Misplaced Pages

#675324

127-517: Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979), better known by the ring names Joey Mercury and Joey Matthews , is an American professional wrestler . He is best known for his tenure in WWE . Birch was most recently signed to Ring of Honor , where he worked as a producer, trainer, and member of the creative team. Birch was trained by fellow wrestler Jimmy Cicero and made his wrestling debut in October 1996, using

254-538: A charter to start a new colony on the North American continent; this would generally establish North Carolina's borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father, Charles   I . By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. This charter rewarded the Lords Proprietors , eight Englishmen to whom King Charles II granted joint ownership of a tract of land in

381-522: A producer and making a brief in-ring return as part of CM Punk 's Straight Edge Society . He returned to TV once again in 2014 alongside Jamie Noble , (known as J&J Security) as an on screen security guard for the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins as part of The Authority faction. After being trained by fellow professional wrestler Jimmy Cicero , Birch made his debut in October 1996 under

508-508: A three-on-two handicap match against John Cena and Dolph Ziggler , which they lost. On the March 16, 2015 episode of Raw , both Mercury and Noble seemingly left The Authority due to Rollins not listening them. Later that night, it was revealed to be a ruse, with all The Authority members coming out to help Rollins take out Randy Orton , but they were stopped by Sting , who made a surprise appearance and helped Orton fight off The Authority. On

635-421: A decade of white supremacy , many people forgot North Carolina had ever had thriving middle-class black Americans. Black citizens had no political voice in the state until after the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed to enforce their constitutional rights. It was not until 1992 that another African American was elected as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina. After

762-764: A faction with Johnny Nitro ; along with manager Melina , they were known as " MNM ". MNM wrestled in OVW for around a year, winning the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once, before being called up to the main SmackDown! roster, where Matthews was renamed Joey Mercury. In their first match for the SmackDown! brand , in April 2005, they won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero . They held

889-465: A few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure. Low Ki used the alias "Senshi" during his second TNA stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked

1016-551: A fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the free colored families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from unions or marriages between free whites and enslaved or free Africans or African-Americans. If

1143-613: A loss to Jeff Hardy in a handicap match . In August 2003, Matthews lost to Chris Sabin on an episode of TNA Xplosion . After spending some time at the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) training center in 2003, Matthews made several appearances in Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), defeating A.J. Styles , before defeating Jerry Lynn and Sabu to become the number one contender to the 3PW Heavyweight Championship . On April 17, 2004, he defeated Raven to win

1270-650: A major regional and national banking center. Towards Raleigh, North Carolina State , Duke University , and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , have helped the Research Triangle area attract an educated workforce and develop more jobs. In 1988, North Carolina gained its first professional sports franchise, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The hornets team name stems from

1397-696: A narrow victory for a Republican-dominated government, with 19 African-Americans holding positions in the North Carolina State Legislature . In attempt to put the reforms into effect, the new Republican Governor William W. Holden declared martial law on any county allegedly not complying with law and order using the passage of the Shoffner Act . A Republican Party coalition of black freedmen, northern carpetbaggers and local scalawags controlled state government for three years. The white conservative Democrats regained control of

SECTION 10

#1732798339676

1524-537: A producer role for the main roster. On the September 29, 2014 episode of Raw , Mercury and fellow producer Jamie Noble aligned themselves with The Authority . Dubbed "J&J Security", Mercury and Noble began acting as bodyguards to Authority member Seth Rollins . On the November 24 episode of Raw , J&J Security wrestled the first televised matches for each man in several years, partnering with Rollins in

1651-445: A producer. During an interview in late 2007, Birch revealed that he had been using drugs since he was 15 and had mixed cocaine, crack, and heroin with alcohol: "I've been a drug addict and alcoholic since I was 15 years old, right before I started in wrestling – so that's the better part of 15 years." As a result of this, Birch has overdosed three times and wrecked ten cars. He entered rehab in 2006 and missed six months of work. Due to

1778-535: A slower pace and remained small. By the late 17th century, Carolina was essentially two colonies, one centered in the Albemarle region in the north and the other located in the south around Charleston. In 1705 South Carolinian John Lawson purchased land on the Pamlico River and laid out Bath, North Carolina's first town. After returning to England, he published the book A New Voyage to Carolina, which became

1905-443: A strong Whig presence, especially in the western part of the state. After Nat Turner 's slave uprising in 1831, North Carolina and other southern states reduced the rights of free blacks. In 1835, the legislature withdrew their right to vote. In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129 mi (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad", from Fayetteville in

2032-403: A surprise return on the November 27, 2006 episode of Raw , temporarily reforming MNM with Nitro and Melina to take up the also recently reunited Hardys (Matt and Jeff) "open challenge" for December to Dismember . The Hardys went on to win the match at December to Dismember, but the feud continued across all three brands ( Raw , ECW , and SmackDown!), and in a fatal-four way ladder match for

2159-504: A team. It was also during that time that he won various championships in singles and tag team competition. In 2004, Birch signed with WWE and was assigned to their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky under the name Joey Mercury. While situated at OVW, he was placed in tag team competition, alongside Johnny Nitro , in which they won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on one occasion. It

2286-583: A total of four African-American congressmen through these years of the late 19th century. Political tensions ran so high a small group of white Democrats in 1898 planned to take over the Wilmington government if their candidates were not elected. In the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 , white Democrats led around 2,000 of their supporters that attacked the black newspaper and neighborhood, killed an estimated 60 to 300 people, and ran off

2413-642: A trainer for the intermediate class. He also competed in dark matches at the OVW television tapings. At TNA's Bound for Glory pay-per-view in October 2007, he competed in a dark match, where he teamed with Johnny Swinger in a losing effort to The Motor City Machineguns. For the remainder of 2007, Matthews worked for independent promotions, including Pro Wrestling Unplugged and the United Wrestling Federation. On March 12, 2008, at an OVW television taping, he defeated Jamin Olivencia to win

2540-582: A travelogue and a marketing piece to encourage new colonists to Carolina. Lawson encouraged Baron Christoph Von Graffenried, the leader of a group of Swiss and German Protestants, to immigrate to Carolina. Von Graffenried purchased land between the Neuse and the Trent Rivers and established the town of New Bern . After an attack on New Bern in which hundreds were killed or injured, Lawson was caught then executed by Tuscarora Indians . A large revolt happened in

2667-754: A variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick , such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus , Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley , Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage . Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg , Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella , Mike Mizanin using The Miz , Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes , and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow . Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name such as. It

SECTION 20

#1732798339676

2794-472: A winter base at Joara, which he renamed Cuenca . His expedition built Fort San Juan and left a contingent of 30 Spaniards there, while Pardo traveled further. His forces built and garrisoned five other forts. He returned by a different route to Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina , then a center of Spanish Florida . In the spring of 1568, natives killed all but one of the Spaniards and burned

2921-714: Is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia to the southwest, and Tennessee to the west. The state is the 28th-largest and 9th-most populous of the United States . Along with South Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast . At the 2020 census ,

3048-646: Is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ( The Undertaker , Mr. Perfect , and Diesel ). Ring names are often trademarked by

3175-448: Is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona. Some (mostly independent ) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It

3302-648: Is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River". In the Battle of Cowan's Ford , Cornwallis met resistance along the banks of the Catawba River at Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781, in an attempt to engage General Morgan's forces during a tactical withdrawal. Morgan had moved to the northern part of the state to combine with General Greene's newly recruited forces. Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at

3429-689: Is the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River . Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone; however, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate . North Carolina was inhabited for at least 10,000 years by succeeding prehistoric Indigenous cultures. The Hardaway Site saw major periods of occupation dating to 10,000 years BCE. Before 200 AD, people were building earthwork platform mounds for ceremonial and religious purposes. Succeeding peoples, including those of

3556-569: Is the second-most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, 31st-most populous in the United States, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park . The earliest evidence of human occupation in North Carolina dates back 10,000 years, found at the Hardaway Site . North Carolina was inhabited by Carolina Algonquian , Iroquoian , and Siouan speaking tribes of Native Americans prior to

3683-789: Is today Northern Ireland, were the largest non-English immigrant group before the Revolution; English indentured servants were overwhelmingly the largest immigrant group before the Revolution. During the American Revolutionary War , the English and Gaelic speaking Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain. British loyalists dubbed

3810-777: The Armageddon pay-per-view in December. Due to help from Mark Henry , they defeated Mysterio and Batista in a rematch on the December 30 episode of SmackDown! to win the WWE Tag Team Championship for the third time. They began a rivalry with the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick that lasted over three months, until the Judgment Day pay-per-view on May 21, 2006, where MNM lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to London and Kendrick. Nitro and Melina suddenly turned on Mercury, attacking him and breaking up

3937-884: The Bad Street Boys as a tag team name, they won numerous tag team championships, including the Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship on January 15, 2000, and the MCW Tag Team Championship on May 17, 2000. In late 2000, Matthews and York joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and lost to Danny Doring and Roadkill at Anarchy Rulz . They then began a feud with Simon and Swinger , whom they lost to at November to Remember , but defeated at Massacre on 34th Street . They competed in ECW for approximately six months, until

Joey Mercury - Misplaced Pages Continue

4064-845: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse in present-day Greensboro on March 15, 1781. Although the British troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior Continental Army were crippling. Following this " Pyrrhic victory ", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the Royal Navy to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis' eventual defeat at Yorktown, Virginia , later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence. On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became

4191-633: The Carolina Algonquian -speaking tribes of the coastal areas, such as the Chowanoc , Roanoke , Pamlico , Machapunga , and Coree , who were the first encountered by the English; the Iroquoian -speaking Meherrin , Cherokee , and Tuscarora of the interior; and Southeastern Siouan -speaking tribes, such as the Cheraw , Waxhaw , Saponi , Waccamaw , Cape Fear Indians , and Catawba of

4318-469: The Lords Proprietors , the group of noblemen who had helped restore him to the throne in 1660. These grants were predicated on an agreement that the Lords would use their influence to bring in colonists and establish ports of trade. This new Province of Carolina was named in honor and memory of his father, Charles   I (Latin: Carolus ). Lacking a viable coastal port city due to geography, towns grew at

4445-834: The MCW Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup . On September 30, 2017, he won the MCW Heavyweight Championship. In July 2018 he made four appearances on House of Hardcore 's Australian tour. He would lose to the likes of Tommy Dreamer , Al Snow and Swoggle on the shows. He also appeared in Lucha Underground in August 2018 as "Joey Wrestling", as part of former tag team partner Johnny Mundo's (previously Johnny Nitro) stable Worldwide Underground. The following week, he lost his only Lucha Underground match to Matanza Cueto, after which he

4572-631: The MCW Rage Television Championship , but lost it four months later to Doug Delicious on May 15. On April 14, 2003, prior to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s flagship television program, Raw , Matthews and York defeated Phil Brown and Pat Cusick in a dark match . He continued wrestling dark matches and on supplementary programs Heat and Velocity , facing the likes of Lance Storm , Crowbar , Matt Hardy, Último Dragón and A-Train . On July 19, 2003, at ROH's Death Before Dishonor , he teamed with Krazy K in

4699-736: The Mecklenburg County area to be 'a hornet's nest' of radicals, birthing the name of the future Charlotte NBA team. On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British Crown, through the Halifax Resolves passed by the North Carolina Provincial Congress . The date of this event is memorialized on the state flag and state seal . Throughout

4826-683: The No Remorse Corps . The following night, Matthews lost to Mark Briscoe . Matthews was mainly utilized in a tag team role as a member of the AotF, teaming with fellow faction members Tyler Black and Necro Butcher . He continued to wrestle for ROH until Battle For Supremacy in June 2008, when he and Jimmy Jacobs lost to Kevin Steen and El Generico , in what was his last ROH wrestling match. In 2010, Birch came out of retirement and returned to WWE at

4953-544: The No Way Out pay-per-view in February which concluded the feud. He also wrestled in singles competition on SmackDown! until he was released from his WWE contract on March 26, 2007. Birch's first appearance after his WWE release was on April 21 for Northeast Wrestling as Joey Matthews, when he and Romeo Roselli defeated The NOW. He went on to make appearances for MCW, Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South , and

5080-664: The OMEGA Light Heavyweight Championship on January 29, 1999. He was signed to a World Championship Wrestling contract in 1999; Birch did not make any appearances for the promotion during the seven months he was signed to a contract. A few months later, while competing in singles competition at Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), he once again defeated York to win the MCW Cruiserweight Championship on May 21. Matthews and York soon began teaming again, and, sometimes using

5207-569: The OVW Television Championship . After successful defenses against Olivencia, he dropped the title to Tommy McNailer a month later on April 16. In October 2008, Birch announced his retirement from professional wrestling due to injury. On January 25, 2008, Matthews returned to ROH as the newest member of Age of the Fall (AotF), where he partnered with Jimmy Jacobs in a losing effort against Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero of

Joey Mercury - Misplaced Pages Continue

5334-519: The SmackDown tapings on April 20, where he lost to Shelton Benjamin in a dark match. On April 25 at Extreme Rules , he reappeared on television as a masked member of the CM Punk 's Straight Edge Society stable and interfered in Punk's match with Rey Mysterio , helping him pick up the win. Birch continued to interfere in Punk's matches during the following months, before being unmasked by Big Show on

5461-633: The South Appalachian Mississippian culture , established by 1000 AD in the Piedmont and mountain region, continued to build this style of mounds. In contrast to some of the larger centers of the classic Mississippian culture in the area that became known as the western Carolinas, northeastern Georgia, and southeastern Tennessee, most of the larger towns had only one central platform mound. Smaller settlements had none, but were close to more prominent towns. This area became known as

5588-618: The Spanish Armada . The fate of the " Lost Colony " of Roanoke Island remains one of the most widely debated mysteries of American history. Two native Chieftains, Manteo and Wanchese , of which the former helped the colonists and the latter was distrustful, had involvement in the colony and even accompanied Raleigh to England on a previous voyage in 1585. Manteo was also the first Indigenous North American to be baptized by English settlers. Upon White's return in 1590, neither native nor Englishman were to be found. Popular theory holds that

5715-705: The Steel City Wrestling Tag Team Championship on December 20, 1998. Less than a month later, Matthews defeated York to win the Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance Light Heavyweight Championship on January 9, 1999. He was also a member of the North Carolina based Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) run by Matt and Jeff Hardy , where he defeated York to win

5842-787: The Thirteen Colonies . The Halifax Resolves resolution adopted by North Carolina on April 12, 1776, was the first formal call for independence from Great Britain among the American Colonies during the American Revolution . On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution . In the run-up to the American Civil War , North Carolina reluctantly declared its secession from

5969-461: The U.S. military and was relieved of its constitutional government and representation within the United States Congress in what is now referred to as the Reconstruction era . To earn back its rights, the state had to make concessions to Washington, one of which was ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment . Congressional Republicans during Reconstruction, commonly referred to as " radical Republicans ", constantly pushed for new constitutions for each of

6096-400: The Union cause during the conflict. Approximately 15,000 North Carolinians (both black and white) from across the state enlisted in the Union Army . Numerous slaves also escaped to Union lines, where they became essentially free. Following the collapse of the Confederacy in 1865, North Carolina, along with other former Confederate States (except Tennessee), was put under direct control by

6223-425: The Union on May 20, 1861, becoming the tenth of eleven states to join the Confederate States of America . Following the Civil War, the state was restored to the Union on July 4, 1868. On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully piloted the world's first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina's Outer Banks . North Carolina often uses

6350-401: The X Division title . Afterwards, Matthews competed for Puerto Rico 's World Wrestling Council (WWC), losing to Eddie Colón in September, and exchanging victories with Alex Montalvo in November. Matthews wrestled in dark matches before being signed to a developmental deal by WWE in 2004; he moved to Louisville, Kentucky to the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) farm territory . There he formed

6477-424: The fall line . Railroads were built to connect the new industrializing cities. The state was the site of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight , by the Wright brothers , near Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. In the first half of the 20th century, many African Americans left the state to go North for better opportunities, in the Great Migration . Their departure changed

SECTION 50

#1732798339676

6604-437: The promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE , which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and

6731-629: The "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe , A.J. Styles , Shinsuke Nakamura , Austin Aries , Bobby Roode , and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa , who wrestle both on NXT and

6858-412: The 1970s, North Carolina has seen steady increases in population growth. This growth has largely occurred in metropolitan areas located within the Piedmont Crescent , in places such as Charlotte, Concord, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham and Raleigh. The Charlotte metropolitan area has experienced large growth mainly due to its finance, banking, and tech industries. By the 1990s, Charlotte had become

6985-431: The American Revolution, Quakers and Mennonites worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Some were inspired by their efforts and the language of the Revolution to arrange for manumission of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose markedly in the first couple of decades after the Revolution. Many free people of color migrated to the frontier, along with their European-American neighbors, where

7112-504: The Civil War, the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad was vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington were moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia . In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which one-third of the state's total population were African-American slaves. The state did not vote to join the Confederacy until President Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister state, South Carolina , becoming

7239-405: The Civil War. The phrase "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox", later became used through much of the early 20th century. After secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. Some of the yeoman farmers chiefly in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region remained neutral during the Civil War, with others covertly supporting

7366-454: The Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at Bentonville , which was a futile attempt by Confederate General Joseph Johnston to slow Union General William Tecumseh Sherman 's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865. In April 1865, after losing the Battle of Morrisville , Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place , in what is today Durham . North Carolina's port city of Wilmington ,

7493-435: The Crown (they were called "Tories" or Loyalists). The American victory at King's Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories. The road to Yorktown and America's independence from Great Britain led through North Carolina. As the British Army moved north from victories in Charleston and Camden, South Carolina ,

7620-421: The July 23 episode of SmackDown . This led to a handicap match at SummerSlam where Big Show defeated the entire Society. In early September it was reported that Mercury had undergone surgery on a torn pectoral muscle . In order to rehabilitate his injury, he began training at Florida Championship Wrestling , WWE's developmental territory. He later began working there as a trainer. Following this, he moved into

7747-443: The June 22 episode of Raw , J&J Security reconciled with Rollins when the three of them and Kane attacked Brock Lesnar . On the July 6 episode of Raw , Mercury was viciously beaten by Lesnar, who after destroying his and fellow J&J Security member Jamie Noble's prized Cadillac car, which had been gifted to them by Seth Rollins the week before, picked him up and tossed him onto the then unbroken windshield of it. On July 7, it

SECTION 60

#1732798339676

7874-619: The MCW Tag Team Championship for the second time on November 3 by defeating Earl the Pearl and Rich Myers, and later won the Virginia Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship on December 1, 2001. In 2002, Matthews and York competed in Ring of Honor (ROH), and teamed together on several occasions, before Matthews joined a faction called Special K, of which he was a member until 2004. He also worked for various independent organizations such as Xtreme Pro Wrestling , Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW) and Phoenix Championship Wrestling . On January 29, 2003, Matthews defeated Romeo Valentino to win

8001-459: The Mississippi River. Starting in 1540, the Native polities of the Mississippian culture fell apart and reformed as new groups, such as the Catawba , due to a series of destabilizing events known as the " Mississippian shatter zone ". Introduction of colonial trading arrangements and hostile native groups from the north such as the Westo Indians hastened changes in an already tenuous regional hierarchy. As described by anthropologist Robbie Ethridge ,

8128-407: The Mississippian shatter zone was a time of great instability in what is now the American South, caused by the instability of Mississippian chiefdoms, high mortality from new Eurasian diseases, conversion to an agricultural society and the accompanying population increase, and the emergence of Native "militaristic slaving societies". Historically documented tribes in the North Carolina region include

8255-474: The Native Americans, who had no immunity to the new disease (it had become endemic over centuries in Europe). According to the historian Russell Thornton, "The 1738 epidemic was said to have killed one-half of the Cherokee , with other tribes of the area suffering equally." After the Spanish in the 16th century, the first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were English colonists who migrated south from Virginia . Virginia had grown rapidly and land

8382-516: The New York Wrestling Connection, competing against wrestlers including Alex Shelley , Tyler Black , and Brother Runt . Matthew's wrestled in All American Wrestling (AAW) in July 2007, where he lost to Eric Priest in a match for the AAW Heritage Championship. He made another appearance on September 29, reuniting with Christian York, in a losing effort against the AAW Tag Team Champions, The Motor City Machine Guns ( Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley). In September 2007, Matthews began working for OVW as

8509-453: The Piedmont. In the late 16th century, the first Spanish explorers traveling inland recorded meeting Mississippian culture people at Joara , a regional chiefdom near what later developed as Morganton . Records of Hernando de Soto attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567, Captain Juan Pardo led an expedition to claim the area for the Spanish colony and to establish another route to reach silver mines in Mexico. Pardo made

8636-422: The Revolutionary War, fierce guerrilla warfare erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries. North Carolina had around 7,800 Patriots join the Continental Army under General George Washington ; and an additional 10,000 served in local militia units under such leaders as General Nathanael Greene . There

8763-438: The Southern Division of the Continental Army and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General Daniel Morgan 's victory over the British Cavalry Commander Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, southern commander Nathanael Greene led British Lord Charles Cornwallis across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from the latter's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign

8890-434: The Southern states that emphasized equal rights for African-Americans. In 1868, a constitutional convention restored the state government of North Carolina. Though the Fifteenth Amendment was also adopted that same year, it remained in most cases ineffective for almost a century, not to mention paramilitary groups and their lynching with impunity. The elections in April 1868 following the constitutional convention led to

9017-422: The WWE Tag Team Championship at December's Armageddon event, also involving London and Kendrick, and Dave Taylor and William Regal . During the ladder match, Mercury suffered a legitimate injury when he was struck in the face with a ladder, breaking his nose and orbital bone. He immediately left the match and was rushed to an emergency room where he received more than thirty stitches. As a result, Nitro continued

9144-405: The arrival of Europeans. King Charles II granted eight lord proprietors a colony they named Carolina after the king and which was established in 1670 with the first permanent settlement at Charles Town (Charleston). Because of the difficulty of governing the entire colony from Charles Town, the colony was eventually divided and North Carolina was established as a royal colony in 1729 and was one of

9271-527: The championship, a title he retained until August 21 of that year, when he lost it to Christopher Daniels in a four-way elimination match , also involving A.J. Styles and Chris Sabin. Meanwhile, Matthews was still active in WWE, and lost to Rhino and Maven on Sunday Night Heat . He was also still competing in TNA's X Division , and in August, he took part in a 20-Man Gauntlet match, in which Petey Williams won

9398-579: The city was named after Sir Walter Raleigh , sponsor of Roanoke , the "lost colony" on Roanoke Island . The population of the colony more than quadrupled from 52,000 in 1740 to 270,000 in 1780 from high immigration from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania , plus immigrants from abroad. North Carolina did not have any printer or print shops until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned James Davis from Williamsburg Virginia to act as their official printer. Before this time

9525-585: The coastal settlements, but by 1718 piracy in the Carolinas was on the decline. Growth was strong in the middle of the 18th century, as the economy attracted Scots-Irish , Quaker , English and German immigrants. A majority of the North Carolina colonists generally supported the American Revolution , although there were some Loyalists . Loyalists in North Carolina were fewer in number than in some other colonies such as Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, and New York. During colonial times, Edenton served as

9652-519: The colonists either traveled away with or assimilated into local native culture. Virginia Dare , the first English person to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587; the surrounding Dare County is named for her. As early as 1650, settlers from the Virginia colony had moved into the Albemarle Sound region. By 1663, King Charles II of England granted

9779-611: The demographic characteristics of many areas. North Carolina was hard hit by the Great Depression , but the New Deal programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt for cotton and tobacco significantly helped the farmers. After World War II , the state's economy grew rapidly, highlighted by the growth of such cities as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham in the Piedmont region. Research Triangle Park , established in 1959, serves as

9906-595: The east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem ). On October 25, 1836, construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh . In 1840, the state capitol building in Raleigh was completed, and still stands today. In 1849, the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to Greensboro , High Point , and Charlotte . During

10033-962: The facial injury he suffered at Armageddon in December 2006, Birch then became addicted to painkillers. After a direct intervention by Vince McMahon , Birch was released from the WWE and he credits this with helping him to address his addictions. After his release, CM Punk helped pay for his house, which was on the verge of foreclosure after losing his job. Birch had a three-and-a-half-year relationship with Mickie James , and they lived together in Virginia before breaking up. He also briefly dated Christy Hemme . Ring name Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan , Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels , Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper , Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock , Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho , and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk . A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or

10160-491: The farthest into Union lines of any Confederate regiment. During the Battle of Chickamauga , the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in

10287-457: The generally non-slave-holding yeoman farmers of North Carolina. While slaveholding was slightly less concentrated compared to some other Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population out of 992,622 people in total, were enslaved African Americans. They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of the state. In addition, 30,463 free people of color lived in

10414-458: The governor of North Carolina, who promised safe-haven and a pardon, Blackbeard was killed in an ambush by troops from Virginia. In 1996, Intersal, Inc., a private maritime research firm, discovered the remains of a vessel likely to be the Queen Anne's Revenge , which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . North Carolina became one of the Thirteen Colonies and with

10541-468: The group. Later that night Nitro and Melina were fired from the SmackDown! brand in storyline, to facilitate their move to Raw , where they reappeared the following week. The legitimate reason for the team's sudden split was later revealed to be Mercury failing a WWE Wellness Policy drug test and being forced to serve a 30-day suspension. Mercury stayed off WWE television for six months. Mercury made

10668-564: The homelands of the historic Cherokee people, who are believed to have migrated over time from the Great Lakes area. In the 500–700 years preceding European contact, the Mississippian culture built elaborate cities and maintained far-flung regional trading networks. Its largest city was Cahokia , which had numerous mounds for different purposes, a highly stratified society, and was located in present-day southwestern Illinois near

10795-482: The independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names. In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics ' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which

10922-622: The largest research park in the United States. Formed near Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, the Research Triangle metro is a major area of universities and advanced scientific and technical research. The Greensboro sit-ins in 1960 played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement to bring full equality to American blacks. By the late 1960s, spurred in part by the increasingly leftward tilt of national Democrats, conservative whites began to vote for Republican national candidates and gradually for more Republicans locally. Since

11049-500: The largest single surrender of Confederate soldiers at Bennett Place , when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee and all remaining Confederate forces still active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, totalling 89,270 soldiers. Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia ,

11176-760: The last or penultimate state to officially join the Confederacy. The title of "last to join the Confederacy" has been disputed; although Tennessee's informal secession on May 7, 1861, preceded North Carolina's official secession on May 20, the Tennessee legislature did not formally vote to secede until June 8, 1861. Around 125,000 troops from North Carolina served in the Confederate Army, and about 15,000 North Carolina troops (both black and white) served in Union Army regiments , including those who left

11303-532: The laws and legal journals of North Carolina were handwritten and were kept in a largely disorganized manner, prompting the hiring of Davis. Davis settled in New Bern, married, and in 1755 was appointed by Benjamin Franklin as North Carolina's first postmaster. In October of that year the North Carolina Assembly awarded Davis a contract to carry mail between Wilmington, North Carolina and Suffolk, Virginia . He

11430-519: The match on his own. After missing a few weeks, Mercury returned wearing a protective face mask and his injury was worked into the angle , with both he and Nitro attempting to injure the Hardys in various ways for revenge. MNM lost to The Hardys at the Royal Rumble , and again in a six-man tag team match in which they teamed with Montel Vontavious Porter ( Chris Benoit teamed with The Hardys) at

11557-516: The mothers were free, their children were born free. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia. As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in Great Britain , planters imported more slaves, and the state's legal delineations between free and slave status tightened, effectively hardening the latter into a racial caste. Conditions for both slaves and workers worsened as

11684-576: The name Joey Matthews as he wrestled in ECW Extreme Championship Wrestling . The following year, he began competing for Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF), where he began competing in tag team competition and captured the MEWF Tag Team Championship , alongside Christian York . Throughout the late-1990s, Birch competed in various independent promotions, where he and York continued to work as

11811-702: The name Joey Matthews. In 1997, approximately a year after his debut, Matthews began competing for the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF) promotion , where he won the MEWF Tag Team Championship with Christian York . Matthews defeated York on May 8, 1998, to regain the Southern Championship Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Championship in Wendell, North Carolina . Matthews and York, soon teamed up again, however, and won

11938-400: The notorious Crop-Lien system developed and was financially difficult on landless whites and blacks, due to high amounts of usury. Also due to the push for commodity agriculture, the free range was ended. Prior to this time people fenced in their crops and had their livestock feeding on the free range areas. After the ending of the free range people now fenced their animals and had their crops in

12065-569: The open. Democrats were elected to the legislature and governor's office, but the Populists attracted voters displeased with them. In 1896 a biracial, Populist-Republican Fusionist coalition gained the governor's office and passed laws that would extend the voting franchise to blacks and poor whites. The Democrats regained control of the legislature in 1896 and passed laws to impose Jim Crow and racial segregation of public facilities. Voters of North Carolina's 2nd congressional district elected

12192-642: The prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include: North Carolina North Carolina ( / ˌ k ær ə ˈ l aɪ n ə / KARR -ə- LY -nə )

12319-626: The promotion closed in January 2001 and were on the company's final pay-per-view Guilty as Charged , where they suffered a loss to Jerry Lynn and Cyrus . After the closure of ECW, they returned to the independent circuit , where, on February 3, 2001, the Bad Street Boys defeated Rick Michaels and David Young to become the NWA World Tag Team Champions , a championship that they held for two weeks. They won

12446-437: The ranks of the former eclipsed the latter and expansion of farming operations into former Indigenous territories lowered prices. Unable to establish deep water ports such as at Charles Town and Norfolk, the economy's growth and prosperity was thus based on cheap labor and slave plantation systems, devoted primarily to the production of tobacco, then later cotton and textiles. In 1738–1739 , smallpox caused high fatalities among

12573-546: The reconstruction era, North Carolina had become a one-party state, dominated by the Democratic Party . The state mainly continued with an economy based on tobacco, cotton textiles and commodity agriculture. Large towns and cities remained in few numbers. However, a major industrial base emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century, in the counties of the Piedmont Triad , based on cotton mills established at

12700-487: The six forts in the interior, including Fort San Juan. Although the Spanish never returned to the interior, this effort marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A 16th-century journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera, and archaeological findings since 1986 at Joara, have confirmed the settlement. In 1584, Elizabeth I granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh , for whom

12827-761: The slogan "First in Flight" on state license plates to commemorate this achievement, alongside a newer alternative design bearing the slogan "First in Freedom" in reference to the Mecklenburg Declaration and Halifax Resolves. North Carolina is defined by a wide range of elevations and landscapes. From west to east, North Carolina's elevation descends from the Appalachian Mountains to the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain . North Carolina's Mount Mitchell at 6,684 ft (2,037 m)

12954-415: The social system was looser. By 1810, nearly three percent of the free population consisted of free people of color, who numbered slightly more than 10,000. The western areas of North Carolina were mainly white families of European descent, especially Scotch-Irish , who operated small subsistence farms. In the early national period, the state became a center of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy , with

13081-439: The state capital beginning in 1722, followed by New Bern becoming the capital in 1766. Construction of Tryon Palace , which served as the residence and offices of the provincial governor William Tryon , began in 1767 and was completed in 1771. In 1788, Raleigh was chosen as the site of the new capital, as its central location protected it from coastal attacks. Officially established in 1792 as both county seat and state capital,

13208-408: The state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then part of the territory of Virginia ). It was the second American territory that the English attempted to colonize. Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, but both failed. The colony established in 1587 saw 118 colonists 'disappear' when John White was unable to return from a supply run during battles with

13335-604: The state from the 18th until the 20th century. Eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from rural England and Gaelic speakers from the Scottish Highlands . The Piedmont upcountry and western mountain region of North Carolina was settled chiefly by Scots-Irish , English, and German Protestants, the so-called " cohee ". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish, people of Scottish descent who migrated to and then emigrated from what

13462-459: The state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its most populous city . The Charlotte metropolitan area , with an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023, is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 22nd-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Research Triangle , with an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023,

13589-527: The state in 1711, known as Cary's Rebellion . In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony, and in 1729 it became a royal colony, with the exception of the Earl Granville holdings. In June 1718, Queen Anne's Revenge , the flagship of pirate Blackbeard , ran aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, in present-day Carteret County . After the grounding, her crew and supplies were transferred to smaller ships. In November 1718, after appealing to

13716-580: The state legislature in 1870, in part by Ku Klux Klan violence and terrorism at the polls, to suppress black voting. Republicans were elected to the governorship until 1876, when the Red Shirts , a paramilitary organization that arose in 1874 and was allied with the Democratic Party , helped suppress black voting. More than 150 black Americans were murdered in electoral violence in 1876. Post–Civil War-debt cycles pushed people to switch from subsistence agriculture to commodity agriculture. Among this time

13843-553: The state to join Union regiments elsewhere. Over 30,000 North Carolina troops died from combat or disease during the war. Elected in 1862, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond . The state government was reluctant to support the demands of the national government in Richmond , and the state was the scene of only small battles. In 1865, Durham County saw

13970-473: The state. They were also mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern, where a variety of jobs were available. Most were descendants from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from Virginia during the 18th century. The majority were the descendants of unions in the working classes between white women, indentured servants or free, and African men, indentured, slave or free. After

14097-514: The state. All of these men either had remained loyal to the Crown or aided Charles's restoration to the English throne after Cromwell . In 1712, owing to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony split into North Carolina and South Carolina . North Carolina became a crown colony in 1729. Most of the English colonists had arrived as indentured servants , hiring themselves out as laborers for

14224-515: The team reunited for a brief period, before Mercury was let go from his contract in March 2007. Following his stint with WWE, Birch continued his wrestling career, appearing at several independent promotions, including competing at Ring of Honor events. In March 2008, he returned to OVW, where he won the OVW Television Championship on one occasion. In October 2008, Birch announced his retirement from professional wrestling, following an injury, but later returned to wrestling in 2010, working for WWE as

14351-454: The territory of South Carolina was originally known as the Province of North Carolina . The northern and southern parts of the original province separated in 1712, with North Carolina becoming a royal colony in 1729. Originally settled by small farmers, sometimes having a few slaves, who were oriented toward subsistence agriculture , the colony lacked large cities or towns. Pirates menaced

14478-593: The titles for three months, having successful titles defenses against the teams of Mysterio and Guerrero and Hardcore Holly and Charlie Haas at Judgment Day , before dropping them to the new Legion of Doom (LOD) at The Great American Bash in July 2005. They recaptured the titles on the October 28 episode of SmackDown! in a four-way match defeating the Mexicools , William Regal and Paul Burchill , and LOD, but lost them to Mysterio and Batista two days before

14605-482: The twelfth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution . After 1800, cotton and tobacco became important export crops. The eastern half of the state, especially the Coastal Plain region, developed a slave society based on a plantation system and slave labor. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina. They placed their interests above those of

14732-555: The war took place at King's Mountain along the North Carolina–South Carolina border; on October 7, 1780, a force of 1,000 Patriots from western North Carolina (including what is today the state of Tennessee ) and southwest Virginia overwhelmed a force of some 1,000 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson . Most of the soldiers fighting for the British side in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to

14859-498: The white Republican mayor and aldermen. They installed their own people and elected Alfred M. Waddell as mayor, in the only successful coup d'état in United States history . In 1899, the state legislature passed a new constitution, with requirements for poll taxes and literacy tests for voter registration which disenfranchised most black Americans in the state. Exclusion from voting had wide effects: it meant black Americans could not serve on juries or in any local office. After

14986-409: The wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the " Connecticut Blueblood " Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H . A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous , such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude

15113-507: Was "sacrificed to the gods," killing off his character in the show. That is the last match he has competed in to date. On May 19, 2018, he became one of the trainers at ROH's Baltimore Dojo a training school for the Ring of Honor promotion. Later on February 2, 2019, it was revealed that he would now be working as a producer, trainer and a member of the creative team for Ring of Honor going forward. In October 2019, he departed from Ring of Honor as

15240-655: Was also active in North Carolina politics as a member of the Assembly and later as the Sheriff. Davis also founded and printed the North-Carolina Gazette , North Carolina's first newspaper, printed in his printing house in New Bern. Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the Atlantic coastal plain and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of

15367-460: Was also during this time that he and Nitro, alongside their manager Melina , were known as the stable MNM . The group were called up to the SmackDown! roster and on their debut in April 2005, Mercury and Nitro went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship . After their third and final reign ended in May 2006, Nitro and Melina turned on Mercury, thus ending their faction. However, in November 2006,

15494-596: Was due to Hogan being advertised as " The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name . The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior , had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior". In many cases, ring names evolve over time as

15621-604: Was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with

15748-628: Was less available. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655. By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina , known as the Albemarle Settlements , was undergoing full-scale English settlement. During the same period, the English monarch Charles   II gave provincial land grants to

15875-459: Was reported that Mercury suffered mild contusions as a result of the attack and both members of J&J Security would be out of action indefinitely. Mercury appeared on the March 14, 2016 episode of Raw breaking up the brawl between Triple H and Roman Reigns . In January 2017, it was reported that Birch had been released from WWE. Birch, performing once again as Joey Matthews, announced his return as an active independent wrestler. Matthews won

16002-568: Was some military action, especially in 1780–81. Many Carolinian frontiersmen had moved west over the mountains, into the Washington District (later known as Tennessee ), but in 1789, following the Revolution, the state was persuaded to relinquish its claim to the western lands. It ceded them to the national government so the Northwest Territory could be organized and managed nationally. A major American victory in

16129-573: Was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union, in February 1865, after the Union won the nearby Second Battle of Fort Fisher , its major defense downriver. The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt from North Carolina, in the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge and advanced

#675324