Former ECW Ring Announcer Stephen DeAngelis Recalls JBL Being A Bully
As one of two main ring announcers for ECW, alongside Bob Artese, Stephen DeAngelis was around for most of the wildest moments of ECW's memorable run. He was also frequently around the most tenured and famous member of ECW's broadcast team, long-time lead commentator Joey Styles. And it seems the two had a good time working together all those years. In an interview with The Hannibal TV, DeAngelis sang the praises of the voice of ECW.
"I love Joey," DeAngelis said. "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."
The Time Bradshaw Was Punched Out By Joey Styles
As one would expect, DeAngelis sided with Styles regarding the incident where Styles punched out WWE star John Bradshaw Layfield while WWE toured in Iraq back in 2008. DeAngelis views the incident, at least the second altercation Bradshaw had with an ECW talent over the years, as karma for how he treated others.
"We all know that Bradshaw bullied everybody," DeAngelis said. "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.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Hannibal TV and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription