Lexis King

Brian Zachry Pillman is an American Professional Wrestler who is signed with WWE under the ring name Lexis King on the NXT brand, as of January 2025. He is a second-generation professional wrestler and is the son of Brian Pillman. He is known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Major League Wrestling (MLW) under the name Biran Billman Jr. and Brian Pillman II.

Lexis King Early Life

Pillman was born on September 9, 1993 in Erlanger, Kentucky to professional wrestler Brian William Pillman and model Melanie Diane Pillman. King was the surname of his stepfather as revealed by him in Fightful. In the interview, Lexis King revealed that he did not have a very comfortable childhood due to his stepfather who "berated, neglected, and abused" him. Nonetheless, he revealed that he called him dad, and took his surname for his professional wrestling career.

Lexis King Professional Wrestling Career

Independent Circuit (2017 - 2021)

In February 2017, Brian Pillman started his professional wrestling training by following the footsteps of his father. He was trained by former professional wrestler Lance Storm from Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. After training for a whole year, Pillman made his pro-wrestling debut in December 2017 under the ring name Alex King. He chose his ring name to give a tribute to his sisters Alexis Reed and Skylar King. In January 2018 at Dojo Wars 162, Pillman made his Combat Zone Wrestling debut under the ring name Brian Pillman II to challenge Mike Del for the CZW Medal of Valor Championship in a losing effort. Two days later, at CZW Super Show V, Pillman II teamed up with Teddy Hart and defeated Anthony Bennett & Jimmy Lloyd.

He wrestled for various independent wrestling promotions for the first four years including NEW, McAloon Productions, International Wrestling Alliance- Mid South, Warrior Wrestling, Black Label Pro Whoomp!, WrestleCon, East Coast Wrestling Association, Rev Pro, Professional Championship Wrestling, and so on.

Major League Wrestling (2018 - 2021)

In September 2018, Pillman made his Major League Wrestling debut and formed a trio with Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Teddy Hart dubbing them as New Era Hart Foundation. At MLW War Games, New Era Foundation wrestled in a Six-Person Tag Team Match. Billman Jr. also wrestled another match the same day against Vandal Ortagun and won both. In October 2018, Pillman developed a feud with Tommy Dreamer and they both wrestled throughout the rest of the year.

On a backstage segment Pillman attacked Kevin with a cane, who accompanied him during the initial stages in MLW, which made him bleed. In 2020 MLW was shut down due to a pandemic, which made him appear on other independent circuits and on AEW. He returned to MLW after things became normal and wrestled until 2021 by continuing to appear on AEW. In 2021, his contract expired and left AEW.

All Elite Wrestling (2019 - 2023)

In May 2019, Pillman made his AEW debut at the promotion’s inaugural pay-per-view Double or Nothing, where he participated in the Casino Battle Royale, but was unsuccessful. In 2020, when Major League Wrestling was shut down due to COVID19 pandemic, he was allowed to appear for AEW. He was a jobbed during the initial run, who constantly was booked to lose against Shawn Spears, Brian Cage and Eddie Kingston.

In July 2020 formed a tag team alliance with the newcomer Griff Garrison to form The Varsity Blonds as a tribute to his father Brian Pillman. In May 2011, Julia Hart joined The Varsity Blonds and accompanied Garrison & Billman as a valet. They developed a long rivalry with The Dark Order, where Malakai Black sprayed black mist into the eyes of Julia Hart, which led to leaving The Varsity Blondes. In July 2021, Billman signed a 2 year full time deal with the company and became officially All Elite. In July 2023, his contract expired and was released from AEW.

WWE (2023 - Present)

In July 2023, Pillman participated in the tryout at WWE Performance Center and was assigned a developmental contract in late August. He started work on NXT under the ring name Lexis King, which was a spin to his previous name Alex King. WWE acknowledged that he was the son of Brian Pillman, but King broke the ties and set up himself as a heel superstar. He made his debut at NXT Halloween Havoc in October, where he defeated Dante Chen. A few weeks later, he interfered in one of Carmelo Hayes' match, setting up a match between the two superstars at NXT Deadline. However, he lost the contest.

He replaced Trey Bearhill in the 2023 NXT Men's Breakout Tournament, advancing past Dion Lennox but losing to Riley Osborne in the semifinals after Bearhill interfered. King also lost two NXT North American Championship matches, against Dragon Lee and Oba Femi. He defeated Dante Chen in a Singapore Cane match and turned face after defeating Oro Mensah in a Gentleman’s Duel. On October 29, King lost a British Rounds Rules match for the NXT Heritage Cup against Charlie Dempsey but won it on December 24 (taped December 17). A rule dispute forced King to return the Cup, leading to a rematch at NXT: New Year’s Evil on January 7, 2025, where he officially claimed the Cup. WWE recognizes this as a continuous reign.

Lexis King Championship & Accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club

• Rising Star Award (2020)

International Wrestling Cartel

• IWC Super Indy Championship (1 time)

KFW Wrestling

• KFW Championship (1 time)

Major League Wrestling

• MLW World Tag Team Championship (1 time)

• Rookie of the Year (2018)

Ohio Valley Wrestling

• OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Supreme Wrestling

• Supreme Mid America Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Warrior Wrestling

• Warrior Wrestling Championship (1 time)

World Class Wrestling Outlaws

• WCWO Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• Rookie of the Year (2019)

• Ranked No. 135 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2021

Lexis King Partner

Lexis King is dating Carolina Cruz, as of January 2025, as confirmed on their social media profiles. As per a post shared in December 2024, the two had been dating for more than a year by then. Cruz is a fellow professional wrestler, signed to WWE on the NXT brand. She previously wrestled for the promotion Women of Wrestling, as per Cagematch.

Lexis King Family

Lexis King Father

Brian Pillman is the father of Lexis King. He was a professional wrestler himself known for wrestling in companies such as Stampede Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling. Called "The Loose Cannon", Pillman made a name for himself for his unpredictable character. Pillman passed away in October 1997, when Lexis was only four years old. Thereafter, his mother had another marriage. In an interview with Fightful, Lexis revealed that he had a troubled childhood due to his stepfather, who had the surname King. As soon as Lexis turned 13, he moved out of their home.

Lexis King Mother

Melanie Diane Pillman is the mother of Lexis King. As per Wrestling Inc, King's mother had a drug addiction and it caused a rift between the two during his childhood. This story was also incorporated during his feud with MJF in All Elite Wrestling, who called his mother "Methanie".

Lexis King Siblings

Lexis King reportedly had four sisters Danielle, Brittany, Alexis Reed, and Skylar King, and one brother, Jesse Morgan. As per PWInsider, his sister Alexis was a professional wrestling valet under the name Lexi Pillman, but passed away in 2009.

Lexis King Physical Attributes

Lexis King Age

Lexis King is 31 years old, as of January 2025. He was born on September 9, 1993, in Erlanger, Kentucky, USA.

Lexis King Height

Lexis King has a billed height of 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) in WWE.

Lexis King Weight

Lexis King is billed at a weight of 225 lb (102 kg) in WWE.