Joey Mercury

Adam Birch
Birch in 2015
Data
Ring name	Matthews Joey Matthews Joey Mercury Joseph Mercury
height	175 cm
Fighting weight	87 kg
birth	July 18, 1979 Fairfax , Virginia
Announced from	Los Angeles , California
Trained by	Jimmy Cicero
debut	1996

Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979 in Fairfax , Virginia ), better known by his ring name Joey Mercury , is an American wrestler . He is currently under contract with the WWE as a coach.

Career

Beginnings

Birch's made his wrestling debut on October 12, 1996 at Maryland Championship Wrestling under the name Joey Matthews and was quite successful there. Between 1996 and 2000 he appeared in several independent leagues (e.g. Maryland Championship Wrestling, Steel City Wrestling or Organization Of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts). In 2000 Birch switched to Extreme Championship Wrestling and was active there until the league was dissolved in 2001. He then appeared in various independent leagues (e.g. Memphis Championship Wrestling, Maryland Championship Wrestling or Pro Pain Pro Wrestling). However, Birch also appeared in major wrestling promotions ( TNA and Ring of Honor ).

WWE

Ohio Valley Wrestling

In 2004 Birch signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he was initially trained in the Ohio Valley Wrestling development league . He got the name Joey Mercury and from then on formed a tag team with Johnny Nitro and his manager Melina , which was called MNM . They were allowed to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship and later appear on the main WWE show SmackDown .

SmackDown

Nitro, Melina and Birch (from left to right)

At SmackDown, they had feud programs with numerous well-known teams. MNM was allowed to hold the WWE Tag Team Championship three times in their first year at Smackdown . Within the plot , the title was lost in May 2006 at the Judgment Day event , whereupon Birch was separated from Melina and Nitro. Shortly thereafter, Nitro and Melina were switched to Monday's RAW show , and Birch was suspended for 30 days for violating WWE Drugs and Medication.

Birch was then on a hiatus for six months and from November 27, 2006 was also seen on RAW. There was a reformation of the MNM team . In a fight at the Armageddon event , Birch broke his nasal bone after a failed action by Jeff Hardy . After a few weeks break he came back and played a program against the Hardy Boyz together with Nitro . A short time later, the team was dissolved again, Birch continued with SmackDown, Nitro and Melina with RAW. Birch was released on March 26, 2007.

Independent leagues

As of July 2007, he made a few appearances in All American Wrestling . In January 2008, he made his debut with the Ring of Honor league as a new member of The Age of the Fall . He then moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling after it was no longer part of the WWE. Birch initially worked there as a trainer, but got back into the ring himself in March.

Return to the WWE

At Extreme Rules 25 April 2010 returned Birch back as an unknown and masked wrestler who the Straight Edge Society supported in which he intervened in several matches in favor of the Straight Edge Society. On the July 23, 2010 issue of SmackDown, he was unmasked against his will by The Big Show and identified by commentators as Joey Mercury. A short time later, Serena Deeb was fired from the WWE and Luke Gallows left the SES, which resulted in the end of the group.

Since then he has worked as a coach at the WWE Aufbauliga Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Since November 2014 he has appeared in live shows with Jamie Noble as Seth Rollins' security .

successes

title

• WWE :

  3 × WWE Tag Team Champion - with Johnny Nitro

• Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestling :

  1 × ATCW Tag Team Champion - with Christian York

• American Wrestling Council :

  1 × AWC Light Heavyweight Champion

• Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance :

  2 × IPWA Light Heavyweight Champion

• Maryland Championship Wrestling :

  1 × MCW Heavyweight Champion

  1 × MCW Cruiserweight Champion

  1 × MCW Rage Television Champion

  1 × MCW Tag Team Champion - with Christian York

• Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation :

  1 × MEWF Tag Team Champion - with Christian York

• National Wrestling Alliance :

  1 × NWA Light Heavyweight Champion

  1 × NWA World Tag Team Champion - with Christian York

• New York Wrestling Connection :

  1 × NYWC Heavyweight Champion

• Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts :

  2 × OMEGA Light Heavyweight Champion

• Ohio Valley Wrestling :

  1 × OVW Television Champion

  1 × OVW Southern Tag Team Champion - with Johnny Nitro

• Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling :

  1 × 3PW Heavyweight Champion

• Southern Championship Wrestling :

  3 × SCW Junior Heavyweight Champion

• Steel City Wrestling :

  1 × SCW Tag Team Champion - with Christian York

• Virginia Championship Wrestling :

  1 × VCW Tag Team Champion - with Christian York

Awards

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated :

  Tag Team of the Year (2005) - with Johnny Nitro

• Maryland Championship Wrestling :

  Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup (2001)

Web links

Commons : Adam Birch  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• WWE Alumni Profile
• WWE Alumni Profile (German)
• Profile at Cagematch.de
• Profile on Neckbruch.com