Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake is headed to the hall.
WWE (via Sports Illustrated) announced that Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake will be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2019. Twitter user @WrestleVotes first reported Beefcake's name as going into the WWE Hall of Fame on Mar. 2.
?This is the culmination of a lifetime?s worth of work,? Beefcake told SI. ?I?m grateful to the WWE, and I cannot wait for the tremendous honor. I always thought I?d be a baseball player. I used to watch wrestling at the armory in Tampa as a kid, and I always enjoyed it, but never in my wildest imagination did I think I could do it. As a kid, I idolized Pete Rose and Mickey Mantle, and I actually played ball with Wade Boggs. Now we?re all Hall of Famers.?
Beefcake is a former WWF World Tag Team Champion alongside Greg Valentine. He is best known for being one of Hulk Hogan's top running buddies and his cornucopia of gimmicks throughout his career. Hogan and Beefcake teamed as The Mega Maniacs at WrestleMania, losing to Money Inc. by DQ.
During his time in wrestling, Beefcake also wrestled under the names Booty Man, Brother Bruti, Man With No Name, The Disciple, Zodiac, and many more. He hosted a talk show titled "The Barber Shop," which is famous for being the set where Shawn Michaels turned on Marty Jannetty.
Beefcake first arrived in WWE in late 1984. He was a Superstar who was just as concerned with his looks as he was picking up wins in the ring. Vanity aside, Beefcake was no slouch as a competitor, racking up victories and even appearing in the very first WrestleMania. He found his first major success as a tag team wrestler. He and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Greg ?The Hammer? Valentine, known as The Dream Team, dethroned The British Bulldogs in August 1985 to capture the World Tag Team Titles.
At WrestleMania III in 1987, however, The Dream Team split up, with Valentine and manager Johnny Valiant ditching Beefcake. Just a few minutes later, Brutus re-emerged to help ?Rowdy? Roddy Piper even the odds in a Hair vs. Hair Match against Adrian Adonis, who had ?The Mouth of The South? Jimmy Hart in his corner. After Piper claimed victory, it was Beefcake who ended up shearing Adonis? platinum locks off. It was a moment that changed Beefcake?s career forever.
After a little training in the fine art of cutting hair, he rechristened himself Brutus ?The Barber? Beefcake. With a wild-eyed glare and a massive pair of hedge clippers in hand, ?The Barber? became an immediate fan favorite with the WWE Universe, as well as a feared opponent in the ring. Both were due in part to his trademark Sleeper Hold and for what happened after he put his opponents to sleep.
Leaving his hedge clippers aside in favor of more traditional haircutting tools, Beefcake showed off his unique barbering skills, giving his rivals a haircut that would leave them regretting ever stepping into the ring with ?The Barber.?
Beefcake was also a trusted friend of the legendary Hulk Hogan. ?The Barber? always had The Hulkster?s back, even if it meant staring down monstrous foes like Zeus. On his own, Beefcake was always a top contender to the Intercontinental Championship, whether it was held by fellow 2019 Hall of Fame Inductee The Honky Tonk Man or Mr. Perfect. In fact, it was Beefcake who handed Mr. Perfect his first-ever loss in WWE at WrestleMania VI.
A parasailing accident in 1990 nearly took Beefcake?s life, and seemingly cut his in-ring career short, just as he was hitting his stride in WWE. Reconstructive surgery with titanium plates, screws and steel wire put his face back together, and allowed him to make a miraculous comeback in 1991. Upon his return, Beefcake opened his ?Barber Shop,? his own interview segment where he grilled the biggest Superstars of the era, and gave the more daring ones a trim. Still, Beefcake yearned to get back in the ring and compete.
Against all odds, he did just that in early 1993. Though his reconstructed face made him a target of nefarious Superstars like The Million Dollar Man & IRS, ?The Barber? had a protective mask and backup in the form of Hogan. Joining forces as The Mega Maniacs, ?The Barber? & The Hulkster defeated Money Inc. at WrestleMania IX.
While Beefcake eventually left WWE to head to WCW, he has remained one of the most enduring characters in WWE history and an all-time fan favorite of the WWE Universe. That?s why there?s no better honor for him then induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
As previously reported, WWE is bringing Hogan in for WrestleMania weekend. It's rumored that Hogan will be the one inducting Beefcake into the Hall of Fame, though that has not been confirmed.
'The Barber' will join D-Generation X, The Hart Foundation, Honky Tonk Man, Harlem Heat, and Torrie Wilson as the other members of the 2019 Hall of Fame class.
This year's WWE Hall of Fame is scheduled for Apr. 6.