Flying at their foes in harmony, The Usos occupy airspace above the squared circle much like The Killer Bees before them.
A cohesive unit of athletes, Jimmy and Jey Uso excite the WWE fanbase with speed and soaring moves. The former tag team champs are often electric in the ring. The popularity they enjoy and the chemistry they have with each other has one flashing back to another duo.
B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell formed a team in the ’80s during Vince McMahon’s aggressive expansion of WWE.
Brunzell teamed with Greg Gagne with the American Wrestling Association before that. Blair worked as a singles star in Florida. That’s not how most fans remember either man, though.
When they began to don black-and-yellow trunks and dart around the ring as a pair in the thriving WWE tag team division of that period, that’s when they truly made their mark. The Killer Bees thrilled audiences with an arsenal heavy on high-flying offense.
An Aerial Attack
Brunzell and Blair could both handle themselves on the mat, but they made their name with what they did when their feet left the canvas. Flying forearms and sunset flips filled their playbooks.
The Killer Bees were fast and fun to watch.
“Jumping Jim” Brunzell’s dropkick was one of the best the industry’s ever seen. He and Blair injected a stirring energy into their matches.
While not what they were famous for, The Killer Bees could brawl, too, if need be. As Caleb Smith wrote for Slam! Wrestling, “While known for their high flying moves and quick tags in and out of the ring, the Bees were a scrappy tandem if cornered.”
The same is true for The Usos.
Fans saw how well they handle themselves in slugfests when they battled The Wyatt Family in 2014.
But like The Killer Bees, fans don’t buy a ticket to see The Usos throw fists. They want to see the brothers defy gravity.
What The Usos do between the ropes today looks a lot different than The Killer Bees’ offense, as wrestling’s high-flying has evolved. Jumps from the top turnbuckle are more commonplace. Suicide dives happen just about every night.
But while Jimmy and Jey are hitting more daring moves, they share a reliance on the aerial part of the game with The Killer Bees. That’s their bread and butter, just as it was with Brunzell and Blair.
A Brotherly Bond
Unlike The Usos, Blair and Brunzell don’t share DNA. At times, though, it certainly felt like the two partners were brothers.
They fit so perfectly together as a pair. Their chemistry shone through in the ring or in interviews together. A part of that was due to their real-life relationship being so strong.
Blair told Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast (h/t Wrestling Inc), “We were on the road together for five years and never got into one argument.”
WWE played up their vaguely similar appearances by having them work a gimmick where they would illegally trade places in the ring. With the aid of masks, they would confuse the referee, gaining an unfair advantage if needed, a la The Bella Twins today.
There’s something symbolic about them being mistaken for each other. Once they grew popular as a team, they seemed to merge into a single unit in the public’s mind.
When Blair and Brunzell tried to work their way up the ranks as singles wrestlers, it just didn’t work. The connection with the crowd wasn’t nearly the same.
The Usos know exactly how that feels.
There is little chance of them separating or achieving notable success on their own. When Jey Uso hurt his shoulder around WrestleMania last year, WWE chose not to even showcase Jimmy. It stuck him on commentary and treated him as if he was injured as well.
It may have, but if the company didn’t give Jimmy a shot to go solo while his brother recovered from surgery, it’s not likely to do so ever.
That’s fine. The Usos are better as a duo. As twins, their chemistry is expected. They work together incredibly well, attacking in unison, in harmony.
Limitations
The Killer Bees found their niche and excelled. The pair, though, wasn’t an all-around great team.
WWE couldn’t depend on them to fill time on the mic. In a land full of over-the-top characters, Blair and Brunzell felt very ordinary. They were good guys without much panache.
In interviews, they were fine but not exactly memorable.
The Usos have the same hole in their game. They bring a great energy to their promos and are plenty likable. They have just never been able to thrive as talkers.
Jimmy and Jey’s highlight reel is filled with dives and superkicks, not verbal performances.
Both teams are far better as babyfaces. Jimmy and Jey did debut as villains, but the role was ill-fitting.
Guys that friendly and winsome need to be fan favorites. Replacing their trademark grins with snarls would be a mistake.
The Killer Bees were the same way. WWE couldn’t have them play both sides as it did with Demolition or The Hart Foundation. Brunzell and Blair were perpetual nice guys.
Even so, looking back, some fans may wonder how The Killer Bees never captured the tag titles. Stiff competition is the easy answer.
A long list of stellar groups ruled the tag division in the ’80s: The Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs, Demolition, The Dream Team. That made for a number of exciting matchups, but it kept The Killer Bees from ever reaching the top.
The Usos have the opposite problem.
They have twice been tag champs but haven’t had consistently good competition to keep things interesting. When you’re forced to face duos like RybAxel or The Ascension over the years, it’s hard to maintain momentum.
Still, The Usos have managed to inject spark into their showdowns, leaning on what helped The Killer Bees etch their names in WWE history.
Credit: Bleacher Report
