Brian Pillman vs Sid Vicious
Date: October 12 or 13, 1991
Location: Ramada Plaza Atlanta Airport in Atlana, GA
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Sid Vicious, or Sid Justice as he was known at the time, is famous for this “squeegee” story with Brian Pillman. While the two never not physical and no fight actually occurred, it came very close and this a famous story worth telling.
The exact date isn’t known, but it’s believed to have been 10/12 or 10/13. WCW had a house show at the Omni in Atlanta on 10/12, and the WWF had a house show there the next night. This was a rare occurrence, and because both companies were in town, wrestlers from both promotions were hanging out together at the bar. Sid Vicious had just gone from WCW to WWF in August of 1991, so he had friends in the company and was visiting with them.
With alcohol being consumed, tempers began to flare. Several sources, including one eye witness, said Sid initially had words with Mike Graham. Graham, who committed suicide recently, was a very short wrestler from the Florida area who was used as both a mid carder in WCW and a road agent backstage. He was the son of legendary Florida promoter Eddie Graham, who ran a very successful territory in the state for years, and of course Mike was a star for the group his dad promoted. Sid was boasting about how great his new employer WWF was, and how messed up his old employer WCW was. Graham asked him to shut up, and Sid replied by saying he had drawn more money in the past week than Graham did his entire career.
Before things got physical, Sid somehow turned his attention to Pillman and said similar things to him. Sid told Pillman that one of the reasons WWF is superior is that they’re more believable and don’t let little guys do programs with big guys. This was a direct reference to a program WCW booked earlier in the year between Sid and Pillman (stemming from War Games ’91 in which Sid accidentally injured Pillman for real in a powerbomb spot gone awry) that Sid refused to do (Sid later claimed he didn’t refuse, but that was the belief at the time). Sid also made the mistake of telling Pillman he’ll never make it in the business because he’s a pretty boy who doesn’t know how to work.
What Sid may not have known is that Pillman was far tougher than he looked on TV and had a major rep as a street fighter. While there was a huge size difference between the two, those who knew both guys said there was no question Pillman would’ve torn him apart in a real fight.
Pillman got up aggressively and the two were about to come to blows. There are reports online that they did come to blows, but that is not the case. Sid finally backed down, saying he just suffered a bicep injury and pulled up his shirt to reveal a band-aid. He then left the bar and everyone thought it was over.
It is true that a bicep injury would’ve handicapped Sid in any physical altercation. However, if he knew he was injured, he shouldn’t have been mouthing off in the first place, especially to someone like Pillman. And backing down in the manner he did made him lose a ton of respect among the boys.
After Sid left, he must’ve realized how cowardly he came across. So he looked around town for a weapon, couldn’t find one, and settled on a squeegee (the tool you use to clean your car windows at the gas station). He came back to the bar and held the squeegee like a weapon, challenging Pillman or Graham to fight him. Graham then grabbed the squeegee from him, and Sid made a couple harsh comments while people held Pillman back from going after him. Sid then left the bar, leaving Pillman and Graham to be treated like heroes in the WCW locker room because of how they backed down a man twice their size.
While the story became famous for its humorous nature, Sid later returned to WCW and there were no further problems between the two. Sid has never lived down the story, and naturally became a laughing stock until his much more famous fight with Arn Anderson two years later.
