Steve Austin Had Words With Brian Pillman’s Son About His Kiddie Pool

One of the most memorable angles of WWE’s Attitude Era came actually came about a year before WWE started using “attitude” as a branding slogan. On Nov. 4, 1996, Stone Cold Steve Austin invaded the home of an injured Brian Pillman, who was lying in wait with a loaded handgun, and chaos, as it often did in regards to Austin, ensued. You can read Brandon Stroud’s excellent recap of the whole angle here, and if you’ve somehow never seen it before, just click “play” below:

Now, more than two decades later, Pillman’s son, Brian Pillman Jr. — a pro wrestler in his own right — is coming, and he’s got receipts.

It all started on Twitter (because of course it did) when Pillman Jr. was asked about that fateful night — and specifically, that kiddie pool Austin used to try and drown one of his dad’s friends. Even though Pillman Jr. would’ve been around three years old at the time of Austin’s home invasion, he clearly still had painful memories of his cherished turtle pool meeting its maker:

Then, like any good wrestler, Pillman Jr. capitalized on it:

Here’s the best part: Thirteen minutes later — literally, 13 minutes later — Austin himself replied, with something in between a heartfelt apology and a thinly veiled threat:

Pillman Jr., to his credit, tried to avoid the bite of the Rattlesnake his father felt so many times, and immediately accepted Austin’s half-apology:

So there you have it: The final burial of the hatchet from the night that Austin 3:16 met Pillman 9mm. Or is it? Here’s to hoping Pillman Jr. is waiting for Austin to have a kid before coming over to his house and smashing up his jungle gym or something. Now that’s how you pay off a slow-burn angle, brother.