Josh Mathews
| Josh Mathews | |
|---|---|
 Josh Mathews in November 2010. |
|
| Ring name(s) | Josh Mathews[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 143 lb (65 kg)[2] |
| Born | November 25, 1980 [2] Sea Isle City, New Jersey[2] |
| Billed from | Sea Isle City, New Jersey[1] |
| Trained by | Al Snow Tazz Jacqueline Moore Tori |
| Debut | 2001[2] |
| Retired | 2006 (from wrestling) |
Josh Matthew Lomberger[2] (born November 25, 1980)[2] is an American presenter, announcer, and former wrestler, better known by the ring name Josh Mathews. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment as a commentator/interviewer on all major programming (Raw, SmackDown, WWE Superstars, and PPV).[1]
Contents |
[edit] Professional wrestling career
[edit] Tough Enough and independent promotions (2001–2002)
Lomberger was a runner-up to Maven and Nidia in the first WWE Tough Enough in 2001.[2] After Tough Enough, Lomberger gained some in-ring experience on the independent circuit and in the X Wrestling Federation, which was run by WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart.[2]
[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
[edit] Backstage interviewer and Velocity announcer (2002–2005)
Lomberger was eventually hired by World Wrestling Entertainment, and began using the name "Josh Mathews". In December 2002, he began appearing as the backstage interviewer for the SmackDown! brand and as an announcer on WWE Velocity.[1][2] He also hosted the WWE webcast Byte This! after Kevin Kelly was released. He later hosted several shows on WWE's official website including Weekly Top 5, The WWE Experience, and WWE After Burn, the latter two of which are televised internationally.[1]
In 2004 Mathews was given some limited ring-time on SmackDown! when John "Bradshaw" Layfield slapped Mathews for not showing some respect to his chief of staff Orlando Jordan when he was interviewing him. He later offered and was accepted to be Booker T's temporary partner for a tag team match on an episode of SmackDown!. He and Booker ultimately won that match.[3] He was later assaulted by Jordan and requested from General Manager Theodore Long that he be given a one-on-one match against him. Booker T wanted to be at ringside during the Mathews-Jordan match, as JBL would no doubt be present, and would give Booker T an excuse to beat down JBL before their match at Survivor Series. Mathews would once again emerge victorious against Jordan, with some considerable help from Booker T.[4] He also tried to help Booker in his WWE Championship match at the Survivor Series, but was given a Clothesline From Hell by JBL for his efforts.[5] On March 31, 2005 episode of Friday Night SmackDown! Mathews was attacked by Kurt Angle.[6] Mathews was then (kayfabe) possessed by The Undertaker on the December 9, 2005 episode of Friday Night SmackDown! while interviewing Randy Orton.[7]
[edit] Commentator; Smackdown, Raw, and ECW (2006–present)
Mathews filled in for an absent Todd Grisham on a summer 2006 episode of Raw. He also hosts pre-shows for WWE pay-per-view events, and he provided color commentary on Heat from time to time before the show was cancelled in May 2008.[8] He was the host of WWE.com's Weekly Top Five when it started and hosted it until April 2009 when he was replaced by Jack Korpela. During Todd Grisham's stint as ECW commentator, Mathews replaced him as Raw's backstage interviewer. Mathews, along with WWE Diva Candice Michelle were WWE's correspondents at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in an effort to encourage WWE fans to register to vote for the 2008 Presidential election.[2]
On the April 7, 2009, episode of ECW, Mathews was announced as the new play-by-play commentator, as the previous commentator, Todd Grisham was moved to SmackDown after Tazz departed WWE.[9][10] In addition to commentating on ECW and ECW pay-per-view matches, Mathews along with Matt Striker would represent the ECW brand on WWE Superstars every week starting with the inaugural episode on April 16, 2009.[11] After ECW's closure, Mathews became the Color commentator of WWE NXT. On the April 9, 2010 episode of SmackDown, Mathews was attacked with a sleeper hold by Dolph Ziggler when he was interviewing him. On December 10, Josh Mathews officially replaced Todd Grisham as the play-by-play commentator for SmackDown, commentating alongside Michael Cole.[12] On the February 4, 2011, episode of SmackDown, Mathews and Cole were joined by Booker T, forming a three-man announce team. Mathews was replaced by William Regal as a commentator on season five of NXT in 2011.
In late 2010, Mathews also very often worked as the color commentator on Raw due to Jerry Lawler's increased in-ring competition. On April 3, 2011, Mathews commentated the majority of WrestleMania XXVII, though he received a 'Stone Cold Stunner' from an angered Stone Cold Steve Austin, cutting his night short.[13]
[edit] Alliance with Jerry Lawler, Booker T and Jim Ross and feud with Michael Cole (2011)
The following night on Raw, Mathews found himself aligned with Jerry "The King" Lawler, and against Michael Cole. He would then become the alternate spokesman for the anonymous Raw General Manager, when Michael Cole is not commentating. On the April 25th edition of Raw, Mathews announced that Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole and Jack Swagger match at Extreme Rules will be a Country Whipping Match, in which Cole and Swagger would win. On the following pay-per-view, at Over the Limit, Mathews supported Lawler, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and Eve Torres in having Michael Cole kiss Lawler's foot. The following night, again as the spokesman for the anonymous Raw General Manager, Mathews read the e-mail that the General Manager denies The Miz's request for another title shot, seemingly done with John Cena.
[edit] Return to Smackdown and WWE Superstars Commentating (2011–present)
He would leave the Raw broadcasting table the following week, after Cole and Lawler (somewhat) reconciled and became a duo again, though he remains on the show as a backstage interviewer alternating with Scott Stanford, his commentary partner for the Raw portion of WWE Superstars. He was reunited with his former ECW and Smackdown broadcast partner Matt Striker on the November 10, 2011 episode of WWE Superstars, commentating on both the Raw and SmackDown portions of the show, Striker and Mathews also called the ECW portion of Superstars at its inception. The Mathews/Striker tandem are the only announce team to call Superstars for all brands Raw, Smackdown and the former ECW brand since the show's inception in April 2009. Mathews and Striker also called the November 9, 2011 broadcast of WWE NXT , thus marking his second return to the show since his run as NXT commentator ended after Season 4.
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing moves
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f "Josh Mathews Bio". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/smackdown/joshmathews/. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Josh Mathews Profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/j/josh-mathews.html. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
- ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – November 4, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/041104.html. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
- ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – November 11, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/041111.html. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
- ^ "Survivor Series 2004 results". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/survivorseries/history/2004/results/. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
- ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – March 31, 2005". Online World Of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/050331.html. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
- ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – December 9, 2005". Online World Of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/051209.html. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
- ^ Josh Mathews blog confirming final episode of Heat
- ^ "Tazz's Alumni WWE Profile". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwealumni/tazz/. Retrieved April 4, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Let the Chase to Backlash begin". World Wrestling Entertainment. April 7, 2009. http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/archive/04072009/mainarticle. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
- ^ Ross, Jim (April 15, 2009). "Draft Thoughts...Another Von Erich to Enter the Ring??...Steamboat to put tights back on?? WGN..". J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q. http://www.jrsbarbq.com/blog/draft-thoughtsanother-von-erich-enter-ringsteamboat-put-tights-back-wgn. Retrieved April 18, 2009. "All three brands will be featured weekly and each brand's announcers will call their respective bouts."
- ^ http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_45870.shtml
- ^ Bishop, Matt (April 3, 2011). "The Rock costs Cena as The Miz retains at WrestleMania XXVII". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/WrestleMania27/2011/04/03/17863646.html. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
