The Blade Runners
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The Blade Runners were a
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
consisting of future superstars
Steve Borden Steve Borden (born March 20, 1959), better known by the ring name Sting, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he continues to make sporadic appearances since his retirement. Borden is be ...
and Jim Hellwig which existed in 1985 and 1986. Their look was from the
new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...
scene with black eye paint and spiked hair with a
rattail Grenadiers or rattails are generally large, brown to black gadiform marine fish of the subfamily Macrourinae, the largest subfamily of the family Macrouridae. Found at great depths from the Arctic to Antarctic, members of this subfamily are amo ...
(Borden's bleached blonde and Hellwig's dyed black). The two men would go on to individual success under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
s of Sting and the Ultimate Warrior, respectively.


History

Steve Borden and Jim Hellwig originally teamed as part of Powerteam USA, a group of four wrestlers who debuted in 1985 after being trained by
Red Bastien Rolland "Red" Bastien (January 27, 1931 – August 11, 2012) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his time in Capitol Wrestling Corporation, Capital Wrestling Corporation where he was a three-time WWWF ...
and Rick Bassman. In addition to Borden and Hellwig, the group consisted of Garland Donoho and Mark Miller. The team was managed by Bassman as they tried to break into the wrestling business. After only a short time in the business both Donoho and Miller quit due to lack of success and business savvy. Initially, Hellwig and Borden wrestled as The Freedom Fighters (Justice and Flash, respectively) in
Jerry Jarrett Jerry Winston Jarrett (September 4, 1942 – February 14, 2023) was an American businessman, professional wrestling promoter, and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, he was a key figure in the history ...
's
Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ...
initially as fan favorites then later as
villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
, first led by "coach" Buddy Wayne,"January, February and March 1986 ... In the area at this time were such stars as .. The Blade Runners (eventually to become The Ultimate Warrior and Sting) with manager Buddy Wayne" - Kayfabe Memories Memphis/CWA 13 p2
/ref> then later under
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
Dutch Mantel Wayne Maurice Keown (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestling manager, booker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Dutch Mantel (also spelled Dutch Mantell). Since May 2022, Mantell has co-host ...
."The Blade Runners – Rock aka Jim Justice & Sting aka Flash Borden under the management of Dutch Mantel" Pro Wrestling Stories
/ref> Because they were essentially
bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic ...
s and lacked thorough training, the team was raw and brutal, easily hurting opponents with their stiff maneuvers which led to their stay in Memphis being a short one. On December 28 1985, the duo gave a TV interview with
Lance Russell Lance Russell (March 18, 1926 – October 3, 2017) was an American sports broadcaster and ring announcer, primarily serving as a professional wrestling announcer and commentator in the Memphis region from 1959 to 1997. In NWA Mid-America and its ...
in which they wore black makeup and announced that they would henceforth be known as The Blade Runners (Hellwig was called Rock and Borden became Sting). Shortly afterwards the team began working for
Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" Glos ...
'
Mid-South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level riv ...
(renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation soon after) in early 1986. The Blade Runners were managed by "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and as part of "Hot Stuff International, Inc." the team feuded with
Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
and Steve Williams. Less than six months after arriving in Mid-South, Hellwig and Borden split up with Hellwig moving on to
World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...
, where he became known as The Dingo Warrior, later turning face and laying the foundation for his famous Ultimate Warrior gimmick in the WWF. Borden remained in the UWF and under the tutelage of Eddie Gilbert for a while before also turning face. As Sting, Borden was among the wrestlers whose contracts were acquired by
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
when it bought the UWF in 1987. In 1990, the Warrior and Sting respectively won the
WWF Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American profe ...
from
Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...
and the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...
from
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
. For several months, the two former tag team partners sat atop the wrestling business as World champions of each of the two major league promotions before losing their titles eight days apart in January 1991. Warrior would never regain his title although Sting would enjoy multiple further World championships in WCW,
World Wrestling All-Stars World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) was a professional wrestling promotion founded by Australian concert promoter Andrew McManus in 2001. The promotion was operated by McManus' International Touring Company. WWA was one of several promotions to com ...
, and
TNA TNA may refer to: Organisations * Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka * The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya * The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body * Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...
.


Reunion

The two men reunited for one match on ''
WCW Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT (American TV ...
'' on October 12, 1998, against
Hollywood Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physique, and his trademark bl ...
and
Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...
of
nWo Hollywood The New World Order (commonly abbreviated as nWo) was an American professional wrestling group who originally consisted of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash. The stable originated in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) with the ...
. However, the Blade Runners name was not used for this appearance. Sting and Warrior won the match via disqualification due to interference from the nWo.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blade Runners, The Independent promotions teams and stables World Championship Wrestling teams and stables