Joel Gertner is an American wrestler and wrestling announcer who has been in the business for 30 years and is best known for his time with the Extreme Wrestling Championship (ECW) in the late 1990s. He has also appeared on WWE and forged a big name for himself on the American independent wrestling circuit, including MXW Pro Wrestling in Connecticut, Extreme Rising, TNA, and more.
Gertner was born in Brooklyn in 1975. His professional wrestling career began in the early 1990s when he was 17. He made his first appearances in the ring as a heel character by the name of Joey Jaguar. He began studying at university, but eventually, he was making so many wrestling appearances that he couldn’t keep up with his work. Choosing between the two, he decided to pursue a wrestling career and dropped out. By the summer of 1995, he’d become a ring announcer for the famous ECW promotion. His heel style extended to his announcing, often insulting the wrestlers he was introducing. He became a fan favourite, particularly once he was made a colour commentator as well as an announcer – he even ended up with his own segment, Gertner Vision, on ECW’s weekly TV show.
Gertner achieved even more fame when he became the manager of the famous Dudley Boyz tag team, even earning the nickname Studley Dudley and becoming a crucial part of the duo’s storylines until they left for WWF. Gerter himself parted with ECW in 2001, moving to TNA and then on to the independent circuit where he still thrives today.
