On December 28 1985, the duo gave a TV interview with Lance Russell 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' Mid-South Wrestling (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 and Steve Williams. 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 of the Blade Runners and that he brought them into Mid-South Wrestling with the intent of presenting them as a parody of The Road Warriors.