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by
Les Honig
To his multitudes of So-Cal wrestling fans he is known as the “technical wizard”; a name that is aptly given, since for 25 year-old Joey Ryan his chosen field of sports competition has always been one marked by hard work, constant learning and respect for those whose skills have ignited mat venues in previous generations.
Raised in the Los Angeles region, Ryan, who proudly lays claim to a pair of prestigious So-Cal Uncensored awards, both as a solo and tag performer, traces back his pro passion to his earliest childhood days when he and his three older brothers and dad would watch the many WWF shows on each week.
“I think my earliest memory is of seeing Wrestlemania 2 when I was 7 years old. I was particularly blown away by a match featuring Jake the Snake Roberts. I remember seeing Damian wrapping around the neck of his opponent, George Wells, causing him to foam at the mouth. From that moment I was hooked.”
After that, many visits to Titan shows would ensue, including attendance at a few now-classic “Saturday Night’s Main Event”s, where Joey’s best memories arose from a match that pitted Don Muraco against Dick Slater. “I remember it best because the crowd was caught up in a chant of ‘Beach Bum!’ against Muraco. It actually was my dad who started that chant and when I saw the show a few days later on TV, it was so cool to know that he was the one that had actually got it started.”
As opposed to his current respect for the true technicians grappling today, this earlier interest centered more around the “entertainment” aspect of “sports entertainment” than the mere demonstration of holds. Admitting to often wrestling around with his closest-aged brother and with a stuffed 5-foot tall animal that this sibling had won, as they tried out various favorite finishing holds and signature moves they had seen from their then idols, (Joey admits in those days to being a confirmed Hulkamaniac as well as a big fan of the British Bulldogs and Ricky Steamboat), his earliest inklings of what was to come later was evidenced when as a high school freshman he began what he describes as “indoor wrestling” with seven of his buddies.
Explaining that the guys would do their matches in a friend’s large living room, Joey insists that it was all good clean and safe fun, with the focus being not on dangerous moves but instead on doing a variety of promos as each developed “a minimum of four or five characters.”
“I think it would really be embarrassing for anyone to see those tapes today,” Ryan chuckles, while revealing that one of his favorite pre-teen creations was that of a character named Hellraiser. “He was a bad guy so I painted my face like the Legion of Doom”. And while Joe remained, as he had been since childhood, a gifted athlete, excelling particularly in baseball, his enthusiasm for squared-circle activities only grew deeper.
With the majority of these friends as well as his brother beginning to lose interest in the sport as he moved closer to graduation, Joey’s fan fascination still was to persist, and it was, as is often the case, unsuspected circumstances that caused him to make the beginning transition from mark to marquis talent.
Attending an Anaheim Pond WWF show with two buddies, it was seeing a flier promoting a local card run by Jesse Hernandez’s San Bernadino-based EWF that compelled them to attend his first indy event and what ensued spiraled off into the beginning of his real-life career.
Enjoying the new experience immensely as Frankie Kazarian against Iceman John Black headlined the card, Joey and his friends’ ears perked up immediately when the ring announcer described the fed’s training school and asked interested attendees to apply.
While one of Ryan’s friends eventually decided against it; Joey and and his other friend, Jeff, decided to give it a try and within a week they were bouncing around the School of Hard Knocks’ ring with the likes of Ricky Reyes; Rocky Romero, Mikey Henderson and Frankie Kazarian who were all training themselves while teaching the new students.
This was early 2000 and before long the rookie talent was gaining much knowledge and the necessary ring skills but now needed to progress one step further. That is why when a year later, his teachers, by then all active in UPW, told him about the great opportunities available in our own fed, he was compelled to put out his own feelers.
Excited by the prospect of participating in not only beginning but also intermediate and eventually advanced Ultimate U classes, Joey found a quick and comfortable place in his new environment. As the training sessions moved from the L.A. Boxing Club to the Huntington Beach Gold’s Gym site, Ryan moved along with them there and has the fondest memories of those days; particularly of his teachers Tom Howard, Samoa Joe and above all, Brian “Spanky” Kendricks.
“I am proud to tell everyone that Spanky was my teacher. That is an honor to say because he also will tell people that I was one of his students; something he saves for only a few people who he feels showed total commitment when he was the instructor.”
Explaining that “it isn’t who your first teacher was but who taught you the most” who can lay claim to the title of your ultimate instructor, Ryan recalls many sessions where he and Sylvester “Predator” Terkey were the only attendees; thereby allowing him to get the full benefit of Kendrick’s unique and vast knowledge of the sport.
“We started out as buddies before he became an instructor and eventually the role changed and I now consider him to be my mentor. He took me from a guy with potential to someone who could put it all together; just like he had done for himself.”
When asked to pick out some of his favorite early ring encounters; he points to a match at the Raw Center against Spanky, in Kendrick’s last appearance before moving on to the WWE Memphis training facility. “It went 20 minutes; way longer than most light show matches but everyone knew how much it meant to the both of us so they respected that and instead appreciated all the effort we both put into making it special.”
During his early days with UPW, it was also Joey’s good fortune to train with and become best pals with two other amazing talents, Scott Lost and Paul London.
Coming off of a break-up with partner Ryan Ruffio that split the Lost Boys, Scott had teamed with London briefly to form the “legendary” Lost in London tandem while Joey had been partnering with a friend named Zack, who went under the name of Stitches.
When London decided to return home to Texas and Zack also dropped off his own team, Ryan and Lost decided to form their own tag combo, which was again, another version of the original Lost Boys.
When, however, Scott was sidelined for a while with an injured hand, and local favorite Funky Billy Kim showed an interest in filling in, the trio decided it might be more exciting and practical to create a trio tandem, rather than merely a standard tag team.
“We liked the idea of having three interchangeable members,” states Joey while adding candidly, “Creating our name wasn’t anything that original. We took the X from the ‘X Men’ and the Foundation from the Hart Foundation, and there it was!”
While the three gained much success throughout UPW and all of So-Cal competing as the X-Foundation, it was another venture that led to even more personal growth and challenges for the dynamic Ryan.
In summer 2002, along with 5 other local indy superstars, the thriving Pro Wrestling Guerrilla promotion was created; a venture that Joey is especially proud of. Just several weeks ago, the group celebrated their 2nd anniversary with two blockbuster Hollywood shows, featuring the likes of Christopher Daniels, Chris Sabin and A.J. Styles (who is their current heavyweight champ).
Also lighting up our major venues here in Ultimate Pro Wrestling, Joey looks forward to his upcoming supermatch with Old School Oliver John saying that “I always feel I have to bring my ‘A’ game when I meet him. His intensity is great and his knowledge is impressive as well.” He adds: “If he decides to wrestle old school, which is his strength, I will match him hammerlock for hammerlock. It should be an extremely challenging match for both of us.”
Admitting he still has much to learn, (that is why he has re-enrolled in and frequently now attends Ultimate U training sessions), Joey Ryan now continues to strive for excellence; a standard he consistently meets, as many UPW devotees and Technical Wizard fans can see each time he puts on his wrestling tights.
Whether a heel or face, (and he has played both), this young mat lion represents the very highest level of 21st-century competition, as he concentrates on technical superiority while always making his matches both realistic and extremely compelling.
We therefore salute this great talent who consistently gives his total effort to produce the best that the mat game can offer. We know he will go far in the sport he has chosen to put his heart and soul into and we at Southern California’s leading indy fed are glad to once again share in still another major mega-talent’s earliest squared-circle successes.
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