On the latest episode of “The Road to Double or Nothing,” All Elite Wrestling continued to make waves, announcing that Brian Pillman Jr. would be joining the field for Double or Nothing’s upcoming Over Budget Battle Royale.
The son of WCW‘s Loose Cannon, Brian Pillman Sr., Pillman Jr. began training to follow in his father’s footsteps in February 2017. Trained by Lance Storm and Rip Rogers, Pillman made his pro wrestling debut on December 30, 2017, for Indianapolis Championship Wrestling‘s New Years Bash. From there, Pillman Jr. began to work sporadically in the Midwest indies. The Ohio native wrestled for Rockstar Pro, Black Label Pro, Create-A-Pro Wrestling Academy, WrestlePro and Combat Zone Wrestling, where he first teamed with Teddy Hart. In 2018, Brian Pillman Jr. announced he had signed on with Major League Wrestling, which is when his career really began to take off.
Alongside Teddy Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr., Brian Pillman Jr. became part of the new-look Hart Foundation, continuing a legacy from his father who was in the original Hart Foundation and at the time, the only non-family member to earn such distinction. Pillman Jr. debuted on MLW in July 2018, though it was just to accompany Hart and Smith to the ring. He didn’t make his in-ring debut until about two months later, where the Hart Foundation defeated the Stud Stable (Leo Brien, Michael Patrick and Parrow). Pillman Jr.’s first big feud came shortly after as he attacked Tommy Dreamer and all that he stood for. Proclaiming Dreamer to be old news and practicing a wrestling style that was long-since forgotten, Brian Pillman Jr. and Dreamer fought three times in 2018, with Pillman Jr. winning the decisive third match, a singapore cane fight.
In 2019, Brian Pillman Jr. wrestled for Northeast Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, Warrior Wrestling, IWA: Mid South, BLP and MLW. Putting an end to his feud with Dreamer once and for all, Pillman Jr. alongside Smith Jr. defeated Dreamer and Sandman. One-third of the freebirding MLW World Tag Team Champions, Brian Pillman Jr. has been on a role lately, picking up victories over MJF and Rich Swann, the latter of which came in the national title tournament semifinal.
Brian Pillman Jr. wasn’t the only big announcement as the 32-year veteran and seven-time champion, Glacier, also announced he’d be entering the match. Trained by Bob Armstrong, Glacier’s career began in World Championship Wrestling in 1989. He wrestled only periodically over the next several years, only joining WCW as a more regular roster member in 1996. Of course, most people probably remember Glacier as the guy whose debut was incredibly hyped up only to fall flat, both literally and figuratively.
Glacier left WCW in 1998, where he wrestled briefly for Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling until 2003. He wrestled a few matches for NWA after that, as well as CHIKARA, United States Wrestling Alliance, WrestleMerica, Ring of Honor, GCW, Absolute Intense Wrestling and International Wrestling Cartel to name a few.
Brian Pillman Jr. and Glacier join Sonny Kiss, Kip Sabian, Ace Romero and Brandon Cutler as names announced for the Over the Budget Battle Royale.
Kip Sabian: Trained by the Knight family at World Association of Wrestling, the 26-year-old Kip Sabian began wrestling in 2010. In his eight-plus year career, Sabian has won 19 titles including the NGW Tag Team Championship and Knights of Chaos Championship, both of which he currently holds. Sabian had his breakout year in 2017 as he joined the short-lived Lucha Forever, allowing him to share the ring with top UK stars, Pete Dunne, Travis Banks, Tyler Bate, CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos) and more. By 2018, Sabian was starting to become a household name in the BritWres scene, most notably by becoming the world champion in International Pro Wrestling: UK.
Sonny Kiss: An extremely charismatic wrestler, the “Concrete Rose” began wrestling in 2013 in New York and in his home state of New Jersey. Trained by Gino Caruso, Warriors of Wrestling Training Center and the ROH Dojo, Kiss began to expand into the rest of the East Coast shortly after, working for Full Impact Pro and EVOLVE in his first year on the scene as well. Kiss continued to make a name for himself and build up his brand, ultimately landing with Lucha Underground in 2018. In his career, Kiss has won four titles including the Warriors of Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, which he still holds today. His signing to AEW was announced at the Double or Nothing rally, where it was noted he’ll be competing in the women’s division.
Brandon Cutler: A childhood friend and trainee of the Young Bucks, Brandon Cutler returned to wrestling in 2018 after taking seven years off to start a family. In his early career, the native of California worked primarily for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and National Wrestling Alliance. He also won two tag team championships with his brother Dustin Cutler, the latter of which came in Insane Wrestling League when the Cutler Brothers defeated defending champions, Matt and Nick Jackson. Cutler has worked just a handful of matches since his comeback but he did take part in the inaugural season of Dojo Pro alongside some of the top independent names in the industry. Last year, he competed in the inaugural Over the Budget Battle Royale, which was won by Flip Gordon.
Ace Romero: Known as the “Jumbo Jet,” the 28-year-old, five-time champion, Ace Romero, tips the scales at nearly 400 pounds but if you watched him in the ring, you’d never know it. Romero does moves guys half his size won’t even attempt and moves a lot better too. Trained by Biff Busick, Romero is in his sixth year as a pro, having wrestled for Independent Wrestling Entertainment, CZW, Beyond Wrestling, Evolve, Limitless Wrestling, House of Hardcore and more. In 2018, he began to really become a huge part, both literally and figuratively, of the Midwest indie scene, wrestling over 50 matches for Rockstar Pro and AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined. He also debuted with MLW that year.
