Melanie Pillman, the widow of the legendary pro wrestler Brian Pillman, passed away on Wednesday, June 1.
Melanie’s passing was announced on social media by her son, AEW star Brian Pillman Jr.
“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],” he wrote on Twitter.
Brian posted a lengthier statement on Instagram, which you can see below.
Pillman Sr. passed away on October 5, 1997 at the age of 35. The following night on WWE RAW, a grief-stricken Melanie was infamously interviewed by WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon in a move that was heavily criticized by fans and others in the business.
Melanie appeared on Vice TV’s Dark Side of the Ring in May 2021 as the season 3 premiere told the story of the Pillman Family. Melanie dealt with tragedy throughout her life, and battled issues with addiction. She married Brian Sr. on March 17, 1993. Melanie had two children from a previous relationship, while she and Brian also had two children together – Brian Jr. and Skylar King, who was born after Brian Sr. passed. Melanie also adopted one of Brian’s daughters from a previous relationship, while Brian adopted Melanie’s daughter from a previous relationship, and was often referred to as the father of her other child from the previous relationship.
You can see Brian’s longer statement on his mother’s passing below, along with the full tweet:
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].
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