Aside from Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler is one of the most popular duelists in all of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. He was a constant fixture throughout the show, starting out as a complete novice before he ended up being invited to massive tournaments.
Throughout his time on the show, however, he was done dirty on several occasions. Some of these moments were huge, and a lot of them were on a much smaller scale, but nevertheless, Joey never got the credit that he deserved for his growth.
His Best Card Is Red-Eyes Black Dragon
While this isn't exactly true, Red-Eyes Black Dragon is always discussed as Joey's best card in the anime. Despite having better cards like Gilford the Lightning and Jinzo, his best card is always listed as Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and that's sad.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon is not that good of a card all-in-all. Now, if Joey upgraded to Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, that would be the biggest glow-up.
Yugi Sort Of Tricked Him In Duelist Kingdom
Before the Duelist Kingdom arc of the show began, Yugi gave Joey Time Wizard to help improve his deck. While it saved him plenty of times, when he went against Yugi in the finals, he activated Time Wizard's effect to an interesting result. Dark Magician wasn't destroyed by it but instead evolved into Dark Sage.
Considering the physical card is needed to summon Dark Sage, it indicates that Yugi knew this would happen and planned against Joey with a card that he gave him. This act of backstabbing was uncalled for and unfair for Joey.
His Win Against Atem Was Never Mentioned
Yugi and Joey went against each other at the conclusion of the Battle City arc in order to battle for, essentially, the fate of Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Joey wanted to be worthy of having the card in his deck. And by the time that Joey was next seen dueling, the card was back in his deck.
This means that Joey won, as in, he actually managed to defeat Atem. This win, an incredible moment for the character, is literally never mentioned. It sure would destroy Kaiba if he had found out about it.
His Arc With Mai Was Never Finished
By the time that the Waking the Dragons mess had wrapped up, Mai basically just bounced before she had any real resolution with Joey after everything went down.
This was disappointing to see, as the two had a great relationship that fell apart throughout the season. The two never got to come together in the end, and that was a shame. There was just no ending to their arc that was satisfying.
He Never Won Against Kaiba
Kaiba and Joey dueled a few times throughout the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, but Joey never managed to get a win over his opponent.
He got somewhat close during their battle for third place in the Battle City finals, but beyond that, Joey was trounced by Kaiba with ease. At least he grew from their first battle to the next.
He Never Won A Tournament
As a matter of fact, Joey didn't just not win against Kaiba, but he never won a tournament on the show, period. He didn't win Duelist Kingdom or Battle City, though he made it far in the finals of both tournaments.
He also gets eliminated pretty early on in the KC Grand Championship, only winning his first duel. Nevertheless, he usually has some pretty good placements whenever he is a participant.
He Totally Defeated Marik
Just like Mai Valentine before him, Joey dueled circles around Marik when they faced off in Battle City. Despite the Millennium Item magic being used against him, he managed to survive the entire duel and was about to call his final attack to defeat Marik.
However, at the last moment, he passed out. He couldn't finish the duel. Joey should have taken the win on this match, but plot armor stopped that from happening.
He Lost To Zigfried Early On
Zigfried and Joey faced off during the second round of the KC Grand Championship tournament. While Joey fought hard and survived a lot of attacks that most wouldn't, he wasn't able to take the win and ended up being eliminated early.
This is a shame, as Joey ended up with his lowest tournament placement with this loss. At least Kaiba ended up wiping the floor with Zigfried later on.
No Duels In The Final Arc
In both the final arc of the show and the Dark Side of Dimensions sequel movie, Joey never had a featured duel. This is a shame, as seeing his deck get progressively better with each arc was one of the best parts of his growth.
Who knows how much better his deck was during the final arc and Dark Side of Dimensions. Any updates on grabbing that Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, Joey? It will get banned soon, after all.
Constantly Attacked By Everyone
Throughout the show, Joey is put down by everyone he meets. Whether it's Yugi, Tristan and Tea jokingly or Kaiba seriously, he's always getting dragged.
Joey only gets better at dueling with each episode that passes, and all of those people trying to attack him should respect him a lot more.