World Wrestling Federation
Leslie entered the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as a
heel under the
ring name Brutus Beefcake in late
1984 with manager
"Luscious" Johnny Valiant. As a singles competitor, he would feud with
David Sammartino and
Hulk Hogan, who sought revenge on Beefcake after he and Valiant injured Hogan's protege
Hillbilly Jim.
Later in
1985, he teamed with
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and won the
Tag Team Championship from
The US Express and became known as "The Dream Team". They held the titles for eight months, losing to the
British Bulldogs at
WrestleMania 2.
The team would break up at
WrestleMania III. Despite a win over the
Rougeau Brothers at the Pay Per View, the team had a falling-out when Beefcake was left in the ring while Valentine and Valiant left with
Dino Bravo. This provided the impetus for Beefcake -- along with having had his hair cut by
Adrian Adonis in a six-man match shortly before WrestleMania -- to turn
face. Later that night, he acquired the
nickname "The Barber" after
Rowdy Roddy Piper's match against Adonis. Adonis lost the match, and it was stipulated he would have to
have his head shaved. Beefcake entered the ring and began to clip away at Adonis' blonde locks.
Thereafter, following a trend started by
World Class wrestlers
Chris Adams and
Gino Hernandez, Beefcake started bringing garden shears with him to the ring (with the handles taped to resemble barber poles). He would cut off the hair of his opponents (after knocking them out with a
sleeper hold) using scissors or an electric razor. He would follow a successful sleeper hold with a strut around the ring, "snipping" his fingers like a scissors to indicate what was about to happen, referring to his actions as "strutting and cutting". He would then proceed to throw handfuls of hair into the air to the delight of the crowd.
As a face, he would feud with his former partner Greg Valentine, his former manager Johnny Valiant (who by the end of their feud was completely bald thanks to Beefcake),
The Honky Tonk Man, Ron Bass, Randy Savage (it was Beefcake who coined the nickname "Scary Sherri" for Savage's then manager
Sensational Sherri), and
Mr. Perfect.
At
WrestleMania VI, Beefcake was the first person to pin
Mr. Perfect, thus ending Perfect's lengthy undefeated streak.
In
1990, a near-fatal
parasailing accident put him out of action. He was helping his parasailer friend prepare for takeoff when the driver of the boat mistakenly took a cue to take off, sending the would-be-parasailer's knees directly into Leslie's face. His face had to be surgically repaired with metal plates and screws, putting his WWF career on hiatus for nearly two years. It also gave him an infamous nickname among some fans in later years:
The Man With No Face. He began making appearances again in late
1991/early 1992 in his interview segment called "The Barber Shop." To facilitate his return to wrestling, he was put in a mask and randomly attacked heels by running in on their matches. He would hit the heel a few times, headbutt him, and escape. He never wrestled a match in this persona and was never given a name. It is often said that the persona would have been called "The Mariner"; it is affectionately called the "Run-In Man" by fans.
His injury was used in angle in early
1993, when Leslie's comeback match ended in him being attacked by
Money Inc., who (kayfabe) tried to reaggravate his facial injuries. This resulted in manager
Jimmy Hart turning face and Hulk Hogan returning to the WWF, forming a
tag team with Leslie (a real-life good friend).
The Mega-Maniacs, as they were called, squared off against Money Inc. at
WrestleMania IX with Leslie wearing a special protective face mask, supposedly constructed by
NASA. Hogan and Leslie got their revenge but lost via disqualification. Shortly afterwards he dropped out of the picture in the WWF, resurfacing a year later alongside Hogan in
World Championship Wrestling.
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