| Killer Bees | |
|---|---|
 Brian Blair (left), Jim Brunzell (right) | |
| 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 |
TheKiller Bees were a tag team composed of"Jumpin" Jim Brunzell andB. Brian Blair in theWorld Wrestling Federation from 1985 to 1988 and later on theindependent circuit. The team name is a play on the name of theMiami 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.
Jim Brunzell made his debut in 1972, achieving most of his fame along withGreg Gagne as “the High Flyers" in the Minneapolis-basedAmerican Wrestling Association, where the two won theAWA World Tag Team Championship on two occasions.[2]
B. Brian Blair was trained byHiro Matsuda and made his debut in 1977 in the Florida-based promotionChampionship Wrestling From Florida, competing in various territories (including the WWF) before 1985.[3]
Blair and Brunzell were both considered stand-up wrestlers with a lot of potential during their Florida and AWA days, respectively.
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 letterB 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 byHulk 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 byheels. The “masked confusion" idea was given to Blair byBilly Red Lyons, who had used it inMaple Leaf Wrestling (as a singles wrestler).
One of the most amusing highlights of the team's career came in 1987 at ahouse show at theCalifornia University of Pennsylvania. With Blair unable to appear for the team's match against Demolition, he was replaced byS. D. Jones, an African-American journeyman who wore the Bees' black and yellow tights for the day. During the match, the two used the "masked confusion" tactic and the referee, as usual, pretended to be unable to tell the two apart, despite Brunzell being very light-skinned. The inverse would occur later, as Jones replaced Brunzell and teamed up with Blair in aPrime Time Wrestling TV taping, againstDemolition.
The team debuted on June 17, 1985, defeating the team ofSteve Lombardi and Dave Barbie.[6] This was also Brunzell's first match in the WWF. After facing several teams, the Killer Bees started a long-running feud withthe Hart Foundation (Bret Hart andJim Neidhart). The Bees also had a running feud with the Funks (Hoss,Terry andJimmy Jack). In August 1986, they faced Hoss and Jimmy Jack Funk in front of 70,000 people atThe Big Event in Toronto,[1] a card headlined by Hulk Hogan vs.Paul Orndorff. The team also received a couple of unsuccessful shots atWWF tag team championsthe Dream Team.[6][7]
The Killer Bees were a part of a battle royal involving wrestlers andNFL players atWrestleMania 2[1] and next got the spotlight atWrestleMania III, where they facedthe Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, losing by disqualification[1] because of the interference ofJim Duggan. After WrestleMania III, the Killer Bees moved on to a feud with WWF newcomers Demolition. By this point, the Bees' stock was clearly slipping in terms of their card placement, though they were one of two teams (withthe Young Stallions) to "survive" the 10-team elimination match at the inauguralSurvivor Series on Thanksgiving Day 1987. The Bees' last Wrestlemania appearance was atWrestlemania IV, where they once again competed in a battle royal.
The Killer Bees’ last prominent appearance was at "WrestleFest" in summer 1988, where they lost tothe Fabulous Rougeaus.[1] In the summer of 1988 the Bees split up off-screen without any break up or announcement, and Brunzell and Blair returned, being used as "preliminary wrestlers" thus (at least temporarily) ending the yellow and black days of the Bees. The duo's last WWF match as a team came on August 24, 1988, against the Young Stallions.[8]
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 atthe Philadelphia Spectrum, two wrestlers dressed in Killer Bee masks and T-shirts appeared as lumberjacks during alumberjack 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.
The Bees also re-appeared in anAmerican Wrestling Association episode ofAll-Star Wrestling.[9]
In the early 1990s, the Bees reformed inHerb 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 theKiller Bees an animated true-life story about Blair and Brunzell's journey to become pro-wrestlers.
