WWE Vault Appreciation Thread

[tiger_rick]

I've seen the last two in the red pants as they're on episodes of Superstars that were on YT. Never even heard that there was a "Furface" prior, let alone seen it. Fascinating stuff. Roma turning around for the high five is genius. And people shit on him as a worker!

The only story I've ever heard is that they got cold feet about Beefcake taking bumps and pulled it. 

[BigJag]

The Fur Face run ins all seem to be at the same taping. I guess it was something they tried out for just that show. I remember there being a third outfit. Which had a more substantial mask. 

Edited June 11, 2025 by BigJag

[Merzbow]

41 minutes ago, BigJag said:

The Fur Face run ins all seem to be at the same taping. I guess it was something they tried out for just that show. I remember there being a third outfit. Which had a more substantial mask. 

This one? I think this was when it was renamed to/finally given the name of The Mariner.

[BigJag]

I don't think it was that one. I remember the mask being bulkier. I think he wore a similar mask at WM IX, during a run in on one of the weekly shows.

Edited June 11, 2025 by BigJag

[CTXRussomark]

The absolute state of those costumes.  For a company that was always pretty detailed about that sort of stuff he looks like a bootleg of a bootleg wrestling figure.  

[The Reverend]

1 hour ago, CTXRussomark said:

The absolute state of those costumes.  For a company that was always pretty detailed about that sort of stuff he looks like a bootleg of a bootleg wrestling figure.  

Exactly - it looks like they rifled through the lost property box at the arena, or raided a bin bag outside of a charity shop. 

[Chili]

After watching them all Brutus obviously had that Zodiac gimmick in his head for a while. The arm raised in the air and the weird screaming are things he later incorporated into that and interestingly the tights used for Furface were later dug out when he turned on Hogan and became The Butcher.

[air_raid]

On 6/10/2025 at 4:05 PM, Chili said:

I've always been absolutely fascinated by The Furface/Avenger/Mariner thing that barely made TV. Apparently (@air_raid help me out here and tag in if wrong) the story goes it was going to lead to Earthquake & Bravo or some of Jimmy Hart's lads against Valentine & whatever the fuck Beefcake is doing here for Wrestlemania VII and it would be revealed as Bruti and the Dream Team would get another run. Plans changed as they say, apparently maybe Beefcake wasn't fully ready to wrestle yet and instead they just give Brutus the Barber Shop segment instead. Personally I think Vince liked the idea of how to bring Beefer back, saw that first run with that outfit and said 'absolutely not', the outfit becomes that random collection of stuff, they air run in or two before it's too late to not bother, and just go "fuck it, just pretend it never ever happened".

It's fascinating because absolutely nobody involved seems to remember what this was and nobody has ever in an interview seemingly bothered bringing it up to the man himself.

It was indeed supposed to be the vehicle for a Dream Team reunion, as wretched as that sounds. It’s always been odd to me that between Sid destroying the Barber Shop, they had nothing for Brutus until the MegaManiacs happened. A career on hold for near 3 years.

[mim731]

2 minutes ago, air_raid said:

It’s always been odd to me that between Sid destroying the Barber Shop, they had nothing for Brutus until the MegaManiacs happened. A career on hold for near 3 years.

Wasn't the Sid angle early '92? Then he came back in early '93 on Raw, so only a year on hold. Always assumed he was on the outs in '92 while Hogan was gone. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

Was Beefcake physically ready to return in 91?

As has been said, he didn't return in an active role until 93 and was on the show in a non-physicsl role in 92. Maybe Furface (who I never knew existed) was a test run to see how his face would hold up. It's telling that they didn't think they could bring back Brutus Beefcake, who had been a big star for them, and instead figured they had to hide/protect his face. 

[air_raid]

3 hours ago, mim731 said:

Wasn't the Sid angle early '92? Then he came back in early '93 on Raw, so only a year on hold. Always assumed he was on the outs in '92 while Hogan was gone. 

3 years meaning between his accident and the MegaManiacs.

[mim731]

3 minutes ago, air_raid said:

3 years meaning between his accident and the MegaManiacs.

Ah Ok, sorry I thought you meant between the Sid angle and the return. 

[BigJag]

Matches without commentary are very strange. The commentators always would add context. Hate the dubbed music they've used for Rude. Is that Tornados original music?  It's a shame we didn't see more of these types of pairings at the time.

[Snitsky's back acne]

1 hour ago, BigJag said:

Matches without commentary are very strange. The commentators always would add context. Hate the dubbed music they've used for Rude. Is that Tornados original music?  It's a shame we didn't see more of these types of pairings at the time.

Why do they use the dubbed music? I'm assuming it's a copyright/ownership thing? His WWF theme was boss and they never use it. 

[Chili]

11 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

Why do they use the dubbed music? I'm assuming it's a copyright/ownership thing? His WWF theme was boss and they never use it. 

It's because it sounds much too close to the Stripper and so they don't want to bother with any legal stuff.

And agreed. Rick Rude might have a perfect score for multiple entrance themes.