10 Most Elaborate Works In Wrestling History

1. The Loose Cannon

In terms of truly elaborate works, it doesn't get any more elaborate than Brian Pillman working the entire wrestling business.

Towards the end of 1995, as part of the reformed Four Horsemen - alongside Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit - Pillman became more and more erratic as he developed his Loose Cannon persona. Initially framed as simply the high-flyer's on-screen character, the lines between pro wrestling and reality began to blur when Pillman pulled unscripted tricks such as revealing to the world that Kevin Sullivan was really the booker of WCW at the time.

So out of control was the former NFL player, Pillman would end up fired by WCW in February 1996.

According to Eric Bischoff, he and the one-time Hollywood Blond concocted a secret plan for Pillman to leave WCW, further develop the craziness of the Loose Cannon in ECW, then return to WCW as an even bigger, money-drawing player. To make this seem even more genuine, Bischoff gave Pillman his very legitimate release.

The insanity of the Loose Cannon would indeed continue in ECW and the behaviour of the former WCW Light Heavyweight Champion would push the boundaries even further - including a did he/did he not get his d*ck out at ECW CyberSlam - but that WCW return never came.

Instead, Brian Pillman signed with the then-WWF in June 1996.

Supposedly, the Loose Cannon was always 'just' a persona that Pillman was incredibly dedicated to, but even his closest friends have questioned that over the years.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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