The Blade Runners

The Blade Runners were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of future superstars, Sting and Rock (later better known as Ultimate Warrior), that existed in 1985 and 1986. Their look was from the "New Wave" music scene with black eye paint and spiked hair with a rat tail (Sting's bleached blonde and Rock's dyed black).

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 and Rick Bassman. In addition to Borden and Hellwig, the group consisted of Garland Donoho and Mark Miller.^[1] 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.^[1] Manager Rick Bassman would eventually become a pro wrestler himself and a wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts promoter in California where he founded and runs Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Hellwig and Borden remained, teaming together as they traveled to Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association and later on to Bill Watts Universal Wrestling Federation.^[2]

Initially, they wrestled as The Freedom Fighters (Hellwig was known as Justice and Borden was called Flash)^[3] in Memphis' Continental Wrestling Association^[2] under manager Dutch Mantel. Because they were essentially bodybuilders 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.^[4]

The team began working for Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling (renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation shortly after) in early 1986.^[5] In Mid-South, they became known as The Blade Runners (Hellwig was called Rock and Borden became Sting).^[6] The Blade Runners were managed by "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and as part of "Hot Stuff International, Inc." the team feuded with Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams.^[7] In his autobiography The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling, Joseph Laurinaitis(aka Road Warrior Animal) stated that Watts was the actual creator the Blade Runners and that he brought them into Mid-South Wrestling with intent of presenting them as a parody of the The Road Warriors.^[8]

Less than six months after arriving in Mid-South, Hellwig and Borden split up with Hellwig moving on to World Class Championship Wrestling, where he became known as The Dingo Warrior,^[9] laying the foundation for his famous Ultimate Warrior gimmick in the WWF. Laurinaitis further stated that Hellwig kept the Warrior gimmick to present himself as an offspring of the Road Warriors.^[8]

Sting remained in the UWF and under the tutelage of Eddie Gilbert for a while before turning face.

Reunion

They reunited, although not officially under the Blade Runners name, for one match on WCW Monday Nitro on October 12, 1998 against Hollywood Hogan and Bret "The Hitman" Hart of nWo Hollywood. Sting and Warrior won the match via disqualification due to interference from the nWo.^[10]

References

External links