#2 Brutus Beefcake attacked by Money Inc. on Raw
For those who look back at the early 90s era of WWF, one of the criticisms they have is that the action isn’t controversial enough. WWF from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s was mainly about lighthearted family entertainment. The beer drinking, monster truck driving Superstars of the Attitude Era were just not what Vince McMahon wanted for his main event scene at the time. However, there were still some segments back in 1993 which were difficult to watch.
In an early attempt to relate the onscreen action to real life events, Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake made his return to the WWF after a period of absence. Brutus had suffered serious real life injuries from a parasailing accident in 1990, which required him to have facial reconstructive surgery. While being interviewed in the ring by Vince McMahon on one of the very first episodes of Monday Night Raw, Beefcake was interrupted by Money Inc, a fantastic tag-team consisting of The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, and IRS.
In a shocking turn of events, Beefcake was manhandled by DiBiase, while IRS slammed his metal briefcase directly into the Barber’s face. After what was an emotionally charged and graphically detailed interview by Beefcake, this segment really did carry an impactful punch. One can only imagine how it must have come across to a live audience who were not used to seeing such callous, spiteful action by their WWF Superstars, whether they were heels or not.
The storyline would eventually lead to the return of Hulk Hogan, the onscreen best friend of Brutus Beefcake. A tag-team match was then announced for Wrestlemania 9 between Money Inc and the newly formed team of Hogan and Brutus, who called themselves the ‘Mega-Maniacs’. This angle also saw Jimmy Hart turn babyface for the very first time, teaming up with Hogan after years of attempting to wrestle the WWF Championship away from him with the help of his heel faction.
The resulting Wrestlemania match might not have been anything special, but this segment will no doubt live on in people’s memories, especially if they were around to see it live.
