Exclusive: Joel Gertner Talks Lucha Underground, Legacy Of ECW, Favorite Moments

Ever since Extreme Championship Wrestling shut down nearly a decade and a half ago, several former performers for the cult followed and classic promotion have gone on to experience success. Tommy Dreamer’s promotion, House of Hardcore, signed a television deal, Paul Heyman is one of WWE’s most popular characters, and Bubba Ray Dudley recently made a WWE appearance.

Joel Gertner is among those former ECW alumni to continue a successful career.

The 39-year-old native of Brooklyn, New York, sits at a table, donned in his trademark fur coat as part of the Lucha Libre Extravaganza event, interacting with fans who still have fond memories of the company he was a fixture of for many years as an announcer, manager, and any other role the company had him portray.

With all the contributions that ECW provided the industry, among those being featuring the lucha libre style in the States, Gertner is happy to see that people still remember those contributions.

“ECW in whatever form you believe it to exist today, in 2015, the important thing is that the steps that were molded and everything that was said and shaped 20 years ago in mid ’90s has at the very least, and thank goodness, when it comes to extreme lucha libre, it has evolved and left a legacy,” said Gertner.

Lucha libre originated in Mexico and is famous for several elements that are currently found in abundance throughout wrestling. High-flying moves, colorful costumes, masks, fast sequences, and thrilling action that captivates a slew of audiences.

Several performers that the audience is familiar with, including Rey Mysterio Jr, Eddie Guerrero, and even Chris Jericho have cut their teeth wrestling in that “lucha libre” style, and showcased it through the years. And for Gertner, who has spent his life watching lucha libre, he believes we’re in a transitional period for lucha libre that more fans should see.

“It kind of seems like ECW, the original ECW were the ones that opened the floodgates, then WCW played upon that, and ever since about 20 years ago, it seems like an entire generation of luchadors, maybe now this is the second generation is coming to the United States,” said Gertner. “And there is I think a market for lucha libre here because lucha libre definitely portrays many of the aspects of professional wrestling that a lot of American fans who might not yet he acculturated to it or might not have experienced it yet, they’re definitely going to enjoy it because what they’re looking for lucha libre has.”

Recently, Lucha Underground, a promotion that is primarily focused on the lucha libre style of wrestling, became a fixture on television. It is recreating those aforementioned aspects of Lucha Libre, such as high flying moves, masks, costumes, and a fan base that loves having an alternative.

“I think on El Rey Network, Lucha Underground, I think that it is a great stride for the exposure of lucha libre in America,” said Gertner.

For Gertner himself, he remembers ECW in a positive light. From the promotion’s first pay-per-view, Barely Legal, to toy and television deals, ECW was able to conquer land that seemed to be “reserved for the big boys, the major global players and not independent groups” as Gertner puts it.

But perhaps more importantly, ECW lives on through the WWE Network’s vast library of pro wrestling footage and historical content. For the “Quintessential Studmuffin,” being remembered by fans and discovered by new ones is the most flattering thing there is.

“It’s great that younger people who might have missed it the first time around, or for whatever reason, it was on peoples radar back then, it’s good to see footage does exist, and it’s good to see the footage being displayed, and of course, it’s great to see the footage being enjoyed and people clamor for it,” Gertner explains. “So yeah, absolutely it’s nice to see that what we did definitely left an impression.”

Since ECW ended, Gertner not only continues to make appearances at wrestling shows, the former manager of the Dudley Boys also teaches wrestling seminars, runs his own promotion called MXW, teaches math to kids, and invests.

In other other words, anything he can sink his teeth into, he is all over.

“If it seems like it’s fun, and it’s worth it to do and it’s a good way to spend some time, then I am interested,” said Gertner.

For full audio of the interview, you can listen to it here.

[Images by Sulaiman Larokko]