On October 5, 1997, the wrestling world lost one of its most colorful figures ever in Brian Pillman, who passed away at the age of 35. Nearly twenty seven years later, Pillman's death remains hard for many to swallow, including AEW announcer Jim Ross, who had worked with Pillman for years both in WCW and WWE.
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On the latest episode of "Grillin JR," Ross and co-host Conrad Thompson discussed Pillman's sudden passing, with Ross agreeing with Thompson's sentiment that Pillman's death remains one of the most tragic deaths in wrestling history.
"Yeah, oh hell yeah," Ross said. Of course. I was close to Brian. I had signed Brian. I had been an ally of Brian since the early days of Flyin' Brian, the high flyer in WCW. So yeah, it was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking. I love Brian. I think about Brian almost every day."
At the time of Pillman's death, Ross was working both as WWE's lead announcer and as the promotion's head of talent relations, a position he'd hold until 2005. Ross has not been shy about discussing how he threw himself into the position during that time, and the difficulties that came with it. According to Ross, those difficulties became more pronounced in the immediate aftermath of Pillman's death.
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"It's a lot to throw on your shoulders, because you've got...not only do you've got that issue, but that issue spawns other issues," Ross said. "[You've got] talent asking questions. 'What really happened JR? Come on, you can tell me.' That type of thing. You just couldn't get away from that stuff. Just couldn't get away from it."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
