Josh Lomberger Joshua " Josh " Lomberger ( November 25 , 1980 ) , better known by his ring name Josh Mathews , is an American professional wrestling play by play commentator , interviewer , professional wrestling journalist , former ring announcer , and former professional wrestler who is currently signed with Impact Wrestling ( formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ) . He is perhaps best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . Professional wrestling career . Tough Enough and independent promotions ( 2001 – 2002 ) . Lomberger was a runner - up to Maven and Nidia in the first " WWE Tough Enough " in 2001 . 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 Fame r Jimmy Hart . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . 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 " . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . On March 31 , 2005 episode of " Friday Night SmackDown ! " Mathews was attacked by Kurt Angle . Mathews was then ( kayfabe ) possessed by The Undertaker on the December 9 , 2005 episode of " Friday Night SmackDown ! " while interviewing Randy Orton . Commentator ( 2006 – 2014 ) . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 was not commentating . On the April 25th edition of " Raw " , Mathews announced that the 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 denied The Miz ' s request for another title shot , seemingly done with John Cena . 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 / backup commentator . He was reunited with his former " ECW " and " Smackdown " broadcast partner Matt Striker on the November 10 , 2011 episode of " Superstars " , becoming the new full - time broadcasting team . Mathews and Striker also called the November 9 , 2011 broadcast of " NXT " , thus marking his second return to the show since his run as NXT commentator ended after Season 4 . On the April 23 , 2012 episode of " Raw " , Matthews 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 . Matthews was once again attacked by Kane on the August 31 , 2012 episode of " Smackdown " after he lost his match against Alberto Del Rio . Mathews became the play by play commentator of " Saturday Morning Slam " upon the show ' s debut on August 18 , 2012 on The CW . Two months later he joined former adversary JBL to become the new " Smackdown " commentary team . He is also a commentator of Main Event on Ion Television . On September 27 , 2013 , he started as commentator of Superstars with Tom Phillips . On October 18 , 2013 edition of SmackDown , Alberto Del Rio attacked Matthews while threatening John Cena about what he was going to do to him in Hell in a Cell . On June 25 , 2014 he was released from his contract from the company . Reality of Wrestling ( 2014 ) . Booker T ' s Reality of Wrestling Summer of Champions iPPV on July 26 . Booker has also announced that former WWE talent Josh Matthews will be serving as the Commentator . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( 2014 - present ) . After being released from WWE , it was reported that Lomberger had signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) to work in their offices in Nashville , Tennessee . Throughout November and December , Mathews appeared in an episode of # ImWithSpud Wednesday on TNA ' s YouTube channel . In December 2014 , TNA confirmed that Mathews would take Mike Tenay ' s place when it debuts on Destination America . In January 2015 , Mathews was the lead announcer of " Impact Wrestling " alongside Taz . On June 3 , 2015 , D ' Angelo Dinero officially joined Mathews as his broadcast partner for " Impact Wrestling " . On the March 2 , 2017 episode of Impact Wrestling , Mathews turned heel that night when he began favoring heel wrestlers over babyface wrestlers . He continuously praised himself , and he argued with fellow commentator D ' Angelo Dinero throughout the broadcast .