Melanie Pillman, the widow of Brian Pillman and mother of Brian Pillman, Jr., has sadly passed away.
Earlier today, AEW star Brian Pillman, Jr. took to social media to announce that his mother Melanie Pillman passed away on June 1st, 2022. In tribute to his mother, the star wrote on Twitter:
“Thank you mom for bringing me into this world and for trying your best. You were my number 1 fan. Rest In Peace. I love you.”
Thank you mom for bringing me into this world and for trying your best. You were my number 1 fan.
Rest In Peace. I love you ❤️. pic.twitter.com/2XLk46p6Pr
— Brian Pillman Jr. (@FlyinBrianJr) June 2, 2022
Melanie Pillman struggled with addiction throughout her life, and her relationship with her late husband was a tumultuous one as the two were going through a divorce at the time of his death in October of 1997. The story of their family was chronicled in an episode of Dark Side of the Ring, which Melanie took part in as an interviewee.
Brian Pillman, Jr. opened up about his complicated relationship with his mother in an Instagram post, noting that while they didn’t always have the greatest relationship, the Dark Side of the Ring episode led to them beginning to some reconciliation. He also called her his “number one fan.”
“Yesterday at approximately 1:00pm my mother, Melanie Pillman, was pronounced dead.
“Those of you who know our family story understand that I didn’t have the best relationship with my mother, though my sister and I had recently been in touch with her, working to improve that relationship.
“While I didn’t spend too much time with her, she would ALWAYS tune into my twitch streams and interact with my fans, often times sharing with them old stories about my father and the wrestling business. She had been helping out my sister with her son Asher by purchasing him baby clothes, and was on relatively good terms with everyone as of late.
“Her death, while unexpected, was not surprising. Her lifestyle choices that dominated the better part of the last 25 years of her life had ultimately caught up with her.
“She was as intelligent as she was beautiful and her dark sense of humor could make even the biggest prude burst out in laughter.
“Although I had my built up resentment towards her, I was very proud of her for taking part in the DSOTR documentary and sharing the truth about our family story. That was the beginning of us mending our relationship.
“I do have regrets. I regret not giving her the time of day when she was trying so hard to be in our lives again. I regret not texting her back even though I had the time to. I regret not trying harder to break her of her bad habits and help her get the help she needed.
“A couple weeks ago she had been tuning into my twitch stream when she told me in chat that she was coming over to Linda’s house to drop off some trading cards. I didn’t see it in chat so I was annoyed at her for showing up un-announced. I met her outside and accepted the gift and gave her a hug and she went on her way.
“I truly regret not sitting down with her for a little bit or going to grab lunch with her. I regret being upset with her simply because she wanted to see her son. She actually looked really healthy and sober. That was the last time I saw her.
“Thank you mom for bringing me into this world and for trying your absolute best. You were my number 1 fan in wrestling and on Twitch.
“Rest In Peace. I love you.”
Melanie Pillman is perhaps best known to wrestling fans as she tearfully appeared in an interview on the October 6th, 1997 episode of Monday Night Raw immediately following the death of her husband the night before. Many considered WWE putting the grieving widow on television to be in bad taste as it was seen as exploitative.
Brian Pillman, Jr. currently wrestles for AEW, where he is part of the Varsity Blondes.
Inside the Ropes would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Melanie Pillman.