What led to Brian Pillman Jr.'s AEW departure? Exploring possible reasons

Brian Pillman Jr. is no longer with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), as his contract has expired. The news was seemingly confirmed when AEW removed Pillman’s profile page from their website

There was a lot of fanfare when Pillman Jr. made his way to AEW, as the fans were excited to see the son of a former WCW icon. His father Brian Pillman, who earned the nickname ‘The Loose Cannon,’ was a big name on the independent scene and most notably wrestler for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He sadly passed away in 1997.

Pillman Jr., after initially joining AEW, was involved in a lot of good matches and even had a short but memorable feud with World Champion MJF. The pair even had a match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was eventually won by MJF.

Since then, Brian Pillman Jr. lost his way both creatively and as a performer. He was involved in underwhelming feuds, and fans believe that he was criminally underused by Tony Khan & Co, which led to his eventual departure.

In this article, we will examine a couple of reasons which led to Brian Pillman Jr.’s departure from AEW.

Brian Pillman Jr’s prolonged absence

One of the main reasons why Pillman Jr. would have chosen against renewing his AEW contract was because of his prolonged absence from in-ring action. He last wrestled in a televised match against Swerve Strickland on AEW Rampage in February. He has not been seen on AEW television since, and for a young star with a lot of potential, that would have been hard to digest.

Seeing a lot of wrestlers his age get pushed ahead of him, who is a second-generation superstar, would have undoubtedly been hard, and that could be one of the reasons why he chose to leave the company.

Hamstrung by AEW creative

Another possible reason for Brian Pillman Jr. to leave AEW would have been his lack of character development from the creative side of things. After being involved in a feud with MJF, which should have acted as a springboard for him to go on and achieve great things, he was relegated to the mid-card and was involved in a tag team with newbie Griff Garrison.

With places like WWE NXT on the radar, one couldn’t begrudge Brian Pillman Jr. for wanting to experience a new place in the hope of resurrecting his career that, in all honesty, is yet to take off.