Brian Pillman Jr. has been with All Elite Wrestling from nearly the beginning, having competed in a battle royal on the company’s first PPV, Double or Nothing 2019. Pillman Jr. came up short in the match but continued to make inroads with the promotion, even while still technically signed to MLW early on. His All Elite trajectory changed greatly in 2020 when he was paired with Griff Garrison, and the duo was dubbed The Varsity Blondes, a nod to his father’s old Hollywood Blondes tag team with Steve Austin.
As The Varsity Blondes, the two ate a series of losses to teams like Private Party, Butcher & The Blade, The Dark Order, FTR, and other units that were looking to become established. In 2021, Julia Hart, who was portraying a cheerleader, was added to their act, and a few months later, Pillman Jr. was finally granted a full-time AEW contract. Hart eventually faded away from the act as she became a member of House of Black, and The Varsity Blondes were quietly broken up towards the end of 2022.
PWInsider reports that Brian Pillman Jr.’s AEW deal has expired and will not be renewed. As of this writing, the second-generation star is presumably a free agent and is free to sign with any promotion he likes unless there is some kind of non-compete in place, which would be unusual for AEW.
Pillman Jr.’s last AEW match occurred at House Rules in May, where he teamed with fellow second-generation talent Brock Anderson in a losing effort to The Gunns, who had not yet joined Bullet Club Gold. The night before that, he challenged ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli in a Proving Ground match where if he had defeated the Blackpool Combat Club member or wrestled him to a draw, he would have earned an ROH World Title shot.