The team debuted on June 17, 1985, defeating the team of Steve Lombardi and Dave Barbie. Coincidentally, this was also Brunzell's first match in the WWF. After facing several makeshift teams, the Killer Bees started a long-running feud with The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart). The Bees also had a running feud with the Funks (Hoss, Terry and Jimmy Jack). In August 1986, they faced Hoss and Jimmy Jack Funk in front of 70,000 people at The Big Event in Toronto, a card headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff. The team also received a couple of unsuccessful shots at then-WWF tag team champions The Dream Team.