As you well know, Brian Pillman passed away on Sunday, October 5. During his professional wrestling career, he was often losing and regaining the love of the fans. But, he was always respected. He was one of the few wrestlers who competed in all three of the major organizations. He had tenures in World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and most recently in the World Wrestling Federation.
The cause of his death is still unknown at this point. It is believed by Vince McMahon and the WWF, that is was the result of an overdose of prescription painkillers. Mr. Pillman's family believe it may also have been the result of a weak heart, a condition Mr. Pillman had.
Brian Pillman's death deeply overshadowed the In Your House: Badd Blood pay-per-view event that took place Sunday evening. Approximatly fifteen minutes into the Free For All countdown show, Vince McMahon appeared and broke the news to the viewers. The following Raw Is War seemed to be completely different too. First of all, there was no mention of Goldust and very little mention of Marlena. The angle of Marlena having to spend 30 days with Pillman has obviously been abandoned. But, more than that, the whole show seemed to deal with reality more than ever before. It was the first time that the WWF ever broadcasted direct remarks about WCW. Jim Cornette gave a ten-minute speech praising the greats of WCW like Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. He then proceeded to denounce the NWO. Previous to this, the only comments the WWF made about WCW were those stupid little tongue-in-cheek skits with The Huckster, Nacho Man, and Billionaire Ted. Maybe Pillman's death made McMahon finally realize that there is really not point in pretending that the WCW does not exist, especially when it is getting higher ratings than Raw ever has. WCW and WWF both aired video tributes to the fallen athelete.
This tragic event will, no doubt, go down as the most important event in the world of wrestling this year. He was a very talented and determined man, and he will be missed by fans and other wrestling personalities all over the world.