In 2005, former developmental stars Johnny Nitro, Joey Mercury and Melina made their SmackDown debuts and made an instant impact. They captured the WWE Tag Team Championships from Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio on their first night and rapidly became the centerpiece of tag team wrestling on the Friday night show. More importantly, Nitro and Mercury became great workers with a tremendous heater in manager Melina. The whole presentation of the act helped the performers stand out and soon, they became key parts of the SmackDown roster. Melina would use her feminine charms to get her and her team what they wanted or, more importantly, what they needed to remain the top team in wrestling. For a year, Nitro and Mercury dominated the tag division in WWE before the team was unceremoniously split up in spring of 2006. Nitro went on to achieve singles success on Raw and, after six months apart, the trio reunited in winter of 2006 to feud with the Hardy Boyz. Mercury's drug addiction ultimately led to his release and the end of the trio but while they were together, MNM was a wildly entertaining, dominant trio that had a tendency to steal shows and the attention of the audience all at the same time.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
