the King of #WWENXT”
Who is Lexis King?
A recent report from PWInsider.com revealed that WWE recently trademarked “Lexis King” as a ring name. The word going around the WWE Performance Center was that the name is currently “earmarked” for Pillman.
Pillman’s new name is a likely tribute to some of his immediate family members. As he mentioned in the promo, King is his stepfather’s surname. Brian’s sister Lexi (Alexis Pillman), passed away after a car accident in 2009. His mother, Melanie Pillman-King, died in June 2022. Furthermore, Pillman is credited as using the name “Alex King” when he first broke into the wrestling business.
