Going Ringside Ep. 54: From mid-card to megastar, the story of Brutus Beefcake

Initial ascent to stardom

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the performance art of professional wrestling, many of the top stars are assigned a gimmick. Some work, some don’t. The Undertaker is widely regarded as the most successful gimmick of all time. On the opposite end of the spectrum many have failed. The Repo Man, Glacier and Isaac Yankem D.D.S. are just a few.

But there was one, that on it’s face shouldn’t have worked. Unless you’re Brutus Beefcake (real name Ed Leslie), he made what seemed ridiculous into a wrestling sensation. It was 1988 when Beefcake had languished in the mid-card of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) with some success. He had been a tag team champion with partner Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. But he never got top billing, even though he was a real life close friend of Hulk Hogan. At this point, Hogan was easily the most famous pro wrestler on Earth. Things changed when he was given the gimmick of a barber.

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“Supposed to be a one and done deal. They were setting me up to fail,” said Beefcake. “Yeah, there’s not barbers. There never has been. How are you going to do a barber in the wrestling business? Never been done. Impossible. I did the impossible.”

And he did accomplish the seemingly impossible. Dawning gardening shears that he implied were to cut opponent’s hair with some brightly colored spandex, Brutus Beefcake became an overnight sensation. He immediately gained top billing and was often partnered with Hogan. He also feuded with the likes of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Tiny “Zeus” Lister who had just starred in WWF’s first foray into the world of movies “No Holds Barred” opposite Hogan. To feud with these names on primetime wrestling shows watched by millions is the absolute peak for a pro wrestler. And Beefcake had ascended the mountaintop.

A life-altering injury

But his time at the top was impeded. Dramatically. That’s because in 1990 Beefcake was involved in a very bad parasailing accident. Beefcake was lucky to be alive and the reconstruction of his face was staggering just to hear him tell it.

“I received a horrific entire facial destruction,” said Beefcake. “Had to have facial reconstruction. Skeletal reconstruction. I have eight strips of titanium. Thirty screws. Fifty feet of wire.”

So when Beefcake was miraculously able to recover he returned dawning a mask designed to protect his face.

Beefcake becomes a talk show host

However, as far as his career in pro wrestling, it brought a fortuitous segue. The WWF knew that he couldn’t wrestle, so they gave him a talk show segment called “The Barber Shop”. In early 90′s WWF, having a talk show was a big deal where all the major feuds could work themselves out. He patterned some of the show on another iconic WWF show that was hosted by his longtime friend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in the 1980′s. Piper hosted the segment “Piper’s Pit” where iconic moments like the attacking of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and the beginning of the feud between Hogan and Andre The Giant.

Beefcake’s “Barber Shop” was not outdone with a foundational moment in wrestling history. He hosted the segment where a longtime tag team known as The Rockers split up. The two wrestlers, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty went their separate ways. It was the beginning of Michaels’ ascent to superstardom. But Beefcake didn’t see it that way.

“Marty is my friend. Not so much Shawn,” said Beefcake. “It was a shame to see what happened. Marty got kicked to the curb, left in the dust. Whatever you want to call it, they didn’t tell him anything. They didn’t help him. They just cut him loose. Shawn was groomed for whatever. He got everything. He got everything. While Marty got nothing.”

Beefcake leaves the WWF

In 1993 Hulk Hogan left the WWF and Brutus Beefcake wasn’t far behind. Hogan went onto Hollywood to try his hand at acting in movies and TV shows. And what worked for many of those productions was he had a built-in stunt double. Beefcake began his wrestling career portraying himself as Hulk Hogan’s brother. Mainly because they looked alike. And finding a stunt double for someone with as iconic a look as Hogan wasn’t easy. So Beefcake, who loved doing things like parasailing (see above) and other high risk activities was the perfect fit.

“I had a lot of fun,” said Beefcake. “One of the first things I did was Thunder in Paradise. The first episode that actually convinced the Disney people that this was gonna’ be good was Hulk Hogan supposedly blazing down in Kissimmee a river that was just a windy, windy river. Comes up next to an airboat with Sting (the wrestler) on it. And at 35 miles per hour without any rehearsal or a try or anything. Go up next to the airboat at 35 miles per hour steps off the waverunner onto the front of the airboat and starts a big fight scene.”

Beefcake said the Disney producers originally thought Hogan did that, only to realize it was really Beefcake acting as his stunt double.

This was also the era when Beefcake followed Hogan to World Championship Wrestling (WCW), WWF’s primary competitor. While in WCW Beefcake had to change his name because he was in a dispute with Vince McMahon and WWF over the use of the name Brutus Beefcake. So he adopted numerous gimmicks including The Booty Man, The Butcher, The Zodiak and The Disciple. Unfortunately, none of them caught on the way “The Barber” did.

Brutus Beefcake today

Following the demise of WCW Beefcake was a regular on the independent circuit and worked on a lot of projects Hulk Hogan was involved in. In 2019 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Hulk Hogan.

Today he’s a Commissioner. Specifically for Boca Raton Championship Wrestling (BRCW). “I really stay busier now that I’m retired than I have in years,” said Beefcake. And if you want to see Beefcake sometime, he’s not hard to find. Check out the BRCW website, they have pretty regular major events in South Florida.

A truly inspirational wrestling story

Also on this episode following our discussion on Beefcake’s career, we’re joined by a young man from the Jacksonville area named Dillon Ford. Ford is a wrestling manager affiliated with Destiny Combat Championship Wrestling (DCCW) who is wheelchair-bound. But Ford is not letting his disability stop him from pursuing a dream of becoming a pro wrestler.

Ford is currently raising money to have a specialty wheelchair constructed that would allow him to wrestle. In the interview Ford explains how exactly he plans for that to happen and what he needs to make his dream come true.