Joey Janela Responds To Criticism From Jim Cornette, Talks Where He Draws The Line With Crazy Spots
Joey Janela received some social media criticism from Jim Cornette recently when Cornette retweeted a message which disparaged Janela's wrestling style and physique. Janela, of course, didn't take the criticism silently and recently responded in an interview with Bleacher Report.
"It lit a fire under me, and now I'm better than ever in the ring. I think I'm having a great year. Guys like Jim Cornette, of course they're not going to watch the matches that people say are great matches. They're going to watch the matches where the craziness happens and try to pull out things to engage his followers. It is what it is," said Janela.
"I think me and Cornette, we rub each other's back when it comes to getting each other publicity. So I have no problem with it. I'd rather deal with Jim Cornette than his followers, that's for sure. It's fine. I don't care if people want to s–t on my physique. I've gotten in better shape in the last year and I am looking to get into even better shape for TV. I'm starting to diet now. But, when you talk about my wrestling, that's where I draw the line. Other than that, have fun."
Cornette endorsed a message that said it takes no talent to do the hardcore, extreme stuff in the ring that Janela does such as taking a staple gun to the head. However, Janela did say he draws the line at one thing when it comes to crazy spots.
"The three way, I think it was good, harmless fun with some craziness in there. We were within the boundaries of a PG-14 environment. And, if we had done it without the staple gun, I think the match could work in a PG environment. For the most part, the craziness was contained," stated Janela.
"I'm not really big on people taking chairs to the head. I know how bad concussions can be. When I was younger, I did take chair shots to the head. That's a no-no for me now."
Janela has spent most of his career on the indie circuit and now has the biggest opportunity in front of him with AEW. He talked about the approach young wrestlers should have in order to land with a major promotion.
"You need to make money and you need to have an endgame to make it to a mainstream, national wrestling company. It's never been closer for a lot of these new people getting into the business," said Janela.
"I remember when I first started it was almost unattainable to get to that point, to get to WWE. Yeah, TNA was still in town but to get to WWE was so hard. Really just the cream-of-the-crop guys made it in: the CM Punks and Bryan Danielsons. It was almost unattainable back then. Now there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and if you work hard enough and bust your ass, you can not only get to a national wrestling company, now you have your choice of them.
Like many others on the come-up in pro wrestling, Janela had to work various other jobs to make ends meet and he detailed some of those.
"I tried to get a job at a factory. It was going to be a job making those gold credit cards, like Visas. That didn't work out and that wasn't ideal for me," admitted Janela. "I tried Uber and delivering pizza. I had pretty much done it all or tried to. Most of the time I found myself getting fired. That was basically my run in real-life work."