The Hollywood Blonds is a name used by several professional wrestling tag teams over the years.

The original Blonds were Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown, who used the name in the 1970s. Rip Rogers and Ted Oates wrestled as The Hollywood Blonds in the mid-1980s in the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). The name was also adopted by "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe and "Dynamite" Jack Evans, who had a stint in then World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). The most well-known team to use the "Hollywood Blonds" moniker was "Stunning" Steve Austin and "Flyin" Brian Pillman who used the name as a heel tag team in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1992 and 1993 and is often mentioned when talking about great tag teams.

Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown

The team of Buddy Roberts (billed as "Dale Roberts") and Jerry Brown were the first to adopt the name "The Hollywood Blonds" in wrestling when they began teaming together in 1970 in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Tri-State territory (NWA Tri State promoted in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi).

The two quickly became one of the top heel acts in the territory with their "Hollywood superstar" arrogance and cheating ways. In early 1973, the Blonds became three-time NWA United States Tag Team Champions by defeating Dennis Stamp and Bull Bullinski for the titles. The Blonds held on to the titles until sometime in April, when they lost the gold to Rip Tyler and Eddie Sullivan before leaving the promotion by mid-1973.

Steve Austin and Brian Pillman

The version of The Hollywood Blonds with the greatest exposure worldwide was the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) incarnation consisting of "Stunning" Steve Austin and "Flyin'" Brian Pillman. Austin and Pillman teamed for the first time on October 17, 1992 and battled to a draw with Shane Douglas and Brad Armstrong. Austin and Pillman also teamed against Scott Steiner and Marcus Alexander Bagwell, jobber tag team Chris Sullivan and Tommy Angel, Dustin Rhodes and Brad Armstrong (who was filling in for Barry Windham), Armstrong and Bagwell, Ricky Steamboat and Nikita Koloff, and Steamboat and Douglas. Austin and Pillman temporarily stopped teaming when in late 1992, the recently heel turned Brian Pillman started teaming with Barry Windham, but when Windham was groomed for a singles push and a run with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and after one last unsuccessful attempt at winning the WCW/NWA World Tag Team Championship from Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas at Starrcade 1992, Pillman and Windham stopped teaming. Windham declared his intention to pursue the NWA world title, and told Pillman he should instead team with Austin. However, the real reason for the team's reunion was that the WCW bookers didn't have any other immediate plans for Austin.

At first, the two were just billed as "Stunning" Steve and "Flyin'" Brian, but the two (with input from Scotty "Flamingo" Levy) came up with the idea of The Hollywood Blonds, complete with matching trunks and vests. The duo was immediately thrust into a feud with Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat over the NWA and WCW World Tag Team titles, which gave the duo a chance to show off their teamwork and their trademark "mock filming" pose that they invented. After a successful move, one of the Blonds would move his hands like he was turning the handle on an old film camera. After winning a match, Austin or Pillman would arrogantly state that "Your brush with greatness is over" to further annoy the fans. Austin and Pillman made their pay-per-view (PPV) debut on February 21, 1993 taking on Buff Bagwell and Erik Watts at SuperBrawl III, which Austin and Pillman won the match.

On the March 27, 1993 episode of Power Hour, Austin and Pillman defeated Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas to win their only NWA/WCW World Tag Team Championship.

After the feud with Steamboat and Douglas ended, the Blonds were programmed with the recently reformed Four Horsemen, who at the time consisted of Ric Flair, Paul Roma, and Ole and Arn Anderson. Flair had recently returned from a run with then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and been given a talk show segment called "A Flair for the Gold" to give Flair television time before his WWF release allowed him to wrestle for WCW. Pillman and Austin appeared on the show and mocked Flair and Anderson's age. Several weeks later, the Blonds continued their antagonism of Flair and Anderson by mocking them through their own segment called "A Flare for the Old". Austin would stand in the background with a pillow under his shirt for a gut while slowly stroking his chin imitating Arn Anderson. Pillman dressed up in an old bathrobe, put on reading glasses and a grey wig and then cut into Flair for being too old and too scared of the Hollywood Blonds.

Windham's attack shifted Flair's focus away from the Hollywood Blonds, which in turn meant that Arn Anderson needed a new tag team partner. Not long after the Clash, Paul Roma was introduced as the fourth Horseman and would team with Anderson in the Horsemen/Blonds feud. On July 18, at Beach Blast, Roma and Anderson were beaten by the Blonds, who cheated to retain their titles. Not long after Beach Blast, Pillman injured his ankle and was unable to compete at a scheduled title match at Clash of the Champions XXIV. However, due to WCW taping policies, Arn Anderson and Paul Roma had already been taped as the World Tag Team Champions so the title change had to happen despite Pillman being injured. Austin teamed with "Lord" Steven Regal at the Clash where they dropped the titles to Roma and Anderson.

As soon as the Blonds dropped the titles, the team was again temporarily split up. Austin and Pillman both claimed that it was for political reasons. Austin was given a singles push challenging Dustin Rhodes for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. After Pillman finally recovered, he and Austin had a few more matches together taking on teams such as Marcus Alexander Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio, Scorpio and Ron Simmons, Simmons and Ice Train, jobber tag teams Frankie Lancaster and Mark Starr and Frankie Rowe and Jimmy Rogers. The Blonds also confronted The Nasty Boys and Missy Hyatt during an interview after The Nasty Boys had won the titles from Anderson and Roma. The Blonds' last match as a team took place on the October 30, 1993 episode of Saturday Night. After the Blonds had defeated a jobber tag team, Col. Rob Parker (who had just become Austin's new manager) came to ringside to congratulate Austin (and not Pillman) on winning the match. Pillman took exception to Parker snubbing him. Parker brought up Pillman's bad leg and said if he was a race horse, he would put him down. Pillman attacked Parker, which in turn led to Austin attacking and turning on Pillman, turning Pillman face and breaking up the Hollywood Blonds for the third and final time.

The Austin/Pillman feud was never pushed intensely and at times played more for comedy than emotion, a fact underscored by Pillman being more interested in putting Parker in a chicken suit than getting back at Austin.

They would briefly reunite in the WWF in 1996, but not as the Blonds. Austin by then was using his new "Stone Cold" persona, and an injured Pillman was "The Loose Cannon" and acted primarily as his sidekick, until Austin turned on Pillman for showing his admiration for Austin's nemesis, Bret Hart.

According to WrestlingData.com, a compiler of available win–loss records, The Hollywood Blonds are perfectly balanced at 52-52, with 8 draws.

In 1999, Lenny Lane and Lodi used the name The West Hollywood Blondes as a play off the old name.

Championships and accomplishments

Roberts and Brown

  • Continental Wrestling Association
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • Championship Wrestling from Florida
  • NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (2 times)
  • Grand Prix Wrestling (Montreal)
  • Grand Prix Tag Team Championship (4 times)
  • Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • NWA Hollywood Wrestling
  • NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (4 times)
  • NWA Tri-State
  • NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (3 times)
  • New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) (1 time)

Rogers and Oates

  • National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time)

Austin and Pillman

  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked them # 50 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
  • World Championship Wrestling
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Tag Team of the Year (1993)

See also

  • Fabulous Freebirds
  • Four Horsemen
  • Stud Stable
  • Varsity Blonds
  • West Hollywood Blonds

References

  • Cagematch profile (WCW)