Brutus Beefcake thrice lost what was supposedly a nailed on Intercontinental Title run on WWE pay-per-views, but this first teaser was genuinely supposed to tee up his coronation at SummerSlam later that year.
The Honky Tonk Man was an unexpected revelation as the sh*thouse heel Intercontinental Champion - headlining B-shows with Hulk Hogan in other towns, the Elvis Presley impersonator was loathed by crowds to such an extent that they'd buy tickets just to see him lose. You know, the way wrestling used to work.
WrestleMania IV appeared to be his final destination before yet another disqualification loss afforded him one more escape. Beefcake's time wouldn't ever come, even if keeping the secondary strap on Honky proved inspired all the same.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
