10 Times WWE Worked Their Audience Into A Shoot
7. Joey Quits In Style (May 2006)
Joey Styles always seemed like an odd fit for WWE. He was a million miles removed from the buzzword-reciting corporate yes men that the company typically place in their announce booths, but he was the only logical choice to call ECW One Night Stand in 2005. A vital component of ECW's presentation, his work alongside Mick Foley helped elevate whatd could have easily been a cheap, nostalgic cash-in into a truly special night, and he stayed with WWE thereafter.
Joey was made Raw's lead announcer by November, but it didn't take long for tensions to arise. Vince McMahon replaced him with Jim Ross at WrestleMania 22, with speculation suggesting that the boss hated Styles' work, and wanted a traditional "storyteller" instead. Rather than calling the whole event as originally planned, Joey only commentated on a single match.
On 1 May 2006, Styles resigned his Raw position with a blistering worked shoot promo, ripping into Vince McMahon, the promotion, and the fans who "buy into this crap." Coupled with the 'Mania incident, his delivery had viewers believing that he'd gone into business for himself, and Styles had many celebrating as he echoed their complaints on live television. It was all a work, however, and Joey remained with WWE until 2016.