| 3 Faces of Fear | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members | Kevin Sullivan The Butcher Avalanche |
| Debut | October, 1994 |
| Disbanded | January, 1995 |
| Promotions | WCW |
The 3 Faces of Fear were a professional wrestling stable existing in World Championship Wrestling from late 1994 to early 1995. Composed of Kevin Sullivan, The Butcher (formerly Brutus Beefcake) and Avalanche (formerly Earthquake), the group fought against Hulk Hogan.
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When Hulk Hogan signed with WCW in June 1994, he soon got a huge fan in Dave Sullivan, something which did not sit well with Dave's kayfabe brother Kevin Sullivan, who quickly developed an intense hatred of Hulk Hogan and everything associated with him. Kevin turned on his brother after a tag-team match and beat him up.[1]
At Clash Of The Champions XXVIII Hulk Hogan was scheduled to defend his newly-won WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair. At the top of the show, Hogan was attacked by a man wearing a black mask, who struck him in the knee with a metal pipe (The angle imitated the very well known assault on Olympic Figure Skater Nancy Kerrigan that had happened about six months earlier.) Taken to the hospital, Hogan returned just in time for the main event but hampered by the injury he lost by count out.[2]
The man under the mask was originally Arn Anderson but he was never supposed to be revealed as the attacker, who was originally supposed to be Curt Hennig.[1]
From August through October 1994 Hulk Hogan tried on several occasions to find out who the mystery assailant was but to no avail. At Halloween Havoc, the mysterious attacker appeared again and was now demasked and revealed as Hulk Hogan's long time friend Brutus Beefcake.
Beefcake, who took on the name of The Butcher, revealed that it was Kevin Sullivan's influence that made him turn on his former friend. Shortly afterward, the Butcher and Sullivan were joined by another former WWF wrestler, the former Earthquake, now renamed Avalanche, and formed the 3 Faces of Fear with the goal of destroying Hulkamania.[1]
On November 16, 1994, the trio lost to Hogan, Dave Sullivan and Sting at Clash Of The Champions XXIX.[3]
In December, the Butcher, backed by Kevin Sullivan, challenged Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Title at Starrcade 1994. Hogan retained the title by pinning the Butcher.[1][4]
After the match, "Macho Man" Randy Savage appeared and initially looking like he had joined the 3 Faces of Fear but then sided with Hogan, setting of a tag team match pitting Hogan and Savage against Sullivan and the Butcher at Clash Of The Champions XXX in January 1995 and resulted in Hogan pinning the Butcher.[5]
This match was the last confrontation between the group and Hogan, as both set off in different directions. Hogan began feuding with Big Van Vader, who had attacked him after the match, while the 3 Faces of Fear disintegrated when Sullivan attacked the Butcher and Avalanche began pursuing a feud with Sting. The name 3 Faces of Fear were quickly phased out.
According to storyline, the Butcher fell into amnesia due to the injuries sustained in the attack. The Butcher became known as The Man with No Name and lost to Kevin Sullivan at Slamboree 1995,[6] after which he disappeared from WCW.[1]
The members of the group eventually reunited later in 1995, when Kevin Sullivan founded the new Dungeon of Doom stable, which among others also included The Shark and The Zodiac, the former Avalanche and Butcher respectively. However, no connection to their former gimmicks or to the former group was made.[1] The stable also included Meng and The Barbarian, who formed a tag team called Faces of Fear.