American Wrestling Association and Florida Championship Wrestling (1986–1990) Jerry "Biff" Sags and
Brian "Buff" Knobbs were childhood friends growing up in
Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. They both attended
Whitehall High School in the
Lehigh Valley region of eastern
Pennsylvania. 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 the
American Wrestling Association in 1985 and began teaming together as The Nasty Boyz in 1986. They began moving up the cards while in
Memphis, Tennessee, as a heel team against
The Rockers, a face team. In 1988, they moved to
Florida 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.
World Championship Wrestling (1990) In 1990, the Nasty Boys joined
World Championship Wrestling (WCW). They initially
feuded with the
Steiner Brothers but were unable to defeat them for the
United States Tag Team Championship. In December 1990, they left WCW and joined the
WWE (then known as the WWF).
World Wrestling Federation (1990–1993) They debuted on the December 29, 1990, episode of
Superstars of Wrestling. Along with their
manager Jimmy 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 on
WWF Superstars. On March 24, 1991, they defeated
The Hart Foundation at
WrestleMania VII in
Los Angeles to win the
WWF World Tag Team Championship. The Nasty Boys held the title until
SummerSlam 1991 at
Madison 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 with
The Rockers and
The Bushwhackers, leading to an elimination match at
Survivor Series '91 in
Detroit, where they teamed with
The Beverly Brothers to defeat both teams. In late 1991 into early 1992, The Nasty Boys feuded with
Hacksaw Jim Duggan and
Sgt. Slaughter that culminated in an eight-man tag team match at
WrestleMania VIII in
Indianapolis, 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
Money Inc. Knobbs and Sags teamed with The Natural Disasters to defeat Money Inc. and The Beverly Brothers in an elimination match at
Survivor Series '92 in
Richfield Township, Ohio. The Nasty Boys continued feuding with Money Inc. but were unable to regain the title. On the March 13, 1993, edition of
WWF Superstars, The Nasty Boys agreed to step aside and allow
Hulk Hogan and
Brutus Beefcake to have a one-time title shot against Money Inc. at
WrestleMania IX at
Caesars Palace in
Las Vegas. They then entered a house show series against
The Headshrinkers and wrestled to double disqualifications on several occasions. Their feud spilled onto WWF television and into the European Rampage tour, and they wrestled once more to a double disqualification against
Fatu and
Samu on the Italian version of
WWF Superstars, in which both teams hit each other with wooden chairs in a post-match brawl. In April 1993, after the European tour, The Nasty Boys were suspended and then fired from the company. Their final television appearance came on May 16, 1993, when they defeated jobbers Steve Vega and
Barry Horowitz on
WWF Wrestling Challenge.
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 in
Houston to become
WCW World Tag Team Champions. They then lost 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. They were also active in the short-lived
XWF and the
World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. On November 21, 2009, they were involved with Hulkamania's Australian tour in
Melbourne, Australia, where they wrestled and defeated Reno Anoaʻi and
Vampire 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. The Nasty Boys have both appeared on
Hogan Knows Best and in WWE magazine's "Where are they now?" section.
Return to WWE (2007) On November 20, 2007, Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags made a brief return to the WWE as The Nasty Boys at
WWE SmackDown in
Tampa, Florida, participating in their first WWE match in 14 years. They defeated
Dave Taylor and
Drew McIntyre, but were subsequently released the following day. On August 26, 2024 the WWE posted this match on YouTube through their WWE Vault channel.
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. This initiated a feud, with both teams exchanging physical onslaughts with one another. on the January 14 episode of
Impact!, Team 3D returned, but were attacked by The Nasty Boys. On the January 21 episode of
Impact!, The Nasty Boys competed in their first match for TNA, defeating
Eric Young and
Kevin Nash. On the January 28 episode of
Impact!, The Nasty Boys and Team 3D got into an intense confrontation as they hyped their upcoming match. On the February 4 episode of
Impact!, The Nasty Boys attacked Team 3D following a match until
Hernandez and
Matt Morgan ended the confrontation. At
Against All Odds in
Orlando, Florida, The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3D in a tag team match when
Jimmy Hart made his return and interfered in the match on The Nasty Boys' behalf. 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. The Nasty Boys and Hart continued their feud with Team 3D on the March 15 episode of
Impact!, defeating them and returning
Brother 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. On March 29, 2010, The Nasty Boys were released by TNA.
Retirement and aftermath Their last match together was on April 20, 2019, teaming with
Jacob Fatu as they defeated Leo Brien, Mike Patrick and Drew Sipilia for Legends Of Wrestling in Fraser, Michigan. 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. ==Reputation==