The Nasty Boys

The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys in 2011. Brian Knobbs (left) and Jerry Sags
Tag team
Members	Brian Knobbs Jerry Sags
Name(s)	The Nasty Boys
Heights	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) (Knobbs) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) (Sags)
Combined weight	546 lb (248 kg)[1]
Hometown	Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, United States
Billed from	"Nastyville" Allentown, Pennsylvania (WWF)[2] "The Streets of New York City" (WCW)
Debut	1986
Promotions	AWA NWA TNA WCW WWF XWF
Trainer	Verne Gagne[1] Brad Rheingans

The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, active from the mid to late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawling. They were noted for their distinctive all-black "street look", which, while very commonplace among today's wrestlers, was vastly different from the colorful attire of their wrestling peers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. This included graffiti-sprayed T-shirts, chain-adorned leather trenchoats, and their distinctive mullet-hawk haircuts.

Career

American Wrestling Association and Florida Championship Wrestling (1985–1988)

Unlike most professional wrestling tag teams, Jerry "Biff" Sags and Brian "Buff" Knobbs were childhood friends (both hailing from Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania)^[3] who put themselves together (whereas most tag teams were and still are matched together by bookers). They began their careers in the American Wrestling Association in 1985 and began teaming together as The Nasty Boyz in 1986. They first started moving up the cards while in Memphis, as a heel team against the face team of the Midnight Rockers. In 1988, they moved to Florida Championship Wrestling, where they won five Tag Team Championship between 1989 and 1990. While they were in Memphis, Jerry Lawler gave them the idea to change their look (spandex gold tights and long boots), so Sags and Knobbs decided to cover their bodies. They also painted their faces, but they dropped the face paint when wrestling outside of Memphis.^[4]

World Championship Wrestling (1990)

In 1990, the Nasty Boys joined World Championship Wrestling. They initially feuded with The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott), but were unable to defeat them for the United States Tag Team Championship.

World Wrestling Federation (1990–1993)

The Nasty Boys left WCW in December 1990 and joined the World Wrestling Federation. Along with their manager Jimmy Hart, they announced their intention to "Nastisize the WWF". After becoming the number one contenders by winning a seven team battle royal on the February 16, 1991 airing of Superstars of Wrestling (last eliminating the Legion of Doom, thanks to interference from Power and Glory), they defeated The Hart Foundation for the WWF World Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania VII. They held the titles until SummerSlam 1991, when they were defeated by the Legion of Doom in a no disqualification, no countout match. They then feuded with The Rockers and The Bushwhackers, leading to a match at Survivor Series '91 where they teamed with The Beverly Brothers to defeat both teams. In the early part of 1992, The Nasty Boys had a feud with Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Sgt. Slaughter, culminating in an eight-man tag team match at WrestleMania VIII, where Duggan, Slaughter, Big Boss Man and Virgil defeated The Nasty Boys, The Mountie and Repo Man. That fall, they turned face and dumped Jimmy Hart as their manager after Hart overlooked them for a tag team title match against The Natural Disasters, instead giving the title shot to his other tag team of Money Inc. Knobbs and Sags teamed with The Natural Disasters to defeat Money Inc. and The Beverly Brothers at Survivor Series '92, but were unable to regain the titles. In April 1993, after a European tour, they were suspended, and later fired from the company.

Return to WCW (1993–1997)

The Nasty Boys returned to WCW in July 1993 as heels managed by Missy Hyatt. They defeated Arn Anderson and Paul Roma at Fall Brawl 1993 to become WCW World Tag Team Champions. They would then lose the championship on October 4, to Marcus Alexander Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio before regaining it on October 24. In 1994, they fought Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne in a series of wild brawls,^[5] which Payne later described as "not far away from gladiator days". They were supposed to feud with Kevin Sullivan and his (kayfabe) dyslexic brother Dave, who called himself Evad ("Dave" backwards). Evad, however, injured his knee, and Sullivan convinced Cactus Jack to team with him. The Nasties lost the title to the thrown-together team of Jack and Sullivan in a wild Philly Street Fight at Slamboree 1994. As a result of the intense brawls, the Nasty Boys soon turned face.

Knobbs and Sags went on to feud with tag teams such as Harlem Heat and The Blue Bloods. At Slamboree 1995, they defeated Harlem Heat to become three-time WCW Tag Team Champions, but dropped the title back to them soon after. In 1996, the New World Order offered them membership into the nWo, but attacked them as soon as they received their nWo T-shirts. In the subsequent match against Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, Sags became enraged during the contest after being struck on the head. He had thought Hall had struck him with a chair and retaliated by attacking him and knocking him out. After the match, Sags filed a lawsuit. He later saw footage and found out it was Nash that had hit him with a tag belt. He was released from his contract in early 1997 and retired. After Sags release, Knobbs began pursuing the WCW Hardcore Championship.

Independent Circuit

The Nasty Boys during the Hulkamania Tour in 2009.

The Nasty Boys were briefly reunited in the short-lived XWF^[1] and the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. Since retirement the boys have both appeared on Hogan Knows Best and the WWE Magazine's "Where are they now?" section. On November 20, 2007, Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags reformed at the WWE SmackDown tapings from Tampa, Florida to wrestle their first WWE match in 14 years. On November 21, 2009, They were involved with the Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin Australian Tour event in Melbourne, Australia and wrestled and defeated Reno Anoa'i and Vampire Warrior in an Australian Street Fight.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010)

On January 4, 2010, The Nasty Boys made their debut appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's television show, TNA Impact!, where they trashed Team 3D's locker room during their absence from the show while in Japan.^[6] This initiated a feud, with both teams exchanging physical onslaughts with one another. On the January 21 edition of Impact! the Nasty Boys competed in their first match for TNA, defeating the team of Eric Young and Kevin Nash.^[7] At Against All Odds The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3D in a tag team match, when Jimmy Hart made his return to the company and interfered in the match on the Nasty Boys' behalf.^[8] On the February 25 edition of Impact! Team 3D defeated the Nasty Boys in a tables match, when Jesse Neal interfered on Team 3D's behalf.^[9] The Nasty Boys and Hart continued their feud with Team 3D by defeating them and the returning Brother Runt, a replacement for Jesse Neal, whom the Nastys attacked prior to the match, in a six man tag team match. After the match Neal attacked the Nastys and helped Team 3D put Sags through a table.^[10] On March 29, 2010, news broke that the Nasty Boys had been released by TNA following an incident at a TNA function with Spike executives present.^[11][12]

Reputation

The Nasty Boys performing their entrance.

The Nasty Boys have a reputation of being very stiff with their opponents.^[5] They have also been involved in ribbing (pranking backstage) other wrestlers and also in several legitimate fights:

• In 1997, a match between The Nasty Boys and The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) degenerated into a shoot.^[13]
• On November 20, 2007, on their return match to Smackdown, they worked stiff with Dave Taylor and Drew McIntyre.^[14]
• Professional wrestler Mick Foley described the Nasty Boys in his autobiography as "sloppy as hell, and more than a little dangerous, but they knew how to brawl."
• Chris Jericho said in a podcast, that during a flight to Japan in 1996, Sags and Knobbs shaved Eddie Guerrero's eyebrows to prank him.

In wrestling

• Double-team finishing moves
  • Double DDT^[15]
  • Death Drop / Trip to Nastyville^[15] (Running powerslam by Knobbs followed by a diving elbow drop by Sags)
• Double-team signature moves
  • Aided powerbomb^[16]
  • Clubberin’ (The Nasty Boys would simultaneously repeatedly punch their opponents)^[17] – named by Dusty Rhodes who, while commentating, would announce to his partner Tony Schiavone: "They be clubberin', Tony!"
  • Irish whip-assisted corner splash^[17]
  • Pit Stop^[2] / Pity City (One of the Nasty Boys would raise their arm, exposing their armpit while the other Nasty Boy would seize a victim by the back of the neck and rub his face into the other Nasty Boy's armpit)
• Managers
  • Jimmy Hart^[18]
  • Missy Hyatt
• Entrance themes
  • "Nasty" by Janet Jackson (AWA/AJPW/CWA/FCW/NJPW, 1986–1990, 1993)
  • "Jamming In The Past" (WCW, 1990)
  • "Nasty Rap" (WWF, 1990)
  • "Nastisized" (WWF, 1990-1993)
  • "Good Man" (WCW, 1993–1994)
  • "We're The Boys"(WCW, 1994–1996)

Championships and accomplishments

• American Wrestling Association
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times)
• Championship Wrestling International
  • CWI Tag Team Championship (1 time)
• National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (5 times)
• North American Wrestling Association / South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
  • NAWA/SAPW Tag Team Championship (1 time)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1994
  • PWI ranked them # 53 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
• Professional Wrestling Federation
  • PWF Tag Team Championship (1 time)
• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times)
• World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time)
• X Wrestling Federation
  • XWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[19]

References

External links

• The Nasty Boys on WWE.com