For the professional poker player see John Hennigan (poker player)

John Hennigan
Born	(1979-10-03) October 3, 1979 (age 44)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	John Hennigan Johnny Blaze Johnny Spade Johnny Superstar[1] Johnny Nitro
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Billed weight	[undue weight? – discuss][2]
Billed from	Los Angeles, California
Trained by	Tough Enough III trainers OVW staff Nick Dinsmore
Debut	January 27, 2003

John Hennigan (born October 3, 1979^{[citation needed]}), is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Johnny Nitro. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment, performing on the ECW brand,^[2] where he is the reigning ECW World Champion.^[4]

Career

Tough Enough

Hennigan began his professional wrestling career when he joined the third season of the WWE/MTV reality show Tough Enough. In the season finale he was named co-winner (with Matt Cappotelli),^[5] and awarded a WWE developmental contract and assigned to "farm territory" Ohio Valley Wrestling to continue his training.^[6]

2004-2006

In March 2004 Hennigan debuted on RAW as the (kayfabe) apprentice and assistant of RAW brand General Manager Eric Bischoff under the name Johnny Blaze.^[7] The next week his name was changed to Johnny Spade,^[8] and the week after that it was changed once more, this time to Johnny Nitro.^[9] It's worth noting that both the Johnny Spade and Johnny Blaze names had been in use before Hennigan used them, by an independent wrestler and by Marvel Comics respectively. The Nitro name, a name which finally stuck, was a reference to Monday Nitro, the flagship show of World Championship Wrestling which Bischoff had created, and to drive the point home he began using the Nitro theme music as his ring entrance music.^[10] Nitro was (kayfabe) fired from his position as Bischoff's assistant/apprentice on the June 7 RAW after he failed to defeat Eugene in a match.^[11]

After being "fired" from RAW, Nitro returned to OVW and started a feud with his former partner Matt Cappotelli. In the course of the feud Cappotelli brought in Nitro's (kayfabe) ex-girlfriend, Melina Perez, to embarrass him, only to get double-crossed by her when she and Nitro got back together. Not long after they were joined by Joey Mercury, forming the stable "MNM".^[12] MNM wrestled in OVW for around a year, winning the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once, before being called up to the main SmackDown! roster in April 2005. While on SmackDown!, they feuded with the teams of Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, Mysterio and Batista, the new LOD, and Paul London and Brian Kendrick. Together they captured the WWE Tag Team Championship on three occasions, all in their rookie year on the brand.^[13]

At Judgment Day 2006 in May, MNM lost the tag team title to London and Kendrick, with Nitro and Melina suddenly turned on Mercury after the match, breaking up the group.^[14] Later in the night, after Melina lost a match to Jillian Hall in controversial fashion, she and Nitro complained to SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long. Melina lost her temper and slapped Long, getting both her and Nitro (kayfabe) fired from the brand.^[15]

The next week Nitro (with Melina) debuted on the RAW brand in a loss to WWE Champion John Cena.^[16] The following week, Melina faked a sprained ankle, which allowed Nitro to roll-up a distracted Charlie Haas for his first RAW brand win.^[17]

Nitro immediately joined the hunt for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, finally defeating champion Shelton Benjamin at June's Vengeance in a Triple-Threat match, which also involved Carlito.^[18] Nitro held the belt, the first singles title of his career, for four months, feuding with several challengers before losing it to Jeff Hardy on the October 2 RAW.^[19] During his time on RAW, Nitro was involved in a sporadic rivalry with John Cena, the man who defeated him in his first RAW match. The feud was unique in that it also involved non-wrestler Kevin Federline, who appeared on the October 16 RAW from Los Angeles.^[20] Federline was (kayfabe) trained by Nitro for a January 1, 2007 match with Cena, which he ended up winning after outside interference from Umaga.^[21]

In the meantime, Nitro recaptured the Intercontinental title from Jeff Hardy on November 6 when former friend, and General Manager for the night, Eric Bischoff restarted a match that Nitro had been disqualified from.^[22] The very next week, however, Hardy won the title back.^[23] In November 2006 MNM reunited on an episode of RAW to accept an "open challenge" from The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) for ECW December to Dismember.^[24] MNM and The Hardys feuded across the brands, with the feud intensifying after Mercury was (legitimately) injured at Armageddon in December.^[25]

2007-present

MNM continued on and off as a unit until Mercury's release in March 2007^[26], at which point Nitro took up with new partner Kenny Dykstra^[27][28] until Nitro found himself drafted to the ECW brand.^[29] He made his ECW debut on June 19 with a win over Nunzio,^[30] then won the ECW World Championship at Vengeance when he replaced Chris Benoit for his match against CM Punk.^[31] By winning the ECW Championship he became the first contestant on Tough Enough to win a major world title in WWE.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves

• Modified Front flip neckbreaker - occasionally done with the opponent's feet on second rope
• Shoulder neckbreaker
• Standing shooting star press - 2004-2006
• Superkick - 2004-2005
• Corkscrew moonsault
• Breakdance Leg Drop (Freezing handstand spun 180° into a leg drop)
• Feint back suplex wheelbarrow facebuster
• Neckbreaker slam
• Diving knee drop bulldog
• Satellite spin or inverted headlock backbreaker into a Russian legsweep
• Spinning heel kick
• Springboard dropkick
• Springboard enzuigiri
• German suplex

• With Joey Mercury

• Snapshot (Flapjack DDT)
• Double baseball-slide dropkick
• Double Feint back suplex wheelbarrow facebuster
• Simultaneous leg-drops to the throat and leg

• Nicknames

• The A-Lister

• Managers

• Melina

• Signature taunts
  • Snap Shot (Taking pictures with hands)
  • Pelvic thrust with accompanying finger guns
  • Showing off eight pack

Championships and accomplishments

• Ohio Valley Wrestling

• OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Joey Mercury^[32]

• World Wrestling Entertainment

• ECW World Championship (1 time, current)^[33]
• WWE Intercontinental Championship (2 times)^[34]
• WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Joey Mercury^[13]
• WWE Tough Enough III co-winner with Matt Cappotelli^[5]

Personal life

Hennigan grew up in Los Angeles, California with his two younger sisters, Kelly & Elise.^{[citation needed]} He is currently dating and living with Melina Perez, his formed on screen manager.^[35] The pair first met during auditions for Tough Enough III, although she didn't make the show.^[3]

Notes

External links

• WWE Profile