Joey Marella
Joey Marella | |
---|---|
Birth name | Joseph Anthony Marella |
Born | Willingboro Township, New Jersey, U.S. | February 28, 1963
Died | July 4, 1994 New Jersey Turnpike near Willingboro, New Jersey, U.S. | (aged 31)
Family | Gorilla Monsoon (father) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Joey Marella |
Debut | 1983 |
Joseph Anthony Marella (February 28, 1963 – July 4, 1994) was an American professional wrestling referee for the World Wrestling Federation and son of former wrestler and then WWF announcer Gorilla Monsoon (Robert Marella) from Willingboro Township, New Jersey.[1]
Career
Joey Marella joined the
Marella was also the official for the 1992 SummerSlam main event of Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith at London's famous Wembley Stadium.[6] Marella was briefly suspended for a substance abuse problem in 1993 and then later re-hired.[7]
He was also part of the controversy at the 1994 Royal Rumble match in which he and former WWF referee Earl Hebner couldn't decide between Lex Luger and Bret Hart as to who had won the match.[8][9][10]
During Marella's career as a WWF referee, while becoming one of the Federation's most respected in-ring officials, he also became the butt of jokes for heel based commentators especially when they were teamed with Marella's father Gorilla Monsoon with Monsoon regularly using one of his catch phrases "Will you stop" (mostly said to either Jesse "The Body" Ventura or Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) when they would criticize his performance. This was actually an inside joke, as the fact that Monsoon and Marella were actually father and son was not well known by fans until after Marella had died. Earl Hebner discussed in an interview how Marella was a good person. Hebner revealed that he was scheduled to referee the last match on a card, but Marella offered to referee the last match so Hebner could get out early and fly home from the nearby Newark Airport.[11]
Other media
Marella also appeared in the 1989 WWF produced movie No Holds Barred as a referee during a wrestling match.[12]
Death and legacy
He died in a car accident on July 4, 1994, at the age of 31, after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a guardrail and a tree while driving home on the
See also
References
- ^ a b Magee, Bob (2008-06-30). "Remembering Joey Marella". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2009-12-25. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ^ a b Mooneyham, Mike (1994-07-04). "Crash Claims Joey Marella". The Wrestling Gospel According to Mike Mooneyham. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ISBN 978-1-77090-409-5.
- )
- ISBN 978-1-77305-476-6.
- ^ Dee, Louie (2007-09-01). "Brother, can you spare some gold?". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ^ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter: July 11th, 1994
- ^ McAvennie, Mike (2007-01-22). "Fighting Hart beats strong". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ISBN 978-1-291-41107-2.
- ISBN 978-1-4381-4649-2.
- ^ Earl Hebner On The Death Of Referee Joey Marella, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2021-07-18
- ^ "Joseph A. Marella". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ISBN 978-1-4516-0450-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8239-3434-8.
- ISBN 978-1-58261-817-3.
- ^ Rickard, Mike (October 11, 2017). "Joey Marella - Dead at 31". Wrestler Deaths. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
External links
- Joey Marella at IMDb