Joey Janela Reveals What Led to His AEW Downfall

Joey Janela was one of AEW’s first signings back in 2019 and he had solid matches against the likes of Kenny Omega and others. Over time, his role in the company became smaller and smaller until he eventually left in 2022. Janela now believes that backstage heat played a big part in why his AEW career didn’t work out.

While speaking to Wrestling Then and Now, Joey Janela talked about his time in AEW and the problems he faced. He had big matches with Kenny Omega, and fans started to support him. But he also felt that some wrestlers were jealous and wondered why he was getting those opportunities instead of them.

“I had the matches with Kenny Omega, and now everyone’s really behind me. But there are also people thinking, ‘Why is he there and I’m not?’ You know how it is.”

Janela believed that veteran wrestlers like Christopher Daniels should have been helping younger talent and working backstage instead of trying to stay on television. However, he also admitted that some of his problems were his own fault, especially how he acted on social media. No one in AEW told him to stop posting certain things online—they just talked about it among themselves.

Over time, he noticed his position in the company changing. The only person who tried to give him advice was Cody Rhodes, who didn’t like the way Janela used social media. Even then, no one ever sat him down and told him to change.

“Guys like Christopher Daniels should be focusing on creating new talent and really just being backstage personnel. But instead, they saw an opportunity to be on TV. I guess it’s always going to be like that for those guys. They think, ‘I’m Christopher Daniels, I should be here.’

But it’s my fault too because of the way I presented myself on the internet. The thing is, no one’s ever going to pull you aside and tell you. They just let you do your thing, then they talk about it amongst themselves. And eventually, you start noticing how things shift.

I wish someone would have just said something. Well, Cody tried at times, you know? And I did listen to him. I’m still cool with him. He just didn’t like the way I handled social media, which is fine. He has the right to feel that way. But no one ever really pulled me aside and said, ‘Joey, you need to stop writing this stuff. You need to stop saying whatever is on your mind on Twitter.’”

Janela had a 30-minute match with Omega, who was one of the best wrestlers at the time. He thought this would be his big moment. Then, two weeks later, they had another match on TV, this time lasting 12 minutes. He even took Omega’s V-Trigger in a way inspired by a boxing knockout, making the match more memorable. Fans talked about it a lot, and he thought AEW would finally push him.

“I had a 30-minute match with Kenny Omega—who, at the time, was still considered one of the best wrestlers in the industry. Just going 30 minutes with him and having such a highly praised match, I thought, ‘This is it. They’ve got to push me now.’ And then we did it again two weeks later on TV. I think we had 12 minutes, and it was another great match.

I remember taking his V-Trigger in the ropes. I had seen a boxing fight where a guy got punched in the face and knocked out, and he slumped through the ropes. I thought, ‘That’s how I’m going to take Kenny’s V-Trigger.’ Everyone was talking about it. I thought, ‘They’ve got to push me now.’”

Janela noted that instead of a big push, AEW put him in a random feud with Shawn Spears, without a clear story. Then, they decided to use his real-life breakup for a storyline, putting him in a segment with his ex-girlfriend Penelope Ford and her new boyfriend.

To make things worse, this wasn’t even on television—it was on AEW’s YouTube show AEW Dark. At that point, Janela realized something was wrong. He must have had backstage heat because nothing was working out for him. Even though he agreed to the storyline just to stay on TV, deep down, he wanted to be wrestling top guys like Omega and Jon Moxley.

“But then there was no push. Instead, they told me, ‘You’re going to be in a feud with Shawn Spears. We don’t really know what we’re doing with you now, so we’re just going to throw you guys together.’ There was never anything really written. I just had these matches, and then suddenly, I’m in a random feud with Spears.

Then they decided, ‘Let’s capitalize off some real heat. Let’s put you with your ex-girlfriend, who just broke up with you a few months ago, and her new boyfriend.’ And they didn’t even put it on TV—it was on a YouTube show. At that point, I knew something was off. I had heat in the locker room, or with some of the boys, because nothing was clicking.

They put me on TV with my ex-girlfriend, and I just went along with it. I thought, ‘Okay, whatever. I just want to be on TV.’ But inside, I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to go back to having 30-minute matches with Moxley and Omega.”

Joey Janela’s time in AEW started off strong, but he believes backstage politics, tension in the locker room, and his own social media mistakes led to his downfall. While he appreciates his time in AEW, fans wonder how things might have turned out if things had gone differently.

Do you believe Joey Janela was held back in AEW, or did he make his own mistakes that led to his downfall? Should AEW have used him more prominently, or was his eventual exit inevitable? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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