Brutus Beefcake [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
The Honky Tonk Man has convinced me to think a little differently about Brutus Beefcake. The man who's often dismissed because of his limitations in the ring and lifelong friendship with Hulk Hogan is no different than a number of other pro-wrestling personalities. No one craps on Arn Anderson as being Ric Flair's "Beefcake" (as HTM put it) because he was a great worker, but the idea is the same. This shoot interview made it quite apparent that although Ed Leslie got his biggest breaks due to his friendship with Hulk Hogan, he worked hard himself for many years on the territories often without Hogan around or with Hogan being a midcarder as well. He was not particularly negative about people and had some unique perspectives to share. I would have liked to here him talk more about Hogan, but in trying to avoid the stigma of being Hogan's lackey, he seems to only say just enough. Many of his thoughts on the success of the WWF, the changes within the business and the declining WCW (which he accurately predicted would be dead in 2 years time) are astonishing for someone who is derided as a hanger-on with no real talent. I really enjoyed this.

The Bad
When you are the best friend of one of pro-wrestling's biggest stars and that person is not a major focal point of the interview, something is wrong. Yes, Brutus Beefcake was his own man. Yes, Brutus Beefcake had a career worth detailing. Yes, Hulk Hogan has done interviews, autobiographies and the like over the years. However, Brutus Beefcake has this first-hand perspective that is totally different than many other people. Hogan is one of the most notorious fabricators when talking about himself, so we need people who were with him to share the true details. Brutus does not do that. He gives a few things, but he does not really give that perspective that I hoped he might. Regardless, I nominate Brutus Beefcake for a Timeline of the WWF by Kayfabe Commentaries, perhaps 1988 or 1989?

The Rating: ***3/4

David Schultz [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
The shoot interviews that tend to pique my interest are those with very honest and out-spoken or those with people who I've never heard in a non-kayfabe setting. With David Schultz you know you're getting all that. Based on his reputation and even his Dr. D character, Schultz seems like he'd have to necessarily be highly enjoyable even if he's a fraction that personality he portrayed. Although he is more low-key and does not smack Feinstein around (or even berate him!), Schultz is not afraid to speak his mind at all. Without seemingly overly bitter, Schultz explains his distain for liars, wimps and `rasslers who can't work. He is really positive about many people in the business, especially if they can work. Even someone like Jerry Lawler, who is not a fighter, he can respect them as master of psychology. An unexpected highlight of this was the part about being a bountyhunter, which brought him more fame and success than pro-wrestling. I expected this to be really good and it pretty much delivered.

The Bad
I honestly expected David Schultz to be very bitter toward pro-wrestling and specifically Vince McMahon and the WWF. While he was not really negative toward the business, he was very negative toward the WWF/WWE and especially Vince McMahon who he feels lied to him. Most of this revolves around the John Stossell incident where Schultz slapped the 20/20 reporter around as part of an expose on pro-wrestling. Although he proclaims Vince put him up to it, he was fired soon after (although that could have just as well stemmed from an altercation with Mr. T) and has been kind of written out of WWF history. He tries to explain his legacy there - getting Hulk Hogan over as a white-hot babyface coming off their violent feud in the AWA, getting his manager Roddy Piper over and defending the business by smacking around Stossell for Vince. There is validity to all of that, but his brief run, lack of big main events and departure before the big pay-per-views have made it difficult to really substantiate his role. Obviously David Schultz is highly opinionated and some of his opinions you'd disagree with, some of his views on race you'd disagree with and some of the political views he shares towards the end you might disagree with. I try not to hold it against people in these shoot interviews, but there is certainly a couple parts that made me cringe.

The Rating: ****1/4