WWE Star Explains Why New Character Is 100% Real

WWE

A WWE star has explained why their new character is 100% real.

In September 2023, vignettes started to air on WWE NXT to tease the debut of former AEW star Brian Pillman Jr.

When Pillman Jr. finally debuted, his name was revealed to be Lexis King. The second generation star said that he didn’t want to be associated with his father Brian Pillman because he never knew him and that wrestling took his father away from him.

Speaking to Booker T on his Hall of Fame podcast, King was asked about the direction of his new character and those introductory vignettes. He answered:

“It was 100% real. I felt that way for a very long time. It was just a shot in the dark, a pure chance that the creative happened to be right on board with that.”

“I came into WWE, I told them my story, I told them my real story. I don’t have a gimmick. This isn’t a character. This is real life.”

“Wrestling has had a real impact on my life and I said, ‘this is what I need to do.’ I wanted this. I wanted to become my own man. It’s impossible to be better than.”

“The second coming is never better than the original. I was never going to be a better Brian Pillman.”

Lexis continued on to explain that he had to make this change after living with his father’s name all his life, saying:

“I knew that and I knew that I needed to more or less disparage his name and create my own. I don’t have any hatred towards my father, but it would have been an uphill battle to be Brian Pillman II or Brian Pillman Jr.”

“I’ve gone 30 years with his name, and to come here and have this company give me the opportunity to create my own name, it was a dream come true, and it all just fell together.”

“They gave me a few things to say, but there wasn’t really a script. ‘Tell us your story.’ I went on the camera and everything I said was true and 100% from the heart.”

“I didn’t know him. Everybody loved him. I don’t hate him. He was a great man.”

“I inherited a lot of positive traits from him, but I don’t owe him anything to use his name any further. It’s his name, and now it’s time for me to make mine.”

Further expanding on how he could never outdo his father or what he has previously achieved, King said:

“I’m never going to outshine him and what he did, especially the way he passed. It’s like 2Pac and these great artists. When they die at their peak, they are immortalized at their peak.”

“There is no outdoing that. He was revered for what he did. I thought about starting out that way, starting my career as a new person.”

“My first indie match, I was Alex King. To come in here and be given the creative go, ‘you pick your name.’ They didn’t even go back and forth with me.”

“They said ‘we want you to be you.’ This is my older sister’s first name, I actually knew her.”

“She would take me to Dairy Queen. She was an indie wrestler and a performer, a dancer, and my little sister Skyler, who I went through all the hard times with.”

“She eventually got adopted by her grandma. To come in with a real raw story that I don’t have to fake or read from a script, this is who I am. No one else has that on me.”

King continued on to talk about the impact this business has had on him, saying:

“If you watch Dark Side of the Ring, this business has had a severe impact on my life.”

“Despite all that, I’m stronger than ever. I got here because of this business, because of the great impact that it has had.”

“While it may have put me back a few steps in my childhood, here I am now, thriving, traveling the world, and I finally made it to the biggest stage of them all.”

“I think I deserve a shot, 100%, on everything I can do, inside this career and outside. A fresh start for Lexis King.”

Lexis King made his in-ring debut at NXT Halloween Havoc Night 1, beating Dante Chen.

King then went on to interject himself in the Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams segment on the November 7 edition of WWE NXT.

Transcription via Fightful

Want to watch Survivor Series 2023 live with the WrestleTalk crew? Join Sullivan, Luke, Dan Layton, Pete and more at the WrestleTalk Survivor Series Watch Party at the Long Arm Sports Bar & Pub in London. Get your tickets here before they sell out!!

• wwe
• wwe nxt
• brian pillman jr
• Lexis King

Share this article with friends