article

Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979 in Richmond, Virginia), better by his ring name, Joey Mercury, is an American professional wrestler. Birch is currently wrestling on the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Early career

Birch debuted on June 12, 1996 under the ring name Joey Matthews. His career began with Maryland Championship Wrestling, where he held a variety of titles. He was also part of OMEGA, a high-flying promotion run by Matt and Jeff Hardy. His first national exposure came after he left OMEGA and formed a tag team, the Badstreet Boys, with fellow OMEGA alumni Christian York. The Badstreet Boys wrestled in multiple promotions before joining Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in late 2000. The bankruptcy of ECW in April 2001 forced them to return to the independent circuit. The Badstreet Boys eventually split, with Birch wrestling as a singles wrestler for Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

World Wrestling Entertainment

In early 2005, Birch was signed to a developmental deal by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and assigned to the Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory. Birch formed a tag team with Johnny Nitro, and the duo formed a stable with their manager Melina. The stable - "MNM" - took its name from their respective surnames (Birch was renamed Joey Mercury).

On April 14, 2005, MNM debuted on Smackdown!, attacking Rey Mysterio. On April 21, 2005 Birch, along with Nitro, defeated Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to the Legion of Doom on July 24, 2005 at The Great American Bash, but regained them on the October 28, 2005 episode of SmackDown!. MNM lost the titles to Batista and Rey Mysterio on the December 16, 2005 episode of SmackDown!, but regained them on the December 30, 2005 episode of SmackDown! with help from the returning Mark Henry.

MNM began feuding with Brian Kendrick and Paul London in April 2006, and on May 21, 2006 at Judgment Day 2006, Kendrick and London defeated MNM for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The stable disbanded later that evening after Melina blamed Mercury for the loss and SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long fired both Melina and Nitro (kayfabe). Although WWE has not made an official announcement, it has been reported by several Internet wrestling news sites that Birch's disappearance from SmackDown! storylines after the breakup of MNM is due to a suspension related to the WWE Wellness Program, which was implemented after the death of Eddie Guerrero.

In wrestling

  • Finishing and signature moves

  • Managers

Championships and accomplishments

  • Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestling
Won on January 15 2000
Lost to Jimmy Cicero and Dino Divine on July 15 2000

  • American Wrestling Council
  • 1-time AWC Light Heavyweight Champion

  • Delaware Championship Wrestling
  • DCW Tag Team Championship (with Christian York)
Defeated Kappa Tappa Kegga and Danny Doring and Chris Chetti on April 6 2003 to become the first champions
Lost to Kappa Tappa Kegga on July 20 2003

  • Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance
  • 2-time IPWA Light Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time IPWA Tag Team Champion (with Mark Shrader)

Won from Christian York on May 21 1999 in Wheaton, Maryland, USA
Lost to Platinum Nat on June 17 1999 in Dundalk, Maryland, USA

Won from The Holy Rollers (Earl the Pearl and Rich Meyers) on May 17 2000 in Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA
Lost to Dino Divine and Christopher Carmichael on August 2 2000 in Ocean City, Maryland, USA

Won on July 18 2001

  • MCW Tag Team Championship (with Christian York)
Won from The Holy Rollers on November 3 2001 in Paw Paw, West Virginia, USA
Lost to The Slackers (Chad Bowman and Dino Divine) on May 22 2002 in Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA

Won from Romeo Valentino on May 22 2002 in Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA
Lost to Doug Delicious on May 15 2003 in Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA

  • Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation
  • MEWF Tag Team Championship (with Christian York)
Won from Steve Corino and Jimmy Cicero on October 23 1997
Lost to Jimmy Cicero and Julio Sanchez on November 13 1997

  • NWA 2000 Light Heavyweight Championship
Defeated Christian York to win the vacant title on September 6 1997 in Raeford, North Carolina, USA
Lost to Christian York on January 3 1998 in Raeford, North Carolina, USA

Won from Bad Attitude (Rick Michaels and David Young) on February 3 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Lost to Bad Attitude on February 17 2001 in Cornelia, Georgia, USA

  • New York Wrestling Connection
  • 1-time NYWC Heavyweight Champion

  • 2-time OMEGA Light Heavyweight Champion

Won from Mac Johnson and Seth Skyfire on November 10 2004 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Lost to The Thrillseekers (Matt Cappotelli and Johnny Jeter) on January 19 2005 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA

  • Pro Pain Pro Wrestling
  • 3PW Heavyweight Championship
Won from Raven on April 17 2004 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Lost to Christopher Daniels on August 24 2004 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Southern Championship Wrestling
  • SCW Junior Heavyweight Championship
Defeated The Intruder to win the vacant title on November 22 1997 in Louisburg, North Carolina, USA
Lost to Steve Corino on January 29 1998 in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

  • SCW Junior Heavyweight Championship (2)
Won from Christian York on May 8 1998 in Wendell, North Carolina, USA
Lost to Kid Dynamo on July 31 1998 in Southern Pines, North Carolina, USA

  • SCW Junior Heavyweight Championship (3)
Won from Kid Dynamo on August 20 1998 in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Lost to Christian York on November 21 1998 in Louisburg, North Carolina, USA

  • Steel City Wrestling
  • SCW Tag Team Championship (with Christian York)
Won from The Blue Meanie and Julio Sanchez (subbing for an injured Super Nova) on December 20 1998 in Irwin, Pennsylvania, USA
Lost to Lou Marconi and Dennis Gregory on April 1 1999 in Irwin, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Ultimate Championship Wrestling
  • 1-time UCW Heavyweight Champion

  • Virginia Championship Wrestling
  • VCW Tag Team Championship (with Christian York)
Won from Ray Storm and Mark Anthony on December 1 2001 in Smithfield, Virginia, USA
Titles later vacated

Won from Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero on April 18 2005 in New York City, New York, USA
Lost to Road Warrior Animal and Heidenreich on July 24 2005 in Buffalo, New York, USA

  • WWE Tag Team Championship (2) (with Johnny Nitro)
Won from Road Warrior Animal and Heidenreich on October 25 2005 in San Francisco, California, USA
Lost to Batista and Rey Mysterio on December 13 2005 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

  • WWE Tag Team Championship (3) (with Johnny Nitro)
Won from Batista and Rey Mysterio on December 27 2005 in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
Lost to Paul London and Brian Kendrick on May 21 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA

  • Other promotions
  • 1-time Five Star Light Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time PCW Tag Team Champion (with Christian York)

External links

1979 births | American professional wrestlers | ECW alumni | Living people | People from Virginia | People from Richmond, Virginia

Adam Birch | Adam Birch | アダム・バーチ

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Adam Birch".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world