Josh Mathews

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Josh Mathews
Mathews in 2010
Birth nameJoshua Matthew Lomberger
Born (1980-11-25) November 25, 1980 (age 43)[1]
Griffith, Indiana, U.S.[1]
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2008)​
​
(m. 2015)​
Tazz
Debut2001

Joshua Matthew Lomberger

TNA Wrestling. He is also known for his time in WWE
.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment / WWE (2001–2014)

Tough Enough and backstage interviewer (2001–2006)

Lomberger was a runner-up to Maven and Nidia in the first WWE Tough Enough in 2001.[1]

Lomberger was eventually hired by

After Burn.[2] In 2003, Mathews also stood in for Tony Chimel
as ring announcer for SmackDown!.

In 2004, Mathews was given some limited ring time on SmackDown! when

Clothesline From Hell by JBL for his efforts.[6] On the March 31, 2005 episode of SmackDown! Mathews was attacked by Kurt Angle.[7] Mathews was then possessed by The Undertaker on the December 9, 2005 episode of SmackDown! while interviewing Randy Orton.[8]

Commentator (2006–2014)

Mathews filled in for an absent

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.[1]

On the April 7, 2009, episode of

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, Mathews officially replaced Todd Grisham as the play-by-play commentator for SmackDown, commentating alongside Michael Cole and Striker.[13] 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 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.[14] The following night on Raw, Mathews found himself aligned with Jerry Lawler, and against Michael Cole. He then became the alternate spokesman for the Anonymous Raw General Manager, when Michael Cole was not commentating. He then using the new catchphrase "The Anonymous Raw General Manager says...", before reading each e-mail. On the April 25 episode of Raw, Mathews announced that the Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole and Jack Swagger match at Extreme Rules will be a Country Whipping match, which Cole and Swagger won. At the following pay-per-view, Over the Limit, Mathews supported Lawler, Bret 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 denied The Miz's request for another title shot, seemingly done with John Cena. He left the Raw broadcasting table the following week, after Cole and Lawler reconciled, though he remained on the show as a backstage interviewer and backup commentator.

Mathews reunited with his former ECW and SmackDown broadcast partner Matt Striker on the November 10, 2011 episode of Superstars, becoming the full-time broadcasting team. He and Striker also called the November 9, 2011 broadcast of NXT, marking his second return to the show since his original run ended after season four. On the April 23, 2012 episode of Raw, Mathews was throttled by Brock Lesnar after Lesnar believed Mathews had made a smart-aleck comment towards him. Later in the year, he was attacked at SummerSlam, this time by Kane, who was angry over being defeated by Daniel Bryan. Mathews was again attacked by Kane on August 31, 2012 episode of SmackDown after he lost his match against Alberto Del Rio.

Mathews was the play-by-play commentator of

Tom Phillips.[15] On October 18, 2013 episode of SmackDown, Alberto Del Rio attacked Mathews while threatening John Cena about what he was going to do to him in Hell in a Cell. On June 25, 2014, Mathews was released from WWE.[16]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling (2014–present)

Mathews (right) commentating with D'Angelo Dinero in October 2015.

After being released from WWE, it was reported that Lomberger had signed with

Impact! (TV series) alongside Taz.[18] On June 3, 2015, D'Angelo Dinero
officially joined Mathews as his broadcast partner for TNA Wrestling.

On the March 2, 2017 episode of Impact Wrestling, Mathews turned heel that night when he began favoring heel wrestlers over face wrestlers. He continuously praised himself, and he argued with D'Angelo Dinero throughout the broadcast. In April, Mathews had a series of arguments with Jeremy Borash and the two started a heated rivalry, which seemed to culminate in a match where Mathews and Borash formed teams of four wrestlers to compete against each other, with the team Mathews created ending up on the losing side, meaning he would no longer be lead-commentator. However, on April 21, Mathews returned to ringside accompanying Ethan Carter III, and joined Borash and Dinero, providing commentary, again belittling the wrestlers who the fans cheered for. At Slammiversary XV, Mathews teamed with Scott Steiner against Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park in a losing effort. On January 13, 2018, Matt Sydal turned heel and gifted his Impact Grand Championship to Mathews, only for Sydal to drop the belt to Austin Aries while defending it on Mathews' behalf. Following this, Mathews' heel commentator status was phased out.

Mathews ceased to be TNA's main play-by-play announcer following

Hard to Kill (2021), though he still occasionally filled in at shows when new lead Matt Striker
was unavailable.

Personal life

Lomberger was previously married to Rue DeBona from November 2006 until their divorce in 2008. In August 2015, Lomberger married Ashley Simmons, best known by her ring name Madison Rayne.[19]

Mathews, along with Batista, Shelton Benjamin and Candice Michelle, represented WWE at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in an effort to persuade fans to register to vote in the 2008 presidential election.[20]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Josh Mathews Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d "Josh Mathews Bio". WWE. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  3. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – November 4, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  5. ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – November 11, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  6. ^ "Survivor Series 2004 results". WWE. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  7. ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – March 31, 2005". Online World Of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  8. ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results – December 9, 2005". Online World Of Wrestling. November 4, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  9. ^ Josh Mathews blog confirming final episode of Heat Archived 2008-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Tazz's Alumni WWE Profile". WWE. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  11. ^ "Let the Chase to Backlash begin". WWE. April 7, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  12. ^ 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. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2009. All three brands will be featured weekly and each brand's announcers will call their respective bouts.
  13. ^ Tucker, Benjamin (December 7, 2010). "WWE News: Smackdown spoilers 12/10". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  14. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  15. ^ Trionfo, Richard (September 27, 2013). "WWE Superstars report: Tag team action; who replaces Tony Dawson on commentary?". PWInsider. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  16. ^ "Longtime WWE announcer gone from the company". Pro Wrestling Insider. June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  17. ^ Johnson, Mike (September 24, 2014). "Josh Mathews update". PWInsider. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  18. ^ Namako, Jason. "Mike Tenay's new TNA role revealed in press release". WrestleView. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  19. ^ Rodgers, Ciaran (September 2, 2015). "TNA EMPLOYEES GET MARRIED!". TNA. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  20. ^ "WWE at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions". WWE. Retrieved 2016-07-27.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josh Mathews.
Preceded by
Impact! lead announcer

2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Impact! lead announcer

2018–2021 		Succeeded by
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