The Nasty Boys

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[elliott]

I was searching for Tommy Rich matches on youtube and came across Rich and Ricky Morton vs The Nasty Boys from WCW Saturday Night 10/20/90 and immediately thought "nothing else happens in my life until I watch that fucking match." It wasn't a great match but it was a really fun studio style tag match. Tommy Rich played Ricky Morton and Ricky Morton played Robert Gibson. Nasty's brought some nice heel team work, stiff shots, and good bumps.

 

I'm a fan of the Nasty Boys. Like I said in the nominations thread, I don't think they're a contender for the top 10 or anything like that but I could see them sneaking into my bottom 20. I also think they're better than some of the teams nominated already so I figured I would throw them a nod. They "looked" like a tag team, worked a really violent style, and were good bumpers for guys their size. Everyone knows their big matches against The Steiners and Cactus & Friends. I suspect there are quite a few good matches like the one against Morton and Rich on early 90s WCW TV. Matt D should do an in-depth look at the Nastys.

[Timbo Slice]

I would put them in consideration. I'm watching them against Scorp and Bagwell from HH and they do some really great work. Plus those two street fights with Catcus and either Sullivan or Payne were just too great. I think I see them maybe at the bottom of my list.

[mookeighana]

 

they "looked" like a tag team, worked a really violent style, and were good bumpers for guys their size.

 

Exactly. I like "larger-than-life" wrestling characters and Nasty Boys always epitomized that. However, I'm always stunned at how few "great" matches are out there with them. I keep hoping we'll come across a hidden gem from some indy or from early in their career.

[Dylan Waco]

They have more great matches than the Hart Foundation and British Bulldogs put together

[elliott]

Shit, they probably have more great matches than Hansen and Dibiase as a team.

[El-P]

Kevin Sullivan said it best "Someone should have smartened them up.". They really understood tag team psychology, but what a bunch of horrible workers otherwise. Sloppy, dangerous, boring as hell as heels (loooooong control segment chockfull of restholds), awkward (although that played into their favors actually). They had a few really good match and tons of shitty ones too. Worked much better as babyfaces or when someone would beat the shit out of them (that's why the Steiner match is still their best one, although neither team are particulary good, but it they meshed perfectly). Saggs was the workhorse.

[elliott]

I like the Nastys as faces and as heels. But what are their best matches as babyfaces, excluding War Games 94? When I think of their very best matches, they are heels.

[elliott]

I should be watching 80s Lucha, but instead I'm binge watching Nasty Boys matches. I just watched 5 WCW Saturday Night matches I picked totally at random (and by that I mean, I avoided anything with Harlem Heat) against the following teams:

1. vs Ricky Steamboat and Sting

2. vs Arn Anderson and Paul Roma

3. vs Brad Armstrong and Lou Perez

4. vs. 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Bagwell (title change)

5. vs Ron Simmons and Ice Train

 

The Ice Train match was the worst one (which makes 10 year old me sad because 10 year old me was like ICE TRAIN! FUCK YES!) which shouldn't really be a shock to anyone. Honestly I probably liked the Brad Armstrong match the most (10 year old me would not know what to do with this turn of events). Arn Anderson did my least favorite spot in any of the matches oddly enough (after forearming the ring post and having his arm worked over, Arn did a really bad bridge up while in a top wristlock on the ground) but the match was still good.

 

The Nasty Boys were heels in all of the matches. They are all 10-13 minute traditional TV tag matches. They are all worked in a pretty standard formula with the babyfaces dominating to start, Nasty Boys cheating to take over and building to the hot tag then a work to the finish. They do a nice job cutting off the ring and isolating one guy. They do a good job misdirecting the referee so they can cheat without getting caught. The only spot in any of those 5 matches that was overly reckless or dangerous was honestly them running into each other off an irish whip reversal. They threw some stiff shots here and there but nothing on the level of your typical Vader or Hansen or Kawada etc matches. Other than their strikes, most of their offense was of the headbutt, leg drop, elbow drop, body slam variety. Although I imagine Saggs probably destroyed some people along the way with his top rope elbow drop.

 

I agree with EL-P's comment about them understanding tag team psychology. They definitely understand the staples of the style. They also show an understanding of general wrestling psychology in this group of matches. They get up and down bumping for Scorpio's arm drags and dropkicks. When they're in against Ice Train they're attempting shoulderblocks and eating then bumps from an "immovable object." They have an awesome and explosive "chopping down the tree" spot in that match. They also both flex and show off their muscles in a match with freaking Ice Train so that's solid heel showing ass schtick. They look as comfortable eating flashy 2 Cold Scorpio Offense as they do getting tossed by Ron Simmons.

 

What else...oh right "looooooong control segment chockfull of restholds." Yeah that didn't happen at all. They would work ab stretches but with one Nasty grabbing the other Nasty's hand for more "leverage." Which is just basic heel tag team psychology that is no different when the Nasty Boys do it than when the Midnight Express are. There is a bearhug spot in the Scorpio match but it is neither long nor boring and it helps build the heat in the match. I guess you could argue that the matches were too short for the Nasty's to chock them full of restholds, but I suspect most Nasty Boys matches were in the 10-15 minute range. So I really wasn't seeing them. Maybe the 5 totally random matches I found just happened to be the 5 matches (really it is 6 because the one vs Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton I watched yesterday is good too) they had that weren't terrible other than the ones that everyone already knows about.

 

I must admit, it wasn't a totally random selection of 5 matches. I started to watch one against the Southern Boys but I didn't want to be accused of only picking matches they were in opposite good workers. So instead of the match with Tracy Smothers, I watched the one with Ice Train. And it had them doing different spots than they had in the previous 4 matches. Spots tailored to making a green muscle head look good because that is what the match called for.

 

So, yeah. I think someone did a good job smartening them up no matter what Kevin Sullivan Says.

[El-P]

I guess you could argue that the matches were too short for the Nasty's to chock them full of restholds,

 

Yes.

 

But the matches with Scorp & Bagwell were actually some of my favourites heel Nasties matches, mostly because Scorp was so awesome an opponent for them. It's odd. The Nasties are not what I'd call good workers at all individually, but they were a pretty decent team overall, and since I love tag team wrestling, I enjoy the whole of the Nasties much more than the sum of their parts.

[elliott]

 

I guess you could argue that the matches were too short for the Nasty's to chock them full of restholds,

 

Yes.

 

But the matches with Scorp & Bagwell were actually some of my favourites heel Nasties matches, mostly because Scorp was so awesome an opponent for them. It's odd. The Nasties are not what I'd call good workers at all individually, but they were a pretty decent team overall, and since I love tag team wrestling, I enjoy the whole of the Nasties much more than the sum of their parts.

 

 

I agree that they're much much much better as a team. I will not be watching and pimping any Brian Knobbs singles matches.

 

They're a good example of psychology and character work being more important than execution and innovation. They worked exactly as you would expect two big homeless dudes to work in a pro wrestling context.

 

And we agree on the greatness of Scorpio.

[El-P]

Execution matters to me, a lot, but in case of the Nasties, their sloppiness worked along their character. That doesn't mean I'll praise them for being sloppy though. If they were really good workers, they would project messy chaotic brawling, like the Samoans would. But yeah, it works allright in the end because it fits them.

[goodhelmet]

I have always meant to put together a Nastys comp for shits and giggles. I may have to do one for this project.

[Coffey]

I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with being the high vote on The Nasty Boys. I love them. They are pro-wrestling to me. When I was falling out of favor with wrestling, their brawls helped to drag me back in. There's a big emotional connection with me to them because of that. I loved their hardcore/street fight tags in early 90's WCW. Vicious, crazy, wild clubberin'.

 

They're in my top 5 and won't be lower than that. Whenever my friend John & I are looking for something to watch, if we can't decide, we usually pick a card that has a Nasty Boys tag team match on it. I'm ridiculously high on them. They entertain the hell outta me. In truth, the Nasty Boys are the reason I even want to submit a tag team ballot. Their stuff looked real, it looked like people were getting mauled. I don't mind the headlocks so much. There's a match with The Steiners where Knobbs takes a Frankensteiner & I thought his neck was broken. It was insane looking!

 

I realize some people won't have them on their lists at all & I'm totally fine with that. I'll be representin' the Boys, though.

[LowBlowPodcast]

I wish we could have voted for Tag Teams after the singles stretch wore down to do some more watching. Seeing these guys in the wild brawls and good tag team matches, not to mention they are the first WWF and WCW tag team champions (Tully and Arn were NWA) gives them a great edge for me. They aren't the greatest of all time, but they are definitely enjoyable when they are on. Steiners vs Nasties Havoc 90 still holds up as one of my all time fav tag matches.

[Matt D]

I think I missed this thread before. I'm not entirely sure what to do with it now.

[elliott]

I think I missed this thread before. I'm not entirely sure what to do with it now.

 

You should do a Nasty Boys deep dive. I want to see Brian Knobbs on your 2026 List.