| The Nasty Boys | |
|---|---|
 The Nasty Boys,Brian Knobbs (left) andJerry Sags (right), in 2011 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Brian Knobbs Jerry Sags |
| Name | The Nasty Boys |
| Billed heights | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) (Knobbs) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) (Sags) |
| Combined billed weight | 585 lb (265 kg)[1] |
| Hometown | Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Billed from | "Nastyville" Allentown, Pennsylvania (WWF)[2] "The Streets ofNew York City" (WCW) |
| Debut | 1986 |
| Disbanded | April 20, 2019 (last match) |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne[1] Brad Rheingans |
The Nasty Boys are aprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting ofBrian Knobbs andJerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Theirgimmick was that of anti-socialpunks who specialized inhardcore 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 trenchcoats, and their distinctivemullet-hawk haircuts.
Jerry "Biff" Sags andBrian "Buff" Knobbs were childhood friends growing up inWhitehall Township, Pennsylvania. They both attendedWhitehall High School in theLehigh Valley region of easternPennsylvania.[3] While most professional wrestling tag teams were and still are matched by bookers, Sags and Knobbs friendship led them to form The Nasty Boys without any such professional booking guidance or input.
The Nasty Boys began their career in theAmerican Wrestling Association in 1985 and began teaming together as The Nasty Boyz in 1986. They began moving up the cards while inMemphis, Tennessee, as a heel team againstThe Rockers, a face team. In 1988, they moved toFlorida Championship Wrestling, where they won five tag team championships between 1989 and 1990. While they were in Memphis,Jerry Lawler suggested they change their look to spandex gold tights and long boots. Sags and Knobbs also decided to cover their bodies and paint their faces, though they dropped the face paint when wrestling outside of Memphis.[4]
In 1990, the Nasty Boys joinedWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). They initiallyfeuded with theSteiner Brothers but were unable to defeat them for theUnited States Tag Team Championship. In December 1990, they left WCW and joined theWWE (then known as the WWF).
They debuted on the December 29, 1990, episode ofSuperstars of Wrestling. Along with theirmanagerJimmy Hart, The Nasty Boys quickly announced their intention to "Nastisize the WWF". They became number one contenders after winning a seven team battle royal on February 16, 1991, that aired onWWF Superstars. On March 24, 1991, they eliminatedLegion of Doom thanks to interference fromPower and Glory and defeatedThe Hart Foundation atWrestleMania VII inLos Angeles to win theWWF World Tag Team Championship.
The Nasty Boys held the title untilSummerSlam 1991 atMadison Square Garden on August 26, 1991, where they were defeated by Legion of Doom in a no disqualification, no count out match. They then feuded withThe Rockers andThe Bushwhackers, leading to a match atSurvivor Series '91 inDetroit, where they teamed withThe Beverly Brothers to defeat both teams. In early 1992, The Nasty Boys had a feud withHacksaw Jim Duggan andSgt. Slaughter that culminated in an eight-man tag team match atWrestleMania VIII inIndianapolis, where Duggan, Slaughter,Big Boss Man, andVirgil defeated The Nasty Boys,The Mountie, andRepo Man. That fall, they turned face and dumped Jimmy Hart as their manager after Hart overlooked them for a tag team title match againstThe Natural Disasters, instead giving the title shot toMoney Inc. Knobbs and Sags teamed with The Natural Disasters to defeat Money Inc. and The Beverly Brothers atSurvivor Series '92 inRichfield Township, Ohio, but The Nasty Boys were unable to regain the title.
On the March 13, 1993, edition ofWWF Superstars, The Nasty Boys agreed to step aside and allowHulk Hogan andBrutus Beefcake to have a one-time title shot against Money Inc. atWrestleMania IX atCaesars Palace inLas Vegas. They then entered a house show series againstThe Headshrinkers and wrestled to double disqualifications on several occasions. Their feud spilled onto WWF television, and they wrestled once more to a double disqualification againstFatu andSamu on the Italian version ofWWF Superstars in which both teams hit each other with chairs in a post-match brawl.[5] In April 1993, after a European tour, The Nasty Boys were suspended and later fired from the company. Their final television appearance came on May 16, 1993, when they defeated jobbers Steve Vega andBarry Horowitz onWWF Wrestling Challenge.
The Nasty Boys returned to WCW in July 1993 as heels managed byMissy Hyatt. They defeatedArn Anderson andPaul Roma atFall Brawl 1993 inHouston to becomeWCW World Tag Team Champions. They then lost the championship on October 4 toMarcus Alexander Bagwell and2 Cold Scorpio before regaining it on October 24. In 1994, they foughtCactus Jack andMaxx Payne in a series of wild brawls.[6] They were supposed to feud withKevin Sullivan and his (kayfabe)dyslexic brotherDave, who called himself Evad ("Dave" backwards). Evad, however, injured his knee, and Sullivan convinced Cactus Jack to team with him. The Nasty Boys lost the title to the thrown together team of Jack and Sullivan in a wild street fight atSlamboree 1994 inPhiladelphia.
In Summer 1994, The Nasty Boys quietly turned face and Knobbs and Sags went on to feud with tag teams such asHarlem Heat andThe Blue Bloods. AtSlamboree 1995 inSt. Petersburg, Florida, they defeated Harlem Heat to become three-time WCW tag team champions but lost the title to them soon after. In 1996,New World Order offered them membership in the nWo, but attacked them as soon as they received their nWo T-shirts. In the subsequent match againstScott Hall andKevin Nash, Sags became enraged during the contest after being struck on the head. He thought Hall had struck him with a chair and retaliated by attacking him and knocking his tooth out. After the match, Sags filed a lawsuit. He later saw footage and learned it was Nash that had hit him with a tag belt. He was released from his contract in early 1997 and retired. After Sags left the company, Knobbs continued as a singles wrestler and began pursuing theWCW Hardcore Championship in 2000.
The Nasty Boys reunited in the Southeast Wrestling Alliance on May 6, 2001, where they defeatedDeath & Destruction (Frank Parker andRoger Anderson).[7] They were also active in the short-livedXWF[1] and theWorld Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. Since retirement, The Nasty Boys have both appeared onHogan Knows Best and in WWE magazine's "Where are they now?" section. On November 21, 2009, they were involved with Hulkamania's Australian tour inMelbourne, Australia, where they wrestled and defeated Reno Anoaʻi andVampire Warrior in an Australian street fight. In March and April 2012 they feuded with AJ Mitrano and Mr. TA for Big Time Wrestling in Massachusetts.
Their last match together was on April 20, 2019, teaming withJacob Fatu as they defeated Leo Brien, Mike Patrick and Drew Sipilia for Legends Of Wrestling in Fraser, Michigan.
On November 20, 2007, Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags rejoined forces as The Nasty Boys atWWE SmackDown inTampa, Florida, participating in their first WWE match in 14 years. They defeatedDave Taylor andDrew McIntyre, but were subsequently released the following day. On August 26, 2024 the WWE posted this match on YouTube through their WWE Vault channel.
On January 4, 2010, The Nasty Boys made their debut appearance onTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling's television show,TNA Impact!, where they trashedTeam 3D's locker room during their absence from the show while in Japan.[8] This initiated a feud, with both teams exchanging physical onslaughts with one another. on the January 14 episode ofImpact!, Team 3D returned, but were attacked by The Nasty Boys. On the January 21 episode ofImpact!, The Nasty Boys competed in their first match for TNA, defeatingEric Young andKevin Nash.[9] On the January 28 episode ofImpact!, The Nasty Boys and Team 3D got into an intense confrontation as they hyped their upcoming match. On the February 4 episode ofImpact!, The Nasty Boys attacked Team 3D following a match untilHernandez andMatt Morgan ended the confrontation.
AtAgainst All Odds inOrlando, Florida, The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3D in a tag team match whenJimmy Hart made his return and interfered in the match on The Nasty Boys' behalf.[10] On the February 25 edition ofImpact!, Team 3D defeated the Nasty Boys in atables match whenJesse Neal interfered on Team 3D's behalf.[11] The Nasty Boys and Hart continued their feud with Team 3D on the March 15 episode ofImpact!, defeating them and returningBrother Runt, who served as a replacement for Jesse Neal, who 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 throw Sags through a table.[12]
On March 29, 2010, The Nasty Boys were released by TNA.[13][14]
In 2019, Knobbs was hospitalized with a blood infection and had surgery on one of his knees. This forced him to retire from wrestling. Since then he's had other health issues.[15]
The Nasty Boys have a reputation of being verystiff with their opponents.[6] They have also been involved in ribbing (pranking backstage) other wrestlers and have engaged in several legitimate fights.[16][17][6]
Jerry Sags worked his first match in literally years for Southeast Wrestling Alliance on May 6th, teaming with old partner Brian Knobs to beat Roger Anderson & Frank Parker. Sags' career supposedly ended a few years ago after a neck injury in WCW.
