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MNM was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment that consisted of Joey Mercury (previously Joey Matthews), Johnny Nitro, and manager/valet Melina Perez. Nitro currently performs on the ECW brand, while Melina currently performs on the RAW brand. Mercury, however, was a member of the SmackDown! roster before his release on March 26, 2007. The group name is derived from the first letter of the wrestlers last names along with Melina's first.

Their gimmick was that of a trio of Hollywood celebrities, complete with a red carpet ring entrance, that has them accompanied by paparazzi. At one point MNM was joined by an "image consultant", Jillian Hall, who acted as their publicist.

History

MNM was first put together in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) "farm territory" Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Matt Cappotelli, while feuding with former partner and friend Johnny Nitro, brought Nitro's ex-girlfriend Melina Perez into the company looking to embarrass him. Instead, however, Perez double-crossed Cappotelli and re-joined Nitro. Not long after the pair was joined by Joey Matthews, completing the team MNM. As a tag team Nitro and Matthews won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on November 10, 2004.

Smackdown!

They were called up to the main SmackDown! roster on April 14, 2005, with Matthews undergoing a name change to Joey Mercury. They made their debut by crashing the first Carlito's Cabana interview segment while Carlito was interviewing WWE Tag Team Champion Rey Mysterio. The next week they spray painted Rey's partner, Eddie Guerrero's lowrider, prompting him to demanded a match between the teams. The match, MNM's televised (SmackDown!) in ring debut, ended with MNM becoming the tag team champions. This was one of the few times a wrestler or team of wrestlers won a title in their debut match.

MNM held the title until July 24, 2005 when they lost to Road Warrior Animal and Heidenreich at The Great American Bash. The loss of the tag title was seen as "bad publicity" by Melina who (kayfabe) hired "publicist" Jillian Hall to repair their image. Almost immediately Hall got MNM a cover article in SmackDown! Magazine and a rematch for the title, which they won. After this, Jillian left MNM and started to manage JBL.

Two months later they lost them to a team of Batista and Rey Mysterio in December. Before the match Melina attempted to get Batista to cancel it by bribing him with sex, but afterwards he simply thanked her for "the warm up" and went to the ring. Two weeks later Mark Henry was added to the group as Melina's bodyguard, as she felt she had been sexually harassed, and promptly helped MNM win the titles back. Henry was only with the group a short time before his contract was (kayfabe) sold to Daivari.

Throughout April of 2006 MNM found themselves in a losing streak against the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick. They found themselves coming up short in non-title tag team matches, singles matches, and even a six man tag match. At May's Judgment Day MNM were defeated by London and Kendrick again, this time in a title match, after which Melina and Nitro turned on Mercury, assaulting him and breaking up MNM. Later in the same night 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 slap him -- which got both her and Nitro (kayfabe) fired from the brand, sending them to RAW. In real life Mercury was actually about to begin a 30 day suspension for violating the "WWE Wellness Policy", necessitating the teams break up.

Reunion

After serving his suspension Mercury was moved back to Ohio Valley Wrestling. He returned to WWE television on November 27, 2006 to accept the December to Dismember open challenge of the Hardys (Matt and Jeff) with Nitro and Melina.

The re-formed MNM had a warm up match, finally defeating London & Kendrick, but lost to the Hardys at December to Dismember. Though they lost, it only ignited a feud that ended up crossing the brands, with all four men wrestling each other on both RAW and SmackDown!.During SmackDown!'s Armageddon pay-per-view, both MNM and The Hardys were inserted into a WWE Tag Team Championship match between the teams of Dave Taylor & William Regal and Paul London & Brian Kendrick, which was turned into a fatal-four way ladder match just before it started. During the match, which saw London & Kendrick retain, Mercury found himself (legitly) injured after being hit in the face with a ladder ^[1]. He was rushed from the arena mid match -- leaving Nitro alone to try to win the titles -- to an emergency room where it was discovered he had a broken nose. The facial injury was worked into the angle, and when Mercury returned (wearing a protective covering on his face) the rivalry between the teams was intensified with MNM actively seeking to injure one or both of the Hardys, even going so far as to attack and Snapshot Matt on an exposed concrete after a match.

The End

On March 26,2007, WWE.com announced the release of Joey Mercury, ending MNM as a tag team.^[2]. After Mercury's release Nitro teamed with The Miz for one night, thus making Miz, Nitro and Melina.The team became even more seperated as Johnny Nitro was selected by ECW during the WWE Supplemental Draft, while Melina remained on Raw. Joey Mercury is currently signed to Maryland Campionship Wrestling under the name of Joey Matthews. Mercury's hair was cut of by the Harris Brothers. Nitro is currently on WWE's ECW brand,where he is the ECW Champion ,undergoing a rivalry with fellow wrestler CM Punk. Melina is still on the RAW brand, also losing her WWE Womens Championship to Candice Michelle.

In wrestling

• Finishing and siganture maneuvers

• Team Maneuvers

• Snapshot (Double team flapjack DDT) - Nitro & Mercury
• Simultaneous leg-drops to the throat and leg - Nitro & Mercury
• Double baseball-slide dropkick - Nitro & Mercury
• Assisted Enzuigiri (Mercury holds opponent, and Nitro performs a step-up enzuigiri)

• Joey Mercury

• Double underhook DDT
• Hangman's neckbreaker

• Johnny Nitro

• Standing shooting star press
• Superkick

• Melina

• Spinning hair-pull facebuster
• California Dream (Grapevine Inverted STF)

• Ring entrance

• After their music starts playing, members of the "paparazzi" come out, placing a red carpet for MNM to walk on. As they're walking, the paparazzi takes photos of them in a typical Hollywood movie star fashion.
• The two male members of MNM usually wore genuine fur coats to the ring. As they take them off Melina suggestively rubs their six packs 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

• Ohio Valley Wrestling

• OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• Tag Team of the Year (2005)

• World Wrestling Entertainment

• WWE Tag Team Championship (Mercury and Nitro, 3 times)
• WWE Women's Championship (Melina, 1 time)

References