The career of Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake saw him having more twists and turns than the average talent before entering the WWE Hall of Fame. Beefcake is known for being the former best friend of Hulk Hogan and benefiting quite often for it. Both WWE and WCW used Beefcake on their roster for many years during popular periods.
The controversy to follow Beefcake featured him finding his way into quite a few stories. WCW’s end saw Brutus becoming a forgotten man in the industry moving forward. The time in the spotlight created moments that have been discussed in the life of Beefcake. Each of the following stories will show a deeper look at Beefcake behind the scenes.
10 Wrestlers Initially Thought He Was Hulk's Brother
The friendship between Hulk Hogan and Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake featured them working together as the Boulder Brothers tag team before either made it to WWE. This gimmick led to wrestlers thinking Hogan and Beefcake were brothers in real life due to their closeness.
Hogan vouched for Beefcake in WWE and helped him get a solid spot on the roster. The close bond and the established act as siblings made it an unknown thing in the business. Hogan and Beefcake were just best friends with no relation.
9 Barber Gimmick Was Based On Vince McMahon's Hair Stylist
Many of the WWE gimmicks of the Golden Era were inspired by people Vince McMahon interacted with outside of the bring. The haircutting gimmick of Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake saw him playing one of the first occupational gimmicks.
McMahon based the flamboyant barber character on his own personal hairstylist at the time. The idea saw Brutus having to play an exaggerated version of someone Vince knew in real life, and it changed his life forever.
8 Rick Rude Hated Working With Him
The wrestlers to work Brutus Beefcake had mixed reactions to him. Quite a few didn’t enjoy Beefcake for his attitude backstage and his flaws inside of the ring. Bruce Prichard revealed on his podcast that Rick Rude specifically hated having to work house show loops with Beefcake.
The belief of Rude was that Beefcake was the clumsiest wrestler on the roster and it led to issues in their matches. Few wrestlers want to work with a clumsy opponent since that can lead to botches or even injuries in the wrong spot.
7 Eric Bischoff Never Liked Him Despite The WCW Push
Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and Eric Bischoff are considered the two closest friends of Hulk Hogan in the wrestling business, but that doesn’t mean they were tight. Bischoff has admitted to regretting using Beefcake in various roles for WCW.
Gimmicks like The Butcher, The Disciple, The Zodiac and Booty Man all received pushes in some form. Bischoff revealed he never enjoyed the work or real-life behavior of Beefcake behind the scenes during his 83 Weeks podcast.
6 Warrior Caused His Match With Honky Tonk Man To Get Canceled
The biggest match of Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake’s WWE career almost came at SummerSlam 1988. WWE started selling the match of Beefcake challenging the Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship on the second biggest event.
Ultimate Warrior complaining about his position backstage led to WWE making huge changes. Vince McMahon pulled Beefcake from the card in favor of Warrior, who ended HTM’s historic title reign. Beefcake never had an opportunity like that again in his WWE career.
5 Made Peace With Hulk Hogan After Falling Out
The close friendship between Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake lasted for decades until running into hot water. Both men publicly insulted the other when Beefcake felt betrayed at Hogan staying close with his ex-wife after the divorce.
Beefcake insulted Hogan a few times in his book, and Hogan claimed that Beefcake was illegally selling his signed 8x10s. The two sides eventually made peace and became tight again when talking it out. Hogan even returned to WWE to induct Beefcake into the 2019 Hall of Fame class.
4 Randy Savage Wanted To Fight Him For Cutting His Brother's Hair
Randy Savage was known for having a short temper backstage and that almost led to a fight with Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. WWE used to have Beefcake cut the hair of some of his opponents after matches to sell the gimmick.
Savage’s brother Lanny Poffo played the lower card act of The Genius during this time and worked closely with Beefcake on a few occasions. The post-match haircut apparently wasn’t expected by Genius and Savage confronted Brutus backstage, almost coming to blows.
3 Main Evented Starrcade Due To Hogan's Creative Control Clause
The reputation of Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake was that all his opportunities came due to Hulk Hogan. Beefcake received the biggest opportunity of his career in WCW. Eric Bischoff hired him on Hogan’s request and was convinced to have the two friends main event WCW’s biggest show.
Starrcade 1994 featured The Butcher challenging Hogan for the WCW Championship. No one took Butcher seriously and it was among the worst main events of the event’s history. Beefcake admitted in his book that Hogan’s creative clause inspired the move to put him in the biggest role.
2 Insulted Ric Flair For Having Great Match With Eddie Guerrero
Ric Flair revealed he never liked Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake when discussing their past interactions on his old podcast. The story claimed that Beefcake was upset about Flair having a great match with Eddie Guerrero a few days before his PPV match with Hulk Hogan.
Beefcake was upset about Flair giving a mid-card act that much offense knowing he was going to work with Hogan on PPV.
Flair shared that he cursed out Beefcake for being that disrespectful and that he loved the match with Eddie having no regrets.
1 Hulk Hogan Told Vince That Brutus Was His Replacement
The friendship between Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake saw Hogan showing a bit too much loyalty. Bruce Prichard shared that Vince McMahon often listed to Hogan’s input about the rest of the roster during the peak of the Golden Era.
Hogan was asked about guys who could match his success or even follow him when he tried to get more Hollywood roles. Beefcake was the only wrestler named by Hogan as someone who could be his replacement. Prichard revealed that he and Vince didn’t take Hulk seriously for making such a ludicrous statement.