Adam Birch, also known as Joey Mercury and Joey Matthews, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler with a storied career spanning over two decades. Born with a passion for the sport, Birch was trained by fellow wrestler Jimmy Cicero and made his wrestling debut in October 1996, initially using the ring name Joey Matthews.
As he honed his skills, Birch began competing for the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF) in 1997, where he teamed up with Christian York to capture the MEWF Tag Team Championship. This marked the beginning of a long-standing partnership between the two wrestlers, who would go on to compete in various independent promotions throughout the mid-1990s.
In addition to his tag team exploits, Birch also won numerous championships in singles and tag team competition during this period. His impressive resume caught the attention of the WWE, who signed him in 2004 and assigned him to their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky.
At OVW, Birch was paired with Johnny Nitro, and together they formed the tag team MNM, managed by Melina. The trio enjoyed a successful run, winning the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship and making their way to the SmackDown! roster in 2005.
As part of MNM, Birch and Nitro won the WWE Tag Team Championship on one occasion, a feat that cemented their status as a formidable force in the WWE. However, their success was short-lived, as Nitro and Melina turned on Birch in May 2006, effectively ending their faction.
Birch continued to compete in various independent promotions, including Ring of Honor, before returning to OVW in March 2008. During this stint, he won the OVW Television Championship once. In October 2008, Birch announced his retirement from professional wrestling due to an injury, but he later returned to the sport in 2010.
Throughout his career, Birch has been open about his struggles with drug addiction, which began at the age of 15. He has admitted to experiencing several overdoses and failing WWE's Wellness Policy drug test, leading to his entry into a drug rehabilitation program. Birch has since overcome his addiction and continues to work as a trainer in WWE's developmental territory NXT.
