Brutus Beefcake has discussed his issues in working with The Ultimate Warrior during Warrior’s first run in the World Wrestling Federation when he was Intercontinental Champion.
Warrior has been in the headlines in recent weeks with two documentary series in Dark Side Of The Ring and A&E Biography dedicating episodes to him. Warrior was loved by fans in the late 80s when his bright facepaint and manic personality suited the over-the-top nature of wrestling characters of the time. For many colleagues, however, Ultimate Warrior was anything but loved.
Speaking to Nick Hausman of Wrestling Inc. Daily, one of the co-workers, Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake talked openly about his issues with Warrior. Beefcake was sour on Warrior after a planned run for ‘The Barber’ as Intercontinental Champion went south.
Beefcake explained:
“Warrior made a big mess of things there, threw a tantrum. I don’t know what happened. The plan was I was getting the belt, period. Then Warrior went ‘blah blah blah’ so they had it changed at the pay-per-view, and then I did the thing with Ron Bass and tried to salvage it. It wasn’t good for me, and Honky was really upset because promises were made.”
At Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 1988, Beefcake lived up to his nickname as he defeated ‘Outlaw’ Ron Bass in a hair vs. hair match. On the same night, Ultimate Warrior retained his Intercontinental Title against Honky-Tonk Man. Warrior had won the title from Honky-Tonk Man in 30 seconds earlier that year at SummerSlam.
Brutus Beefcake continued:
“When I was going to beat Honky, Honky and I were going to wrestle all around in main events trying to get the belt back for six months. You’re talking about a lot of money. He dropped the belt to Warrior, then that was it. He didn’t wrestle Warrior again. (Editor’s note: Warrior did wrestle Honky Tonk Man for months after winning the title) That took a lot of money out of his pocket, and he was not happy. I wasn’t happy. It is what it is. Sometimes you just make the best of it. You put your head down, you keep on pushing and keep on walking into the wind.”
“I didn’t have to wrestle him, thank God. We were partners at Survivor Series in ’88. He wasn’t a very good wrestler, per se. I mean, he had his character, and he did his thing and people liked it, muscley guy, well-built guy, worked out like crazy. I was just happy I didn’t have to wrestle him.”
Dark Side Of The Ring’s episode on The Ultimate Warrior garnered headlines after Warrior’s widow, Dana Warrior, labeled the documentary ‘smut and filth.’