Joey Janela speaks on a number of topics.
Very few Independent wrestlers have enjoyed the success Joey Janela has enjoyed over the past couple of years. Janela has turned himself into one of the most popular non-WWE wrestlers in the US with his viral marketing and outside the box thinking. His annual Spring Break events are the most sought after ticket during WrestleMania Weekend. Recently, Janela signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling, giving him a larger platform to showcase his brand of entertainment and wrestling.
Speaking to UPROXX, Janela discussed the creative freedom he has in AEW.
"I would love (to be part of AEW creative). And it’s just right now, they’re just starting up. You know, it’s like, I don’t even know if they have a TV deal. Like, I definitely want to be there for them, Matt and Nick, Cody, and Tony Khan – I rarely talk to Kenny Omega. I’ve really never talked to him in my life… but these guys are great guys," said Janela. "These guys have the same mindset that I do for professional wrestling… They want to keep their creativity. They don’t want people to strip them of what makes them great, and that’s the same way I am. And I’ve heard from Cody and the Bucks before that Spring Break, you know, was a huge step in the direction of them running All In. And those guys are awesome and they’re great guys."
Janela continued, discussing going over his time at September's All In event. Janela wrestled Hagman Page at All In in a Chicago Street Fight. The match went 20 minutes, not including the post-match angle involving Joey Ryan and Penis Druids.
"And I’ve been to Evolve, and I’ve told Gabe Sapolsky, 'Yes, I want to sign with WWE, that’s my goal.' Then All In happened and that changed everything," said Janela. "You know, I went six minutes over my time at that show. If I did that for WWE, I’d be f*cking fired. With those guys, it was “You killed it. You did a good job. Don’t do it again.” They let me keep my creativity. There was no agent to agent my match. I told them what I was doing and that was it. That’s a place I want to be, and, you know, I can’t wait for the future."
Janela is currently sidelined with a knee injury, but is scheduled to make his return at his annual Spring Break event in April. Janela has one opponent in mind for his return bout.
"Kenny Omega. One hundred percent," said Janela. "You may not see it, but me and Kenny Omega a lot of people have told me that are friends with him, friends with me, say, 'You guys are very similar people. Very similar people in the ring in the way you think, creativity and improve and the way you do things.'"
Janela continued, "Kenny Omega is number one right now and that’s one of the main reasons I signed to AEW is to have a match with Kenny Omega and I want to have that match to – there’s still a lot of naysayers who might say “Joey Janela can’t go,” but everyone knows, or my fans know, that I can go with anyone and have a two hour match with anybody, and that’s the way I am. And Kenny Omega is the one I want to wrestle, and I want to have my match with Kenny Omega. I want to have that match, that Okada-Kenny Omega match in the States with that man, and a match that just lives on in history and everyone’s raving about for years to come."
As of now, Janela has no opponent for his grand return at Spring Break III. Janela wrestled Marty Jannetty at the first Spring Break event and The Great Sasuke last year. He recently expressed his desire to wrestle Jushin Liger at some point in 2019. Liger announced he will retire in January 2020 at the Tokyo Dome.
