On Saturday afternoon, WrestleVotes – the Twitter account that broke the news of Honky Tonk Man‘s 2019 Hall of Fame induction prior to its announcement – revealed two more names allegedly going in this year alongside D-Generation X and the Honky Tonk Man. One being 1980s star Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and the other being one of the most popular women of the early 2000s WWE and late WCW, Torrie Wilson.
Exclusive: HOF news….
Torrie Wilson & Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake will be inducted as part of the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame class.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) March 2, 2019
Brutus Beefcake
Brutus Beefcake was a journeyman in the NWA in the late 1970s and early 1980s, until he joined the WWF in 1984 as the repackaged arrogant stud known as Brutus Beefcake. Initially a singles competitor, he was taken under the wing of “Luscious” Johnny Valiant and had feuds with Junkyard Dog and WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan, before he was paired with another Valiant client, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, in The Dream Team in the spring of 1985. That summer, they defeated the US Express (Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda) for the WWF World Tag Team titles, holding them for 226 days, before losing them to the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid) at WrestleMania II in 1986.
In 1987, he would turn face, cutting the hair of Adrian Adonis at WrestleMania III when Roddy Piper defeated “The Adorable One” in a hair match. Prior to the haircut, Beefcake had been kicked out of the Dream Team following their victory over the Rougeaus on the same card, with Dino Bravo replacing Beefcake in the team. As “The Barber”, Beefcake became one of the WWF’s most popular mid-card stars and a perennial contender for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. But in 1990, a tragic boating accident killed his momentum, and the accident left him away from wrestling for several years. He was used sporadically after that, and by 1993, he had left the company. He would head to WCW after that, but never quite found the same success as he did in the WWF, being repackaged on a near-annual basis, before ending his career in the late 1990s as The Disciple in the nWo.
Torrie Wilson
A former fitness model, Torrie Wilson made her pro wrestling debut in WCW in 1999, working primarily as a valet for David Flair. She was released by WCW a year later in 2000, but when WWE purchased WCW in 2001, they hired Torrie Wilson to be a part of the WCW Invasion angle and began to train Torrie to work as a wrestler as well as a valet. She initially worked women’s tag team matches, partnering with fellow former WCW alumni Stacey Keibler, before turning on the WCW Alliance by siding with then-WWF soldier Tajiri. Torrie Wilson would remain with the WWE for six years, leaving the business and retiring in 2007. While she wasn’t a particularly successful wrestler, she was undoubtedly one of the most popular mainstream women on the WWE roster in the 2000s, appearing in such magazines as Playboy, FHM, and others. She made two returns to the company last year, first as an entrant in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble, and then as part of the Battle Royal at WWE Evolution last fall. While many may lament her lack of impact in the history of wrestling, during the early 2000s, she was one of the most recognizable women on the planet thanks to the WWE and increasingly popular internet. It was also her blueprint of being a former fitness model that lead to the WWE hiring other fitness models after her, like Trish Stratus and Victoria in 2000.
With other names reported to be inducted this year, it will be interesting to see who else actually makes the final announcements. The WWE traditionally inducts six inductees each year, with two already taken in DX and Honky Tonk Man. If these two are accurate, alongside other names like Hart Foundation and either Tazz or Bam Bigelow, then we could have a strong look at the final class of 2019. Keep in mind, Bam Bam Bigelow was seemingly a lock for last year’s class right down to the final announcement, and his never materialized, so take each report with a grain of salt until WWE makes their official announcements.
