Josh Mathews was an announcer for WWE from 2002 until 2015. He saw a lot go down in Vince’s Playground Of Pain while employed there and he used his experience to transition into an announcer role for Impact Wrestling when he was released.
Mathews recently spoke to Interactive Wrestling Radio where he went into depth about when he made the decision the commentary team was the best place for him in WWE.
“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.”
He also discussed some of the differences between doing commentary for a big promotion and working for an indie company.
“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.”
