Joey Janela attacks babyface in unexpected heel turn on AEW Dark: Elevation

Joey Janela viciously attacked fan-favorite Sonny Kiss during the August 9 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation.

The fans in the arena were shocked as Joey Janela took out Sonny Kiss with a superkick on the ramp. It looks like the Bad Boy underwent a complete character transformation as he proceeded to attack his would-be opponents as well.

Joey Janela then spiked Sonny Kiss with a piledriver on the steel ledge in front of the AEW fans.

Joey Janela took to social media reacted to the attack by declaring that "Bad Boy Summer" had begun.

"Bad boy summer has BEGUN!" tweeted Janela after his attack on Kiss.

There had been minor dissension between the former tag team members in recent weeks on AEW but the attack was still surprising considering the duo had been together since March 2020. Sonny Kiss was far from surprised, however.

"Guess I shouldn't be too surprised, right?! #AEWDarkElevation" tweeted Sonny Kiss following the attack.

We will have to wait and see what the motivations behind the attack were and how Sonny Kiss responds in the coming episodes of AEW programming.

What is next for Joey Janela in AEW after the heel turn?

Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss will most likely have a blow-off match to settle their feud following the betrayal.

After that, there are several directions AEW can go in with the Bad Boy. Joey Janela seemed to be in better shape than he was in the last few months. He hasn't appeared on AEW Dynamite since May of this year when he lost to Hangman Adam Page.

Sonny Kiss is a popular mid-card act in AEW and the company could use this break-up to elevate Kiss further up the card by having him go over Janela.

Janela is unlikely to be involved in any title program for the foreseeable future, so a midcard singles run could be on the cards, or he could form a new alliance and take on any of the established tag teams in AEW.