The Mega-Maniacs

Infobox Wrestling team
article_name=the Mega-Maniacs
type=T

---

caption=
members=Hulk Hogan Brutus Beefcake
heights=Hogan:
height|ft=6|in=7
Beefcake:
height|ft=6|in=3
weights=convert|546|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
debut=1989
disbanded=1996
promotions=WWF WCW|

The Mega-Maniacs was the World Wrestling Federation tag team of Hulk Hogan & Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake that had two distinct runs as a team, one in 1989 and another one in 1993.

History

Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake began their careers more or less at the same time, quickly becoming lifelong friends and would team up from time to time. Their most well known “Pre-WWF” teams were as “Terry & Ed Boulder” and as “Hulk & Dizzy Hogan” [cite web| url = http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/h/hulk-hogan.html | title = Online World of Wrestling: Hulk Hogan | quote = Previous Gimmicks: Terry "The Hulk" Boulder] [cite web| url = http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/brutus-beefcake.html | title = Online World of Wrestling: Brutus Beefcake | quote = Previous Gimmicks: Eddie Boulder (AWA/NWA)
Dizzy Hogan (NWA)] , billed as brothers.

1989

During the summer of 1989, Hulk Hogan came under attack from “The Human Wrecking Machine” Zeus, an actor who had starred as Hulk’s enemy in the WWF financed film "No Holds Barred". Zeus teamed up with “Macho Man” Randy Savage in hopes of destroying Hulk Hogan. Faced with overwhelming odds, Hulk Hogan turned to his best friend Brutus Beefcake to even the odds.

At SummerSlam 1989, Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake teamed up to take on Randy Savage and Zeus in the main event, a clash that saw Hulk Hogan pin Zeus after his trademark Leg drop [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/summer.html#89 | title = WWF SummerSlam Results (1989) | date = August 28 1989 | author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . Hogan and Beefcake would once again team up after being attacked in the locker rooms during the closing moments of the 1989 Survivor Series PPV by Savage & Zeus [cite web| url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/89.htm | title = WWF Show Results 1989 | date = November 23 1989 | quote = Gene Okerlund attempting a locker room interview with WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake in which Sensatinal Sherri distracted them long enough for Randy Savage and Zeus to attack both men;] .

It was decided that the feud had to be settled in a steel cage match, which was featured on a “Mini-PPV” as a double feature with the movie “No Holds Barred”. Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake were successful in the cage, after which Zeus was not seen in the WWF [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/miscppvs1980s.html#nhb | title = WWF Misc PPVs Results (No Holds Barred) | date = December 27 1989 | author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . After the steel cage match, Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake both went back to working singles matches.

1993

In 1990 Brutus Beefcake suffered a devastating face injury during a parasailing accident that forced him to retire from in-ring competitioncite book | author=R.D. Reynolds and Randy Baer | title=Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling | publisher=ECW Press| year=2003 | id=ISBN 1-55022-584-7 ] . After an aborted comeback attempt in late 1991/early 1992, Brutus Beefcake finally felt he was ready to get back inside the squared circle in 1993.

On February 1, 1993 (shown on Television February 15), Brutus Beefcake faced off against “The Million $ Man” Ted DiBiase with his Money Incorporated partner Irwin R. Schyster and manager Jimmy Hart at ringside. IRS would interfere in the match with Money, Inc. double teaming Beefcake, even going so far as to hitting him in his surgically reconstructed face with a metal briefcase. The actions of Money, Inc. were so horrible that life time heel (bad guy) Jimmy Hart took objection to it and tried to protect Beefcake from further harm [cite web| url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/93.htm | title = WWF Show Results 1993 | Date = February 1 | Year = 1993 | quote = Brutus Beefcake defeated WWF Tag Team Champion Ted DiBiase (w/ Jimmy Hart) via disqualification at 4:26 when IRS, who came ringside moments earlier, hit Beefcake in the back with the steel briefcase as he ran the ropes; after the bout, DiBiase held Beefcake for IRS to hit him in the face with the briefcase but Hart repeatedly got in the way before he was eventually shoved out of the ring by IRS, with IRS then hitting Beefcake in the face with the weapon; moments later, Dibiase & IRS were sent backstage while Hart and several referees tended to Beefcake; Beefcake was later taken backstage on a stretcher ] .

At this point in time, Hulk Hogan was not active in the WWF, having gone into semi-retirement a year earlier, but the attack on his life-long friend brought the Hulkster back to the WWF. With newly turned babyface manager Jimmy Hart at their side, Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake joined forces, swore vengeance on Money, Inc. and then officially named themselves “The Mega-Maniacs.”

Due to the attack by Money, Inc, Beefcake took to wearing a red and yellow protective facemask when competing in the ring and Brutus's entire outfit changed to red and yellow as a show of unity with Hulk Hogan [cite web| url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/93.htm | title = WWF Show Results 1993 | date = March 13 1993 | quote = featured an opening pre-taped segment with Hulk Hogan, Brutus Beefcake, wearing a steel face mask, & Jimmy Hart in which they discussed their tag team title match at WrestleMania IX before Hogan hit Beefcake in the face with a briefcase to show how indestructible the mask was] .

Leading up to WrestleMania IX, the Mega-Maniacs took on the Beverly Brothers during house shows [cite web | url = http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/93.htm | title = WWF Ring Results 1993 | date March 8 | Year = 1993] to get ready for their shot at the WWF World Tag-Team titles at WrestleMania. The Mega-Maniacs were not successful in their challenge as they lost to Money, Inc. when Hulk Hogan used Beefcake’s steel face plate on the champions [cite web| url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/mania.html#IX | title = WWF WrestleMania Results (IX) | Date = April 4 | Year = 1993 | author = prowrestlinghistory.com] . Later in the night, Hogan would win the WWF World Title in an impromptu matchcite book | author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will | title=Wrestling Title Histories | publisher=Archeus Communications | year=4th Edition 2006 | id=ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 ] .

The Mega-Maniacs would team up and take on Money, Inc. several times during the months of April and May on the house show circuit with the World Champion not defending his title once. Hogan would lose the title to Yokozuna at June's King of the Ring pay-per-view, and both he and Beefcake would leave the WWF soon after.

WCW

When Hulk Hogan signed with World Championship Wrestling in 1994, Hogan’s friend Brutus Beefcake was not far behind, being known as “Brother Bruti” in WCW. Despite appearing together many times over the years in WCW, they only teamed actively in the ring for a very short while when Brutus Beefcake was known as “The Booty Man” during the early parts of 1996, but they could not use the name “The Mega-Maniacs” due to the WWF owning the copyright.

References