John Hennigan (professional wrestler)
| John Hennigan | |
|---|---|
| File:Jnitro.gif | |
| Born | October 3, 1979 Los Angeles, California |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Johnny Blaze Johnny Spade Johnny Superstar Johnny Nitro |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Trained by | Al Snow Bill DeMott Ivory Nick Dinsmore XPW Asylum |
| Debut | January 27, 2003 |
John Randall Hennigan (born October 3, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional wrestler, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its RAW brand, under the ring name Johnny Nitro.
Career
Hennigan, along with Matt Cappotelli was the winner of Tough Enough III in 2003 and was granted a WWE contract as a result. After the series ended, Hennigan and Cappotelli were sent to the WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) for further training. Before Tough Enough, he had trained at XPW's Asylum.
In 2004, Hennigan debuted on WWE television the assistant of RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff. Hennigan was given a variety of pseudonyms, including, briefly, "Johnny Blaze", a trademarked property of Marvel Comics (and nickname of rapper Method Man), and "Johnny Spade". He was eventually named Johnny Nitro, a reference to WCW Monday Nitro, the television series formerly produced by Bischoff. Hennigan also began using the Nitro theme music as his entrance music. This storyline was abandoned after several weeks and Hennigan was sent back to OVW, although he retained the name "Johnny Nitro".
Hennigan returned to WWE television on April 14, 2005, making his SmackDown! debut as one-third of the stable MNM with Joey Mercury and manager, Melina. The following week, MNM defeated Rey Mysterio and the late Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Tag Team Championship. MNM successfully defended the titles in a match with Charlie Haas and Hardcore Holly at Judgment Day 2005, but were defeated by Heidenreich and Animal on July 24, 2005. They defeated Animal and Heidenreich for the titles in a four way tag team match on October 28, 2005, and held the titles until December 16, 2005, when they lost to Batista and Rey Mysterio. They began their third reign to date on December 30, 2005, defeating Batista and Mysterio with the assistance of the returning Mark Henry.
The team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick would go on to feud with MNM, beginning by picking up a win in a non-title match against the reigning WWE Tag Team champions. London and Kendrick would continue their winning streak on the champions, including singles victories for both Kendrick and London on Nitro and Mercury respectively. Nitro and Mercury attacked the pair. The next week, Nitro and Mercury had their pants ripped off and were left in their underwear. The feud came to a head at Judgment Day 2006, where they defeated MNM for the titles. Later that same night, Melina and Nitro were fired, in kayfabe, from Smackdown, due to Melina slapping Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long, and Nitro for mouthing off.
On May 29, 2006 edtition of RAW, Nitro redebuted along with Melina in a lossing effort to then-WWE Champion John Cena. The following week, Melina faked a sprained ankle allowing Nitro to roll up Charlie Haas for his first RAW win. Melina would continue to manage Nitro during his hunt for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Nitro's first shot at the title will be in a triple threat match at WWE Vengeance 2006 pay-per-view against Carlito and champion Shelton Benjamin.
Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
- Standing shooting star press
- Superkick
- Capoeira Legdrop (Split legged handstand into a one handed handstand followed by pivoting 180° degrees into a leg drop)
- Guillotine leg drop
- Powerbomb
- Managers
Championships and accomplishments
-
- Won from Mac Johnson and Seth Skyfire on November 14, 2004 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- Lost to Johnny Jeter and Matt Cappotelli on January 19, 2005 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- Tough Enough III winner
- WWE Tag Team Championship - with Joey Mercury
- Won from Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero on the April 18, 2005 edition of SmackDown! in New York, New York, USA.
- Lost to Heidenreich and Road Warrior Animal on July 24, 2005 in Buffalo, New York, USA during The Great American Bash.
- WWE Tag Team Championship (2) - with Joey Mercury
- Won from Heidenreich and Road Warrior Animal on the October 25, 2005 edition of SmackDown! in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Lost to Rey Mysterio and Batista on the December 13, 2005 edition of SmackDown! in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
- WWE Tag Team Championship (3) - with Joey Mercury
- Won from Rey Mysterio and Batista on the December 27, 2005 edition of SmackDown! in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
- Lost to Paul London and Brian Kendrick on May 21, 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA during Judgment Day 2006.
Personal life
Hennigan grew up in Los Angeles, California along with his two younger sisters, Kelly & Elise Hennigan. Hennigan now resides in Louisville, Kentucky along with his girlfriend Melina Perez (his WWE manager).