Joey Janela's Spring Break has become not only the top independent wrestling show during WrestleMania weekend, but the top independent wrestling show of the year.
Janela has put together dream matches for his Spring Break events over the years including PCO vs. Gunther, Nick Gage vs. Shinjiro Otani, Invisible Man vs. Invisible Stan, and much more. Shows have also featured some of the top names in wrestling before and after they were signed by other companies including Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy, Minoru Suzuki, MJF, and more.
In 2023, Kota Ibushi will make his GCW debut when he competes at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport and Spring Break.
Speaking to Jeremy Lambert of Fightful, Janela explained how Ibushi ended up in GCW.
"One day, [GCW owner] Brett Lauderdale hit me in the DMs and he said, 'We might have Ibushi for Spring Break.' I was confused as to what he was talking about. 'Kota Ibushi?' 'Yes. Barnett is going to get us Kota Ibushi.' I guess Kota Ibushi has been following GCW, following Bloodsport, and wanted to participate in Bloodsport. We got him for Bloodsport and Spring Break. Kota Ibushi fits right in the GCW world, 100%," said Janela.
Ibushi will face "Speedball" Mike Bailey at Bloodsport. An opponent for Spring Break has yet to be announced.
A staple of Spring Break in recent years has been the Clusterfuck Battle Royal that is exactly what is sounds like; a giant battle royal with top independent names, cameo appearances, and all of the nonsense.
With Spring Break 2023 shaping up to be the biggest one yet, there might not be time for the Clusterfuck.
"There might not be a Clusterfuck this year because I'm struggling right now. I'm not making those checks anymore, so the Prince of Saudi Arabia hit me up and said that he'd like to purchase the Clusterfuck. They said it's a good place for Yokozuna to return. I said, 'Yeah, I got an email for the Ultimate Warrior too if you need him.' You might see the Greatest Clusterfuck in Saudi next year. In other news, Spring Break might be so unbelievably stacked this year that we might not have time for it. I want everyone to have time. I feel bad for a lot of workers that I've told, they look forward to doing the Clusterfuck and they look forward to having fun, but that match is one of the most pain in the ass matches to put together ever. I was part of it last year putting it together and it is a daunting task. I want everyone to have time and that match goes 45 minutes to an hour sometimes. I'm trying to go for a little flavor of previous Spring Breaks. The workrate matches, the dream matches, the wackiness, but it's hard to do with the one night. It's a stacked card we're trying to put together right now," said Janela.
When asked about Spring Break moving back to one night after being two nights last year and in 2019, Janela said, "I like to switch it up, I don't like doing two nights every year. There is so much stuff runnning this year, too. I think there is a lot more stuff running this year than there was last year. It is hard. Next year in Philly, we're definitely doing two nights."
Janela is currently without an opponent for his signature event.
Joey Janela's Spring Break is scheduled for Friday, March 31. The event, which is part of GCW The Collective, will air on FITE Plus.
Janela will be in action on Saturday, February 11 in the JCW J-Cup when he faces Starboy Charlie in the first round of the tournament. JCW J-Cup will air on FITE Plus.
