Melanie Pillman Passes Away, Brian Pillman Jr. Releases Statement

Melanie Pillman, widow of the legendary Brian Pillman has passed away.

As announced on social media by her son Brian Pillman Jr., Melanie died on Wednesday, June 1, with the AEW wrestler tweeting out the following tribute to his mother:

“Thank you mom for bringing me into this world and for trying your best. You were my number 1 fan. Rest In Peace. I love you (heart emoji),”

Thank you mom for bringing me into this world and for trying your best. You were my number 1 fan.

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Rest In Peace. I love you ❤️. pic.twitter.com/2XLk46p6Pr

— Brian Pillman Jr. (@FlyinBrianJr) June 2, 2022

Along with this Twitter message and photo of his late mother, Brian would also take to Instagram with a more detailed and honest statement on the passing of Melanie:

"Yesterday at approximately 1:00pm my mother, Melanie Pillman, was pronounced dead.

Those of you who know our family story understand that I didn’t have the best relationship with my mother, though my sister and I had recently been in touch with her, working to improve that relationship.

While I didn’t spend too much time with her, she would ALWAYS tune into my twitch streams and interact with my fans, often times sharing with them old stories about my father and the wrestling business. She had been helping out my sister with her son Asher by purchasing him baby clothes, and was on relatively good terms with everyone as of late.

Her death, while unexpected, was not surprising. Her lifestyle choices that dominated the better part of the last 25 years of her life had ultimately caught up with her.

She was as intelligent as she was beautiful and her dark sense of humor could make even the biggest prude burst out in laughter.

Although I had my built up resentment towards her, I was very proud of her for taking part in the DSOTR documentary and sharing the truth about our family story. That was the beginning of us mending our relationship.

I do have regrets. I regret not giving her the time of day when she was trying so hard to be in our lives again. I regret not texting her back even though I had the time to. I regret not trying harder to break her of her bad habits and help her get the help she needed.

A couple weeks ago she had been tuning into my twitch stream when she told me in chat that she was coming over to Linda’s house to drop off some trading cards. I didn’t see it in chat so I was annoyed at her for showing up un-announced. I met her outside and accepted the gift and gave her a hug and she went on her way. I truly regret not sitting down with her for a little bit or going to grab lunch with her. I regret being upset with her simply because she wanted to see her son. She actually looked really healthy and sober. That was the last time I saw her.

Thank you mom for bringing me into this world and for trying your absolute best. You were my number 1 fan in wrestling and on Twitch.Rest In Peace. I love you (heart emoji)."

Melanie recently appeared on Vice's Dark Side of the Ring documentary series in May 2021 as the show focused on the story of the Pillman Family. Along with battling through her own fair share of trauma and addiction struggles over the years, Melanie was also at the centre of one of the most controversial acts to have ever gone down on WWE Raw as CEO Vince McMahon infamous interviewed her in the immediate aftermath of Brian Sr's death on October 5, 1997 at the age of 35.

Melanie and Brian Sr. had two children together, Brian Jr. and Skylar King, while Melanie also had two children from a previous relationship and later adopted one of Brian Sr's daughters from a past relationship, too. Brian would also adopt Melanie's daughter from a previous relationship.

Everyone here at WhatCulture sends their thoughts to the Pillman Family at what must truly be a difficult time.