Joey Styles On Kurt Angle Chewing Him Out In ECW, His Career After WWE, ECW Going Out Of Business
Former WWE and ECW announcer Joey Styles was interviewed by Sports Illustrated recently. Joey talked about his career after WWE, his time in ECW and more. Below are a couple of highlights from the interview:
Kurt Angle chewing him out in ECW in 1996:
"So I'm sitting there watching this match, and that's when Raven and his minions crucify the Sandman, à la our lord and savior Jesus Christ, on a wooden cross that the Sandman built himself because he was a carpenter. Raven even put a barbed wire crown around Sandman's head, like a crown of thorns. South Philly was a very Catholic community, and they were sitting in stunned silence?until they started booing. And it was not the good booing, either. It was the 'we don't want you doing this' kind of booing.'
"I'm speechless, but Kurt Angle turns to me, assuming?maybe because I'm wearing a suit and tie?that I know what's going on, and he starts screaming at me. 'I can't be a part of this, this is disgraceful, this is awful, I don't ever want footage of me being here to ever air!' I look to my left to get help from Paul, and Paul is gone. Paul left me alone with this angry, Olympic gold medalist heavyweight wrestler. I am just getting dressed down by Kurt Angle, nose to nose, right in my face. Paul left, he claimed, to go fix the situation. He damn well also wanted to avoid a screaming Kurt Angle. Then he sends Raven out to apologize for his using his 'religious iconography'?and those were Raven's exact words?and Paul, to this day, claims he knew nothing about it, which I don't believe for a second."
On his career after WWE:
"Just when I thought my announcing career was long over, I am now announcing for three professional wrestling video-on-demand subscription services in Chikara, EVOLVE, and Beyond Wrestling. Video-on-demand is the biggest game changer in pro wrestling. When I announce for EVOLVE next on Saturday, November 12 from New York City, the internet pay per view is going to be broadcast on Floslam.TV as part of a brand new subscription service. That is just my weekend job. I still work full time selling digital advertising. I'm back to doing what I did in my twenties?I'm commuting from Connecticut into Manhattan to sell advertising during the week, and on weekends, I'm calling wrestling matches. I'm 45 not 25, but I've got more energy now than I did then and I'm ready to go."
About ECW going down:
"The fans started to embrace me as the crowds started growing. At first, I thought ECW was going to be a stepping stone to a bigger company. Never did I think I would purposely turn down close to ten overtures during the seven years I was with ECW, and I went down with the ship. Tommy Dreamer and I were the only two who went down with the ship rather than taking contracts to go elsewhere, and while that decision cost us money in the short-term, it benefited the both of us in the long term. I'm still called 'The Voice of ECW,' and Tommy is called "The Heart and Soul of ECW," and the reason we are still relevant and still working in wrestling is because of ECW."
Joey also talked about Paul Heyman's impact on ECW, his career before wrestling and much more. You can check out the complete interview here.
Source: Sports Illustrated