This week on Dark Side of the Ring we are focusing on Brutus Beefcake’s career. The interesting thing about this subject is that I have worked with Beefcake on the convention scene! Now I was a little surprised that they were doing an episode on him because he doesn’t have a dark side compared to many of the other episodes we have seen, but I am sure my mind will change while watching this episode.
While transitioning from the regular WWF to the rock and wrestling connection Brutus Beefcake was born. They told how Missy Leslie snuck backstage at a show in Boston to scream at Beefcake that she loved him. They reconnected while Leslie was on a dating app telling the story and someone put them in contact. They slept together shortly after and Beefcake said they were just friends which then turned into a marriage. Friendship also helped Beefcake in another way when his childhood friend became “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan as he began to help Beefcake in the business.
Hogan called Beefcake and asked if he wanted to become a wrestler and they both worked out together and then ended up training him. He then asked him to become his tag team partner as they were able to break into the business together. Since they looked so alike they called each other brothers and they called their team “The Boulder Brothers.” As Hogan was becoming a bigger name and jumped to WWF he brought Beefcake along with him. Linda McMahon and Hogan came up with the Beefcake gimmick and name, and shortly after that, he debuted in Madison Square Garden.
They paired him with Greg Valentine who was able to train him more and show him the ins and outs of being in WWF. After the “Dream Team” had success for over three years, they split the pair up and handed him a pair of scissors “The Barber” gimmick was born. Beefcake was not happy about this as he tore the locker room apart and threatened to quit. Hogan calmed him down and said if you put his opponents in the sleeper and cut their hair it might work and that is exactly what it did. Beefcake was supposed to get to Summerslam in 1990 before a tragic accident with many people wondering if he was going to live or die.
At the beginning of July Beefcake had one day off so he went to a party with his friends. One of his friends had a boat where he would take people parasailing on. There were a ton of people who had gone parasailing throughout the day and they almost got hurt and that is where Brain Blair came in. He and another friend had wanted to go parasailing as well, but after everyone had tried saying no he would not resist. Since this was late at night there was no wind to get the parachute up, so Beefcake stood in the water as he was helping everyone set up for parasailing. As the boat started going the parachute was not getting high enough to get into the air. As Beefcake was standing there he unfortunately had the other friend knee him in the face as a complete accident.
Beekcake had fallen into the water and his lower jaw was above his upper jaw. Blair had the important job of keeping Beefcake awake and making sure he did not pass out. Once he got to the hospital his blood pressure dropped and the nurses were screaming code blue. After a 16-hour surgery, the doctors had to reconstruct his whole face as they had to put plates of titanium to stabilize his skull. They put him in an induced coma for three days to make sure that he was able to live.
The doctors have suggested that someone familiar is by Beefcake’s side when he wakes up from the coma so he does not panic. Leslie suggests the one name that Beefcake knows best, Hogan. He had left his pregnant wife in California to make sure he would be by his side when he woke up. Hogan assured Beefcake that he was going to live, but when they walked down the hallway his eyeball popped out of his socket. The recovery was brutal as he was not able to see for some time and he was not able to eat solid food only liquid.
When Sherri Martel went to go visit Beefcake she freaked out scaring him and the doctors had to carry her away. Although the doctors did not clear him to wrestle he was able to go to the gym and work out with Hogan. Due to the costly medical bills Beefcake had, Hogan ensured that he would never go broke as he was in movies and always helping Hogan out. Beefcake was begging to get back in wrestling so the Barber Shop was born which was a talk show that he would host until Sid destroyed it before Wrestlemania Eight. Due to this Beefcake was taken off the road and his friend had also taken a hiatus due to the steroids trial, but at Wrestlemania Nine Beefcake returned to the ring teaming with Hogan. Once Hogan jumped to WCW he made sure that Beefcake was along for the ride.
Since WWF owned the Beefcake name, he cycled through a different number of gimmicks in WCW. He was in WCW more for the party lifestyle than being a part of the WCW roster. Eric Bischoff did not want to repackage him anymore, Beefcake put in the work as he grew out his hair and got more muscular. Beefcake had his money stolen which led him to sell his home and move to Boston and became a toll collector for 12 years to provide for his daughter.
Beefcake tells a story where he had BC Powder that he would take to stop his headaches and one day it fell out of his pocket. When the cleaning lady came in the powder exploded everywhere and they had to close the Amtracks. Some people within the episode claimed that instead of BC Powder, it was cocaine instead, but Beefcake swears it was BC Powder. By losing his job Beefcake took a look at his life and he wanted a change. Leslie gave him a place to live when he did not have one and helped him through his addiction when no one else would.
In 2008 while at an event Hogan met Leslie for the first time and he sang her praises and said how happy he was that Beefcake found someone to spend the rest of his life with. The next day he acted very cold and rude to her. Hogan had said the reason why he and Beefcake had the falling out was because of Leslie and him not liking her. Some said that Beefcake would try to take advantage of Hogan and that is why they lost contact because he was too much. All these years later the two still do not talk to each other.
The episode ends with scenes from a convention and his interaction with fans. All of the guests throughout the episode praised Beefcake saying how hard of a worker he is and how successful he was. They also showed that Hogan came through for his friend one more time by inducting him into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019, which was the last time they saw each other. Beefcake said in the snap of a finger the two could become friends again if they talked things out.
Overall: I did not think this episode deserved to be Dark Side, because it was not that depressing compared to the other episodes. I feel as if this story would have been better on the A&E Docuseries that WWE does than DSOTR. If you did not know anything about Beefcake’s career then this is the episode for you.
