The 1990s upstart promotion Extreme Championship Wrestlingoffered die-hard fans bored with WWE and WCW something different in pro wrestling thanks to edgy sensibilities and a diverse range of in-ring styles, including what would become known as hardcore wrestling. But part of the promotion’s success is due to the work of its lead commentator, Joey Styles.

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Styles hasn’t been a going concern for mainstream wrestling fans since the 2000s, but he’s definitely a character worth knowing, as he helped make ECW what it was. Let’s take a look at Joey Styles’ career, from his origins to his time in WWE and all the way to the reason he doesn’t commentate anymore.

10 Started Out As An Intern For PWI

A wrestling fan growing up, the future Joey Styles studied communications in college, but made sure to choose local Hofstra University in Long Island, NY for one big reason — the campus was near the offices of pro wrestling’s biggest magazine, Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Styles not only scored an internship, but also impressive opportunities while working as an intern. Particularly, he was able to get backstage at a WCW event, where he met Paul Heyman, who would later hire Styles to ECW.

9 Started Out With The North American Wrestling Alliance

As established, Joey Styles is primarily known for his work with ECW, but everyone’s got to start somewhere. For Styles, his commentary career started with New York-based North American Wrestling Alliance. Founded by wrestler Tony Capone, NAWA briefly had a TV deal with Sportschannel America and alumni that includes a number of ECW mainstays like Tommy Dreamer and Taz, as well as X-Pac in his pre-WWE days as the Lightning Kid. In addition to commentating, Styles also hosted segments focusing on specific members of the roster.

8 Joined ECW In 1993

Joey Styles’ work with NAWA would pay off when he showed a tape of his work to Paul Heyman, who soon hired him to work for ECW. Styles made his commentary debut in “the Land of Extreme” in June of 1993, calling matches solo and hosting ECW’s weekly show, ECW Hardcore TV.

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One thing that set Joey Styles apart from commentators in the bigger promotions was his tendency to call matches solo, though he would sometimes be joined by guests as well as color commentators in ECW’s later years. In one notable instance, Styles called the entirety ECW’s first pay-per-view, Barely Legal, by himself.

7 His Commentary Style

More than just the fact that he was the voice of ECW, it’s important to know why Joey Styles’ commentary became such a beloved fixture of the promotion for many fans, so much that he’s considered an all-timer. In addition to being enthusiastic and energetic — especially, again, for someone often working solo — Styles brought an impressive wealth of wrestling knowledge to the table. Over the course of his run, Styles would make some iconic calls, including his signature screech of “Oh my God” during particularly impressive spots.

6 Called MLW Shows After ECW

When ECW folded in 2001, Joey Styles moved on to other smaller promotions, including ECW’s west coast rival Xtreme Pro Wrestling, though that run would be extremely short-lived and end with Styles announcing online that he wasn’t even going to cash the checks that XPW gave him. In 2002, Styles would become the voice of the newly created Major League Wrestling, commentating on matches for the promotion’s weekly show, MLW Underground. However, MLW would go dormant for 13 years starting in 2004.

5 Became A Commentator For Raw

After MLW, Styles’ commentary career quieted down until he got a one-off gig with WWE to call 2005’s ECW reunion show One Night Stand. Following the success of that event, Styles signed a deal with WWE, becoming a lead announcer for Raw. However, Styles’ tendency to do actual play-by-play wasn’t to the taste of WWE boss Vince McMahon, which kept him from commentating at WrestleMania 22 save for the Mick Foley vs. Edge hardcore match, which Styles had to fight for.

4 Punched JBL In The Face

There aren’t too many juicy backstage stories about Joey Styles, but he does have one pretty major claim to infamy — despite being a non-wrestler, Styles ended up getting into a backstage fight with John Bradshaw Layfield. A major WWE heel in the mid-to-late 2000s, JBL also had a reputation for being a backstage bully.

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While in Iraq for one of their Tribute to the Troops shows, Styles became a target for JBL’s antagonism. Finally, Styles had enough and things got physical and, as others were trying to keep them apart, managed to punch JBL right in the face.

3 Became The Voice Of The ECW Revival

In May of 2006, Joey Styled went rogue (in kayfabe) on Raw and cut a “shoot” promo where he aired his grievances about Vince McMahon and the WWE product, resulting in what appeared to be his departure from the company. However, this was all to set up the revival of ECW, with Paul Heyman hiring Styles as the voice of what would be WWE’s third brand. Following that incident, Styles called One Night Stand 2006 and the subsequent weekly show ECW On Sci-Fi, a run that would last until spring of 2008 when he found a new position in the company.

2 Became WWE’s VP Of Digital Media Content

That new position in WWE would involve the promotion’s online output, as Joey Styles became Director of Digital Media Content and later Vice President of Digital Media Content, using his communications skills to work on WWE’s website as well as the WWE mobile app as a writer and editor. While his commentary career was on hold, during this period he still appeared on screen to host ECW-related programming on WWE’s now-defunct On Demand service as well as ECW DVDs and the odd special on the WWE Network.

1 Called Matches On The Indies Until He Abruptly Retired

In August of 2016, Joey Styles was released from WWE, which meant returning to his old day job of advertising but also a return to commentary. Styles seemed set to take over the indie scene with commentating gigs for Chikara, Beyond Wrestling, and EVOLVE. Unfortunately, at EVOLVE 72 Styles made a questionable joke referencing Donald Trump that resulted in Styles not only being fired from EVOLVE, but also losing his opportunities with the other promotions as well. In the aftermath, Styles retired from pro wrestling commentary entirely.