During a recent interview with Interactive Wrestling Radio, Brutus The Barber Beefcake (Ed Leslie) discussed the possibility of a WWE Hall of Fame induction, younger talent and more. Here are some highlights:
Leslie on the popularity of wrestling going down: “We kept it simple – Good guy versus bad guy. Not 5,000 side stories and variables. It gets lost in translation. That was the beauty of our era… We kept it simple. We made it believable. We worked our butts off out there night after night….. The amount of professionalism our business demanded!”
Leslie on how he’s confident for a WWE Hall of Fame nomination: “I’m confident it will happen. I am in various Hall of Fames around the world. It is always nice to be appreciated for my accomplishments. As for the WWE Hall of Fame? I’m confident it will happen… In fact, sooner rather than later. I don’t want to give anything away but I think there are some things in the works.”
On nostalgia of wrestling from the 80s and 90s: “That was the hay-day of our business. There were so many electrifying guys… The personalities, the stories that were going on. People just fell in love with wrestling. It was a great time! Even Hollywood jumped on board. They wouldn’t have anything to do with us in the 60’s and 70’s! It is a great honor to have been part of that. I’m happy to be alive still because a lot of my compadres aren’t. It saddens me horribly to think of all the friends who should be sitting here now. But, I’m happy to be part of it!”
On mentoring younger talent at indie events: “My mentors were Baron Von Raschke, Verne Gagne, Bobby Duncum, Mr. Wrestling II, Ivan Koloff, Bobo Brazil… Old time. Guys from the 60’s and 70’s and it made a big difference in my life. It helps for some of these younger guys, up and coming guys, to be able to rub elbows with us… Especially us because we were the privileged few who did it like it has never been done before and never will be done again. ”
Leslie on Hulk Hogan overcoming his bad press from his racial rant: “Absolutely! I don’t know about unscathed but Hulk is a survivor. He is an innovator! He is the leader of the pack! He was miles… Let’s just f***ing tell the truth, he was light-years ahead of people! He took Vince McMahon’s company from below the ground floor at the Lincoln Hotel in Boston where they were all having dinner to Olar, the planet from the Avengers movie. They say one good deed can’t off-set one bad deed. But, one million? A zillion good deeds? He’s a guy I’ve known all my life. Everybody makes mistakes. The Lord says forgive and forget. Turn the other cheek. Move on! Forgiveness! To forgive is divine. People need to understand he’s not perfect. He’s had tough times in his lifetime… He’s human too. Everyone thought he was super-human. Well, Hulk Hogan was human for a minute and did some stupid stuff… Nothing we all haven’t done. If you haven’t done anything wrong, here’s a stone. I don’t know who else is going to have a stone!”
