
Managers Johnny Valiant and Jimmy Hart first put Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake together in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in May 1985. Early on, Beefcake teamed with Valentine to fight off Tito Santana and the Junkyard Dog, both high ranked contenders for Valentine's Intercontinental Championship. In Toronto on April 21, 1985, the Dream Team lost to Santana and Ricky Steamboat in approximately fifteen minutes. On July 6, 1985, Santana regained the Intercontinental Title in a steel cage match, and shortly afterwards the Dream Team set their sights on the reigning WWF World Tag Team Champions, The U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda).
Not long after, Johnny Valiant became the sole manager of the Dream Team as the two started to team more and more regularly. Their initial shots at the tag team champions were unsuccessful, but on August 24 in Philadelphia, the Dream Team won the tag team titles from the U.S. Express when Beefcake rubbed Luscious Johnny's lit cigar in Windham's eye.
Immediately after their title win, the Dream Team were challenged by The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid), often escaping with their titles due to underhanded means. Besides defending against the Bulldogs, the Dream Team also put the gold on the line against such teams as The Killer Bees as well as the former champions the US Express. The Bulldogs remained a constant threat to the Dream Team as 1985 turned to 1986, and finally the Dream Team agreed to give the Bulldogs one final tag team title shot at WrestleMania 2. On April 7, 1986, the two teams met in the Chicago section of WrestleMania broadcast, with the addition of Ozzy Osbourne in the Bulldogs’ corner. At the event, the Dream Team finally ran out of tricks and lost the gold.
Finding themselves in the challengers position, the Dream Team chased the Bulldogs in the months following WrestleMania 2, climaxing in a series of steel cage matches during the summer of 1986. A running gag on the WWF's weekly television was Gorilla Monsoon's constant suggestion that the Dream Team never mentally got over the loss at WrestleMania 2. Gorilla would always make a point to mention it happened in Chicago, the location Gorilla himself was stationed at for the event. As the summer, passed the Dream Team found themselves facing the Killer Bees and the second version of the US Express, instead of challenging for the gold. As 1986 turned to 1987, the Dream Team found themselves feuding with The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond). The team was also joined by Johnny Valiant's newest addition Dino Bravo in six-man tag matches. Lack of championship success, not to mention Beefcake feeling muscled out by Bravo, began tension within the team.
At WrestleMania III, the Dream Team and the Rougeaus clashed once again with the Dream Team winning due to Dino Bravo's interference. After the match, Dino Bravo and Greg Valentine argued with Brutus Beefcake, kicking him off the team.