"The Disciple"
Real Name: Ed Leslie
Aliases: Brutus Beefcake, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Brudi, The Brother,
The Butcher, The Man With No Name, The Zodiac, The Booty Man
Finisher: The Sleeper (formerly), The Chartbuster (Stunner)
The man now known as the Disciple, Ed Leslie, has endured
a long and hard wrestling career spanning the course of 2 decades, yet
is still trying to gain respect in the business he loves so much...it is
well known that Leslie has had many gimmicks throughout his career, but
wrestling fans know him best as Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, the lovable
hero who strutted his way through the World Wrestling Federation in the
eighties...Beefcake was famous for cutting off the hair of his opponents
after he defeated them using his signature hold, the Sleeper...prior to
his "Barber" gimmick, Beefcake wrestled as a heel and enjoyed the only
major title reign of his career as co-holder of the WWF Tag Team Championship
with Greg Valentine...as the WWF became wildly popular in the mid-eighties,
Brutus The Barber Beefcake was one of the most beloved heroes of the WWF,
and was on the verge of superstardom when tragedy struck and changed his
life and career forever...Beefcake was nearly killed in a freak parasailing
accident in 1988, only days before he was scheduled to face Mr. Perfect
for the Intercontinental title at Summerslam...according to reports, a
passing parasailor’s knee smashed Beefcake in the face as he stood on a
dock, destroying every bone in his face and requiring over 100 steel plates
and screws to be inserted to restore his facial structure...doctors said
he could never take a hard blow to the face again or risk serious injury
or death, and they told him his wrestling career was over, though they’d
managed to restore his appearance almost exactly as it was before...though
he would never be the same again, Beefcake couldn’t stay away from professional
wrestling...returned to the WWF two years later as an "unknown" masked
man who attacked several wrestlers during their matches...this angle was
scrapped however, though Beefcake didn’t stay away for very long...returned
once again as Brutus the Barber Beefcake and announced he would wrestle
with a special mask...upon Beefcake’s return on Monday Night Raw, he was
attacked by Money, Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Shyster, now known as
Michael Wallstreet) when I.R.S. removed Beefcake’s mask and hit him with
a metal briefcase...this prompted Beefcake’s best friend Hulk Hogan, who
said he’d watched the broadcast, to make an appearance the following week
and announce he was coming out of retirement, challenging Money Inc. to
a match with Beefcake and himself at Wrestlemania VIII...Beefcake and Hogan
emerged victorious, but it marked Beefcake’s last match in the WWF...after
a hiatus, Beefcake returned to host an interview segment called "The Barber
Shop,"his most famous interview being with the Rockers (Shawn Michaels
and Marty Janetty), when Michaels turned on Janetty and threw him through
a plate glass window...after Hogan left the WWF for the final time following
the 1993 King of the Ring and signed with World Championship Wrestling,
Beefcake and manager Jimmy Hart followed but Beefcake’s famous name and
gimmick didn’t, since they were trademarks of the WWF...strangely, WCW
announcers rarely even acknowledged Leslie when he appeared with Hogan,
though Hogan would refer to him as "Brother Brudi" or the "Brother"...however,
as Leslie struggled to once again gain attention in pro wrestling, he turned
on his best friend of so many years...Hogan began being attacked by a mystery
masked wrestler, and after Hogan beat Ric Flair in a retirement match,
the masked man was revealed to be Leslie...shockingly, Ed Leslie had turned
on his best friend and began calling himself "The Butcher," since he had
butchered his friendship with Hogan...the two had a short and badly played
out feud, which ended with Hogan defeating his former friend...the Butcher
joined the Three Faces of Fear with Avalanche (John Tenta) and Kevin Sullivan,
but the three accomplished little...thus, Ed Leslie once again disappeared
from wrestling, only to return with yet another gimmick...this time he
was the "Zodiac," managed by his former stablemate Sullivan in the Dungeon
of Doom...unfortunately, the character of the Zodiac was yet another badly
conceived gimmick and it failed miserably...after yet another hiatus, Beefcake
returned once again as "the ultimate surprise" of Hulk Hogan in his war
against the Dungeon of Doom...on Monday Nitro in 1996, Ed Leslie returned
once against as the "Booty Man", in a gimmick which was supposed to be
a mixture between Brutus Beefcake and the Ultimate Warrior...it is a strange
but somewhat humerous fact that the Booty Man had one of the worst finishers
ever, a simple kneelift...for a brief time the Booty Man was managed by
Kimberly Page, who was called at the time "The Booty Babe"...actually Leslie
could have possibly succeeded with the Booty Man gimmick if not for the
name itself, for many wrestlers and fans alike hated the name and couldn’t
take Leslie seriously for using it...the last time the Booty Man was seen
in WCW was at WCW Hog Wild ‘96, when Leslie’s old friend "Hollywood" Hulk
Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight title from the Giant...after Hogan’s
victory, the Booty Man wore an NWO t-shirt and brought a cake to ringside
as a gift to Hogan...Hogan appeared to accept, but then stated he didn’t
"mix business with pleasure...and this is business"...Hogan, Scott Hall
and Kevin Nash then attacked Leslie, tore off his nWo shirt and left him
laying in the ring...some time later however, Leslie again appeared on
WCW TV, appearing as a humilated, desperate and beaten man, talking about
his career and uncertain future in several taped interview segments on
WCW Saturday Night...some time later, Leslie was seen talking to the Nasty
Boys outside of an arena on WCW Monday Nitro, though the subject of the
discussion was never discovered (the Nasty Boys had suffered a similar
beating after trying to join the NWO unsuccessfully)...this would be Leslie’s
last appearance on WCW TV for over a year, bringing us to the present time...recently
Leslie has adapted yet another gimmick as the Disciple and has finally
managed to join the New World Order...resurfaced on the 2/23/98 edition
of Nitro in the corner of the NWO as they attacked Sting...as the Disciple,
Leslie is rumored to be the new "lackey" of the New World Order and will
possibly replace Vincent in this role...it is expected that the Disciple
will remain by the side of his old friend Hogan as he continues his struggle
for respect...thankfully, in the NWO he just might find it.
Back To Raven's Page