Joey Janela is leaving AEW and explains why he came to this decision.
Joey Janela recently spoke with Instinct Culture’s Denise Salcedo and confirms that he won’t be re-signing with All Elite Wrestling. Previously, Janela said that he hoped to re-sign with the company as his deal was set to expire on May 1, but now said he won’t be coming back. Janela explains that part of the reasoning behind his decision is that he wants to be his own boss back on the independent scene.
“I said in a couple interviews with Sean {Ross Sapp} in September that All Out weekend, I said ‘yes.’ Recently, in an interview with Barstool Sports I said ‘yes’. My contract is up on May 1st {2022}. And I am gonna have to say no now. I am not interested in signing with AEW. Re-signing with them. I was a little scared getting back into the independent wrestling world and making money. You take those things for granted, you’re getting a paycheck every two weeks. A pretty good paycheck. In your head you’re like ‘shit, when this is over, this is gonna disappear.’ But I was born a hustler in this business. I was scared to get back into that world but now I am no longer scared.
“Back in the day before AEW, I was going out to wrestle for basically nothing. I was just doing it because I love it, I would do 3-4 shows a week. I would rack up small paydays from the promoters, plus my merchandise and I’d be satisfied and I’d be making a lot of money. But now my price has gone significantly up so I didn’t know if the promoters were gonna welcome me back with open arms. But recently I’ve realized that the promoters know the situation, they realize what the situation is gonna be and they’ve been hitting me up big time. They say ‘we want you to come back here. We want you to wrestle some of the newer guys we have. We want you to wrestle some of the older guys. We want Joey Janela back.’
Janela went on to explain that he’s still very happy with what he accomplished in AEW, and is leaving with plenty of positives to look at.
“It was a learning experience, and I am gonna say this in the most positive way possible without looking negative. Those three years with AEW was developmental for the rest of my career. I am so much sharper now, not only in-ring but business-wise, I’ve learned so much in those three years. Now not only am I sharper myself, in all facets of the wrestling business, but also I can go to a young guy, I could go to a Nick Wayne and teach him stuff, of the stuff that I’ve learned in those three years. Or I can go to GCW or I can go to another promotion and teach them what I’ve learned on the other side of the curtain. I am not sad at all. I did everything I wanted to do there. Within the 6 months I started there, my goal was to wrestle Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, main event TV, main event pay-per-view. Did it all. The only thing I didn’t get was an action figure. So be it. It’s over now and we’re just moving forward.”
Janela thanked Tony Khan for the experience, then spoke about how his tenure ended and said he wished AEW wasn’t as “radio silent” and would’ve communicated more towards the end. He added that they have talent relations to communicate with talent and he feels like the company has been quiet with the performers that haven’t had their contracts renewed.
“I am not sad about anything, I thank everyone there, I learned so much. I had ups and downs. COVID really killed me wrestling in front of no crowd, I really lost motivation, my back was shot out. The doctors tell me my back is shaped like an ‘S’, because of all the wild stuff I have done in my career, that’s something that is scary to hear and ‘that’s why you’re not moving the way you should at 31 years old. It’s because your spine is shaped like an ‘S’. ‘ But that’s been fixed, I feel great I am back in shape. I just wish there was less radio silence on their end with me. I consider Tony {Khan} a friend, I hung out with Tony a lot in the beginning days of AEW, I just wish they would talk to me. I know it’s come to an end. But I appreciate them, I appreciate the experience I had and I am gonna take everything I learned there and bring it with me for the rest of my career.”
Related: Barry Horowitz Coming Out Of Retirement To Face Joey Janela At Spring Break 6
