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Post by The Brain on Jan 11, 2019 20:24:14 GMT -5
Brutus''The Barber''Beefcake
This gimmick got started at WM III during the Piper/Adonis match in which after the match Beefcake would come down to the ring with scissors and proceed to cut Adonis's blonde locks. Right after this on TV the name ''Barber'' was born. He started coming down to the ring in his iconic shredded/ colorful attire wielding his trusty hedge clippers. Right out of the gate....He wanted revenge on his former associates the ''Dream Team'' for them walking out on him at WM III.
That spring on Superstars Lucious Johnny V was the first victim of the Barber as he would receive one ugly haircut and to top it off some pink hair spray!! The proceeding months he would face both Dino Bravo and Greg Valentine in winning efforts but they both avoided the clippers. As 1987 would go on you could tell the gimmick was gaining steam popularity wise as every time he'd go out there he would get a good pop. Every match he would have on Superstars and Challenge would result in some poor ham n egger with a new trim. His last big moment of the year was being on the winning team of Team Savage at the 1st SSeries.
1988 would be a big year for the gimmick as at WM IV he would challenge long reigning IC Champ Honky Tonk Man in a showdown at WM IV in Atlantic City at Trump Plaza. Unfortunately he would win by DQ but as we all know the belt doesn't change hands that way. He would get some satisfaction post match by giving Jimmy Hart a haircut though. His next feud came in the forum of the big Outlaw Ron Bass. On an episode on Superstars that Summer he cut up Bass's hat and rope ''Miss Betsy'' which infuriated the big man. Right before SSlam Bass got his revenge and attacked Beefcake with spurs which caused Beefcake to miss his match with HTM at the big event at MSG. Beefcake would return in the Fall and get his revenge on Bass by early 89 on SNME with a nice haircut. Gorilla Monsoon on commentary would call em ''baldy'' for the remainder of his run which didn't last much longer past the Rumble in 89.
Beefcake's next big feud would be with Ted DiBiase at WM V which really wasn't a feud at all as it was just thrown on the card with really not much build at all. After Mania is really the biggest moment in the gimmicks run as he would start a feud with Randy Savage and Sherri on a Brother Love Show in which they would both attack em and to add insult to injury cut off a piece of his hair!! This would all lead to both Zeus and Hogan getting involved which would lead us to the big main at SSlam that year. No doubt about it this was Beefcakes biggest run of his WWF career as not only did he main event a big show like SSlam but he got to team with the biggest draw in the company his best friend Hulk Hogan. To close out 89 he was in the No Holds Barred steel cage match which him and Hogan were victorious over Zeus/Savage to finally put an end to that feud.
As we start a new decade in 1990 he would briefly have a feud with Rick Martel over fashion they went nowhere but they did have a match on an MSG show during that time period. His next big match would be against the Genius at the Rumble that year. They were both DQed but in the end the Genius and Mr. Perfect would attack Beefer with a chair leading to a big confrontation at WM VI at Skydome in Toronto. Beefcake would get his revenge at the event by not only defeating Mr. Perfect but being the first guy to pin em clean during his WWF Career. Post match Genius would get another haircut for good measure.
After Mania Beefcake had his eyes on getting the IC Title. He was put in the tourney to crown a new champ but in the end it was won by Mr. Perfect. From there they were building to a rematch between the two at that years SSlam for the belt when tragedy struck. Right before the event he had a parasailing accident which left his face badly disfigured. This accident would cancel all plans they had for em during this time. Makes you wonder if he would've finally got the belt in Philly after chasing it for a good 2 years.
By early 91 he would appear a few times under a mask attacking heels like Earthquake and Rick Martel. Nothing ever came of this gimmick and he would return post WM VII as the host of his new segment called ''The Barber Shop''. It was mainly him just talking with faces and heels over whoever they were feuding with at the time. The Rockers split in early 92 being the most infamous segment. Sid would destroy the set not long after that to put an end to the shows brief run.
The gimmick would make one more final run in early 1993 in a feud with the then tag champs Money Inc. On an episode of Raw Beefcake would get his face smashed with their trusty briefcase causing him to wear a face mask. This would lead to Hogan returning for the big showdown at WM IX for the belts. They didn't win the match but they got a little bit of the Million Dollar Man's MONNNNNNNAYYYYYYY!!!! as Savage would put it on commentary. Beefcake would rarely be seen again on WWF TV after this and would leave with Hogan and Jimmy Hart that Summer.
I was never the biggest Beefcake fan in the world but I cant deny how over he was during his WWF run. It's a shame he never got that IC Title reign. He does definitely deserve a nod in the WWE HOF considering his long tenure in the biz.
What are your memories/thoughts of the Barber? Share them below!!
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Deleted
Joined on: Apr 20, 2024 5:30:54 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2019 20:33:46 GMT -5
Not a great wrestler, but the gimmick was over. I liked it. I read his book recently and here's something interesting he said in it- he had a match with jobber Dusty Wolfe and after he beat him he cut his hair. Something went wrong in the match so they had to do it all over again by orders of Vince. So they do the match over and Brutus has to cut the hair again to the point where Dusty had a mohawk. Brutus' book tells a lot of cool stories. Highly recommended!
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 11, 2019 20:39:26 GMT -5
I will get Beefcakes book....Great stuff
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,240
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Post by nibs92 on Jan 12, 2019 7:01:33 GMT -5
My greatest memory of the gimmick would be him hosting the Rockers split. One of the first angles I ever saw. And needless to say it left a lasting impression.
In the ring he was pretty average but his popularity was unmistakable. Over like rover, as the saying goes.
Was he legitimately injured for Summerslam 88 or was it just a cover to get the Warrior in to the IC match? I reckon if Beefcake had faced Honky, he would have been the champ at that point. But IMO he never really needed a belt,
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Post by PJ on Jan 12, 2019 7:24:25 GMT -5
I always liked Brutus in the WWF, but I was more of a Dream Team Beefcake fan. His WCW stuff not so much.
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2019 11:51:58 GMT -5
My greatest memory of the gimmick would be him hosting the Rockers split. One of the first angles I ever saw. And needless to say it left a lasting impression. In the ring he was pretty average but his popularity was unmistakable. Over like rover, as the saying goes. Was he legitimately injured for Summerslam 88 or was it just a cover to get the Warrior in to the IC match? I reckon if Beefcake had faced Honky, he would have been the champ at that point. But IMO he never really needed a belt, I believe it was all kayfabe. Vince was high on Warrior so he gave em his first big break at the event. I recall reading somewhere HTM at the time was injured so that's why he was squashed in just seconds.
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Post by Gorilla on Jan 12, 2019 12:14:03 GMT -5
I always liked the barber as a gimmick, but happy he was never IC champ by beating Mr Perfect. I could see him beating Honky though.
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 12, 2019 12:43:35 GMT -5
Honky maintains he wasn't injured but afraid he was gonna be... Hercules had warned him Warrior was reckless apparently
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2019 13:06:09 GMT -5
Honky maintains he wasn't injured but afraid he was gonna be... Hercules had warned him Warrior was reckless apparently Herc definitely wasn't lying with that statement.
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Post by LA Times on Jan 12, 2019 13:08:38 GMT -5
I was a big fan of Brutus Beefcake as a kid and he was really cool when I met him in person, but he is also proof that Hulk Hogan is the best friend you can have in the wrestling industry.
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Post by MKSavage on Jan 12, 2019 13:35:22 GMT -5
I liked Brutus, no he wasn't the best technical wrestler but he was a good performer. He was really over during the late 80s. Most surprising moment for me is that they chose him to break Mr. Perfect's undefeated streak at Mania 6, especially since Hogan beat Mr. Perfect at the SNME falling Mania. Of his WCW characters, I'm surprised they didn't go further with the Butcher gimmick, it was a nice play on his Barber gimmick. Not sure if I was the only one, but at the time, I did not know the Disciple was Brutus (he never talked and had a full beard), I think a friend from school pointed that out to me. Side note: his second figure from Hasbro is my favorite of the Hasbro's.
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2019 13:41:31 GMT -5
Going forward humanoids I'm going to pick out 2 gimmicks and whoever gets the most votes will get the spotlight.
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,240
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Post by nibs92 on Jan 12, 2019 13:45:31 GMT -5
Going forward humanoids I'm going to pick out 2 gimmicks and whoever gets the most votes will get the spotlight. Sounds good man. Loving this thread!!
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2019 13:49:30 GMT -5
Going forward humanoids I'm going to pick out 2 gimmicks and whoever gets the most votes will get the spotlight. Sounds good man. Loving this thread!! Glad to hear it my friend!
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2019 20:48:10 GMT -5
Who gets the spotlight next?? Vote now!! Polls close Monday.
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 12, 2019 20:51:13 GMT -5
I liked Brutus, no he wasn't the best technical wrestler but he was a good performer. He was really over during the late 80s. Most surprising moment for me is that they chose him to break Mr. Perfect's undefeated streak at Mania 6, especially since Hogan beat Mr. Perfect at the SNME falling Mania. Of his WCW characters, I'm surprised they didn't go further with the Butcher gimmick, it was a nice play on his Barber gimmick. Not sure if I was the only one, but at the time, I did not know the Disciple was Brutus (he never talked and had a full beard), I think a friend from school pointed that out to me. Side note: his second figure from Hasbro is my favorite of the Hasbro's. He was crazy over. His beating Perfect @wm6 was the start of his eventual feud with Hennig over the IC title. Would have been great IMHO and of course better than what we got. Poor Kerry was a wreck coming in...
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Post by mikey1974 on Jan 12, 2019 20:56:04 GMT -5
Gonzalez !!
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2019 20:59:08 GMT -5
Gonzalez at 1.
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 12, 2019 21:03:27 GMT -5
Rooster for me. I'd rather a kick in the stones than talk about Gonzales 😂😂😂😂
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2019 21:07:29 GMT -5
Rooster at 1.
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