Killer Bees (professional wrestling)
Killer Bees | |
---|---|
Tag team | |
Members | Jim Brunzell B. Brian Blair |
Billed heights | Brunzell: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Blair: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Combined billed weight | 465 lb (211 kg)[1] |
Debut | 1985[1] |
Disbanded | 1994 |
Years active | 1985–1994 |
The Killer Bees were a tag team composed of "Jumpin" Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair in the World Wrestling Federation from 1985 to 1988 and later on the independent circuit. The team name is a play on the name of the Miami Dolphins' defensive unit known as the "Killer Bs", which was dominant and popular in the NFL at that time, as both team members' last name started with a "B", as did the last names of several Dolphin players.
Before the Bees
Jim Brunzell made his debut in 1972, achieving most of his fame along with Greg Gagne as “the High Flyers" in the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association, where the two won the AWA World Tag Team Championship on two occasions.[2]
B. Brian Blair was trained by
Blair and Brunzell were both considered stand-up wrestlers with a lot of potential during their Florida and AWA days, respectively.
World Wrestling Federation
The two men were signed by the WWF as it continued its national expansion through 1985, debuting under the "Killer Bees" name. The name was inspired by the 1972 Dolphins' linebackers, whose names all began with the letter B and were the first to use the moniker.[4] Blair was already a part of the company, wrestling as a singles competitor in 1984, mostly as "enhancement talent", but previously being a mid-card wrestler during 1980 and 1983. The teaming of Blair and Brunzell was suggested by Hulk Hogan.[5] Because Blair and Brunzell were similar in build, the team had a special gimmick referred to as "masked confusion" where both wrestlers would put on identical masks during matches to confuse the opponents and referee and usually win that way—despite this normally being a tactic used by heels. The “masked confusion" idea was given to Blair by Billy Red Lyons, who had used it in Maple Leaf Wrestling (as a singles wrestler).
One of the most amusing highlights of the team's career came in 1987 at a
The team debuted on June 17, 1985, defeating the team of
The Killer Bees were a part of a battle royal involving wrestlers and
The Killer Bees’ last prominent appearance was at "WrestleFest" in summer 1988, where they lost to
Brunzell remained with the WWF into the 1990s, achieving many victories on the house show-circuit but failing to do so on TV.
Blair remained with the WWF until early November 1988, usually scoring victories over preliminary wrestlers at both, TV tapings and untelevised events, but failing to beat more established wrestlers.
Blair and Brunzell later complained (and sued) about the WWF still merchandising product of them, without their permission or financial compensation.
Although they wrestled as faces throughout their WWF run, it did not stop rival heels from impersonating the Bees. During a televised WWF event at the Philadelphia Spectrum, two wrestlers dressed in Killer Bee masks and T-shirts appeared as lumberjacks during a lumberjack match between Hulk Hogan and "the Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, frequently attacking Hogan until Hogan got the upper hand and unmasked one of the Bees only to reveal another mask beneath while the unidentified wrestler escaped.
After splitting up, Blair continued using his Killer Bee outfit and gimmick, and Brunzell would use Killer Bee-like outfits, though, both were not announced anymore as "half of the Killer Bees tag-team" as they used to when teaming up, indicating they were indeed separated.
After the WWF
The Bees also re-appeared in an American Wrestling Association episode of All-Star Wrestling.[9]
In the early 1990s, the Bees reformed in Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation, winning that promotion's tag team titles in 1994 before the federation folded.[1] While there, they were unable to use the WWF-trademarked name "Killer Bees" and were instead known as "Masked Confusion". However, Blair was introduced as "Killer Bee B. Brian Blair" when he wrestled singles matches.
As of November 2017, Blair and Brunzell were still in high demand, working many Comic-Cons and independent autograph sessions. Both Blair and Brunzell have a new comic book series called the Killer Bees an animated true-life story about Blair and Brunzell's journey to become pro-wrestlers.
Championships and accomplishments
- Universal Wrestling Federation
- 1 time)
- World Wrestling Federation
- Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament[10]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ Brianblair.com Webmaster. "B. Brian Blair Biography". Retrieved 2007-04-03.
- ^ McClead, Michael (January 2019). "Brian Blair On Inspiration For The Killer Bees Name, Why He Doesn't Like The Term 'Enhancement Talent'". WrestleZone.
- ^ Canoe Slam Wrestling (May 2001). "B.Brian Blair Chat". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Graham Cawthon (2007-01-22). "WWF Ring Results 1985". Retrieved 12 February 2007.
- ^ Graham Cawthon (2007-01-22). "WWF Ring Results 1986". Retrieved 12 February 2007.
- ^ Graham Cawthon (2007-02-05). "WWF Ring Results 1987". Retrieved 12 February 2007.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Killer Bees « Tag Teams Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-11-28.