Joel Gertner
Encyclopedia
Joel Gertner is an American
Professional wrestling
announcer and manager
best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling
.
as a heel announcer under the nickname Joey Jaguar. He would threaten the wrestlers and usually get beat up for his actions. Gertner attended Poly Prep high school in Brooklyn, New York and started attending Cornell University
in 1993. He began working for ECW over the summer of 1995, and after his bookings started to interfere with his schoolwork, he dropped out of Cornell in the spring of 1996. Gertner also worked for the Cornell radio station.
. Soon after, Shane Douglas
influenced Gertner to become a heel
and Gertner started taunting and making fun of the babyface wrestlers during their introduction to or in the ring and as a result, the face wrestlers usually made Gertner pay for his insults. He was then given the position of a color commentator
by Taz and Bill Alfonso
to counter-balance the influence of announcer Joey Styles
, who they regarded as being biased against them. He also hosted a segment on ECW's weekly television program entitled Gertner Vision. During this time, Gertner became popular with the fans for his introductions, which would consist of limericks containing multiple sexual innuendos.
, even going as far as to be called "Studley Dudley". At Barely Legal
, the Dudleys faced The Eliminators
for the ECW World Tag Team Championship
. During the match, Gertner was hit by The Eliminators finishing move, the Total Elimination, and as a result he began wearing his now infamous neckbrace and continues to do so. The Eliminators would go on to win the match and the titles as well. Joel involved himself in a six man tag team match at Heat Wave 98, between Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Spike Dudley taking on D-Von, Big Dick and Bubba Ray, insulting head ECW referee John Finnigan. Later in the match Joel is hung in the tree of woe and Finnigan baseball slide a steel chair into his face. Despite the 'injury', Joel led the Dudley Boyz to a record eight ECW Tag Team Title reigns until they left for the World Wrestling Federation
.
. Upon doing so, Gertner turned face and began feuding
with The Network
's representative Cyrus
, and got unlikely support from broadcast partner (and former nemesis) Joey Styles. The feud came to a head at Anarchy Rulz in which Gertner faced Cyrus in a one on one match. Gertner won the match and ended the feud after assistance from The Sandman
. Gertner remained with ECW until its closure on April 4, 2001. Gertner showed up on ECW's last PPV Guilty As Charged where he began to cut a promo before being attacked by Cyrus and Da Baldies. He returned later during the main event attacking Cyrus and helping Rob Van Dam perform a Van Termintor on Jerry Lynn
.
to participate in Heyman's new promotion, Main Event Championship Wrestling at the Viking Bingo Hall, the "home" of ECW. Gertner, along with several other ECW alumni, appeared at the event. Although the show was filmed for a possible TV airing, the promotion itself never got off the ground.
Gertner made his Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
debut on June 26, 2002 to introduce the a new tag team called The Rainbow Express (Bruce
and Lenny Lane
). However, he left TNA shortly after this and did not make any appearances for the company until 2010. He was also a part World Wrestling Entertainment
's first-ever ECW One Night Stand
reunion pay-per-view during which, in the course of two separate interviews with SmackDown! and Raw
, he was pie-faced by John "Bradshaw" Layfield
and begged on his hands and knees to then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
for a job. Gertner also appeared at Hardcore Homecoming
and faced former enemy Cyrus
. After Cyrus seemingly made amends, he insulted Gertner and Gertner subsequently attacked him before being pulled off by Joey Styles
.
Gertner is also the promoter for Connecticut
's MXW Pro Wrestling
independent organization
. On August 8, 2010, Gertner returned to TNA to take part in ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice
, where he accompanied Team 3D
to the ring.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
announcer and manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
.
Early career
Gertner was barely 17 years old when he began making wrestling appearances at a local wrestling federationIndependent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
as a heel announcer under the nickname Joey Jaguar. He would threaten the wrestlers and usually get beat up for his actions. Gertner attended Poly Prep high school in Brooklyn, New York and started attending Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1993. He began working for ECW over the summer of 1995, and after his bookings started to interfere with his schoolwork, he dropped out of Cornell in the spring of 1996. Gertner also worked for the Cornell radio station.
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Joel Gertner started out as a ring announcer in Extreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
. Soon after, Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
influenced Gertner to become a heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
and Gertner started taunting and making fun of the babyface wrestlers during their introduction to or in the ring and as a result, the face wrestlers usually made Gertner pay for his insults. He was then given the position of a color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
by Taz and Bill Alfonso
Bill Alfonso
William Matthew "Bill" Alfonso is a former professional wrestling referee and manager. He achieved his greatest success in Extreme Championship Wrestling in the mid to late 1990s...
to counter-balance the influence of announcer Joey Styles
Joey Styles
Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales...
, who they regarded as being biased against them. He also hosted a segment on ECW's weekly television program entitled Gertner Vision. During this time, Gertner became popular with the fans for his introductions, which would consist of limericks containing multiple sexual innuendos.
The Dudley Boyz
Gertner later became the manager and ring announcer for the Dudley BoyzDudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
, even going as far as to be called "Studley Dudley". At Barely Legal
ECW Barely Legal
Barely Legal was the first professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling . It took place on April 13, 1997 from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Production:...
, the Dudleys faced The Eliminators
The Eliminators
The Eliminators were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Perry Saturn and John Kronus who were best known for their time in Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1995 and 1997.-History:...
for the ECW World Tag Team Championship
ECW Tag Team Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling...
. During the match, Gertner was hit by The Eliminators finishing move, the Total Elimination, and as a result he began wearing his now infamous neckbrace and continues to do so. The Eliminators would go on to win the match and the titles as well. Joel involved himself in a six man tag team match at Heat Wave 98, between Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Spike Dudley taking on D-Von, Big Dick and Bubba Ray, insulting head ECW referee John Finnigan. Later in the match Joel is hung in the tree of woe and Finnigan baseball slide a steel chair into his face. Despite the 'injury', Joel led the Dudley Boyz to a record eight ECW Tag Team Title reigns until they left for the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
.
Broadcasting and feuding with The Network
Upon the Dudleys departure, Gertner then became a broadcaster on ECW on TNN alongside Joey StylesJoey Styles
Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales...
. Upon doing so, Gertner turned face and began feuding
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with The Network
The Network (professional wrestling)
The Network was a professional wrestling stable that was formed in 1999 when ECW began to broadcast nationally on TNN.-ECW incarnation:The Network was a professional wrestling stable that was formed in 1999 when ECW began to broadcast nationally on TNN.TNN did not give ECW much money to produce...
's representative Cyrus
Don Callis
Don Callis is a Canadian former professional wrestler and manager, known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as The Jackyl, and Extreme Championship Wrestling as color commentator Cyrus.-Early life:...
, and got unlikely support from broadcast partner (and former nemesis) Joey Styles. The feud came to a head at Anarchy Rulz in which Gertner faced Cyrus in a one on one match. Gertner won the match and ended the feud after assistance from The Sandman
Jim Fullington
James "Jim" Fullington better known by his ring name Sandman, is an American professional wrestler, best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling , where he developed into a "Hardcore Icon"...
. Gertner remained with ECW until its closure on April 4, 2001. Gertner showed up on ECW's last PPV Guilty As Charged where he began to cut a promo before being attacked by Cyrus and Da Baldies. He returned later during the main event attacking Cyrus and helping Rob Van Dam perform a Van Termintor on Jerry Lynn
Jerry Lynn
Jeremy "Jerry" Lynn is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
.
Post-ECW
In August 2001, Gertner was invited by former employer Paul HeymanPaul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
to participate in Heyman's new promotion, Main Event Championship Wrestling at the Viking Bingo Hall, the "home" of ECW. Gertner, along with several other ECW alumni, appeared at the event. Although the show was filmed for a possible TV airing, the promotion itself never got off the ground.
Gertner made his Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
debut on June 26, 2002 to introduce the a new tag team called The Rainbow Express (Bruce
Alan Funk
Alan Eric Funk is an American professional wrestler, who has previously worked in promotions such as World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, often with comedic personas...
and Lenny Lane
Lenny Lane
Leonard "Lenny" Carlson is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Lenny Lane. During his time tenure in WCW, he was a one time Cruiserweight Champion....
). However, he left TNA shortly after this and did not make any appearances for the company until 2010. He was also a part World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's first-ever ECW One Night Stand
ECW One Night Stand (2005)
ECW One Night Stand was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It was held on June 12, 2005 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York. The main event was a tag team match between The Dudley Boyz and the team of Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman...
reunion pay-per-view during which, in the course of two separate interviews with SmackDown! and Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, he was pie-faced by John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
and begged on his hands and knees to then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
for a job. Gertner also appeared at Hardcore Homecoming
Hardcore Homecoming
Hardcore Homecoming was a series of professional wrestling events which were advertised as a reunion of talent from the defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion....
and faced former enemy Cyrus
Don Callis
Don Callis is a Canadian former professional wrestler and manager, known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as The Jackyl, and Extreme Championship Wrestling as color commentator Cyrus.-Early life:...
. After Cyrus seemingly made amends, he insulted Gertner and Gertner subsequently attacked him before being pulled off by Joey Styles
Joey Styles
Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales...
.
Gertner is also the promoter for Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
's MXW Pro Wrestling
MXW Pro Wrestling
MXW Pro Wrestling is an independent professional wrestling promotion founded and operated by former ECW manager and color commentator Joel Gertner...
independent organization
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
. On August 8, 2010, Gertner returned to TNA to take part in ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice
Hardcore Justice (2010)
Hardcore Justice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on August 8, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, where he accompanied Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
to the ring.
In wrestling
- Wrestlers managedManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- The Dudley BoyzDudley BoyzTeam 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
- Joey MatthewsAdam BirchAdam Birch is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment , and training in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, as Joey Mercury...
and Christian YorkChristian YorkJason Spence is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Christian York.-York and Matthews:... - Lenny and Bruce as the Rainbow Express
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s - "The Quintessential Studmuffin"
- "The Lyrical Miracle"
- "The Sexual Intellectual"