5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Feb 23)

2. Joey Janela > WWE

Jeff Jarrett
Wrestling Arcade / Joey Janela

WWE, for all the company's creative faults and infuriating marketing tactics, remains unparalleled in the pure art of promotion. It doesn't matter how uninspiring Fastlane looks at a glance; WWE does such a sublime job of engineering hype in those three minute video vignettes that, by the time the bell rings on March 11, you will care about watching Baron Corbin wrestle a PPV main event. The formula is both genius and unbeatable.

That was until Joey Janela posted this incredible hype video on Twitter this week. Prefaced with an hilarious in-joke at the expense of Lio Rush on the "character select" screen, this 16-bit stunner struck notes of nostalgia and comedy. The video game version of Janela hammered Jim Cornette, presumably happy to be back in the early 1990s, with a steel chair. Virgil showered the screen with "f*ck money". In a wicked sight gag, Marty Jannetty fell into the battleground from the sky. There was pathos within the pixels there; that daft aside summed up the self-inflicted karma that has tainted Marty's wrestling career.

The whole thing unveiled itself as a sort of banter match announcement that actually makes sense at GCW Spring Break II over WrestleMania Weekend: WALTER Vs. Pierre Carl 'Jean Pierre Lafitte' Ouellet. Promising something both nostalgic and progressive, the Bad Boy might be something of a secret genius.

Basically, Joey Janela is better at Kevin Dunn's job than Kevin Dunn is.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!