Impact Wrestling’s lead announcer Josh Matthews has told the Buzzards Wrestling Podcast in association with Sportskeeda that the company deserves more credit for what it has done with British talent.
WWE’s use of British wrestlers has been widely praised since the promotion crowned Tyler Bate as its first ever UK Champion earlier this year with a two-night tournament, while more recently, Pete Dunne and Bate put on a Match of the Year candidate in a UK Title match at NXT Takeover: Chicago.
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But also part of the WWE UK roster is Mark Andrews, who previously won Season 2 of TNA’s reality show, British Bootcamp. He went on to perform in the Impact Zone as Mandrews and Josh Matthews spoke to the Buzzards Wrestling Podcast about their part in the rise of the British Wrestling scene and their return to British TV on Spike UK.
Q How pleasing is it to have Impact Wrestling back on British TV on Spike UK?
“It feels good to be back and on Spike UK. Last year when I went over for the first time with Impact to the United Kingdom, I was blown away by the reception from the amazing fans in the United Kingdom.”
“I’m used to getting that wherever I go but it was interesting to see it for Impact for the first time over there. It felt big, it felt right, it felt like home and hopefully, we can make this entire world feel like home but the United Kingdom, it felt great to be over there and it feels even better to be back on Spike every Friday at 9pm.”
Q WWE has started paying attention to the British scene but the UK audience has been key for Impact for a long time, hasn’t it?
“It certainly has. When I came over for the first time, I was told, ‘ you’re going to be blown away by the reception we get’ and I was like ‘OK, we’ll see’ and I really was.”
“It was amazing and you can attest it to the roster, guys like Bram and Magnus and Grado and Rockstar Spud and anyone I’m leaving off from the UK that comes over and competes every week on Impact… I think it helps with having so many Brits on our show.”
Q It’s something Impact has done very well. Magnus became the World Champion in Impact, so Impact has used British Wrestlers very well.
“Yeah, you can give us credit for the Mandrews of the world and putting Grado on a worldwide platform and all of guys that have come over from there to here, I think we've done incredible things with them.”
“It’s allowed them to grow as individuals and grow as talent and we all help each other.”
Q How excited are you about the future of Impact Wrestling? It’s had its critics and I won't mention the previous acronym but it’s hopefully a bright future isn't it?
“For me, it’s always been Impact Wrestling. If you go back and watch the past three years of commentary on that show, I never said those three letters, because I didn't like it. I didn't like it when I worked for WWE, I didn’t like it when I came here… I always called our champion, The World Champion, I never said those three letters, World Tag Team Champions, X Division Champion and Knockouts Champion.”
“To me, it’s always been Impact Wrestling and it feels so much better that those three letters are gone.”
Q It’s a new era for Impact then. You’re currently feuding with Jeremy Borash and he punched you on a recent episode, so how’s your chin?
“Ha, Karen Jarrett slaps harder than Jeremy Borash punches.”
Q Are you enjoying the position that you’re in, not only the commentary and all the other things you do, but the character?
“Yeah, it’s fun. It’s an interesting dichotomy because I don’t have to like the good guys and hate the bad guys. I get to like who I like and dislike who I dislike. There are guys on the roster who are the protagonist and sometimes in my career, I’ve had to cheer on or side with the protagonist, even though in my mind, the antagonist, the heel, the bad guy was better and cooler.
“That’s not my problem, that’s a fundamental problem of the wrestling world.”
“Now I get to say things that I want to say and do things that I want to do and question things that I want to question, so it feels a lot better and there's no pressure. I used to take notes all day long for these shows, like literally all day, from the time I woke up to the time we went on the air. Now, I don’t write down anything.”
“Now what you're hearing is coming right from my head, the second that you’re seeing it.”
Q Do you enjoy pushing people’s buttons because you caught a bit of flak for saying you think you’re the best play by play announcer in wrestling. Do you stand by that?
“100% (I stand by it) and if you go back and watch that interview on ImpactWrestling.com, I also talked about wanting video games and action figures and stuffed animals and worldwide tours and bigger venues and live events but people stuck to that one thing and I don't know why.”
“If you’re in any profession, if you don’t think you’re the best, then you should do something else for a living. You should feel you’re the best at taking interviews and I should feel I’m the best play-by-play announcer in the world and quite frankly, it’s true, because if you watch these shows, nobody can do what I do at the level that I do it in 2017.”
You can watch Impact Wrestling every Friday night at 9pm on Spike UK and you can hear the full interview with Josh Matthews and an extended interview with Impact Wrestling’s Rockstar Spud on Apple Podcasts and Audioboom here.
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