Brian Zachary Pillman (September 9, 1993) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the NXT brand under the ring name Lexis King he was previously signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Brian Pillman Jr. Pillman is a second generation wrestler, as he is the son of professional wrestler Brian Pillman.
Early life[]
Pillman attended Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood, Kentucky, where he played football. He graduated in 2011 and furthered his education attending college.
Professional wrestling career[]
Independent circuit[]
In February 2017, Pillman announced he would be following his father's footsteps becoming a professional wrestler. He was trained by Lance Storm at his school, the Storm Wrestling Academy, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Pillman made his debut match for Combat Zone Wrestling on January 28, 2018 at Dojo Wars 162 against Mike Del for the CZW Medal of Valor Championship. Pillman was defeated in the match by submission. Pillman would have one more match in CZW, in a tag team match, teaming with Teddy Hart and faced Anthony Bennet and Jimmy Lloyd at Super Show V on January 26.
On January 18, 2020, Pillman was a surprise 16th entrant in a 16-man Battle Royale at IWC Reloaded 6.0. He did not win the match, but he appeared in the Main Event, helping IWC Champion Jack Pollock win the match. After the match, Pillman revealed he has signed a contract with IWC, and that part of his contract was a shot at the IWC Championship at the promotion's February event. On February 15, Pillman defeated Sam Adonis, Aramis, Lance Archer, Black Taurus, Michael Elgin, Andrew Everett and Alex Zayne in a War of Attrition match to win the vacant Warrior Wrestling Championship. The title was left vacant due to injury to former champion Brian Cage. On September 12, 2020, in Washington, Pennsylvania, he won the Super Indy Championship for International Wrestling Cartel (IWC).
Major League Wrestling (2018-2020)[]
In late 2018, Pillman signed a contract with Major League Wrestling (MLW). When he first came in, he was mentored by his father's World Championship Wrestling rival Kevin Sullivan. He then turned on Sullivan and joined forces with Teddy Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr., creating the The New Hart Foundation. This took place in a backstage segment where Pillman attacked Sullivan with a cane, causing Sullivan to bleed.
All Elite Wrestling[]
Early appearances (2019)[]
In May 2019, Pillman was a participant in a battle royal at All Elite Wrestling's inaugural pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing. In July 2020 - with MLW shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic - Pillman began to appear in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), wrestling on both their flagship show Dynamite, and their online show Dark. Pillman remains contracted to MLW, but is allowed to work for AEW as well. He made his in ring return on the July 7th episode of Dark in a losing effort against Shawn Spears. After this, Pillman was used as mostly as an enhancement talent losing to the likes of Brian Cage and Eddie Kingston.
The Varsity Blondes (2020-2022)[]
In late July, Pillman began teaming with fellow AEW newcomer Griff Garrison, still competing mostly on Dark. Pillman and Garrison made their main show debut in an eight man tag match, teaming with Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss in a losing effort against The Butcher And The Blade and The Lucha Brothers. The team failed to pick up a win on either shows until the September 25th episode of Dark, when they defeated Cezar Bononi and David Ali, marking their first victory as a team. During their losing streak, they lost to the likes of Private Party, FTR, Santana & Ortiz, The Butcher and The Blade, and The Hybrid 2. After picking up their first win, the team went on a second month long losing streak which ended after they defeated Sean Maluta and Alex Chamberlain on the November 3rd episode of Dark. By early December, Pillman and Garrison had adopted the team name The Varsity Blondes. In their first match with their new name The Varsity Blondes defeated The Dark Order (Colt Cabana and Alex Reynolds) in a tag team match on the December 8, 2020 episodes of Dark. On May 11, 2021 Julia Hart started aligning herself with The Varsity Blonds and has been making appearances with them ever since. On July 12, 2021, Pillman signed a full time deal with All Elite Wrestling making him an official member of the roster.
World Wrestling Entertainment[]
Pillman made his debut for WWE on the NXT brand under the ring name Lexis King on the first night of Halloween Havoc 2023 where he faced Dante Chen in a winning effort.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Dropkick
- Superkick
- Diving Crossbody
- Fisherman's Driver
- Northern Lariat
- Shoot kicks to a seated opponent
- Tag teams and stables
- Entrance themes
- "City Lights" - by Mikey Rukus (while teaming with The Varsity Blondes)
- "Bullet Proof" - by Mikey Rukus
- "King" - by def rebel
- Nicknames
- "Flyin'"
- "The Hollywood Kid"
- "The Loose Cannon 2.0"
- "The Prince That Was Promised"
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Rising Star Award (2020)
- KFW Wrestling
- KFW Championship (1 time)
- Major League Wrestling
- MLW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Teddy Hart
- Rookie of the Year (2018)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Rookie of the Year (2019)
- Ranked No. 135 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2021
- Supreme Wrestling
- Mid America Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Warrior Wrestling
- Warrior Wrestling Championship (1 time)
- World Class Wrestling Outlaws
- WCWO Championship (1 time)
