10 Wrestlers Who Purposefully Deceived Promoters

8. Joey Janela

Joey Janela
Scott Lesh Photography/AEW

AEW's Joey Janela admitted to Sean Mooney's 'Prime Time' podcast that he used to lie to promoters all the time back during his first few years in the business. Why? Well, Janela wanted to portray himself as an experienced hand who could do whatever they needed.

It was a ruse.

The literal rookie didn't have any of the experience he claimed, but promoters didn't need to know that. All they needed to know was that the charismatic youngster was their next hot property, and they'd be fools to miss out on him. Somehow, this brash, ballsy attitude worked and the bookings flooded in.

Promoters would ask if Joey could sell tickets for them in the areas he'd previously "worked". He said yes, then didn't sell any and managed to scrape by unnoticed anyway. This is an incredible tale of someone who worked the system and got away with it.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.