Pro wrestling can always use a solid group of goons. Hardly effective, these villainous warm bodies serve as backup to a bigger heel, with their main job being ganging up on the babyface and ultimately getting beaten up. One of the more fun iterations of this character type is the Mean Street Posse, who backed up Shane McMahon in WWE during the Attitude Era.
Billed from “the Mean Streets of Greenwich, Connecticut” and often dressed in sweater vests, and khakis, Pete Gas, Rodney, and Joey Abs were touted as McMahon’s childhood friends, and helped him out in matches until they didn’t. Fans might not know much about these guys, so let’s take a look at their short career.
10 Pete Gas And Rodney Were Childhood Friends Of Shane McMahon
The aforementioned “childhood friends” gimmick wasn’t just a gimmick — Shane McMahon was actually friends with Pete Gas and Rodney growing up in Greenwich, Connecticut. McMahon and Rodney became friends in middle school, eventually meeting Pete Gas in high school. The three ended up becoming great friends, playing around in school and playing on the Greenwich High football team together. Despite their friendship with McMahon, Rodney and Pete Gas didn’t pursue careers in wrestling until Shane himself pitched bringing his buddies in on the fun.
9 Joey Abs Was Not
Of the three best-known members of the Mean Street Posse, Joey Abs was a bit of an outlier, as he notably was not childhood friends with Shane McMahon. In reality, he was a childhood friend of Matt and Jeff Hardy, and wrestled for the Hardys’ own North Carolina-based promotion, OMEGA, where he tagged with Matt. He also worked as a jobber on WWE television, where he notably became the first wrestler to take the Stunner from Steve Austin. Joey Abs was brought into the group as a crucial anchor for the Posse, being the one who was an actual trained pro wrestler.
8 Brought In For Shane McMahon’s Feud With X-Pac
The Mean Street Posse would be introduced in the lead-up to WrestleMania 15, where Shane McMahon defending his European Championship against X-Pac. Pete Gas and Rodney’s first appearance would be in a video package to promote the match, where McMahon’s upbringing on the “mean streets” of Greenwich Connecticut was the focus.
The Mean Street Posse would finally appear outside of vignettes in the Raw just before WrestleMania, attacking X-Pac during a “Greenwich Street Fight.” Six days later, they’d show up at ‘Mania as well, hanging at ringside and getting involved in European Title match.
7 Initially A Larger Group
Fans going back to watch WrestleMania 15 may be surprised to find out just how big the Mean Street Posse was in their early appearances — and that Joey Abs was nowhere to be found. Initially, the Mean Street Posse was a four-man configuration of McMahon sycophants, with Pete Gas and Rodney being joined by guys with names like Billy P and Willie Green. Very little is known about who these other guys were or why they disappeared, but WrestleMania 15 would be their last major appearance,
6 Feuded With The Stooges
WWE in the year 1999 would feature a rivalry between Shane McMahon and his own father, Vince McMahon, as well as The Corporation merging with The Ministry to form the Corporate Ministry. The Mean Street Posse would become involved in those shenanigans, backing up Shane against his dad while feuding with Vince’s own stooges, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco. This would lead to a Loser Leaves Town match between the Posse and the Stooges, with Pete Gas and Rodney being ousted from television in defeat.
5 Helped Shane McMahon Feud With Test
Despite their loss, the Mean Street Posse returned to WWE television about two months later, with Joey Abs finally showing up to make Posse into a trio of goons. Together, Pete, Rodney, and Joey backed up Shane McMahon in his feud with Test, who was in an on-screen romance with Shane’s sister, Stephanie McMahon. Notably, Joey Abs would score another milestone, being the first person to be slapped by Stephanie on WWE television. This would lead to a pretty fun “Love Her or Leave Her” match between Shane and Test at SummerSlam ‘99, in which the Mean Street Posse would attempt to interfere to no avail.
4 Joined The Hardcore Division
Before long, Shane McMahon would turn face, make amends with Test, and feud with his own buddies, after which the Mean Street Posse would begin to flounder in the tag team division, eventually earning an unsuccessful challenge against Tag Team Champions the Hardy Boyz. But the trio would find a place where they were able to shine: the Hardcore Division.
Early 2000 saw the Mean Street Posse do some of their most fun work in WWE, chasing the Hardcore Title after Crash Holly committed to defending the belt 24/7. As a result, the two parties would clash in places like a circus and an airport, capturing the belt a few times in the process.
3 Moved To Developmental
Despite their exploits in the Hardcore Division, the Mean Street Posse found themselves sent to developmental in the year 2000, training and performing in Memphis Championship Wrestling, where future WWE Champion Daniel Bryan had his first developmental stint. The Posse proved pretty successful there, with Joey Abs capturing the MCW Hardcore Title, the Southern Heavyweight Championship (twice), and the Tag Title with Rodney. On top of that, they had matches with some impressive talent including Raven, William Regal, and Daniel Bryan.
2 Pete Gas Returned To WWE In 2007
After an 18-month run with WWE, all three members of the Mean Street Posse found themselves released by the company in the summer of 2001, after which Rodney, and Joey Abs quickly retired from wrestling. Pete Gas, however, ended up making a quick in-ring return to WWE in December of 2007 for the 15th-anniversary episode of Raw, which featured appearances from Hulk Hogan, Sunny, and the Godfather, among others. Gas showed up in a special nostalgia character battle royal where Irwin R. Schyster won but sold his win to his old buddy, Ted DiBiase.
1 Pete Gas Wrote A Book
Like many veterans of the pro wrestling game, Pete Gas ended up writing a book about his experiences. Co-written with Jon Robinson, Looking at the Lights: My Path from Fan to a Wrestling Heel covers Pete Gas’ upbringing as well as his unlikely journey from untrained hanger-on to pro wrestler, and the uphill battle he experienced proving himself to those who perhaps believed he didn’t deserve the opportunity he was getting. The book also features introductions from fellow WWE stars Edge and JBL.