Full Career Retrospective and Greatest Moments for Brutus Beefcake

"Cuttin' and struttin,'" the legendary Gorilla Monsoon would say as Brutus Beefcake (real name Ed Leslie) approached the squared circle, ready to beat whichever opponent awaited and then add insult to injury by giving him an unwanted haircut. Nicknamed "the Barber" for that reason, Beefcake was an immensely charismatic Superstar who, to this day, is not given the recognition he deserves for being a quality performer.

The real-life best friend of pop culture icon Hulk Hogan, Beefcake earned the reputation of a guy who only succeeded at the level he did because of his powerful connection. In reality, he was a worker who overcame the label of a "body" to become an electric performer, his ability to elicit a reaction from the audience through facial expressions and body language being one of his strongest suits.

At one point, he was one of the most popular stars in all of Vince McMahon's WWE, but ill-timed injuries, including a parasailing accident in 1990 that threatened his life, prevented him from ever achieving the championship success that he rightfully deserved.

Still, Beefcake was one of the larger-than-life characters that McMahon's company prided itself on and a cult favorite of longtime fans. His matches with Mr. Perfect, Honky Tonk Man and Ted DiBiase showcase his ability between the ropes, and his interview segment, The Barber Shop, demonstrates just how solid a talker he could be.

Unfortunately, the star will always be remembered for his days in World Championship Wrestling and the numerous gimmick changes he underwent in his time there.

First, he was Brother Bruti. From there, he became The Butcher and then The Man With No Name. After that, he donned black-and-white face paint as The Zodiac. A babyface again, he was known as The Booty Man before disappearing from television. Finally, he reemerged in 1998 as The Disciple, sporting a long mane and a beard as a member of the New World Order.

His identity crisis during his time with the Ted Turner-owned company turned him into the laughing stock of the wrestling community and threatened the undo the legacy of a very talented performer.

Now, with the arrival of the WWE Network, fans can relive some of the Barber's best matches and moments. What are those matches and moments, you may ask? 

Let's take a look.

The Early Days

It was clear early in his WWE career that Vince McMahon saw something in Brutus Beefcake. How couldn't he? The guy had a great look and had earned his Beefcake name. He looked like someone straight out of Chippendales, and McMahon understood that would both make him appeal to the females in the audience while infuriating the men.

Debuting in 1984, McMahon wasted very little time getting behind the character with a push that saw him and his manager, WWE Hall of Famer "Luscious" Johnny Valiant, injure innocent babyface Hillbilly Jim, thus incurring the wrath of WWE champion Hulk Hogan. The two best friends would work the house show loop together, including a February 16, 1985 match at the Philadelphia Spectrum.

From there, he would compete on the first WrestleMania card, battling David Sammartino to a draw.

One look at Beefcake's ring work, though, indicated that the Floridian simply was not ready to excel in the spot he was given. He needed time to develop as a worker, and he would get it as McMahon paired him with one of the most talented workers in the industry: second-generation star and former WWE intercontinental champion Greg "the Hammer" Valentine.

Together, they would dominate tag team wrestling for nearly a year.

The Dream Team

On August 24, 1985, Beefcake and Valentine achieved tag team greatness when they defeated Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda to capture the WWE Tag Team Championships. As any good heel at the time would, Beefcake used a cigar to the eyes of Windham to aid him and Valentine in victory. The win instantly established The Dream Team as one of the most hated acts in WWE (as if the presence of the dastardly Valiant didn't already help the cause).

For nearly one year, the duo defended the titles against the likes of Dan Spivey and Rotunda and The British Bulldogs. It was against the Bulldogs that The Dream Team thrived, showing evolving tag team skills.

At WrestleMania II, the teams wrestled their finest match together. Working around an injury that left Dynamite Kid off his feet at ringside, Beefcake and Valentine worked over Davey Boy Smith but found themselves upset as the immensely popular Brits ascended to the tag team mountaintop.

Over the next year, The Dream Team would have the opportunity to regain the titles but fell short at every turn. They would continue to work as a tag team leading into the epic WrestleMania III pay-per-view where, despite a win over The Fabulous Rougeaus, Beefcake was abandoned by partner Valentine, manager Valiant and associate Dino Bravo.

That moment in time, combined with the fact that "Adorable" Adrian Adonis had cut his hair in the weeks prior to the event, provided the emphasis for the babyface turn that would take him to heights he could have never imagined.

Hanging at ringside for Adonis' match with Roddy Piper, Beefcake joined Hot Rod in shaving the Adorable One's head in one of the most memorable of the early 'Mania moments. It was coming out of that year's Showcase of the Immortals that he earned the nickname "the Barber."

The Barber

As one could imagine, Beefcake found himself embroiled in a rivalry with Greg Valentine and former manager Johnny Valiant. Beefcake would work both his ex-partner and manager in arenas across the country throughout 1987, building on the momentum he had coming out of WrestleMania.

The May 2 episode of Superstars saw Beefcake not only beat Valiant but also cut his hair, adding injury to insult. It was but a brief moment of vengeance for the eccentric star.

As late as November, Beefcake was still waging war with Valentine, as witnessed on the November 28 episode of Superstars.

After moving on from his former associates, Beefcake continued to develop into one of the most popular stars in all of WWE. His rivalry with the Honky Tonk Man in 1988 saw him earn his first shot at singles gold as he challenged the wannabe Elvis for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at house shows and, more notably, at WrestleMania IV.

He never did manage to wrest the title away from Honky, but he did give hated manager Jimmy Hart a haircut that made fans inside Trump Plaza in Atlantic City erupt.

A feud with Ron Bass later in '88 led to one of the most horrific scenes in WWE history to that point. The Outlaw attacked his rival with a spur, bloodying him and preventing him from competing against Honky Tonk Man in another IC title bout at that year's SummerSlam.

1989 saw Beefcake enjoy his highest-profile run as he partnered with Hulk Hogan in his war with "Macho King" Randy Savage and Zeus, a movie character turned WWE Superstar. The two teams would battle at SummerSlam in August and again in a Steel Cage match in December upon the release of Hogan's debut motion picture, No Holds Barred. 

Beefcake's work with Randy Savage at house shows all over the United States helped him evolve and grow as a competitor. It was the experience from working with Savage that helped Beefcake up his in-ring game to the point that he was, arguably, one of the better babyface workers on the entire roster by the time 1990 rolled around.

At WrestleMania VI, Beefcake was such a hot performer and on such a roll that Vince McMahon had no issues with making him the first Superstar to notch a pinfall victory over Mr. Perfect. Surely a run with the IC title was on the horizon, right?

Unfortunately, a facial injury suffered while parasailing threatened his in-ring career.

The Barber Shop and Returning to the Ring

A crushed facial skeleton.

That was the injury suffered by Brutus Beefcake. Over 100 different plates and screws were inserted into his face to help rebuild it. As a result, Beefcake was forced to step away from the squared circle. Though he could not compete between the ropes, he was still a valuable piece of McMahon's roster. He had star power and was an engaging performer, so the decision was made to give him his own talk-show segment in the form of the Barber Shop.

The most memorable of all Barber Shop segments occurred late in 1991 when Shawn Michaels betrayed partner Marty Jannetty, superkicking him and throwing him face first through the set's glass window. Jannetty was left bloodied, while Michaels was well on his way to becoming one of the company's breakout stars.

When buddy Hulk Hogan took a hiatus from the wrestling business in 1992, Beefcake opted to do the same, disappearing from WWE television.

In 1993, Beefcake made an inspirational return to the ring but found his reconstructed face the target of a vicious and brutal assault at the hands of villainous tag champions "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster.

This would bring Hulk Hogan back to the ring, and at WrestleMania IX, Beefcake would tag with his friend to challenge Money Inc. for their titles. A disqualification finish prevented the heroes from leaving with the gold, but they did stand tall to end the bout.

It was the last match of significance that Beefcake would wrestle for WWE.

WCW

When Hogan made his historic jump to WCW, Beefcake followed, first appearing as Hogan's lackey...um...best friend "Brother Bruti."

At Halloween Havoc 1994, Bruti betrayed Hogan and joined up with the hated Kevin Sullivan. Adopting the name The Butcher, he would challenge the Hulkster for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade in December. The main event was abysmal and led to criticisms from fans who were watching the promotion once dominated by Sting, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair suddenly be taken over by Hogan and his friends. 

From there, The Butcher would undergo another gimmick change, this time becoming The Zodiac, a character who debuted on the July 15, 1995 episode of WCW Saturday Night. 

The character was a joke that did not appeal to the more southern-based wrestling fans that typically tuned into the WCW product. It was cartoonish and over-the-top, the same drivel Vince McMahon's company was turning out at the time.

It failed miserably, as did his next gimmick, the Booty Man.

At least Beefcake got to hang around with the insanely gorgeous Kimberly, whose husband Diamond Dallas Page was his main rival during that period of his career.

By 1998, Beefcake's in-ring career was winding down. Still under contract and still friends with Hogan, he remained on television as The Disciple, a gimmick that saw him stand silently behind Hollywood Hogan in every promo he cut and be at ringside for all of his matches.

It was an unceremonious end to Beefcake's relevancy in mainstream pro wrestling.

While he would earn the scorn of some critics and even the ridicule of fans who know him only as the bumbling fool from WCW, Beefcake was a talented performer whose career on the grand stage was undeniably cut short by the injury he suffered way back in 1990. Had it not been for that one unfortunate incident, there is no denying that he could have helped to carry WWE into its New Generation, either as a headliner or, at the very least, an upper-midcard star.