Photo credit: @NickKarpPhotos
In an exclusive interview with PWPonderings’ Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell), Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) sits down to talk about his upcoming WrestleMania weekend plans. We also speak about Janela’s recent revisit to the infamous rooftop where he almost lost it all, his match with Megan Bayne at Beyond Wrestling’s “Shamrock Slam,” his opinion on intergender wrestling, and so much more. Check it all out and more below.
What was it like revisiting the rooftop spot where the infamous Zandig spot happened?
“I almost had a panic attack up there it was petrifying. Good thing they replaced that roof because the last guy to go up there said it was about to cave in. When I went up there it was a whole new roof. It was petrifying. It was pouring rain too so I didn’t want to go anywhere close to the edge because that would be the most poetic way to die, it was crazy. I can’t believe I did that. I told those guys if I could go back and change anything, I probably wouldn’t because that helped GCW get its name out there and helped get it where it is today. GCW put a lot of food on a lot of people’s tables, and I had to make the sacrifice and luckily, I came out unscathed.
But yeah, I was pretty stupid going up there and realizing what I did in 2016. Never again. Nothing even close to that. I wouldn’t even go off the lower roof, I said. I’m not like that anymore.”
At the time when the rooftop spot happened, what was going through your head?
“I thought I was going to die man. I talked about it the other day. There was a 50/50 chance of me not surviving that. When you look at the math, it’s not Steiner math, it’s Janela math. But I came two feet from one of the bars on the truck the way I tucked myself into Zandig’s arms. There was no way I was going to let him press me up like he did to Mondo and toss me. That truck was way too close. I had to just close my eyes, tuck myself in like a baby, and hope I survived.
But the way I tucked myself was kind of sideways, so that bar on top of the truck, I came a foot maybe less or more away from ending my life. But I survived and I’m still alive. It was cool, it was stupid, but it was worth it.”
Looking ahead to next week, you have a jam-packed WrestleMania week that kind of starts on Sunday. The Beyond Wrestling “Shamrock Slam” show will be airing live on IWTV and the world can finally see your match with Megan Bayne. What was that like?
“I think it’s the greatest intergender match of all time. A lot of people haven’t seen it yet. They had to do what they had to do to release it. I guess they had to get the brewing company to sign off on it which is why it took so long for the footage. But yeah, that place was rocking. I think it may be one of the best intergender matches of all time, one of the best Beyond Wrestling matches of all time, and one of the best matches of the year, independently. I think it doesn’t get much better than that, and I knew that as soon as the match was over. During the match, I knew we were doing something special because that was like a hybrid crowd of half fans and half people who just wanted to get drunk and drink some craft beer.
We were one of the only entertainments for the night as far as wrestling goes, the other tent was a cover band or something. But man, throughout the match the reactions kept getting louder and louder. But yeah, I urge everyone to go watch it this Sunday. It was one of my favorite matches in a long time. Yeah, we’re going to look back and all laugh because that shit was great.”
You’ve been vocal about intergender wrestling in the past. How important is intergender wrestling to you, and hopefully getting it to become more mainstream?
“I mean, look at the evidence. I may be up there as one of the best intergender wrestlers of all time, matches with Kris Statlander, Masha Slamovich, Billie Starkz, Megan Bayne, and you name it. Man, me and Sawyer Wreck in GCW was an amazing match that put her on the map. I treat the females like their men, I treat them like their equals, and we get down to business and have some good ones. It’s show business. Wrestling itself is stupid, it’s ridiculous, it’s bullshit. When you whip someone off the ropes, they bounce back miraculously. It’s stupid to think a man shouldn’t be able to wrestle a female, especially when we’re supposed to look like comic book heroes. All the time you see women fighting male villains in comic books and movies, so why not? It’s entertainment, it’s wrestling. You just have to make it believable.
Me, in this day and age, there’s a lot of shit I did where it just wasn’t believable. It wouldn’t get a fan invested to the point where they get lost in the art. However, the last year and a half I’ve been trying to change it up and make everything make sense and more believable and get the fans invested more and more every month I wrestle. I’m 187 times better than I was when I left AEW, so we’re doing something right.”
Is there anything looking ahead that you’d like to accomplish in Beyond?
“I’ve only done two shows since AEW for Beyond. But I’ve main evented Americanrana, which is their biggest show, three years in a row. I was the main event of every show, doing one-year and two-year storylines there. I’m looking forward to getting back to my roots there. They have a strong core there now. There are a lot of good guys coming up in the New England scene, and they’re focusing on more of the younger generation and less on the flyouts. There’s still a lot of that, but the “Shamrock Slam” show is one of their best shows ever and that’s a great sign. I don’t think indie wrestling will ever be the same. Houses are selling out all over the place, and it’s turning into more of a concert, a touring concert, more than a wrestling show.
In 2019 or 2018 before AEW, there were Reddit threads like crazy about independent wrestling shows. That doesn’t exist anymore. It’s because they can watch independent wrestling or something like the alternative on Wednesday nights on IWTV. I don’t know why, but the houses have never been better, but the internet has changed it a lot. Beyond Wrestling, let’s get the fans talking online again and get back in the mix. I don’t see the same engagement on the internet that I did before AEW. There’s still good engagement, but it’s more of a live deal now. Wrestling is booming right now, things are changing, but this is one of the best Beyond Wrestling shows ever, so you better go watch it.”
Next Wednesday, you were announced for “Tournament of Breath” by Mike Bailey. What can we expect from that show?
“I have no idea. I love Mike Bailey. He’s one of if not the best wrestlers I’ve ever wrestled in my life. He always gets me when I’m drunk, and I always agree to come do it. Then, he’ll talk to me the next day and ask me again and I say yeah, I said it. So, who knows what Tournament of Breath is going to be? I heard there’s going to be a lot of Breath match wrestling. I’m a Breath match legend.”
On Thursday, you’re announced to be facing Nic Nemeth at the WrestleCon “Mark Hitchcock Memorial” Supershow. What are your thoughts heading into that?
“I mean, I think it’s going to be awesome. I haven’t wrestled at the ECW arena in a long time, maybe since Evolve back in the day in 2018, maybe? It’s going to be sold out, and it’s WrestleMania weekend, and I have a history with Highspots, who I love very much. We were trying to figure out who I wanted to wrestle, with or what crazy match could we pull off. We couldn’t come up with anything because I wrestled all these guys. Eventually, I was asked to work with Nic Nemeth. I said yes. That was a match I pitched to Brett this year for Spring Break, but we went in a different direction there.
So, it’s quite awesome that the match I pitched for Spring Break is still happening on WrestleMania weekend on a big show. A lot of people compare us. We’re very similar, and very unselfish wrestlers when it comes to wrestling. It’ll be fun to watch us try and outsell each other and just have a great one. It’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be good.”
What are your thoughts on the assumption that your match with Nemeth could steal the entire weekend?
“I think it very well could steal the weekend. Every one of my matches could steal the weekend. I’m coming to perform this weekend. I am amped up. I’ve been performing the best of my career lately. WrestleMania weekend is huge, my show is huge. I try to steal the weekend. I want it to be “We’re going to see WrestleMania, but we’re also going to see Joey fucking Janela because he’s going to kill it.” Honestly, I feel like it took me three years to get my reputation back after AEW, so I feel like we’re there now. This will be the exclamation point on that comeback.”
On Friday, GCW and you will be presenting Joey Janela’s Spring Break show. You will be facing off with Blake Christian on there, and essentially putting the whole show together. This could be the biggest Spring Break ever on paper. What are your thoughts on booking it and your upcoming match with Blake Christian?
“It’s exciting. The last few Spring Breaks I’ve had less of my hands on than you’d think, but this year I have my fingerprints on. I booked the shit out of this show. I think it’s going to be THE best show of the weekend. WrestleMania, WWE is coming in hot with the TKO endeavor, they’re trying to make a point this weekend. WrestleMania is going to be a spectacle. It’s going to be spectacular and they’re probably trying to go for the best and have the best WrestleMania of all time, being 40 years and all. Independent-wise, I’m trying to steal the show. We’re going against Ring of Honor, which has a stacked card too, and a lot of great women’s matches on that card. They sold a lot of tickets too. But there’s only one Joey Janela Spring Break. The tickets have never been hotter.
People are dying to get tickets now on Twitter. I see it every day. Someone hit me up telling me he was in a coma for a year, and he needed tickets. So, who knows how true that is? But that’s how hot this ticket is. People will never sleep on the opportunity to get these tickets again. I think next year we’ll have a 10-minute sellout.”
One of the more anticipated matches of the show is the Punjabi Prison match taking place in Part 2. Have you seen the prison and how did that all come about?
“I haven’t seen it yet, but I trust the people who are making it. The Punjabi Prison in WWE was made of metal and spray painted to look like bamboo. We have actual bamboo. I asked how it’s going, and he told me it’s easy as hell to build. This shit’s going to look crazy. These are our GCW construction crew. These guys are great, they build everything. I can trust them with this, and I can’t see it not being awesome. But it’s real bamboo and strong as hell. There are some big guys in that match. I feel like they are going to be flying through that shit. It’s going to be awesome. It’s a match that’s so big that it has to happen on Night 2.”
We saw the match card announced for Part 1. It looks like Part 2 is going to be the Clusterfuck Battle Royal and the Punjabi Prison match. How did that come about?
“There’s no time for anything else, you know? Those are going to be two long matches, a breakdown, and other stuff. I think we did something similar in Texas. There are one or two matches on Night 2 before the Clusterfuck. I don’t know how many people will be in it, we haven’t even booked it yet. We’re just getting set. We’re hitting up people now. We have a short list, and you’re going to get your money’s worth coming out after. You’re going to have a great time.”
With a match that has so many moving parts, how hard and intricate is it to put together the Clusterfuck?
“It’s hard dude. It’s the hardest match to put together. I think Jimmy Lloyd is going to be the one to put it together, he’s good at that shit. I’m not going to participate in that. I’ve participated in one, and I think I’ll help out and make sure everything is ironed out. At that point, I’ll just have to relax. I can’t be worrying about an 88-person Royal Rumble after the week. I’ll produce it and we’ll figure it out. It’s going to be a very fun time.”
All in all, it looks like WrestleMania week is going to be an insane week for you. On Saturday at The Block Party, you’ll be working with Jimmy Lloyd one-on-one. What are your thoughts heading into that?
“That’s going to be the biggest house of the entire weekend, independently. There’s going to be thousands of people there, it’s going to be insane. There’s going to be a punk rock band there next door, it’s going to be a madhouse. All these names are rumored to be there, HUGE names in hip hop. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. They asked me which kind of keg of beer I wanted, not like a case of beer, they asked me for about a keg. So, going into that Clusterfuck it’s going to be a Clusterfuck in my brain, I’ll be a little loopy.”
Looking ahead, what’s next for you?
“Who knows? We just go with the flow right now. I’m getting up there in age, in wrestler years I’m like 90. Soon, we may need some more stability and try to find another contract somewhere, and it will happen. But right now we’re just having fun and enjoying life, and I hope you guys are too.”
Do you have anyone specific you’d like to face off against?
“I would have said Nemeth, but that’s happening. Maybe Mustafa Ali. That’s a cool one that will probably happen. Our styles would mesh very well. Will Ospreay, which probably won’t happen because he’s not doing indie dates anymore. That’s about it. I’ve wrestled everyone else. The match you most likely will see eventually is me and Mustafa Ali. That will be a good one.”
Do you have a message for anyone reading this?
“Buy my merch.”
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