MNM (professional wrestling)

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MNM
Nitro (left), Melina (center), and Mercury (right) on an episode of SmackDown in 2006
Stable
MembersJoey Mercury
Johnny Nitro
Melina
Name(s)MNM
Billed heightsMercury:
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Nitro:
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Melina:
5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[2]
Combined
billed weight		555 lb (252 kg) (Mercury, Nitro and Melina)
Billed fromLos Angeles, California
Former
member(s)		Mark Henry
Jillian Hall
Debut2004
DisbandedMarch 26, 2007

MNM (Mercury, Nitro, and Melina) was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that consisted of Joey Mercury (previously Joey Matthews), Johnny Nitro, and their manager Melina Perez.[3] Their group name was derived from the first letter of Mercury and Nitro's last names, along with the first letter of Melina's first.

Mercury and Nitro first began teaming together in 2004 in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's developmental territory in Louisville, Kentucky. Melina, who at the time was Nitro's actual girlfriend, soon joined them in February 2005 as their manager. While situated in OVW, Mercury and Nitro captured the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on one occasion.

MNM were called up to the SmackDown! roster and on their debut in April 2005, Mercury and Nitro went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.[4] While in WWE, their gimmick was that of a trio of Hollywood celebrities, complete with a red carpet ring entrance, that had them accompanied by "paparazzi".[2] The duo would go on to drop the titles in July 2005. After their third and final reign ended in May 2006, Nitro and Melina turned on Mercury. Nitro and Melina were let go from the SmackDown! roster and debuted on the Raw brand. In November 2006, MNM reunited for a brief period, before Mercury was let go from his contract in March 2007. They have, at certain points, been joined by other members including Mark Henry and Jillian Hall.

History

Ohio Valley Wrestling

MNM was formed in the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) "farm territory" Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Melina Perez, Johnny Nitro's actual girlfriend, was introduced into the company as his ex-girlfriend, an ally of Matt Cappotelli with whom Nitro was engaged in a feud. Almost immediately, however, Perez turned on Cappotelli and re-sided with Nitro. Together they introduced Joey Matthews to become MNM.[5] While in OVW, Nitro and Matthews won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once, holding it for over two months.[6]

SmackDown!

MNM were called up to the main SmackDown! roster in April 2005, with Matthews undergoing a name change to "Joey Mercury".[7] They made their debut during Carlito's interview segment, Carlito's Cabana, where they interrupted an interview between Carlito and Rey Mysterio, attacking Mysterio, and beginning a feud with Mysterio and his partner, Eddie Guerrero, over the WWE Tag Team Championship.[8][9] Two weeks later, in their debut match on the SmackDown! brand, they defeated Mysterio and Guerrero to win the WWE Tag Team titles after Guerrero walked out in the middle of the match.[10][11] While Nitro and Mercury held the championship Melina was placed in an angle with Heidenreich, publicly mocking him[12] and being the impetus for an attack on him by Nitro and Mercury.[13] During the assault, Road Warrior Animal saved Heidenreich from the attack.[13] Together, Heidenreich and Road Warrior, challenged Mercury and Nitro for the tag titles at the Great American Bash, in which they defeated MNM.[14]

The loss of the tag team championship was seen as "bad publicity" by Melina so she introduced Jillian Hall, a storyline spin doctor to repair their image.[15] Hall worked as something of a fourth member of MNM in addition to a "PR agent". In addition to her getting them a cover article in SmackDown! magazine, in storyline, she helped Melina in her feud with Torrie Wilson[16] and managed Nitro and Mercury against Booker T and Sharmell.[17][18][19] In September, Hall left the group to join John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), who had lost a match to Rey Mysterio.[20]

On the October 28 episode of SmackDown!, Mercury and Nitro were placed into a fatal four way tag team match against the Mexicools (Super Crazy and Psicosis), William Regal and Paul Birchall, and the WWE Tag Team Champions L.O.D. 2005 (Heidenreich and Road Warrior Animal) and after The Dicks (Chad and James) interfered, Mercury and Nitro were able to perform the Snapshot on Heidenreich, to win the title for a second time.[21][22] This time they only held the belt for two months, losing them to the team of Batista and Rey Mysterio on the December 16 episode of SmackDown!.[23][24] On the same night, Melina attempted to persuade Batista to forfeit the match, bribing him with sex, only to have him thank her for "the warm up".[23][24] Two weeks later Mark Henry was added to the group as Melina's bodyguard, after she claimed she felt she had been sexually harassed by Batista and promptly helped MNM win the tag title back.[25][26] Henry was only with the group a short time before his contract was, in storyline, sold to Daivari.[14][27]

In April 2006, MNM were placed in an angle in which they found themselves in a losing streak against the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick. In non-title tag team matches, singles matches, and even a six man tag match, London and Kendrick defeated the duo.[28][29][30] At the Judgment Day pay-per-view in May, in a title match, MNM dropped the titles to London and Kendrick.[31] After the match, Nitro and Melina turned on Mercury, disbanding the group.[31] At the same event, Melina lost to former associate Jillian Hall, in a match with a controversial ending, prompting her to complain to SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long – and eventually slapping him – which got both her and Nitro, in storyline, fired from the brand, sending them to Raw.[32] In reality Mercury was about to begin serving a suspension for violating the WWE Wellness program.[7]

Reunion

After a brief stint back in OVW, Mercury returned to WWE, reuniting MNM, in late November 2006 to answer an open challenge put out by The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) for the December to Dismember pay-per-view.[33] At the event, MNM lost to the Hardys.[34] MNM and the Hardys met again at Armageddon as part of a fatal four way ladder match, which also included the teams of Dave Taylor and William Regal and Paul London and Brian Kendrick.[34] During the match, which saw London and Kendrick retain, Mercury was legitimately injured when he was struck in the face with a ladder, necessitating a trip to the emergency room where his broken nose received 15 stitches.[35] The facial injury was worked into the angle, and when Mercury returned wearing a protective covering on his face, the rivalry between the teams intensified with MNM actively seeking to injure one or both of the Hardys, even going so far as to attack and perform a Snapshot on Matt on exposed concrete following a match.[36]

After their feud with the Hardy's was over, Nitro and Melina continued to team on Raw, while Mercury wrestled in singles competition on SmackDown!, mostly being used to put over other superstars.

On March 26, 2007, through WWE's official website, it was announced that Mercury had been released from his contract, thus ending MNM as a stable.[37][38] Melina and Nitro's association began to fizzle out when Melina became the WWE Women's Champion and began garnering attention as a singles performer. For a short time Nitro gained Kenny Dykstra as a partner,[39][40] until the 2007 supplemental draft placed Nitro on the ECW brand, Dykstra on SmackDown!, and Melina remained on Raw.[41]

In wrestling

  • Ring entrance
    • After their entrance music entitled "Paparazzi" started playing, members of the "paparazzi" come out, placing a red carpet for MNM to walk on. As they walk, the paparazzi takes photos of them in exaggerated Hollywood movie premiere fashion.
    • The male members of MNM usually wore fur coats to the ring. As they take them off, Melina suggestively rubs their abs while removing the title belts from their pants, where they hang in an exaggerated phallic fashion.
    • Melina has a signature entrance which involves her doing a split on the ring apron—from the floor—then bending forward and crawling under the bottom rope.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ "Johnny Nitro's WWE Profile". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  2. ^ a b "Melina's WWE Profile". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  3. ^ "History of the WWE Tag Team Title - MNM". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  4. ^ a b "WWE (Smackdown) Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  5. ^ "Melina Perez profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  6. ^ a b "OVW Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  7. ^ a b "MNM profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  8. ^ Carrington, L. Anne (April 14, 2005). "SmackDown Results -4/14/05 -Chicago, IL (Kurt Angle vs. Guerrero)". WrestleView. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  9. ^ "SmackDown! results - April 14, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  10. ^ "His Time Is Now". World Wrestling Entertainment. April 21, 2005. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  11. ^ "SmackDown! results - April 28, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  12. ^ "SmackDown! results - June 16, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  13. ^ a b "SmackDown! results - July 14, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  14. ^ a b PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards". Kappa Publishing. p. 118.
  15. ^ "SmackDown! results - July 28, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  16. ^ Dunham, Jeremy. "SmackDown Countdown 2006: Jillian Hall". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2007-07-02. Using her PR magic, Jillian secured the cover of SmackDown Magazine for the duo as well as "fixing" a problem Melina had with Torrie Wilson, aiding Melina in defeating the Diva on SmackDown.
  17. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 4, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  18. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 11, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  19. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 18, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  20. ^ "SmackDown! results - September 16, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  21. ^ Martin, Adam (2005-10-28). "Lights out". WrestleView. World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  22. ^ "SmackDown! results - October 28, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  23. ^ a b Benjamin, Charlie (2005-12-16). "SmackDown Results - 12/16/05 - Springfield, MA (NEW Tag Champs)". WrestleView. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  24. ^ a b "SmackDown! results - December 16, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  25. ^ Benjamin, Charlie (2005-12-30). "SmackDown Results - 12/30/05 - Uncasville, CT (New Tag Champs...)". WrestleView. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  26. ^ "SmackDown! results - December 30, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  27. ^ PWI Staff (2006). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated, May 2006". Arena Reports. Kappa Publishing. p. 132. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  28. ^ "Breaking New Ground". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2006-04-07. Retrieved 2006-04-07.
  29. ^ Benjamin, Charlie (2006-04-21). "SmackDown Results - 4/21/06 - St. Louis, MO (Big Celebration, More)". WrestleView. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  30. ^ Dee, Louie (2006-04-28). "The Dream stays alive". WrestleView. World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-03-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ a b Williams III, Ed (May 21, 2006). "London & Kendrick are golden; MNM are broken". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  32. ^ PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards". Kappa Publishing. p. 121.
  33. ^ Dee, Louie (2006-11-27). "R-K-Anarchy". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
  34. ^ a b PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards". Kappa Publishing. p. 122.
  35. ^ "Update on Joey Mercury". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2006-12-18. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  36. ^ PWI Staff. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated, May 2007". Arena Reports. Kappa Publishing. p. 130. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  37. ^ "Joey Mercury released". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2007-03-26. Archived from the original on 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  38. ^ Waldman, Jon. "Mercury released by WWE". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  39. ^ "Raw results - May 21, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  40. ^ "Raw results - May 28, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  41. ^ "2007 Supplemental Draft results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  42. ^ "Tag Team of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  43. ^ "WWF Women's World Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved 2007-07-02.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MNM_(professional_wrestling)&oldid=295777280"