New Jack and John Kronus first joined forces after New Jack's partner Mustafa Saed and Kronus's partner Perry Saturn both left ECW. Their first match together was on August 21, 1997, when they defeated ECW World Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) in a non-title match. This led to a series of matches between the teams, during which New Jack and Kronus defeated the Dudleys for the title belts at ECW's As Good as it Gets event on September 20, 1997 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They successfully defended the belts against the Dudleys and the team of Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney over the following month. The Gangstanators held the titles until October 18 of that year, when they lost to The Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido and Tracy Smothers) in Philadelphia.
After losing the titles, The Gangstanators continued their feud with the Dudleys. Spike Dudley also entered the feud on the side of the New Jack and Kronus, fighting against his kayfabe brothers. He joined The Gangstanators in six-man matches and sometimes took Kronus' place as New Jack's partner. As the year went on, Kronus, New Jack, and Spike Dudley focused more on their singles careers, although they still teamed with each other on occasion.