I want to bring up something that we once reviewed as part of “First Month Fire”. It’s the Brutus Beefcake interview from WWE Monday Night RAW #4—February 1, 1993.
I’ve discussed this interview with my younger brother recently and neither of us was particularly nice about it. As a matter of fact, we were laughing more out of the crowd’s reactions towards the interview.
A Bit of Background on Beefcake’s Return
For some brief background, Brutus Beefcake was out of wrestling for over two-and-half years after a parasailing accident that just shattered his facial skeleton. His jaw and nasal cavity were busted and he was unable to breathe on his own.
As a result, his face had to be reconstructed and he was out of wrestling since July 1990. With Monday Night RAW just kicking off the month earlier, Beefcake returned to action-ready and raring to go.
However, this was a different WWE that he’d taken time away from and the company had a new generation of talent on the rise. Beefcake was a known superstar of a time that fans had grown tired of already.
None of that matters as this was a returning wrestler who had put in years entertaining fans of WWE regardless of the era. Mind you, WWE hadn’t done the best job at reminding fans that he would return or working towards recovery.
That Brutus Beefcake Interview
The fans in attendance weren’t booing but they were quiet when during the depressing stuff and just pretty apathetic towards him talking about returning.
Discussing a divorce, being on the sidelines, and the death of both parents—as much as a downer for the crowd as it was—had been harder for Beefcake to go through…in a two-year period.
With that said, from a viewer point of view: this went on longer than it should’ve and it went from “Damn, that sucks. Sorry for your loss” to “Where are you going with this” to “Alright, bruh…enough of this, damn.”
This interview was around eight minutes but had the pace of the opening 15-to-20-minute promos RAW would become known for during the Attitude Era and beyond. You weren’t watching it; you were sitting through it.
Think of a teacher in school listening to a student give their poorly constructed report. They’re paid to give kids assignments for them to work on, then they have to sit through them reading it, and grade it.
However, teachers don’t typically grade on execution unless it’s a public speaking class or something. As it was part of the show I was reviewing, I included it in the grade.
I wouldn’t say it was one of the most uncomfortable promos to watch because of what Brother Bruti was talking about, it’s just that as a long-time fan you know what kinds of interviews get you interested.
Watching this one was uncomfortable because you knew it should’ve ended sooner and it was flailing in the wind. I mean, they didn’t pay their tickets to get bummed the f*** out then get some mid matches and squashes.
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