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Although
he has wrestled as Hulk Hogan's
brother, Ed Leslie and Hulk Hogan are not related. Both
men went to the same high school and worked out together,
becoming close friends. Both wrestlers' careers were
intertwined for most of their participation in professional
wrestling.
Ed Leslie got his start in wrestling
as "Ed Boulder", brother of Ted Boulder (aka Hulk Hogan) and
later on Dizzy Hogan (brother of Hulk Hogan). The two wrestled
together in small promotions throughout the south. Hulk Hogan
used his pull to help Leslie get into the World Wrestling
Federation (WWF) in 1984.
Brutus Beefcake debuted in the WWF with a
gimmick that he was a former male stripper. He opened
himself up for bidding to the WWF's heel managers and
eventually began working for "Luscious" Johnny V. At
Wrestlemania I, Beefcake battled David Sammartino to a double
countout after their respective managers got
involved.
Championship gold came Beefcake's way
after he teamed with Greg "The Hammer"
Valentine to form the Dream Team. The Dream Team
captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from the U.S. Express
(Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda)
after sticking a lit cigar in Windham's eye. The
Dream Team defended the titles against the WWF's top teams
including the British Bulldogs. The Bulldogs came close
to winning the bets on several occasions. After an eight
month title reign, the Dream Team fell to the British
Bulldogs, losing the WWF Tag Team Championship at Wrestlemania
II. Beefcake remained with Valentine for the next year
as they fought to win the belts back.
At Wrestlemania III, the Dream Team faced
off against the Rougeau Brothers. Although they won the
match, Valentine was furious with Beefcake for almost costing
them the match when his interference backfired. Beefcake
turned face and helped Roddy Piper in his match against Adrian
Adonis on the same card. After the match, Beefcake
administered a haircut to Adonis (who had lost a hair match
against Piper) and in the process, found a new identity for
himself.
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake began
carrying a set of barber tools with him to ringside.
After defeating his opponents with a sleeperhold, he
administered an unwanted haircut to them. Beefcake also hosted
an interview segment known as "The Barber Shop". One of
the most famous of these segments was when Shawn Michaels
turned on his partner Marty Jannetty and put him through
a plate glass window.
Beefcake battled against his former
teammate Greg Valentine as well as Valentine's new partner
Dino Bravo. He also feuded with "Cowboy" Ron Bass.
After Beefcake delivered a haircut to Bass, Bass retaliated by
bloodying Beefcake's face with spurs on his cowboy
boots.
When Hulk Hogan was challenged by the
monsterous wrestler Zeus and "Macho King"
Randy Savage, Brutus Beefcake rallied to his side.
During a match between Randy Savage and Brutus Beefacake, Zeus
interfered and attacked Beefcake. When Hulk Hogan came out to
make the save, he blasted Zeus with a steel chair twice and
was stunned to see it had no effect. DiBiase seemed to
have found the man to destroy Hogan. At SummerSlam 1989,
Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake took on "The Macho King" Randy
Savage and Zeus. Hogan and Beefcake were outgunned
throughout the match but in the end they prevailed after
interference from Savage's valet Sherri Martel
backfired. The feud ended on December 12, 1989 when
Beefcake and Hulk Hogan defeated Zeus and Savage in a
steel cage match.
Beefcake's career came to a halting crash
after he was involved in a tragic parasailing accident.
Beefcake's face was severely damaged forcing doctors to
surgically reconstruct his face. As a result, Beefcake
was unable to wrestle as his face healed and the future of his
career was in doubt. Amazingly though, Beefcake was able
to return to the ring when he teamed up with Hulk Hogan at
Wrestlemania IX to take on Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R.
Scheister).
When Hulk Hogan left the WWF for World
Championship Wrestling (WCW), Brutus joined him and was at
Hulk's side during his quest for the WCW World Heavyweight
Championship and was known as "Brother Bruti". However
Beefcake had grown tired of being in Hogan's shadow and he
secretly helped Ric "Nature Boy"
Flair by donning a mask and attacking Hogan during his
matches with Flair. After Beefcake was unmasked by
Hogan, he became known as "The Butcher", feuding with Hulk
Hogan and battling him at Starcade. Beefcake wrestled
under various names in WCW. He joined Kevin Sullivan's
Dungeon of Doom as "Zodiac", later turned face and became
known as "The Booty Man".
Ed Leslie next joined the NWO but things
didn't get off to a good start. After "Hollywood" Hogan
won the WCW Championship from the Giant, Beefcake brought a
cake into the ring and congratulated Hogan on his
win. However the NWO was an invitation only group
and Beefcake had made the mistake of inviting himself
in. Hogan and the rest of the NWO gave Beefcake a
beatdown to send the message home. Nearly a year later,
Beefcake was admitted to the NWO as "The Disciple", yet
another identity for Leslie.
The Disciple's days in the NWO were
numbered when the Ultimate Warrior arrived in WCW and
challenged Hogan and the NWO. One of the Warrior's first
moves was to kidnap the Disciple and turn him to his
side. The Disciple became a member of the One Warrior
Nation (OWN) until the Ultimate Warrior left WCW.
Ed Leslie remained in WCW before fading
out of sight. He has appeared on the independent circuit,
even teaming with former partner Greg
Valentine. | 
