James Brunzell, also known as "Jumping" Jim Brunzell, is a retired professional wrestler who enjoyed a successful career spanning approximately two decades.
During the latter half of the 1970s, Brunzell signed with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and won the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship twice, a significant singles title at the time.
He then returned to the American Wrestling Association (AWA),where he reformed his tag team with Greg Gagne, known as the "High Flyers". The duo held the AWA World Tag Team Championship on two separate occasions, feuding with notable teams such as Jesse Ventura and Adrian Adonis, and Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera. Brunzell remained with the AWA in both tag team and singles competition until 1985.
Brunzell subsequently signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF),now known as WWE, as the promotion continued its national expansion. He formed the popular tag team, The Killer Bees, with fellow WWE newcomer B. Brian Blair. Despite reportedly feeling betrayed by Verne and Greg Gagne, Brunzell and Blair experienced moderate success, feuding with teams like The Hart Foundation and the Funks, Jimmy Jack Funk and Hoss Funk, and even facing Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik at WrestleMania III. The Killer Bees also won a match at the inaugural Survivor Series in 1987.
After leaving WWE in 1991, Brunzell competed on the independent circuit, primarily in the Chicago area. He also wrestled for Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1991, where he reunited with B. Brian Blair under the name Masked Confusion, winning the tag team title twice.
Following the UWF's closure, Brunzell returned to the independent circuit and continued to wrestle until late 1999, when he faced fellow wrestler, The Hater.
In his post-wrestling career, Brunzell works as a financial planner for Focus Financial in the Minneapolis area, is active in his church, and participates in charity work for children with diabetes.
