"He didn't exactly leave me a choice" - Lexis King opens up about following in his father Brian Pillman's footstepsÂ
WWE NXT Superstar Lexis King has discussed following in his father's footsteps by pursuing a career in professional wrestling.
Before joining the Stamford-based company, he competed in AEW under his real name Brian Pillman Jr. He is the son of the late Brian Pillman, who passed away on October 5, 1997, when King was just four years old. Before making his debut, the NXT star revealed that he wanted to carve out his own path and make his name bigger than his dad's ever was.
Speaking to WWE Hall of Famer Booker T on the Hall of Fame podcast, Lexis King was asked whether he feels like he was born to become a professional wrestler. He responded by stating:
"You know, I think about that a lot, and I feel like I never had a choice. I felt like it was always in my blood for the fact that the day he decided he was going to name me Brian Pillman. I was trapped, it was everywhere I go. It's a household name in Cincinnati where I grew up, and I couldn't escape that legacy, couldn't escape all the reminders of him. And to be fair, he didn't exactly leave me a choice," he said. [5:16-5:51]
Lexis King says he isn't playing a character or following a script in WWE
The 30-year-old star is one of the very few names that have made the jump from AEW to AEW. Before he debuted at Halloween Havoc, WWE aired a few vignettes to hype up his arrival.
Lexis King spoke about the vignettes, stating that everything he said was real, and he wasn't following a script.
"It was 100% real. I felt that way for a very long time. It was just a shot in the dark, a pure chance that the creative happened to be right on board with that. I came into WWE, I told them my story, I told them my real story. I don't have a gimmick. This isn't a character. This is real life. Wrestling has had a real impact on my life, and I said, 'this is what I need to do.' I wanted this. I wanted to become my own man," said King.
Lexis King recently got involved in the Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams storyline on NXT. It'll be interesting to see what this leads to.
Do you think Lexis King will become a major star in WWE? Sound off in the comments section below!
If you use the quotes from the first half of this article, please credit the Hall of Fame and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.