The x-ray of his face was brutal. The constant name/gimmick and heel/face changes in WCW alone would be enough to break a man.
His terrible WCW run turned him into a joke, but I think some (see: that Conrad dope who thinks he knows everything about wrestling) forget how over he was as a babyface prior to that accident in 1990. No one will ever say he was a great wrestler, but The Barber gimmick had him mad over with fans from 1987-1990. Being buddies with Hogan at the time obviously helped a lot, as it seemed like he was always got a featured match on Saturday Night's Main Event, and even got a SummerSlam '89 main event spot with Hogan vs Savage and Zeus, but for a short period of time, he was one of the hottest babyfaces in the business.
It certainly felt like he would’ve dethroned Mr Perfect at SummerSlam ‘90 before the accident happened. Thus allowing Kerry Von Erich to step in and take the title instead.
That seemed like that was the plan at the time. Him not being able to use the Brutus Beefcake name in WCW really killed him. They tried to get around it with the "Brother Bruti" thing, but they eventually got a cease and desist on that as well. Once they made him vs Hogan as the Starrcade 94 main event, there was no way the crowd was going to accept that as your big show of the year main event or him at that level.
No doubt that Beefcake got every job he had due to his connection with Hogan, but for a brief period he was fairly good in the ring. I think 2 years watching Greg Valentine carry their team worked as coming out of that team he was a much improved wrestler than he was prior to that. From 87-90 he was at worst a top five babyface in the company and for a short period probably # 2.
Beefcake was fun for a bit but Hogan doesn't get good wrestlers to carry his bags / do his cooking for him, just ask Brian Knobbs. Despite the injury I don't think we're looking at a case of what could have been, he had as good a run as you can for a guy with his skillset (household name, high billed on the loops for a period). Top 5 face for a spell, sure, but way behind Hogan and Savage. The Ultimate Warrior started to eat his lunch pretty quickly too. There was a point in 1988 where the B-tier house shows were Honky v Brutii for the IC title resulting in no contests and DQs, which just sounds like purgatory.
Even though I liked Brutus at the time, I always felt that someone more prestigious should have gotten the first pinfall win over Mr. Perfect on television (which Brutus did at WM6), but I guess that was the Hogan factor at play again. That was more of a comedy feud (will Brutus be able to cut his hair or not? was the main point of it), and it's never a good sign for a wrestler when Brutus is the better of the two in the ring. Honky Tonk was awful. Going back and watching his matches really rubber stamps how bad he was.
From 85-90 the WWF booked Beefcake the way that accentuated his positives. He was in a team with Valentine where Greg carried their matches. As a face, he was charismatic but very limited in the ring. Maybe at house shows it was different, but he was rarely asked to do more than 8 minutes to expose his weaknesses. He was over, they got him in and out and he'd tease the haircut thing on the heel and was done. He ironically was the babyface version of the Honky Tonk Man. All gimmick and character that got a reaction from the crowd, but keep it quick in the ring. He was very good for what they were asking of him at the time. So yes, he was a hire to appease Hogan but both Beefcake and the WWF for years made the best out of that situation. WCW on the other hand asked him to be a main event singles act upon arrival. WWF's dropping the ball on the Mr. Perfect character and then having Beefcake pin him is an example of them missing the mark. They could have had a Hogan vs Perfect mania main event had they protected Hennig better and not bailed on him being a main eventer so quickly. They should have put him with Heenan right away, but the second they put him with Poffo all they had built suddenly wasn't a main event pairing.
I just started reading/listening to Becky Lynch’s new memoir that came out this week. I’ve had it pre-ordered for several months now. Two chapters in, and she’s a funny storyteller. I’m looking forward to the wrestling part starting. I’d discovered her work as Rebecca Knox in SHiMMER after she’d retired, disappointed we’d never get to see her wrestle again. Then one night I was watching WWE around 2015 or 16, and I almost fell off my chair when I recognized her! I hadn’t been watching the previous few years to know anything about the Four Horsewomen, so her presence was a complete surprise. Love her and always have.
I wonder if Stamford has caused Vice to soften up Dark Side. Of course, they covered Montreal, Moolah, the Plane Ride from Hell, the steroid trial and even I won't say his name; how much more dirt can...wait.
Say what you want about Sid, he never had boring squash matches. A young RVD (Matt Burn) gets put on the stretcher after the match.
Throwing them over the top rope from the floor is pretty impressive - that's a hard move to "work"; it's just pure strength.
There are times that I'm not sure if they ever clued Sid in that is a work. Especially in his squash matches.
Hulk Hogan Reveals His Body Measurements on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show — 1982 | Hulk Hogan Reveals His Body Measurements on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show — 1982 | By SiokokFacebook
“Wrestling’s a funny thing: once you get into it, you can’t shut up about it.“ — Becky Lynch in her memoir
She's not wrong. Pro wrestling at this stage of my life is a lot more fun to talk about than to watch.
Same. It’s probably been a good 10 years or more since I’ve really enjoyed the current product more than an occasional a few minutes here and there – – even though I appreciate it’s actually quite good these days. But I like reading memoirs and watching shoot interviews and checking out clips from the 70s and 80s. Occasionally 90s Japan or various lucha from across the years.
I'm just glad Shoot interviews got better than the horrible RF Video ones from the 90s and early 00s. Complete lack of preparation or understanding of the subject.
@WarEagleRK did Starla get hurt last night for real? That match ended strangely and he was holding his hand
Starks apparently had a stinger, but is ok now. He thought he hurt his neck/shoulder and called an audible on the finish. The ref didn't realize it and they had to do one more move. I think Starks and Bill were supposed to win as they started playing their music at the finish.
I re-watched the segment from last week with Punk, Rollins and McIntyre, and it was glaring how much better Punk and McIntyre were. Rollins cannot compete with either in a war of words. That said, I do think Punk was a bit stunned the few times the Chicago crowd loudly cheered for Rollins and did his chant, but it didn't affect his promo at all. Say what you want about Punk as well, but he can be very funny. When Rollins music hit, Punk's eye roll made me LOL for real. No idea what things are like backstage with them all now, but considering both Rollins and McIntyre seemed to have legit dislike for Punk prior to his return, that whole segement was a good example of how people can work together well even if they all don't like each other that much. It's what grown-ups do.
