Exclusive Interview Part II: Indy Star Joey Image Talks Social Networking in Wrestling, Career Moments, and More!

Check out Part I of this interview on this link here. 

Maybe not the most renowned or famous wrestlers on the planet, but Joey Image has the pure ability and mindset in this business. Hailing from New Jersey, Image has been wrestling for twelve years now in companies such as IHPW, WSW, and EGW, where the held gold on numerous occasions. Having several feuds with the likes of Justin Credible, Justin Glory, and others, Image is one of the most underrated names on the Indy scene today. 


However, alongside with his ability and passion for wrestling, Image has truly made his mark to the majority of fans outside of his local area via social networking. Using Twitter and being a part of PW247 Radio, Image has established himself and expanded his fanbase. Recently, I was able to catch up with Joey and discuss numerous topics, which will all be discussed in Sharp Shooter Press's first ever, two part interview. 

This is the second portion exclusively on Sharp Shooter Press. We hope you enjoy this interview with Mr. Image and feel free to leave any comments below in the comments section.




Rallo: Going back to your career, you are again, known for your social networking awareness. Social networking really seems to be the way for a more undiscovered talent to become more relevant in the wrestling world and receive more opportunities. What are your feelings on social networking in general in the world of Pro Wrestling....as well as the "dirt sheets" as well? Do you feel they ruin the product or they are more so convenient to fans? Do you feel all this social networking has really aided your career in any manner? Overall thoughts on social network usage and if you feel it can truly and prominently affect someones career?

Image: I use social networking (Twitter, Facebook) to attempt to get my name out there and it's been successful. I've gotten several bookings and made a lot of new contacts, specifically through Twitter. Another form of social networking I do is online radio. I currently do 3 lives shows a week for P247 Radio (PW247Radio.com) which focus on wrestling, and part of that is trying to get my name out there and make promotions aware of me, which has also helped get me some work.

Rallo: As promoted on your official website, it seems as though you had two appearances are Championship Pro Wrestling as well as Power Pro Wrestling late last year. Could you tell us of some details on the promotions as well as your involvement in both upcoming shows? How do you feel about both promotions as a whole? What were your currently anticipating the most out of these two big shows? What did you feel of your experiences? Also, are there any other matches on the horizon you wish to plug or talk about? Any projects on the way?

Image: The Power Pro Wrestling show was the company's final event. It was a LOT of fun. The entire show was one very long gauntlet match. When Dick Foley (PPW owner/promoter) called to ask if I'd be on their final event, I was legitimately excited and surprised. Surprised because the company had been around for 6 years, but I had only started working there about a year and a half before this upcoming last show. So I wasn't with PPW all that long. But I became good friends with Mark James, who got me booked there, and Dick Foley, as well as a few other PPW people (Honorable mentions go to DJ Slash, Scrap Yard Dog, Scotty Matthews), and it was always a family atmosphere down there. I love the NC fans. At that last show, I was honored to have Dick Foley introduce me to the crowd after the show and say a few words. I really felt like part of a family down there.

For a time, I even considered moving down to Sanford NC and hopefully becoming an even bigger part of PPW, outside of just being a wrestler there. But that was a great show and an all-star promotion. I have the poster for that final show, it's up on my bedroom wall. Great group. Great people. Great love and respect for the business. One of my favorite promotions that I've ever worked for.
Going from good to bad, that CPW show never happened. It was canceled, along with the show scheduled after it, and then the promotion abruptly closed down, without any word from the promoter about it. I know the story, but it's not for the public. So I'll leave it at that.

As for future plans, well I've got some shows coming up which are always listed on my website at joeyimage.com.

I'm also on online radio 3-4 nights a week at PW247Radio.com. Ya know, I love wrestling, but I really have found a passion for the radio gig. It's fun. I get to talk about whatever wrestling comes up with people I care about and respect, and we have listeners from over 60 countries that listen to my babbling. We have guests, interviews, call-ins. It's awesome man. I've made a lot of great contacts thru doing online radio. This isn't my first venture into online radio. I've done it before. Back in 2000/2001, I was a co-host on a weekly Wednesday night show called "Monster Mark Wrestling". It had been around about 2 years before I came on board. Skype didn't exist back then, so every Wednesday night, I'd drive 4-5 hours down to the Baltimore area in Maryland and do the show live with three other guys (Lance, Todd, and Dave). That was a ton of fun, until people's work and school schedules got in the way and we just couldn't continue.

I've also got some small acting work coming up, which I'll disclose more details about as time goes on.

I try to keep myself busy as much as possible, to distract me from my miserably lonely single-guy life.

Rallo: As a man of much personality and certainly much to say, I wanted
to know if you particularly had any favorable or memorable trips on
the road you would like to share that you haven't previously? You
always love to talk much on your career and Pro Wrestling, so are
there any big stories in your career that you feel were either very
humorous or memorable that you would like to share? You seem to have
spent the majority of your career in, New Jersey, so were there any
big road stories at all when you went out further into different
states? Any big moments you would like to share at all in regards to
wrestling? We've heard so many from you over the years, any ones you
wish to share?

Image: Actually I've spent the majority of my wrestling career in Pennsylvania.
There's a lot of stories of course. I don't really have the time to type
out stories here now, but your readers can always email or tweet me if
they want to. Or listen to me on PW247Radio.com every Wednesday night at
10PM EST, where I talk for 2 hours on Shoot Finish radio. I'll quickly
say tho, I've had some fun road trips. For the PA shows, I always travel
with the same guys: ref Chris Decker, ref Matt Deuerlein, and AJ Evers.
The gatherings afterwards tho, they always include like 10 more guys and
their girlfriends. It's great. I love the camaraderie of the business so
much. On any given night after a PA show, you can usually find 15-20
wrestlers at The Arena in Wilkes-Barre, or various other eateries around
that area. That is my favorite part of the business, without a doubt, is
the friendships and the gatherings with other workers. I also had a very
cool road trip from PA to OH a few years back with Kage, Justyn Glory,
and Johnny Glitter & his family.

We were doing a WSW show out there,
partnering with HWA and Buckeye, doing some stuff with Shark Boy. 10
hours each way driving with those guys had me laughing the whole trip.
They gave us a place to stay as well, so we did the show, ate, went back
to our sleeping quarters, and I spent about 6 hours that first night, in
a cold garage (we were in a VFW-type building), reading the Ric Flair
book. It was a great weekend. We all got paid big that weekend too, so
it was worth it monetarily as well. You can check out my blog site too, for some other stories. One of people's favorites seem to be my "mysterious ladder match" story. Haha

Rallo: Before I let you go, do you have any last words of inspiration at
all to your fans? Any words to anyone wanting to one day join the
profession of Pro Wrestling? You are all over social media to
contact, but for those unaware, where can they find you online?
Anything your fans may be unaware of that you wish to plug? Matches,
merch, etc?

Image: If you wanna get into the business, go to school first. Graduate. Get an education, get a degree. Not everyone who wants to be a wrestler, can handle it. So make sure you have something to fall back on, hence, and education. I can't even stress how important this is. If you don't make it, don't think you can handle it, quit, or God forbid, get seriously injured, then what? You have to have something to fall back on so you can continue making an income to keep yourself alive.

I can be found on Twitter @JoeyImage or Facebook FB.com/JoeyImageDotCom
Email me at JoeyImage@gmail.com
My merch site is http://joeyimage.spreadshirt.com
Check out my blog site at http://joeyimage.wordpress.com

Upcoming Events:
Saturday March 3, 2012 – Keystone Wrestling – Plymouth PA
Saturday March 10, 2012 – Garden State Wrestling – Lebanon PA
Friday April 6, 2012 – Keystone Wrestling – Plymouth PA
Friday April 27, 2012 – Garden State Wrestling – Sussex NJ
Friday May 4, 2012 – Keystone Wrestling – Plymouth PA
Friday June 1, 2012 – Keystone Wrestling – Plymouth PA
July, 2012 – Keystone Wrestling – Plymouth PA (Date TBD)