He was a founding member of Tony Rumble's The Brotherhood, a "heel" stable which dominated NWA New England during the late 1990s, and which included Eric Sbraccia, Dukes Dalton and Rick Fuller.
[1] 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 a young man, he decided to try his luck in the business after reading an article in the Warwick Beacon of a retired professional wrestler starting a local independent promotion.
Earlier that year, he had also appeared on the 1st annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, defeating the Inferno Kid[10][11] after hitting him with brass knuckles.
[13] On March 17, 1997, Knuckles Nelson appeared on Monday Night Nitro alongside longtime independent star T. Rantula to take on Lex Luger & The Giant in Savannah, Georgia.
At the end of the night, Nelson and Tre took part in a 10-man tag team match with Tony Rumble, Waldo and Rick Fuller to beat Vic Steamboat, El Mascarado, Baby Black and the Power Company.
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 in attendance, other high-profile stars included Tony Rumble, King Kong Bundy, Tito Santana, Devon Storm and Johnny Grunge.
[27] Staying in NWA New England, he and Dukes Dalton defeated Jason Rage & Slyk Wagner Brown at a house show in Southbridge, Massachusetts, several days later.
[27] He and Rick Fuller briefly lost the titles to The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge) in Bolton, Massachusetts, on June 17,[29][30] but regained them two days later with Dukes Dalton in Dorchester.
[32] 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, on September 22.
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.
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".