Joey Styles
Encyclopedia
Joseph Carmine Bonsignore (born July 14, 1971) 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. He currently works as the Vice President of Digital Media Content for WWE.com for the WWE promotion.
during most of its entire run, from 1993 to its 2001 bankruptcy. He debuted at the Super Summer Sizzler Spectacular show in Philadelphia, PA on June 19, 1993. Styles was the sole host of ECW Hardcore TV
and spent the early portion of the run as the promotion's only announcer (the position was originally going to be given to Mick Karch. Providing both play-by-play and color commentary during television and pay-per-view broadcasts above the ECW Arena which he calls it "The Eagle's Nest", adding both his legitimate wrestling knowledge and comedy timing to the program, he was the first and only wrestling announcer in history to call a live pay-per-view
event solo. Later on in the promotion, he was joined on commentary by Rick Rude on Hardcore TV, Joel Gertner
for ECW on TNN
, and later Cyrus
for pay-per-views.
's Major League Wrestling
as the "voice of MLW." Joey's return to wrestling would be heralded as he was one of the first names to be announced by the company during its 2002 launch. Initially calling the action for MLW's home video releases, Styles's presence would grow upon MLW inking a major television pact with Sun Sports and several other international distributors. Hosting the weekly 11 pm series, "MLW Underground," Styles returned his to his roots in the booth as a solo broadcaster, praised for his calling of memorable matches including a barbed wire match between Terry Funk
and Steve Corino
, amongst others.
to call the first-ever ECW One Night Stand
event, where he and Mick Foley
did commentary for the show. Styles intentionally made numerous comments that made WWE staff unhappy. He made several comments that alluded to wrestling outside of the Original ECW and WWE, and made a number of quips which were considered risque for the WWE's present product. The most controversial comment came during the pre-main event match. During the match between Mike Awesome
and Masato Tanaka
, Styles criticized Awesome for his real-life dealings with ECW's competition World Championship Wrestling
and called him a "Judas
". Styles further chastised Awesome by quipping that it was "a shame he didn't succeed in taking his own life." after Awesome executed a "suicide dive". (Awesome later took his own life in 2007, when he hanged himself.)
brand, starting at Taboo Tuesday
on November 1, 2005, working alongside Jonathan Coachman
and Jerry Lawler
. On the May 1, 2006 episode of Raw, Styles "quit" after a worked shoot, in which he ranted about the lack of "wrestling" and his dislike of "sports entertainment
" and even WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. In reality, Jim Ross
, long time announcer of Raw was returning to his role and Joey Styles was going to call the soon to be re-born ECW. On June 13, 2006, Styles returned to TV as the play-by-play commentator for the newly-created ECW brand with Tazz
, who would be the color commentator. In April 2008, Styles would leave the ECW brand, being replaced by Mike Adamle
after Styles was made Director of Digital Media Content for WWE.com, the company's website.
In 2010, Styles' announcing contract expired, but he remains with the company as an non-contracted employee to the company and continues to host History of ECW on WWE Classics on Demand Video On Demand TV service.
On July 18, 2011 wrestlinginc.com and several other wrestling websites have reported based on a tweet Styles sent out, that Styles will return to the announce position on WWE Superstars. The report was proven to be false as Joey Styles was featured on Z! True Long Island Story as a commentator in a mock match between "The Ultimate Broski
" and an Ultimate Warrior
plush doll.
s, he would yell "Ay Dios Mio!" (the Spanish translation of "Oh My God!").
A second catchphrase was "Catfight! Catfight!" for when females would pummel one another, such as Francine fighting Beulah during the Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman vs. the Dudley Boyz at ECW One Night Stand 2005. In a 2009 interview, Styles claimed that he always wants to, and will be, remembered for his role as an announcer for the original Extreme Championship Wrestling
.
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Joey Styles, is an American
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...
play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
sales. He currently works as the Vice President of Digital Media Content for WWE.com for the WWE promotion.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–2001)
Styles is best known for his work 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...
during most of its entire run, from 1993 to its 2001 bankruptcy. He debuted at the Super Summer Sizzler Spectacular show in Philadelphia, PA on June 19, 1993. Styles was the sole host of ECW Hardcore TV
ECW Hardcore TV
ECW Hardcore TV was the weekly professional wrestling television program of Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling composed of footage from live shows and recorded interviews....
and spent the early portion of the run as the promotion's only announcer (the position was originally going to be given to Mick Karch. Providing both play-by-play and color commentary during television and pay-per-view broadcasts above the ECW Arena which he calls it "The Eagle's Nest", adding both his legitimate wrestling knowledge and comedy timing to the program, he was the first and only wrestling announcer in history to call a live pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
event solo. Later on in the promotion, he was joined on commentary by Rick Rude on Hardcore TV, Joel Gertner
Joel Gertner
Joel Gertner is an American Professional wrestling announcer and manager best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling.-Early career:...
for ECW on TNN
ECW on TNN
ECW on TNN was a weekly American professional wrestling television program that aired on The Nashville Network from August 27, 1999 to October 6, 2000...
, and later 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:...
for pay-per-views.
Major League Wrestling (2002–2004)
After a brief sabbatical from the wrestling industry, Joey Styles would return to wrestling announcing for Court BauerCourt Bauer
Court Bauer is an American TV producer and entertainment executive. Bauer serves as an Executive Producer on "Frank Shamrock: UNGLOVED," a reality TV series spotlighting Shamrock's life in and out of the MMA game...
's Major League Wrestling
Major League Wrestling
Major League Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion that markets its presentation around hybrid wrestling, which encompasses and showcases many different forms of wrestling. MLW's mission is to present itself as an alternative to sports entertainment...
as the "voice of MLW." Joey's return to wrestling would be heralded as he was one of the first names to be announced by the company during its 2002 launch. Initially calling the action for MLW's home video releases, Styles's presence would grow upon MLW inking a major television pact with Sun Sports and several other international distributors. Hosting the weekly 11 pm series, "MLW Underground," Styles returned his to his roots in the booth as a solo broadcaster, praised for his calling of memorable matches including a barbed wire match between Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
and Steve Corino
Steve Corino
Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994...
, amongst others.
ECW One Night Stand (2005)
Styles signed a one night deal with World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld 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...
to call the first-ever ECW One Night Stand
ECW One Night Stand
WWE Extreme Rules is a professional wrestling event produced annually by WWE, a Connecticut–based promotion, and broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view...
event, where he and Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
did commentary for the show. Styles intentionally made numerous comments that made WWE staff unhappy. He made several comments that alluded to wrestling outside of the Original ECW and WWE, and made a number of quips which were considered risque for the WWE's present product. The most controversial comment came during the pre-main event match. During the match between Mike Awesome
Mike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso , better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Federation and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts...
and Masato Tanaka
Masato Tanaka
Masato Tanaka is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling in Japan and in Extreme Championship Wrestling in the United States where he was a one-time world champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once...
, Styles criticized Awesome for his real-life dealings with ECW's competition World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
and called him a "Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
". Styles further chastised Awesome by quipping that it was "a shame he didn't succeed in taking his own life." after Awesome executed a "suicide dive". (Awesome later took his own life in 2007, when he hanged himself.)
Raw and ECW (2005–2008)
Styles signed a five year deal with WWE to call the RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand, starting at Taboo Tuesday
Taboo Tuesday (2005)
Taboo Tuesday was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on November 1, 2005 at the iPayOne Center in San Diego, California. It was the second annual Taboo Tuesday event in which the fans were given the chance to vote on...
on November 1, 2005, working alongside Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
and Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
. On the May 1, 2006 episode of Raw, Styles "quit" after a worked shoot, in which he ranted about the lack of "wrestling" and his dislike of "sports entertainment
Sports entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience...
" and even WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. In reality, Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
, long time announcer of Raw was returning to his role and Joey Styles was going to call the soon to be re-born ECW. On June 13, 2006, Styles returned to TV as the play-by-play commentator for the newly-created ECW brand with Tazz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
, who would be the color commentator. In April 2008, Styles would leave the ECW brand, being replaced by Mike Adamle
Mike Adamle
Michael David "Mike" Adamle is a sports personality and former National Football League player. He is best known as the co-host of American Gladiators series for seven years....
after Styles was made Director of Digital Media Content for WWE.com, the company's website.
WWE.com (2008-present)
As Vice President of Digital Media Content, Styles would work on the website, updating its design and features. Additionally, Styles also hosted a show called "ECW OMG Moment" that ran from September 2008 to December 2008. On the December 8, 2008 episode of Raw, Styles presented the "O M G!" Moment of the Year award at the 2008 Slammy Awards with Alicia Fox, saying his famous "Oh My God!" catchphrase.In 2010, Styles' announcing contract expired, but he remains with the company as an non-contracted employee to the company and continues to host History of ECW on WWE Classics on Demand Video On Demand TV service.
On July 18, 2011 wrestlinginc.com and several other wrestling websites have reported based on a tweet Styles sent out, that Styles will return to the announce position on WWE Superstars. The report was proven to be false as Joey Styles was featured on Z! True Long Island Story as a commentator in a mock match between "The Ultimate Broski
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
" and an Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
plush doll.
Style
Styles' commentary style is highlighted by the characteristic tones of his voice. For the most part, he called the match in his normal calm, collected voice, often adding in some sarcastic comments mocking aspects of the wrestling business. However, once exciting or shocking events occur during the match, he began to screech and speak at a rapid pace, usually to yell his now signature catchphrase "Oh my God!" when a dangerous spot was executed successfully. In the days of ECW when such a spot was performed by the promotion's luchadorLucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
s, he would yell "Ay Dios Mio!" (the Spanish translation of "Oh My God!").
A second catchphrase was "Catfight! Catfight!" for when females would pummel one another, such as Francine fighting Beulah during the Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman vs. the Dudley Boyz at ECW One Night Stand 2005. In a 2009 interview, Styles claimed that he always wants to, and will be, remembered for his role as an announcer for the original 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...
.
In wrestling
- 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 Extreme Announcer"
- "Stocky Balboa"
- "The Unscripted, Uncensored, Loose Cannon of Commentary"
- "The Voice of Extreme Championship Wrestling"
Awards and accomplishments
- Extreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship WrestlingExtreme 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...
- Host of ECW Hardcore TVECW Hardcore TVECW Hardcore TV was the weekly professional wrestling television program of Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling composed of footage from live shows and recorded interviews....
- Host of ECW on TNNECW on TNNECW on TNN was a weekly American professional wrestling television program that aired on The Nashville Network from August 27, 1999 to October 6, 2000...
- Play-by-Play Announcer
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Best Television Announcer (1994–1996)
- World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld 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...
- Raw Play-by-Play Announcer
- ECW Play-by-Play Announcer
- WWE.com Pay-Per-View backstage interviewer
- WWE.com Director of Digital Media Content