| The Gangstanators | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | New Jack John Kronus |
| Billed heights | New Jack: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Kronus: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 513 lb (233 kg; 36.6 st) |
| Debut | 1997 |
| Disbanded | 1998 |
The Gangstanators were aprofessional wrestlingtag team inExtreme Championship Wrestling. The team consisted ofNew Jack, formerly ofThe Gangstas, andJohn Kronus, formerly ofThe Eliminators, with "Gangstanators" being aportmanteau of the names of their respective former tag teams.
New Jack and Kronus joined forces after New Jack's partnerMustapha Saed and Kronus's partnerPerry Saturn both left ECW.[1] Their first match together was on August 21, 1997, when they defeatedECW World Tag Team Champions theDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) in a non-title match. This led to a series of matches between the teams, during which New Jack and Kronus defeated the Dudleys for the title belts at ECW'sAs Good as it Gets event on September 20, 1997 inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.[2][3] They successfully defended the belts against the Dudleys and the team ofAxl Rotten andBalls Mahoney over the following month.[3][4] The Gangstanators held the title until October 18 of that year, when they lost toThe Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido andTracy Smothers) in Philadelphia.[2]
After losing the title, The Gangstanators continued their feud with the Dudleys.[4]Spike Dudley also entered the feud on the side of the New Jack and Kronus, fighting against hiskayfabe brothers. He joined The Gangstanators insix-man matches and sometimes took Kronus' place as New Jack's partner.[5] As the year went on, Kronus, New Jack, and Spike Dudley focused more on their singles careers, although they still teamed with each other on occasion.[6]
The team eventually disbanded, with Kronus leaving ECW forXtreme Pro Wrestling.[7] New Jack remained in ECW, competing as a singles wrestler in ECW until the promotion declaredbankruptcy in April 2001.
The Gangstanators reunited for one night at the ECW reunion showHardcore Homecoming on June 10, 2005. Kronus had been scheduled to reunite with Saturn, but Saturn was injured and could not attend the event. As a result, New Jack and Kronus teamed together to faceThe Bad Breed (Axl andIan Rotten) in an impromptu brawl which ended when New Jack leapt fromscaffolding and drove a prone Ian Rotten through a table.[8]
Kronus died ofheart failure on July 18, 2007. New Jack died of a heart attack on May 14, 2021.