Brendan Higgins (born September 26, 1963),

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

. "Statistics for Professional Wrestlers." ''2001 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts''. 6th ed. Fort Washington, PA: London Publishing Company, 2001. (pg. 47) best known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Knuckles Nelson is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, promoter and trainer who wrestled throughout the North American

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

during the 1990s and 2000s. He competed in several regional promotions such as the

Century Wrestling Alliance The Century Wrestling Alliance, formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England, is a New England-based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler and ...

, the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

and the

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling ...

. He also briefly appeared in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

and the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

as well as touring Japan as Super Destroyer between 1997 and 1999. He was a founding member of

Tony Rumble Anthony David Magliaro (November 6, 1956 – November 13, 1999) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name Boston Bad Boy Tony Rumble. He competed on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during th ...

's The Brotherhood, a "

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

which dominated

NWA New England The Century Wrestling Alliance, formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England, is a New England-based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler and ...

during the late 1990s, and which included Eric Sbraccia, Dukes Dalton and

Rick Fuller Richard Fuller (born February 18, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Early life Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated fr ...

. He and Sbraccia won the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

in 1998, and defended both the World and NWA New England titles with Sbraccia and other Brotherhood members in their home promotion for almost two years. Following Rumble's death, Nelson helped run NWA New England for a time and later became a full-time booker and promoter for Wrestling Star Wars until his retirement in 2003. As head of "The Combat Zone" wrestling school, he was involved in training several independent wrestlers, most notably,

Yankee Pro Wrestling Top Rope Promotions (formerly known as Yankee Pro Wrestling and South Coast Championship Wrestling) is a North Eastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is the largest promotion in the Southern Ne ...

veteran "Big Gun" Jim Sergeant.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. As a child, he often watched wrestling on

Fox 25 Boston WFXT (channel 25) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with the Fox network and owned by Cox Media Group. Its studios are located on Fox Drive (near the Boston-Providence Turnpike) in Dedham, and its ...

and was a fan of both

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...

and the

Von Erich family The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fri ...

as well as a reader of wrestling newsletters '' The Torch'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''. As a young man, he decided to try his luck in the business after reading an article in the

Warwick Beacon Beacon Communications is a privately owned newspaper publisher serving the suburban Rhode Island cities of Cranston, Johnston and Warwick. Begun in 1969 by John Howell and Anthony Ritacco, as a vehicle to purchase the ''Warwick Beacon'', the c ...

of a retired professional wrestler starting a local independent promotion. He and a friend visited a trainer at the promotion's headquarters, then occupying a rundown warehouse in Providence, and returned the following day to start their first training session. It was there that they met local independent wrestlers Bob Evans and Paul Lazon who invited them to their wrestling school in

Freetown, Massachusetts Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,206 at the 2020 census. Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the la ...

. Nelson took them up on their offer and soon began training at the Freetown facility. It was there that he met Nick Steel and Brian Brieger who, in addition to Evans and Lazon, became his principal trainers. One of his earliest matches was against his former trainer Bob Evans whom he defeated at a show in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. He eventually made his debut in 1994, under the name Tully McShane, and spent some time in Coastal Pro Wrestling before meeting

who would bring him into his emerging Boston promotion, the

Century Wrestling Alliance (1995-1998)

Nelson's first match in the CWA was under a mask and against Rumble himself. He suffered a bloody mouth during the match and Rumble ended up beating him with a

Boston crab The Boston crab is a professional wrestling hold that typically starts with one wrestler lying in a supine position on the mat, with the other wrestler standing and facing them. It is a type of spinal lock where the wrestler hooks each of the opp ...

submission hold. Rumble paid him $100 and booked for three more shows beginning the start of his long career in the promotion. Rumble didn't like the "Tully McShane" name and began helping develop his later in-ring persona, Knuckles Nelson. On February 4, 1995, Nelson made a one-time appearance in the

where he teamed with The Shadow against

PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...

(

J. C. Ice James Dundee (born James Cruickshanks) (born July 5, 1971) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Extre ...

Wolfie D Kelly Warren Wolfe (born December 7, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. Wolfe is perhaps best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name Wolfie D (as o ...

). PG-13, then feuding with

Tommy Rich Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy “Wildfire” Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion and Smoky Mountain Wrestling ...

and

Doug Gilbert Douglas Gilbert (born February 5, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with regional professional wrestling promotions throughout the Southern United States, as well as for Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

over the

USWA Tag Team Championship The USWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The Continental Wrestling Association and World Class Wrestling ...

, were attacked by their rivals during the post-match interview. Back in the CWA, he was initially paired with Sonny C as The Cash Money Boys but split up and feuded with each other during 1996. A top contender to the

CWA Heavyweight Championship The CWA Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title defended in the Championship Wrestling Association. It was created through the unification of the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight, AWA Southern Heavyweight and CWA/AWA Intern ...

during this time, he was unable to take the title from then champion Kevin Sullivan. He did, however, win the

CWA Television Championship The Century Wrestling Alliance Television Championship is a secondary wrestling title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. It was first known by that name when the title was first established in 1994, and was renamed as the NWA New England Televisi ...

from

Vic Steamboat Victor Hersey Blood (born April 18, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known by his ring name, Vic Steamboat. He is the younger brother of professional wrestler Ricky Steamboat, whom he took his ring name after. The majority ...

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...

on July 6, 1996. Earlier that year, he had also appeared on the '' 1st annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show'' in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

defeating the Inferno Kid after hitting him with

brass knuckles Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

. He was also a regular on the promotion's television show, ''Mass Madness''. On one occasion, during a match against a young

Steve Bradley Steven James Bisson (December 10, 1975 – December 4, 2008) was an American professional wrestler who wrestled under the ring name Steve Bradley. He competed in various North American independent promotions as well as spending over three years ...

, Nelson attempted to use his brass knuckles but lost them to Bradley. The referee, seeing the foreign object, immediately disqualified Bradley giving Nelson the win. It was also on the show that he started teaming with Erich Sbraccia. On March 17, 1997, Knuckles Nelson appeared on '' Monday Night Nitro'' alongside longtime independent star T. Rantula to take on

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

& The Giant in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He and his tag team partner lost the match when The Giant pinned Nelson with a

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...

and, following the match, Luger put T. Rantula in the " Torture Rack". On May 18, he faced another WCW tag team, The Power Company (Dave & Dean Power), whom he and partner Tre lost to. At the end of the night, Nelson and Tre took part in a 10-man tag team match with Tony Rumble, Waldo and

to beat Vic Steamboat, El Mascarado, Baby Black and the Power Company. Holding the CWA Television Championship for over a year and a half, Nelson lost the title back to Steamboat in

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...

on December 8, 1997.

NWA New England (1998-1999)

On January 24, 1998, Knuckle Nelson appeared at a CWA fundraising event, billed as "Killer Kowalski Night" held at the high school in Ridgefield, CT. Along with

Killer Kowalski Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...

in attendance, other high-profile stars included Tony Rumble,

King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 5, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, ...

Tito Santana Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is a retired American professional wrestler and middle school teacher. Santana has stayed a babyface his entire career and he is best known for his appearances with t ...

Devon Storm Christopher Ford (born March 4, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Crowbar, where he was a one time Hardcore Champion, a one time World Tag Team Champion wi ...

and

Johnny Grunge Michael Lynn Durham (July 10, 1966 – February 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge. He is known for his appearances with Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestl ...

. That same night, the CWA announced that it would be joining the

and changed its name to NWA New England. That same year, Rumble arraigned for Nelson to tour Japan as Super Destroyer with

Barry Darsow Barry Allen Darsow (born October 6, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler who performed as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition. He also wrestled as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, The Blacktop Bully and "Mr. Hole in One" Barry ...

and Wild Bill Irwin, Irwin having once been a mainstay of

. By early-1998, Nelson had formed a successful tag team with Erich Sbraccia as part of Tony Rumble's "heel" stable The Brotherhood. Two months before dropping the television title to Steamboat, they had won the

CWA Tag Team Championship The CWA Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1988 through 1990, when it was abandoned and replaced with the United States Wrestling Association Ta ...

from The Extremists (

Ace Darling Michael Maraldo (born June 27, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Ace Darling. Darling has wrestled in various independent promotions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, most notably for the East Coast W ...

& Devon Storm) and held the titles until the CWA became NWA New England. He and Sbraccia later represented NWA New England in an interpromotional match at the '' NWA 50th Anniversary Show'' where they faced NWA World Tag Team Champions The Border Patrol (Agent Gunn & Agent Maxx) from

NWA All-Star Wrestling NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...

. This was a "Four Corners" match that included Team Extreme (Kit Carson & Khris Germany) from NWA Southwest and

Barry Windham Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...

Tully Blanchard Tully Arthur Blanchard (born January 22, 1954) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and manager. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s as a member of ...

, although Windham was later replaced with Dr.

Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler and author. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career Early career (1979–1986) Tom Prichard began his career in Los Angeles ...

. Together with manager Tony Rumble, The Brotherhood defeated The Border Patrol to win the titles. Although the NWA wanted Nelson and Sbraccia to tour the various NWA territories to defend the championship, Rumble fought to keep the titles in New England. Their run as the tag team champions is considered one of the high points in NWA New England's history. On February 18, 1999, Knuckles Nelson also won the

NWA New England Heavyweight Championship The CWA Heavyweight Championship is the primary professional wrestling singles title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. The title was first won by Tommy Dreamer who defeated "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas in a tournament final held in Wallingford, Connecti ...

from

Trooper Gilmore James E. Allen is an American professional wrestler and promoter, best known by his ringname "Big" Paulie Gilmore or Gilmorea, who wrestled on the New England independent circuit for the Century Wrestling Alliance, the National Wrestling Alliance ...

Mansfield, Massachusetts Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island. The vill ...

. Early in their title reign, Sbraccia was injured and other members of the stable often substituted for him. The titles were held up on March 3, 1999, when Nelson and his partner were forced to miss a scheduled title defense in

North Richland Hills, Texas North Richland Hills, commonly known as NRH, is a city inside Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a mid-to-high end suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 69,917 at the 2020 census, making it the third largest city in Tarrant County. In ...

due to heavy snow. Staying in NWA New England, he and Dukes Dalton defeated Jason Rage &

Slyk Wagner Brown Wagner Brown (born September 5, 1979) is a Jamaican born professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, SWB or Slyck Wagner Brown. Brown currently wrestles on the Independent circuit in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, SWB was ...

at a house show in

Southbridge, Massachusetts Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,740 at the 2020 census. Although Southbridge has a city form of government, it is legally known as the Town of Southbridge. History The area was in ...

several days later. He and Sbraccia also made their first WWF appearances, though wrestling in separate singles matches, taking on

Hardcore Holly Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career with ...

and

Mideon Dennis Knight (born December 26, 1968) is an American chef and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling between 1992 and 1994 under the ring name Tex Slazenger and with the World Wrestl ...

respectively in the opening matches of ''

Shotgun Saturday Night ''WWF Shotgun Saturday Night'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired from January 4, 1997 through August 21, 1999 as a syndicated broadcast. ''Shotgun Saturday Night'' ...

''. The Brotherhood were given back the belts after a June 10 rematch in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

winning via disqualification. He and Rick Fuller briefly lost the titles to

The Public Enemy ''The Public Enemy'' (''Enemies of the Public'' in the UK) is a 1931 American all-talking pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was directed by William A. Wellman and stars James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward ...

(

Rocco Rock Theodore James Petty (September 1, 1953 – September 21, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. Rock is best known for his appearances in Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championsh ...

) in

Bolton, Massachusetts Bolton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Bolton is in eastern Massachusetts, located 25 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston. The population was 5,665 at the 2020 census. History The town of Bolton was incorpora ...

on June 17, but regained them two days later with Dukes Dalton in Dorchester. He and Dalton also won the NWA Tag Team titles from The Arc Angels (Damon D'Arcangelo & Phoenix King) in Somerville on August 22 which, in addition to the NWA World Tag Team titles, they continued to defend for another month. He made another WWF appearance on the September 11th edition of ''

WWF Jakked ''WWF Jakked'' and ''WWF Metal'' are professional wrestling television programs that were produced by the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE). Both programs aired syndicated weekly from August 28, 1999 until May 19, 2002 and replaced '' ...

'' against

The Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as wel ...

. He and Dukes lost the NWA New England titles almost two weeks later to the New York Posse (Curtis Slamdawg & Jay Kobain) in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

on September 22. He wrestled Slamdawg, who also succeeded him as heavyweight champion, in a singles match at Somerville's Good Time Emporium that same day. He would face him again at an event for Connecticut Championship Wrestling in

East Haven, Connecticut East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 27,923. Located east of New Haven, it is part of the Greater New Haven area. East Haven is from Hartford, from New Yor ...

at the end of the year. On September 25, he and Dukes Dalton, managed by

Jeff Katz Jeff Katz is an American film producer and comic book author. Early life Katz is from Franklin, Michigan. He started a pen-pal relationship with New Line Cinema founder and future boss Bob Shaye after meeting Shaye's father at a dinner party ...

, lost the NWA World Tag Team titles to Team Extreme (Kit Carson & Khris Germany) at the '' NWA 51st Anniversary Show'' at the

Grady Cole Center Grady Cole Center is a small civic center located on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 3,000 seat center is located near the city's center, and can host several types of events. It was built in 19 ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. On October 30, he made a second appearance on ''WWF Jakked'' with Dukes Dalton against

The Headbangers The Headbangers are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh (Charles Warrington) and Thrasher (Glenn Ruth). As the name of the team implies, their gimmick is that they are a pair of metalheads, complete with heavy metal related T-shi ...

(

Mosh Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dance, dancing in which participants push or slam into each other, typically performed to "aggressive" live music such as heavy metal music, heavy metal and punk rock ...

Thrasher Thrashers are a New World group of perching bird, passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family (biology), family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genus, genera. T ...

). He and Dalton would regain the belts a final time, beating the New York Posse in

Thomaston, Connecticut Thomaston is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,442 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Thomaston census-designated place, with a population of 1,928 at the 2020 census. History The t ...

on October 2, and would continue to hold the belts until the stable split up early the next year. When promoter Tony Rumble died of a heart attack in November 1999, he and Katz were chosen by his widow and co-owner Ellen Magliaro to take over running the promotion. Shortly thereafter, Nelson started his own promotion and Katz moved to Las Vegas to take over the morning drive show on that market's most successful talk radio station. After that, he and Katz were replaced by Jason Delgatta. Delgatta portrayed Tony Rumble's

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

son, "Boston Bad Boy" Jason Rumble who would remain the top star in the promotion.

Wrestling Star Wars and retirement (1999-2003)

Nelson founded Wrestling Star Wars, a regional promotion based in Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts, which he initially started in memory of Tony Rumble feeling it was his duty "to continue his work". On October 11, 2003, Nelson retired from the business in favor of spending more time with his family. In August 2009, he gave an interview with longtime NWA commentator Brian Webster discussing his post-wrestling career and the current state of wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments

(1 time) :*

(1 time) – with Eric Sbraccia *

(3 times) – with Erich Sbraccia, Dukes Dalton and

(1 time) :*

NWA New England Television Championship The Century Wrestling Alliance Television Championship is a secondary wrestling title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. It was first known by that name when the title was first established in 1994, and was renamed as the NWA New England Televisi ...

(1 time) :*

NWA New England Tag Team Championship The CWA Tag Team Championship is the primary wrestling tag team title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. Double Trouble (Tony and Val Puccio) were the first team to win the titles by defeating The Interns in Wakefield, Massachusetts on September ...

(2 times) – with Dukes Dalton *

New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestlin ...

**Class of 2014 *

:*PWI ranked him #255 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1996.

References

External links

*
Knuckles Nelson
on Myspace *
CageMatch.de - Knuckles Nelson

GenickBruch.com - Knuckles Nelson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Knuckles 1963 births Living people American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Boston 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers NWA World Tag Team Champions

Biography

Early life and career

Century Wrestling Alliance (1995-1998)

NWA New England (1998-1999)

Wrestling Star Wars and retirement (1999-2003)

Championships and accomplishments

References

Further reading

External links