Brian Pillman Jr. has competed in his first match televised with a new name and a new look.
Following multiple vignettes promoting the arrival of the second-generation wrestler, Brian Pillman. Jr would reject his famous last name and introduce himself to the fans as Lexis King. After much anticipation, the debut match took place on the Halloween Havoc special of NXT on October 24th.
Making a grand entrance to a guitar-heavy track and sitting on a throne, King looked right into the camera to remind the fans of his name: “Brian Pillman is dead, long live Lexis King.”
King’s first opponent was Dante Chen. Although Chen would have some hope spots, King dominated in his debut. The finish of the match saw King debut his finisher, which was a draping neckbreaker that some have pointed out as being very similar to Randy Orton’s signature DDT.
Lexis King Is The Latest Name To Jump From AEW To WWE
King joins Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill as wrestlers who previously performed in AEW before signing with WWE. However, unlike Rhodes and Cargill, King is the first signee to undergo a character overhaul as Rhodes and Cargill still have the same name and presentation that they did in All Elite Wrestling.
Following reports stating that the former Varsity Blond had not signed a new deal with AEW, Brian Pillman Jr. signed with WWE back in August.
Although this was King’s first televised match with the company, it was not his first time performing in front of WWE fans. King performed at two non-televised events on the 13th and 14th of October, picking up victories in each contest.