During what is said to be the ‘Golden Age’ of WWF’s time, Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake found himself trying to earn his own respect despite being one of the more popular wrestlers. In the latest Dark Side of the Ring, everything about the former WWF star is unveiled. From his relationship with Hulk Hogan, how he got started in wrestling, his parasailing accident, how he found his wife, Missy Leslie and even his time in WCW. His journey has many ups and downs, twists and turns like many roller coaster rides.
From the initial watch of this episode, there is no doubt how much Hulk Hogan had meant to Beefcake in his life. ‘The Immortal’ and Beefcake started off as childhood friends that made it big. The Hall of Famer was always around Hogan, and then, one day, Hogan wanted to pursue a wrestling career. He called Beefcake, and they got to work. They worked out two times a day, seven days a week –absolutely wild. Hogan was going through it all with Beefcake; he was there for every step of his career and life.
Something else that would be seen as wild today is how Missy Leslie and Beefcake met. What was supposed to be a one-night stand turned into a long-lasting relationship.
Like many other DSOTR episodes, the cast helped each scene be more lively. The choice to add Greg Valentine, Brian Knobbs, B Brian Blair, Eric Bischoff and Missy Hyatt were great additions as they complimented each scene they were in. Their storytelling was good, and they provided good background information.
The most interesting part that I wanted to know more about was the parasailing incident. Only people who were there to witness truly know how close Beefcake was to losing his life. No matter how much it would be described, seeing it visually will be the closest thing possible to understanding the circumstances. It was really good to have Dr. Mutaz Habal describe the process of reconstructing Beefcake’s skull. This portion was something I looked forward to the most. Just hearing and visualizing the state Beefcake was in, is a pure horror scene. If not for Dr. Habal, there was no telling whether this episode would be about remembering Beefcake or his wrestling journey.
A major topic in the show was how Beefcake’s peers viewed him. It’s obvious that many were thinking that Beefcake was just riding off the success of Hogan, but many of his peers thought everything was given to him. Bischoff even stated that once Beefcake was let go from WWF, the only reason he ended up at WCW was because of Hogan. Beefcake cycled through many gimmicks in his time at WCW, but his peers weren’t impressed. They thought Beefcake was only there to party. In order, to try and prove them wrong and show he belonged, he went through one more transformation. He gets leaner and grows his facial hair for two to three months, then re-appears to surprise everyone — he does indeed change their minds.
Once he started to fall down a few tiers in the WCW cards, his money manager ripped off nearly all his earnings, leaving Beefcake in shambles. He went from being a millionaire to selling his house. The money manager even stole some money from Hogan. During his hardships, Beefcake worked as a toll collector to make ends meet.
During one of his shifts, Beefcake was using what he called ‘BC Powder,’ which fell out of his pocket. Another worker opened it, and the powder spilled out of the bag. It sent the whole station into panic because they thought it was Anthrax. It was later revealed by Valentine that ‘BC Powder’ was cocaine. Missy Leslie says that it was aspirin. This left me wondering what truly was in the bag –most likely cocaine, as Beefcake was sent to rehab. After the incident, he was let go from the toll station.
This is when the relationship with Missy Leslie begins, and the relationship with Hogan starts to fade. Leslie was keeping Beefcake away from painkillers and an alcoholic lifestyle, but his friends didn’t like that. After Leslie and Beefcake got married, they went back to Florida and spent time with Hogan. In the episode, Leslie says that everything was great until it wasn’t. She doesn’t know why Hogan doesn’t like her, but he cut ties with Beefcake because of her. Beefcake has his idea of why people don’t like Leslie but hasn’t mentioned anything clearly.
Brutus Beefcake and Missy. Facebook photo
It’s revealed that the last time the childhood friends saw each other was during Beefcake’s WWE Hall of Fame induction, where Hogan was the one to do the inducting. Beefcake and Hogan are currently not talking to one another. However, Beefcake thinks that if Hogan ever wanted to become friends again, it would feel as if nothing had changed.
Beefcake and Missy Leslie have been married for 33 years.
Overall, it was a good episode. Many got to know more about one of the most famous wrestlers of the 1980s. I was curious if Hogan would have been interviewed in this, but I have my answer. I really enjoyed that they dived into ‘The Barber’ gimmick and how Hogan created the vision for the character. VICE also could have dug deeper into the cocaine/’BC Powder’. Maybe they could have asked Valentine about it, considering he said cocaine was in the bag. Other than that, this was one of the easier episodes to consume and relax. Can’t wait for the next one!
TOP PHOTO: Brutus Beefcake. Photo: VICE
RELATED LINKS
- Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake story archive
- Slam Wrestling’s Dark Side of the Ring story and review archive