Posted on 12/29/117 by
Alan Wojcik Brian Pillman Biography
Hear Liam ORourke on Outside Interference Wrestling Radio
this Sunday December 31st at 9am EST on
www.MoneyTalk1010.com
The intricate detail of Brians wrestling career is the
major star of Mr. ORourkes writing.
CM Punks pipe bomb promo, the Montreal Screwjob, Broken
or Woken Matt Hardy, Bray Wyatt, the Demon King Finn
Balor. All these events and character creations occurred
after the tragic passing of BRIAN PILLMAN on October 5, 1997
in a Minnesota hotel room.
Just imagine if his heart had not given out from drug abuse,
what the former Flyin Brian AKA the Loose Cannon would
be doing in wrestling today.
Brian has been gone now twenty years and his legacy is
remembered fondly by author LIAM OROURKE in his biography
CRAZY LIKE A FOX: THE DEFINITIVE CHRONICLE OF BRIAN
PILLMAN, 20 YEARS LATER ($16.99, 309pp, CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform).
If you watched the WWEs DVD release on Pillman released in
2006, many of the bare bones of Mr. ORourkes book are
familiar. He covers Brians battle with vocal cord nodules
that gave him the raspy voice we all remember and his rough
child hood. Brians legendary battles to play high school
and college football at nose tackle at the diminutive size
(Pillman grew to 510) where he earned many awards and
accolades are also covered in great detail. We also get
insight into his short stint in the NFL with his hometown
Cincinnati Bengals where he met lifelong friend Kim Wood who
would help Brian make the transition from the grid iron to
the Hart Family dungeon in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The intricate detail of Brians wrestling career is the
major star of Mr. ORourkes writing as he covers the
journey from Calgary (Stampede Wrestling) to the NWA/WCW
(World Championship Wrestling) to the WWF (now called World
Wrestling Entertainment).
To help us on the journey, Mr. ORourke interviewed Raven
(who worked in WCW as Scotty Flamingo), Kim Wood, journalist
Dave Meltzer, radio personality Mark Madden, Bruce Hart and
others who were there for the fun. They cover Pillmans
arrival as Flyin Brian and his struggles to shine despite
the horrendous creative decisions made by NWA/WCW personnel.
My favorite part includes how the Hollywood Blondes with
Stunning Steve Austin was conceived and eventually
destroyed.
Also outlined in intrinsic detail is how Kim Wood and Brian
came up the infamous Loose Cannon that was the talk of the
wrestling industry for several years. Even a lifelong fan
like me didnt know some of the story and I loved every
page.
The story nearly ended for Brian once before his passing,
when he nearly died in a car accident near his Walton,
Kentucky home. Despite having his ankle fused limiting his
in-ring mobility, Pillman signed with WWF and became a star
right up until he went to sleep in Minnesota on October 4,
1997. Fans of the pre-attitude era WWF will enjoy the
infamous Pillman-Austin 9MM incident broken down by Mr.
ORourke.
The only flaw in the book is Brians personal life and
children are not featured enough. They do take up the last
chapters after Brians passing and you will be brought to
near tears when you read how Brians widow Melanie treated
Brians kids after his passing.
For more thoughts from Liam, follow him on
www.Twitter.com/LiamORourke86 . The book can be found on
www.amazon.com in North America and the United Kingdom. For
information on Alan Wojciks wrestling coverage, check out
www.Facebook.com/KayfabeWrestlingRadio &
www.Twitter.com/MyNameIsWojcik
Alan Wojcik (@MyNameIsWojcik) | Twitter
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