Jason Arhndt (born October 15, 1971) is an American retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He is best known for his appearances with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWF) under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Joey Abs as part of the Mean Street Posse. He also performed using the nickname Venom.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1994–1999)

Arhndt began his career as a member of Matt and Jeff Hardy's Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) in Cameron, North Carolina. Arhndt also made some appearances as

enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...

using his real name on ''

WWF Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

'' in 1994 and 1995. In 1996, he became the first victim to receive the Stunner from Stone Cold Steve Austin on an episode of ''

Superstars A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity. Superstar or superstars may also refer to: People * Warhol superstars, the associates of Andy Warhol * WWE Superstar, a branding term referring to a WWE wrestler * Superstar Billy Graham (born 1943) ...

''. Later that year, teaming with Eddie Jackie, they scored an upset win against Steve Austin, pinning him after he was clotheslined by

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

. On August 2, 1997, he was defeated by Jeff Hardy to crown the first OMEGA New Frontiers Champion.

World Wrestling Federation (1999–2001)

In early 1999, he joined the WWF as Joey Abs. He made his WWF debut on the June 21, 1999 episode of '' Raw is War''. He was a part of the Mean Street Posse, a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, with Pete Gas and Rodney, clad in sweater vests, loafers, and dress pants. Although Gas and Rodney were childhood friends of Shane McMahon, Abs had a legitimate wrestling background. They started off as a group from

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

of about ten people in early 1999, but then as the year went on the stable whittled its way down to three members. The group was closely allied with McMahon, often helping him defend the WWE European Championship throughout early 1999. At

WrestleMania 2000 WrestleMania 2000 (sequentially known as WrestleMania 16) was the 16th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took p ...

, each member won the WWF Hardcore Championship for a short while. All three Posse members were briefly signed to the WWF developmental territory of

Memphis Championship Wrestling Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active until mid-2001. It was employed as a World ...

(MCW). In MCW in June 2000, Abs won the MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship from

Lord Steven Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his t ...

. He, however, lost the title to K-Krush on August 19. Abs was released from the WWF in early 2001 and retired in the same year.

Championships and accomplishments

*Championship Wrestling Federation **CWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** MCW Hardcore Championship ( 1 time) ** MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) *National Championship Wrestling **NCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *New Frontier Wrestling Association **NFWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Matt Hardy * Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts **

OMEGA Heavyweight Championship The OMEGA Heavyweight Championship is the top singles title in the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) independent professional wrestling promotion. The title's original run lasted from 1997 to 2000, before being recommissioned ...

( 1 time) * Pro Wrestling Illustrated **PWI ranked him # 176 of the Top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000 *

** WWF Hardcore Championship ( 1 time) * Other titles **OPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abs, Joey 1971 births American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Carthage, North Carolina Professional wrestlers from North Carolina WWF/WWE Hardcore Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers