Josh Mathews

Mathews was a runner-up to Maven and Nidia in the first *WWE Tough Enough* in 2001.

Mathews was eventually hired by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In December 2002, he began appearing as the backstage interviewer for the *SmackDown!* brand and as an announcer on *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 *After Burn*. 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 John "Bradshaw" Layfield slapped Mathews for not showing respect to Layfield's 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 the 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 once again emerged 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 the March 31, 2005 episode of *SmackDown!*, Mathews was attacked by Kurt Angle. Mathews was then possessed by The Undertaker on the December 9, 2005 episode of *SmackDown!* while interviewing Randy Orton.

Mathews filled in for an absent Todd Grisham on a summer 2006 episode of *Raw.* He also hosted 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.

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, represented the ECW brand on *Superstars* every week starting with the inaugural episode on April 16, 2009. After ECW's closure, Mathews became the color commentator 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. 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. 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. On the April 25 episode of *Raw*, Mathews announced that the Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler versus Michael Cole and Jack Swagger match at Extreme Rules would 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 *Saturday Morning Slam* throughout the show's 2012–2013 run. He was also a commentator of *Main Event*. On September 27, 2013, he started as commentator of *Superstars* with Tom Phillips. On the 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.