Josh Mathews On Vince McMahon, Banned WWE Terms, Once Tearing Up TNA Contract For WWE Offer
GFW / Impact Wrestling announcer Josh Mathews was a guest on Interactive Wrestling Radio this week. You can download the interview at this link, they sent us these highlights:
Why he never worked that first TNA Wednesday PPV he was booked on:
"Because i got an offer from WWE to work there and that was, at the time, my number one priority. I was able to tear up the contract that I had with this company and go and pursue the opportunity and the goal that I had set for myself from a very young age and get to experience my career there before I came here."
How WWE knew he wanted to be an announcer:
"When Season 2 of Tough Enough ended and they flew us back to do... What do they call those? Reunion episode! It was there that I was approached to be an announcer. I flew to New York a few weeks later. They just saw me having fun, not really caring about what was happening. It was two long days of filming. I was in New York which is my favorite place in the world, and they saw me just having fun and they thought that was something they could put on television. At the same time, I was talking to MTV about being a VJ. This was before they changed everything and got rid of the VJ... So, the hosting was an opportunity that presented itself to me that I never saw coming when I was training to be a wrestler."
Vince McMahon as a commentator being an influence:
"Absolutely! He was the second half of my career, he was the audience that I was working to – Not that I was trying to appease one audience, I've heard that said in the past. But, he's the one that is listening to every word that you're saying while you're calling his shows and he wants you to call them a certain way."
Getting used to saying the term "wrestling" again after WWE:
"Not really. I still don't say it a whole lot. I also didn't say TNA even though it was the name of the company for 2 and a half years while I was calling shows because it was something that I just didn't like. You find ways around it. Look, they are bigger than wrestlers. They are bigger than wrestling! So, you can change it and call them stars. I love the branding of Knockouts – I think that works super well. I think the Knockouts, that branding, is better than any branding of female wrestlers anywhere. Stars just seems to fit with the male talent – athletes. There are ways to work around it if you don't want to use the word 'wrestlers'. Look, I wasn't allowed to say the word 'belt' for a number of years but I still don't think you should call it a belt – It's a championship!"
Advice for announcers that call indy shows:
"Well you have to remember it isn't about you calling it. The best advice I ever got was if I get someone over, I get over in the process. So, if I get a talent over, I'm getting over and that is just the way it was presented to me at a very young age. It didn't really sink in until a few years later. But, if I can get someone else over I am getting myself over without trying."