Exit Sandman: Inside the unhinged final ride of a hardcore wrestling legend

“So for him, it was almost like a challenge and a testament to, ‘I’m 62 years old. What does anybody expect with this?’ You know what I mean?” says Brian Tosh, co-host of the “Sandman Podcast.” “And I think people even day of the show were expecting it to be some bait-and-switch and to never even get in the ring or happen or anything. But just the fact that it got delivered and done, it’s a testament to Joey’s mind and Hak’s performance and everybody who worked on the match.”

“I’m telling myself the whole time, ‘Hak, don’t blow up. Do not blow up,’” Fullington admits. “‘If you blow up against the Invisible Man, you’re going to be the laughingstock of professional wrestling. Hak, don’t blow up. Don’t blow up. Don’t. Blow. Up.’”

In the end, the match was filled with run-in’s and comedy spots befitting a Joey Janela Spring Break “Invisible Man” match.

“The run-ins, those were all Joey’s idea,” says Fullington. “The only thing that was my idea was Fonzie [referee Bill Alfonso], because I just wanted Fonzie in the match with me. For the past 15 years, I’ve had to remember two things: To pour beer down somebody’s throat and cane somebody in the ring. I had like 40 things to remember here. My brain ain’t getting sharper every day. If I got Fonzie out there, it’s somebody that I’m comfortable with, that I could talk to on the other side of the ring, like, ‘Hey daddy, what’s next?’ If I need to say something like that.”

“The fans would expect the ECW alumni, the ones that are living, the Tommy Dreamers of the world, to run out, you know? But it’s been done,” says Janela. “I didn’t want the cheap pops — I wanted the Guy Steels. I wanted the Outbreak to do the Tim Arson zombie tribute. [I wanted] Kendra Lust.”

Lust, an adult film star with more than 8 million Instagram followers, came out as The Sandman’s valet and made sure the match trended worldwide. 

Janela had put on spectacles on previous WrestleMania weekends, but this was his greatest challenge. Putting together all of the moving pieces of an “Invisible” match, while simultaneously planning his own main event against the debuting 14-year-old Brodie Lee Jr. — the son of departed WWE and AEW star Brodie Lee. “It was just a hectic day,” Janela says, “because I had to produce this match. I structured this match and figured it out with all the pieces of the puzzle. And also me and Brodie, I knew that was going to be a 30-minute match and I had to figure that out with a 14-year-old. So juggling those two matches, it was something else.”

The climax of Fullington’s retirement match saw his old ECW rival, Mick Foley, make a surprise appearance to battle “Invisible Man” and his brother “Invisible Stan,” a final viral moment for one of the most viral pro-wrestlers ever. “Foley was something we tried for, for like three weeks. And for two weeks, it was off the table,” Janela says. “Then one night, maybe two days before the show, Foley contacted Bret [Lauderdale, GCW’s promoter]. They talked out some ideas and we thought maybe that was a 60% chance it was going to happen. [But I didn’t] know if Foley was coming until maybe two hours before the show.”

“Mick and Hak, they’re just different cats, right?” says Tosh. “Mick and him were never boys. I don’t think back then they particularly liked one another, for probably some good reasons on both sides. The fact that Mick wanted to do that, it’s just a testament to who The Sandman is, but also a testament to Mick Foley’s character as well.”

After 20 minutes of shtick, gags and bumps, Fullington and Foley were both hit with invisible low blows and The Sandman was pinned for the final time, ending an iconic 37-year career in fitting fashion.

“The only condition that Hak told Joey [he had for] this match, the only stipulation that he had for it, was that he had to lose,” Tosh says. “He’s got to pass the torch forward so the Invisible Man can draw money for the next couple of years here now, you know? You’ve got to put the business forward, man. He’s a professional professional wrestler.”