Lexis King/Brian Pillman Jr. makes WWE in-ring debut at NXT house show

Pillman departed AEW this July when his contract with the promotion was not renewed. He signed with WWE shortly after, officially joining the Performance Center in August.

Vignettes building up Pillman's debut have been airing on NXT the last few weeks. He cut his first WWE promo in a video that aired on NXT this past Tuesday. In the promo, Pillman explained why he isn't using his father's last name in NXT. Pillman said he lost his father when he was only four years old. It seems like everyone has fond memories of his father, but Pillman doesn't. Pillman said he wants to inflict pain on the business that has brought him so much grief.

"But when they see this face, I don't want them to think about my dead father," Pillman said. "I want them to think about me. I'm nobody's junior. And from this day forward, I am going to take on the last name of the real man who raised me, the real father figure in my life. And his name was King. And now so is mine."

WWE filed a trademark for the name "Lexis King" on October 2.