Stephen DeAngelis Recalls When Joey Styles Decked JBL

Speaking recently with The Hannibal TV, former ECW announcer Stephen DeAngelis shared some memories of working alongside commentator Joey Styles (per Wrestling Inc). Both men remain friends currently and DeAngelis praised Styles’ approach to the industry and willingness to connect with the talent roster to contribute. He also referenced the incident where Styles came to blows with John Bradshaw Layfield over the latter’s bullying and provided some seemingly much-needed pushback. You can find a few highlights and watch the complete interview below.

On his personal history with Joey Styles: “I love Joey. Joey is one of my most consistent holiday cards. I get one from Joey still to this day. Joey was one of the most prepared people I’ve ever seen. He did so much research coming in, he’d have other people do research. He’d spend time talking to the talent. I always admired Joey’s ability to want to do everything he could to contribute to the storytelling of the athletes.”

On his takeaway from the JBL incident: “We all know that Bradshaw bullied everybody. So everybody had a Bradshaw story. So the fact that he got his comeuppance, people couldn’t wait to share the story. And I don’t know if it had so much to do with Joey as it did the fact that Bradshaw no longer could operate with the same mystique. I mean he still tried, but the mystique was gone, the idea of ‘He’s the bully. He’s the locker room enforcer,’ not so much. And I was happy for Joey because he got him off his back.”