Two rough-and-tumble punks from the 'mean streets' of Allentown, PA (a hub of WWE activity through the territory days), Brian 'Knobbs' Yandrisovitz and Jerry 'Sags' Saganowich got their start in the mid-1980s. After some brief stints in the AWA, Tennessee and Florida, they received their big break in WCW in 1990. Despite spending less than a year working for Turner, they gained valuable experience and TV exposure, especially in a feud with Rick and Scott Steiner over the United States Tag Team Championships.

RELATED: 8 Backstage Stories About The Nasty Boys Fans Should Know

The duo went North in late 1990, hooking up with manager 'Mouth of the South' Jimmy Hart and immediately impacting WWE. They won the Tag Titles in a surprising defeat of the Hart Foundation at Wrestlemania 7, losing them to the Legion of Doom at SummerSlam '91. Eventually, they turned babyface due to Hart's neglect, but their run as fan favorites was short-lived as, despite a couple of short feuds with Money Inc and the Headshrinkers, they returned to WCW in Summer 1993.

6 The Headshrinkers - 1993

nasty-boys-headshrinkers-wwf-wwe-monday-night-raw

Knobbs and Sags' series of matches against WWE's new Headshrinkers were fairly unmemorable and mostly relegated to house shows aside from a double count-out on a March episode of Raw. At this point, the focus was on the heel duo led by a Vince McMahon favorite, manager Afa the Wild Samoan.

Somewhat surprisingly, the two teams nearly crossed paths three years prior in WCW, as the Nasty Boys joined the company around the same time that Summer when Fatu and Samu, then working as the Samoan Swat Team, departed. However, it wasn't to be, and their short 1993 series was the only time the two teams would meet.

5 Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sgt. Slaughter - 1992

slaughter-duggan-wwf-wwe-nasty-boys-tag-team-champions

Matching 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan with Sgt. Slaughter in late 1991 was all about rehabilitating the Sarge in the eyes of the fans. An Iraqi turncoat until the Fall, Slaughter was having difficulty earning their trust back after spending the better part of the past two years wearing the enemy flag. His corny 'I want my country back' vignettes weren't doing much to convince anybody that he'd sincerely seen the red, white and blue light.

RELATED: Top 10 Luckiest Wrestlers In WWE History

Enter eternal patriot Duggan, who was as solid a good guy as anybody aside from Hulk Hogan at the time. The Nasty Boys were a vital part of the story that brought Slaughter and Duggan together when the former WWE Champion saved the company's resident 'tough guy' from a beatdown from the Allentown thug. Duggan and Slaughter subsequently formed a regular team, facing them on house shows but never on television before the patriots transitioned to a feud with the Natural Disasters.

4 The Rockers & The Bushwhackers - 1991

nasty-boys-rockers-bushwhackers-beverly-brothers-wwe-survivor-series

When the Nasty Boys' dozens of house show return matches failed in attempts to regain the WWE Tag Team Championships from the Legion of Doom, they dropped back down the card into feuds with two of the company's premier mid-card tag teams of the era - the Rockers and the Bushwhackers. We include the two in one entry because they were concurrent, stretching for months on both ends of their match - teaming with the Beverly Brothers of Beau and Blake - against the babyface tandems at Survivor Series 1991.

Knobbs and Sags won most of the house show matches against both teams, although the several-month stretch is probably best remembered for the role the eight-man tag match played in the eventual breakup of the Rockers. For the others, the series of bouts seemed more so just something to do while the Legion of Doom and the Natural Disasters dominated the title picture.

3 Hart Foundation - 1991

hart-foundation-nasty-boys-wwe-tag-championship-wrestlemania-7

When the Nasty Boys - accompanied by well-known heel manager 'Mouth of the South' Jimmy Hart, joined WWE in 1990 - they immediately set their sights on Bret 'Hitman' Hart and Jim 'the Anvil' Neidhart. Knobbs and Sags were pushed from the gate and surprised some fans when they - with the aid of Mouth's interference, of course - defeated his former charges for the Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania 7.

Despite only having a few matches against one another - a few house show matches between the two were held in the months before Wrestlemania, presumably so they could get familiar - this feud is notable because it was a career-maker for the Nasties. Being Tag Team Champions in the Golden Era especially was still impressive. Even though Bret's singles push ensured no return matches would happen between the teams, Knobbs and Sags will always owe some of their fame to the Harts.

2 Leigon of Doom - 1991

nasty-boys-leigon-of-doom-hawk-animal-wwe-tag-team-championships

After winning the WWE Tag Team Championships from one of the greatest teams the company had seen until that point in the Hart Foundation, the sky seemed to be the limit for the Nasty Boys. However, it was only a matter of time before the Legion of Doom, who'd joined the company the prior year to a babyface logjam at the top of the tag division, finally got their hands on the gold.

RELATED: 10 Transitional Champions Who Were Actually Great

Sadly, the 'Nasties' were indeed transitional champions, and despite holding their own in a feud with the Legion of Doom, they dropped the belts to Hawk and Animal at SummerSlam 1991. Unfortunately for Knobbs and Sags, they wouldn't recapture the belts despite a long series of return matches on house shows through the Fall.

1 Money Inc. - 1992

survivor-series-1992-nasty-boys-money-inc-wwe-wwf

When the Nasty Boys couldn't regain the WWE Tag Team Championships from the Legion of Doom in Fall 1991, manager Jimmy Hart decided to pivot to his new team of 'Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster, Money Inc. Knobbs and Sags took a step back while Money Inc eventually won the Championships from Hawk and Animal in early 1992.

DiBiase and I.R.S. dominated the title picture alongside Hart's other former charges (the Natural Disasters) as the Nasties spent the better part of the year mired in mid-card house show matches with the Bushwhackers and High Energy. Eventually, in late summer, the Nasties grew tired of Hart's antics and, wondering when they'd receive an opportunity to go after the titles they lost only a year prior, confronted the 'Mouth of the South' over his favoritism. Despite being unable to defeat the greedy duo for the titles in a series of matches that stretched into early 1993, the babyface turn gave the stale duo a brief shot in the arm that helped them gain relevance before they left for WCW later that year.