The Blond Bombers is a name used by several tag teams in professional wrestling. The first team to use the name was the combination of Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson. It was later used by Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens, who began teaming in 1965. Larry Latham and Wayne Farris used the name in the late 1970s in the Continental Wrestling Association and, from 1979 to 1980, Stanley Lane and Bryan St. John competed as the Blonde Bombers while wrestling in Championship Wrestling from Florida. In the early 2000s, the team of Tank and Chad Toland appeared as the Blond Bombers in Ohio Valley Wrestling before changing their team name upon entering World Wrestling Entertainment. Each incarnation held title belts together at least once. Patterson and Stevens were inducted as a team into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006.
History
Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson
After joining Jim Crockett Promotions in the early 1960s, Rip Hawk met Swede Hanson, who was competing as a singles wrestler. Hawk approached Jim Crockett, Sr. about forming a tag team with Hanson, and Crockett agreed. Both had blond hair and were powerful wrestlers, so they called themselves the Blond Bombers. They were managed by Gary Hart and later by Homer O'Dell. Hawk spoke for the team during interviews while Hanson stood silently beside him.
After teaming for several years, Hawk and Hanson won the Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship by defeating Hiro Matsuda and Duke Keomuka on August 3, 1965. They also competed in Australia's World Championship Wrestling, where they won the IWA World Tag Team Championship in 1970.
Much of their success, however, came in Jim Crockett Promotions, where they were hated heel (villain) wrestlers. They won the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship four times between 1968 and 1971. They feuded with several teams, including Johnny Weaver and George Becker as well as the pairing of Paul Jones and Nelson Royal. Jim Crockett Promotions also held matches in which heel teams faced other heel teams. The Blond Bombers faced such teams as the Anderson Brothers (Gene and Ole) or Brute Bernard and Skull Murphy These matches, known as "Battles of the Bullies", were unusual because heels almost always compete against faces (fan favorites).
Hanson had a heart attack in 1971, and Hawk was teamed with rookie wrestler Ric Flair. Hanson became a face upon his return to the ring, and he feuded with Hawk and faced him in a series of matches. They began wrestling in Texas, where they won the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship three times from 1976 to 1977. Hanson left the territory after their final reign, which ended the tag team combination. They were inducted as a team into the NWA Legends Hall of Heroes in 2007 by former manager Gary Hart.
Hanson died of sepsis on February 19, 2002. Hawk died on December 22, 2012. Gary Hart died following a heart attack on March 16, 2008.
Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens
While wrestling in Oregon, Pat Patterson heard many wrestlers tell him that he would be a natural fit as a tag team partner of Ray Stevens, who competed in San Francisco. Patterson moved to San Francisco and dyed his hair blond to match Stevens, who had used the nickname "The Blond Bomber" as a singles wrestler. They defeated the team of The Destroyer and Billy Red Lyons to win the San Francisco version of the AWA World Tag Team Championship on April 17, 1965. They held the belts for over a year and a half before dropping them to the Mongolian Stomper and Ciclon Negro in December 1966. They won the title back in a rematch the following month and held it for another three months. On April 8, 1967, they lost the belts to longtime rival Pepper Gomez and future World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion Pedro Morales. They continued to team together, however, until the end of the year, when Patterson left the area to compete in Japan.
When Patterson returned to the San Francisco area, he feuded with Stevens, who had become a face. This feud included Stevens and Peter Maivia defeating Patterson and Superstar Billy Graham to win the San Francisco version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship on January 23, 1971, and Patterson and Graham regaining the belts in a rematch the following month. Patterson and Stevens also competed in singles matches; Stevens defeated Patterson in a Texas Death match on July 11, 1970, to win the San Francisco version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.