Brian Pillman Jr. revealed on the AEW Unrestricted podcast that he has attempted to contact Stone Cold Steve Austin to join AEW as his coach, recreating the Hollywood Blondes dynamic Austin had with his father in WCW in the mid-90’s. Triple H’s ‘Angry’ AEW Backstage Rant Just Leaked.
“I’ve attempted to reach out to Steve a couple of times,” Pillman Jr. revealed about his own tag team the Varsity Blondes. “I haven’t heard back yet, but my ultimate ploy is that he would be our coach, and he would come out of the curtain in a track suit and a whistle. If we didn’t hit the ropes right, he’s like, ‘Drop and give me 50!’ He’s on us. He’s making us do drills before the match. ’50 jumping jacks!’ He’d be like a football coach.
We’d always be ready. We’d always be warmed up, and we’d have a mean, angry coach to rile us up. Then we wouldn’t fail because we would know that if we lost the match, we were going to get screamed at. So I think he would be a good motivator for us, and he would help us get our act together. I’m waiting to hear back from him. The text has been sent.”
He also discussed the origins of the Varsity Blondes name, “Well I think initially, Tony [Khan] had referenced us as just ‘The Blondes’ one day in the locker room. I remember first seeing Griff at the airport. I actually pushed him on the shoulder. I was like, ‘You know what, I bet we’re tagging tonight’ I swear I called it. We get to the building, and Tony’s like, ‘Hey, I want you guys to tag together and be The Blondes.’ And I’m thinking, okay, but we need something to spice it up, and Griff had been doing the Ivy League athlete gimmick.
And for me personally, those are some of the best times of my life going through and playing sports, and playing high school and college sports. So I have quite a background in sports within academia and stuff. So I kind of liked the theme of the ‘Varsity Blondes.’ It kind of has that ring off the tongue like Varsity Blues. It’s kind of a familiar tone, and I think it’s something that people can relate to and I think Griff really related to it as well being an athelte and having a history in sports.”
He also discussed if he feels pressure trying to match his father’s legacy, “Absolutely, I think I’ve had that pressure since the first day. I’ve always been kind of looked at a little bit differently. Even from the first week, in training, people have sort of treated me differently or spoke to me a little bit differently, and I think the pressure wears off the more comfortable I get in the profession. I think with the amount of traveling and things I’ve done like prior to the pandemic and prior to coming to AEW, I really learned a lot on the road.
A lot about myself and stuff, and those long drives, and you’re cutting promos, and you’re kind of finding out who you are and your character. How can I tribute to my father while also staying true to myself is something that I’ve looked inwards at a lot. I think the more experienced I get, I think the less pressure I have because I know what the goal of wrestling is at the end of the day.
If we’re doing good business, whether that’s telling a story that connects to me in the real world — I don’t have a gimmick per se. I do kind of play off being a second generation because wrestling’s very real to me. It’s very serious to me. I try to just be myself in all aspects and turn that up as much as I can.” Wrestling Inc transcribed Pillman’s comments.
