The Many Names And Faces Of Brutus Beefcake
Professional wrestling is a very strange, one-of-a-kind beast. In some instances, it simply does not matter who you are or how talented you may be to reach a level of success. So many different aspects come together to create the ‘one true sport’ that we all love. Sometimes success is based on how you are pushed by the booker, or how well you are received by the fan base. Sometimes backstage politics or even nepotism can play a hand in your success (Erik Watts anyone?). And in the modern era of wrestling, a gimmick can make or break your career. In no instance is this more evident than in the story of one Ed Leslie, best known by many as Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake. But beyond that pivotal and star-making gimmick, Hulk Hogan’s best friend went through possibly more gimmicks than any other mainstream wrestler in history. Join us as we take a gander at the many faces of Ed Leslie.
Ed Boulder | Eddie Golden | Dizzy Golden | Dizzy Hogan
While many fans know that Leslie and Hulk Hogan have been intertwined most of their respective careers, they may not know that the two have actually been together from the beginning. After initially working for Hogan in his gym, he began working out and developed a strong enough physique that Hogan convinced him to give wrestling a try and become his tag team partner. As Hogan was going by the name of Terry Boulder at the time, Leslie would become Ed Boulder in Alabama working for Louie Tillet. This would eventually lead to a move to Continental Wrestling Association in Tennessee. The best, was of course, as they say, yet to come. He would also try a few names such as Eddie Golden and Dizzy Golden, perhaps to distance himself from Bollea as they were in different territories.
Once Vince McMahon Sr. discovered and gave the new name of Hulk Hogan to Bollea, Leslie would continue the gimmick of being his brother, now going by the name of Dizzy Hogan. While Hogan made his way through different territories, including the WWWF, AWA and New Japan, Leslie continued his training and working at his craft in different NWA territories, also sporadically appearing in Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling.
Baron Beefcake | Brutus Beefcake
Once Hulkamania took off in early 1984 when Hulk Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik for the WWF Championship, it wouldn’t take long before Leslie would make his way to New York along with the influx of other talents from different territories as Vince McMahon Jr. began to take over the wrestling world. His first suggested gimmick, as stated by the man himself in his 2019 WWE Hall Of Fame speech, was that of a butler-style character named Baron Beefcake. This would not last long as he would soon become the name we all know him by, Brutus Beefcake. While it would still be a few years before he would become the Barber everyone knows and loves, he was now about to embark on the biggest run of his career.
Entering the World Wrestling Federation he was immediately slated as a heel with fellow Hall Of Famer ‘Luscious’ Johnny Valiant as his manager and mouthpiece. While never specifically stated, Beefcake’s gimmick was essentially that of a well-built male stripper, as he was very full of himself and wore ridiculous outfits (something that would stay with him for much of his career.) His first notable feud was nothing to write home about, feuding with David Sammartino, the son of Bruno. Despite the lack of star power between the two at the time, they did manage to make it onto the card of the first WrestleMania, battling to a double disqualification. His next feud would certainly elevate Beefcake, as he would find himself the target of the WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. Earlier in the year, Valiant and Beefcake had attacked and injured Hillbilly Jim, so Hogan sought revenge on behalf of his friend. After finding himself on the losing side of the battle, began teaming with Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine. At the time Valentine was the reigning Intercontinental Champion, so the team was initially put together to help fend off the top contenders for the Championship, including The Junkyard Dog, Ricky Steamboat and the number one contender, Tito Santana. After Valentine dropped the title back to Santana, the two became a full-time tag team dubbed “The Dream Team.”
The two would click together quickly and soon become the top heel tag team in the WWF. Later in the summer of ’85, they would unseat the U.S. Express of Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda to win the WWF Tag Team Championships, albeit not without controversy. During the match, Beefcake took Luscious’ lit cigar and put it in Windham’s eye to allow them to get the win. They would soon find themselves taking on all comers, always finding themselves with the winner’s portion of the purse. Their most notable rivals would be Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid (for more on Dynamite Kid, read out the detailed recap of his Dark Side Of The Ring episode here), The British Bulldogs. The two teams would battle relentlessly, but The Dream Team would always find a way to escape with the titles. The feud would culminate at WrestleMania 2 where they faced off from the Chicago portion of the program. The Bulldogs would find themselves accompanied by Ozzy Osbourne and would finally be able to unseat the Dream Team. They would never get another sniff of the gold but would remain a vital component of the tag division. Valiant would soon add Dino Bravo to the team as extra muscle (for more on Dino Bravo, check out our detailed recap of his Dark Side Of The Ring episode here) but this would start causing unneeded tension within the group. This would be the catalyst of Beefcake’s big face turn, which would happen at WrestleMania III.
Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake
At WrestleMania III, the Dream Team would battle The Fabulous Rougeaus in a match that they would win following interference from Dino Bravo. Following the match, tensions finally came to a head with Beefcake not liking what was happening and the official booting of Brutus from the team. Later in the night, following the match between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Adrian Adonis, it would all come full circle. As the stipulation stated that if Adonis lost he would have his head shaved, Beefcake made his way to the ring to help cut the golden locks from Adonis’ head, completing the face turn.
Beefcake would begin bringing garden shears to the ring with the handles taped to look like old-fashioned barber poles and began using the Sleeper Hold as his finishing move which would allow him to be able to cut the hair from his defeated opponents. Logically, his first feud could go one of two ways: either feud with Adonis or with his former partners in the Dream Team. As Adonis was let go from the WWF shortly after WrestleMania III, it fell to a feud with Valentine.
By the end of their feud, poor Johnny Valiant found himself completely bald thanks to Beefcake, who would then move onto a feud with the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history. The two faced off for the title at WrestleMania IV with Beefcake being declared the winner by disqualification after interference from Jimmy Hart, allowing Honky to retain his title. While he would not walk away with the title, he did get a few locks of hair from The Mouth Of The South. The two were once again slated to face off at the inaugural SummerSlam, but earlier in the weekend Beefcake was written off television following an attack by Outlaw Ron Bass. This of course led to the iconic moment of The Ultimate Warrior unseating Honky for the Championship in under a minute.
Upon his return, Beefcake briefly feuded with Bass for revenge before moving onto the ‘Macho King’ Randy Savage. This feud would of course morph into the oft-panned “No Holds Barred” feud. Savage would bring in Zeus, the fictional villain from the film, portrayed by Tiny Lister, to feud against Hulk Hogan, who recruited his real-life best friend to fight alongside him, all while giving him the rub. The feud lasted several months, headlining the 1989 SummerSlam as well as a special pay-per-view event that featured both the film and a special tag team steel cage match.
As 1990 began, Brutus would begin the year battling against The Genius in a match at the Royal Rumble. While the match ended in a no-contest, Beefcake would put the Genius to sleep and give him a haircut before being attacked by Mr. Perfect. This would lead to a match at WrestleMania VI, which Beefcake would win, becoming the person to end the “Perfect Streak.” (While Perfect had been defeated at the odd house show, on television he was still undefeated in singles action at the time.)
Sadly, Beefcake’s career would be put on hold following an accident that nearly ended his life. While out parasailing with friends and helping a friend prepare to be taken off, the boat took off early which resulted in their knees smashing directly into Leslie’s face. Immediate surgery was required with reportedly over 100 metal plates needed to rebuild his skull and face. No matter what one may think of Ed Leslie as a performer, to survive such a brutal accident is a testament to his toughness.
Given that he could not wrestle, the WWF was unsure of how to use him going forward. While they tried a brief storyline where he wore a mask and attacked random heels, but it never went anywhere and was quickly discarded. They would then bring him back as ‘The Barber’ to host his own short-form interview show called “The Barber Shop.” The interviews took place on a small set designed like an old-school barbershop as the name implies. While nothing special overall, it did lead to one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history, when Shawn Michaels turned on Marty Jannetty, dissolving The Rockers tag team. Michaels throwing Jannetty through the glass window was an uncharacteristically brutal moment during a very safe and kid-friendly WWF.
Brutus would finally return to the ring as part of the build to WrestleMania IX, when an attack by the WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) led to Jimmy Hart turning face and helping facilitate the return of Hulk Hogan after roughly a year away from the company. This led to a match between Money Inc. and The Mega-Maniacs at WrestleMania, a match that Beefcake and Hogan won, albeit by disqualification. Not winning the title of course cleared Hogan to win the WWF Championship later in the night in one of the most questioned booking decisions in wrestling history.
Brother Bruti | The Butcher
Following WrestleMania, Leslie would essentially be done with the WWF for the time being, but he would resurface a year later when Hogan debuted in World Championship Wrestling. He was initially a part of Hogan’s entourage along with Jimmy Hart. Shortly after Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Bash At The Beach, he was set to defend the title against former champion Ric Flair at Clash Of The Champions XXVIII but was attacked early in the night by an assailant drenched in black. While Hogan would return and still defeat Flair that night the mystery of who attacked him raged on until Halloween Havoc 1994. After defeating Flair in a Steel Cage Retirement match, Hogan was once again attacked, but this time was able to remove the mask, revealing the attacker as Brother Bruti.
Bruti began being billed as The Butcher and formed a stable with Kevin Sullivan and Avalance (the former Earthquake) known as the 3 Faces of Fear. In one of the most galling political moves of all-time, Hogan would battle The Butcher in the main event of Starrcade 1994, WCW’s equivalent to WrestleMania. Hogan would of course win the match, putting an end to the feud as The Butcher would soon undergo another facelift.
The Zodiac | The Booty Man
The Faces Of Fear would soon transform into quite possibly the most ridiculous gimmick stable to be ever seen in a mainstream wrestling promotion, The Dungeon Of Doom. As Avalanche changed into The Shark, so did The Butcher, now becoming known as The Zodiac. Wearing face paint and tights that resembled the stripes of a zebra, the only thing he knew how to say was “Yes! No! Yes! No!” As the Dungeon Of Doom was on its quest to end Hulkamania forever, it was clear that The Zodiac was not going to play a crucial role in the proceedings, especially once The Dungeon formed an alliance with The Four Horsemen to officially become “The Alliance to End Hulkamania” (its HEAT backwards, get it?). It was soon revealed that Brother Bruti was actually operating as a long-term planted mole within the group, and upon this reveal, Leslie would become The Booty Man.
The Booty Man was essentially just Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake with a different name and instead of being obsessed with cutting hair, he was obsessed with buttocks. The run didn’t last long, with perhaps the only two notable things happening were him defeating Diamond Dallas Page at Uncensored ’96 in a match to defend the honour of The Booty Babe, which was Kimberly Page. His other contribution would be running in on the main event later that night to provide Hogan and Savage with some frying pans to help defeat the aforementioned Alliance in the Triple Doomsday Cage match. But hey, at least he got to make out with Kimberly!
Only a few months later, Hulk Hogan turned heel and formed the New World Order with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. You may have heard about that before. At Hog Wild, following Hogan defeating The Giant for the WCW Championship, The Booty Man would appear with a birthday cake for his best friend but was beaten down by all three members of the NWO for his troubles. This would actually be the last time we would see Leslie for nearly two years before he re-emerged with a completely new look.
The Disciple
Showing up in 1998 was The Disciple, a large man with long hair, a big beard and biker attire. Completely unrecognizable, some even had a hard time recognizing him as the former Barber even after his identity was revealed by Roddy Piper. Usually wrestling on many of WCW’s B-shows and as a part of the NWO B-Team, The Disciple simply became another member of the NWO roster to fill out the ring during their many in-ring promos. He would get one last spotlight during Hogan’s feud with The Warrior in late 1998. Warrior would kidnap and bring The Disciple back to the side of good, revealing him as a member of the One Warrior Nation, making him the second member of the group alongside Warrior. Following Warrior’s blink and you miss it run in WCW, The Disciple was once again relegated to the B and C shows, before being quietly released sometime before the middle of 1999.
This would end the mainstream career of Ed Leslie, though he would make sporadic indie appearances, before once again becoming The Barber to appear at conventions and the like. Of course, we all know he would be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2019. Many attribute this to his friendship with Hogan, but there was a time when he was over enough to be considered the successor to Hogan in the late ’80s.
What are your favourite memories of the man with a seemingly endless amount of gimmicks? Sound off on our Facebook page! And as always, you can reach out to me directly on my Twitter!
