Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Dark Side of the Ring : Brian Pillman Part One (2021)



Made for Viceland, airing May 6th in the US.
Season 3. Episode 1. 
The story:  Magnetic, over the top, and fearless, Brian Pillman was known for pushing the boundaries and bringing his wrestling persona into his real, everyday life.
An overachiever and known to be a tough guy, Brian tried out for and played with the Cincinnati Bengals for some time.
Going on to play in the Canadian Football league but only shortly after he suffered an injury that cut his football career completely.
Brians' plan was to take his rough and tumble and work it to his advantage.
His former football coach during his time with the Bengals advised him to go see the successful wrestling family the Harts while still in Canada.
The Harts trained him and he soon began wrestling with Stampede Wrestling. Word got out quick and Brian next found himself in a US match against Ric Flair.
Ric Flair, a popular, flashy veteran wrestler saw potential in Brian and took him under his wing.
Now known as Flyin Brian, he realized he liked the wrestler lifestyle and all that it gained him, namely women and money.
That's when Brian met Rochelle, and the two soon moved to Atlanta together.
But only a year after their first daughter was born, the fact that Brian had a fling with another woman while with Rochelle became a reality when he realized he had another daughter.
Brian welcomed his older daughter into his life with open arms.
Now things were becoming more and more strained in Brian and Rochelles'  relationship due to his infidelities paired with a busy work schedule.
After many years of mishandled changes with management, Brian was finally matched with fellow wrestler Steve Austin.
Both had been singular wrestlers up until that point and were going nowhere. When they were paired they began being recognized.
Now wrestling as the tag team the Hollywood Blonds, the two were arrogant, cocky, and made a big scene. 
Brians' new, more extreme work situation put an even bigger strain on his personal life.
Making matters worse was when he seen, met, vowed he would marry, and began a secret relationship with stripper/Penthouse model Melanie.
When Melanie began calling Brian and Rochelles home the gig was up, resulting in Rochelle leaving.
Now Brian was free to be with Melanie and soon she became pregnant with Brians' only son.
Next, the couple married and quickly had all of Brians' children living with them.
Things went well for a while but when the Hollywood Blonds were finally made the main event against Ric Flair and the match did not get the ratings it was meant to, the result was a forced separation of the tag team, which did nothing for eithers' current or future career.
Soon Brian and Melanie decided that they needed to file for custody of Brian and Rochelle's daughter after Melanie continuously busted Rochelle's ass about missed child support.
The couple complicated the situation by not allowing Rochelle to ever see her daughter.
 One day, when Rochelle arrived unannounced, Melanie and Brian had her arrested for attempting to kidnap her daughter. 
This only pushed Rochelle over the edge, changing all of their lives sadly,  forever.
Now, more than ever, Brian really needed to change his persona. He needed to do something no one else was doing in an attempt to make more money because now he was supporting 5 children.
When his plan finally worked and he was in negotiations with WCW and WWF - the winner being the one who would pay him the most, he went out and bought himself an 80 thousand dollar Humvee, frequently driving it like he acted for the public , dangerously...
Stars (voice) Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Jim Ross, Jim Cornette, Brian Pullman Jr, Linda Pullman, Kim Wood, Dave Meltzer, Brittany Pullman, Danielle Pillman, Eric Bischoff, Melanie Pillman 
Directed by Jason Eisener
Rated TV14
DOCUMENTARY/BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY/SERIES

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