10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Brian Pillman
5. The Hidden Importance Of Kim Wood
99.9% of wrestling fans won't know who Kim Wood is.
He was Pillman's strength and conditioning coach at the Cincinnati Bengals, and acted as a bit of a mentor to Brian throughout his life. Wood was also the one who stepped in when Brian was re-negotiating terms with Eric Bischoff and WCW in 1996. He was the guy who said wrestling runs on "superficial" attention and value.
That, indirectly or otherwise, sowed seeds for Brian to create his infamous 'Loose Cannon' persona. Wood believed that creating attention and playing WCW against Vince McMahon's WWF would lead to more money, which was what Pillman wanted. So, together, they hatched a plan to turn everybody's heads.
Kim isn't somebody who comes up a lot when wrestling journalists examine Pillman's life. That's remarkable, 'cause he blatantly left a huge imprint and encouraged Brian's bid to trick the wrestling biz into thinking he was losing his damn mind.