THIS AEW Original Reveals Contract Is Up In May 2022

This AEW OG is looking to "step it up" and win a new deal.

by Andrew Pollard
Joey Janela
AEW.com

Joey Janela has revealed his current AEW contract is due to expire in May 2022.

Speaking during an appearance on the My Mom's Basement show, Janela discussed his contract status and admitted he needs to "step it up" if he's to get a new deal with Tony Khan's promotion.

Explaining how the COVID-19 pandemic caused him to become unmotivated, the Bad Boy said:

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"The pandemic happened, that was it. I was unmotivated. I'm not an athlete like these guys. I can't go out there without a crowd. I have to have a crowd. I have to have that adrenaline. I hate to say it, I kind of half-assed it the whole year. I was unmotivated. I was depressed. I started to eat a lot. I got fatter and progressively worse. I looked worse and worse."

On wanting to earn a contract extension with AEW, Janela added:

"I've had some good matches during the pandemic, but it wasn't like pre-pandemic. The crowds are coming back. I'm under a three-year contract. My contract is up in May. I really have to step it up. I feel like I have in the last couple [of] months, having killer matches on Dark. The arenas coming back have really helped me."

Joey talked how up "we have something" in AEW and how he's "crossing [his] fingers" in regards to his future with the company.

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Janela was one of the very first names to formally sign with AEW back in 2019, with him debuting for the promotion at the inaugural Double or Nothing PPV where he competed in the Casino Battle Royale bout that was won by 'Hangman' Adam Page.

Those early AEW days saw Janela have notable matches against the likes of Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and was even Jon Moxley's first AEW opponent. More recently, the New Jersey native has been competing primarily on AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation since splitting from Sonny Kiss earlier in the year.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.