Joey Janela

Joseph Janela (born July 3, 1989) is an American professional wrestler.

Janela is most known for his work with promotions such as All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Major League Wrestling (MLW).

Joseph Janela was born and raised in Hazlet, New Jersey.

Janela grew up a fan of deathmatches and the extreme wrestling style that was popularized by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Combat Zone Wrestling, and the multiple other promotions that sprung up once ECW closed.

According to an ESPN interview, a young Janela became enthralled with the "high-risk, high-reward style of matches" presented in hardcore wrestling.

Starting at age 15, Janela began lying to professional wrestling promoters in order to start wrestling, telling them that he was of legal wrestling age and fully formally trained, which he would later admit in interviews that he was not.

Janela made his professional wrestling debut at a 2006 National Wrestling Superstars (NWS) show where he lost in a Triple Threat match against JD Smooth and Corey Havoc.

He would continue to work primarily for NWS until 2012 when he started to expand into other promotions.

On March 17, 2012, World Xtreme Wrestling, a promotion ran by the Wild Samoans, booked him in a match against Brandon Scott, which Janela lost.

Also in 2012, Janela started portraying the masked Starman character for Pro Wrestling Syndicate.

Janela made his Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut as a participant in the 2014 Dojo Wars Tournament of Valor.

He was defeated in the first round by Dave McCall.

He would continue to wrestle on the promotion's Dojo Wars events, which where hosted at the CZW/WSU Dojo training academy and featured CZW's trainees.

At Sixteen: An Ultraviolent Anniversary, Janela defeated CZW main roster wrestler Sozio to qualify for the Best of the Best 14 tournament.

At Best of the Best 14, he participated in a first round Triple Threat match with CJP and Joe Gacy, which CJP won.

At Proving Grounds 2015, he wrestled in another Triple Threat match, this time facing Pepper Parks and Caleb Konley.

Parks won the match.

At New Heights 2015, Janela faced Pepper Parks and Rich Swann in a Triple Threat match, with Parks scoring another victory over Janela.

At Down with the Sickness 2015, Janela defeated Caleb Konley, Lio Rush, and Trevor Lee in a four-way match.

At Tangled Web 8, Janela defeated Tim Donst to win the CZW Wired TV Championship.

As CZW Wired TV Champion, Janela successfully defended the title against Joe Gacy and Lio Rush.

At Cage of Death XVII, Rush defeated Janela in a rematch to win the title.

At Down with the Sickness 2016, Janela defeated Rush in a ladder match to regain the title.

On August 12, 2017, at Progress Wrestling's New York City event, Janela would debut for the promotion losing to Jimmy Havoc in a No Disqualification match.

At Progress Chapter 66: Mardi Graps, Janela would participate in the Thunderbastard Battle Royal, where he and other notable participants Austin Theory, Chris Brookes, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman lost to Jeff Cobb.

At Progress Chapter 68, Janela would participate in the promotion's 2018 Super Strong Style 16 Tournament losing in the first round to Zack Gibson.

On the last day of the tournament, Janela would defeat Jimmy Havoc in a non-tournament death match.

Around this time, Janela also began wrestling for Major League Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, DEFY Wrestling, Smash Wrestling, AAW Wrestling, and Chikara.

In September 2018, Janela suffered an injury during a match against Psicosis at a Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) event.

Janela stated that MRI results showed that he suffered a complete or near complete PCL tear, a complete tear of the MCL distally, and a ACL sprain, among numerous other injuries.

While recovering from his injuries, in December, Janela joined the commentary team for Mike Busey’s Sausage Castle Wrestling alongside NFL player A. J. Francis.

On March 4, 2019, Janela released a video announcing that he would be returning from his injuries at Spring Break 3.

Spring Break is an annual event held by Janela, in conjunction with GCW, during WrestleMania weekend.

Janela was defeated in his return match by Marko Stunt.

On May 17, 2019, Janela revealed that Spring Break 4 would be held outdoors, with a max capacity of 4,500 spectators.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was delayed.

Even prior to Spring Break 3 being held, Janela confirmed that Spring Break 4 would occur during WrestleMania 36 weekend in 2020.

By the time it was held in October 2020, the event was moved indoors with much more limited seating.

On June 10, 2023, Janela produced the Joey Janela's European Vacations event for the Belgian promotion BodyZoï Wrestling.

In the main event, he defeated Aigle Blanc to win the BodyZoï Championship.