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We caught up with former WWE and current Impact Wrestling commentator Josh Matthews for the first time since Impact's India tour and spoke about everything from the Sexy Star-Rosemary controversy to Johnny Impact's Impact debut in part 1 of our interview.
Q: What do you think of the Sexy Star-Rosemary incident from TripleMania?
A: I’ve seen the video and we’ve gotten an outpour of support we’ve seen from everyone all over different promotions. Everyone is getting on the same page as to what Sexy Star did to Rosemary – just being completely unprofessional. It was completely uncalled for and is against everything we stand for as a sport. You just don’t do that.
She did what she did and I think that the repercussions for her will be to the level where she may find something else to do for a living.
Q: What do you think made her snap and do this all of a sudden?
A: A reason would be that you believe your own hype; you believe in your character and all those things come in to play and you go into business for yourself. It’s something that is completely selfish, what she did, and it shouldn’t be something that’s taken lightly. There should be serious repercussions.
I actually asked my wife last night if Rosemary had an opportunity to follow up or press criminal charges against Sexy Star. That’s how serious it is. If I were Rosemary I’d be looking into pressing criminal charges for sure.
Q: Johnny Impact recently made his GFW debut. What do you think about his future in GFW?
A: I think Johnny Impact has an awesome future in GFW. I have known Johnny since before his career in wrestling started and I think he’s a huge star and he has a huge presence about him.
I think Johnny Impact coming in is awesome and I can’t wait to see what his future holds. I think that a lot of people are waiting to see what he does in GFW and I am one of those people.
Q: Eli Drake recently won GFW’s top title. Any thoughts on him?
A: I had predicted that Eli would be a GFW Champion in 2017 about a month ago and he fulfilled that promise. I think that Eli Drake is a great representative for GFW and a great representative for that Global Championship. Not only that, Eli is also a great representative for pro wrestling.
Eli has watched people come in and get opportunities that he thought that he should have been getting so he spoke his mind and I think he should be credited for that. What he did is very different from what anyone else has done.
Eli didn’t act unprofessionally. He acted professionally, he spoke his mind and did the things he was asked to do and at the end of the day was rewarded with the Global Championship.
Q: We saw you wrestle at Slammiversary and you’ve become really good in the ring. Have you been working on your in-ring work behind the scenes?
A: No (laughs). If you remember, I started my career as a wrestler in Tough Enough when I was 20. I’ve always liked to stay in shape, I’ve always liked to go to the gym and things like that so when I knew the match was coming I just upped my gym game a little bit.
I didn’t get into the ring at all and I didn’t even practise the Swanton at all and I wasn’t even sure I could do it at Slammiversary but the adrenaline took over and it was so much fun and I think I got it out of my system all these years later.
I also did a Swanton in India on Sandeep and that was a lot of fun.
Q: You recently worked with “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner. What was the experience like and what’s he like backstage?
A: Scott was great and he did everything we asked him to do. He was professional and I think he had a lot of fun. We were filming the backstage portion of that match. Scott had a lot of fun during the golf cart segment and for Scott, I think it was the chance to have a lot more fun than when he was constantly on the road or constantly in a company.
Q: Any thoughts on McGregor vs Mayweather?
A: I thought the fight went the way it had to go. I thought it would be over in 8 and a half round and didn’t think it would go the distance. I wanted Conor to win but I thought Floyd would win. A lot of people thought Conor took the first couple of rounds but boxing is a science and Floyd was setting traps and he was waiting for Conor and in the end, did exactly what he said he would do - wear Conor out. He’s now 50-0 and that’s a testament to the boxer that Floyd is.
Q: What did the guys backstage think of the India tour and when are you guys coming back?
A: Everyone had a super tremendous amazing fantastic time in India. It’s a trip that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It was so much fun.
I was nervous about coming over because the long flight and everything else that had deterred us from coming previously. We went and it was so much fun, we were treated tremendously by everyone including you guys at Sportskeeda who were great to us.
As for when we are coming back, I’m not sure just yet but I know we’re coming back. In fact, April-May of next year is when we’re slated to come back but I don’t know that to be 100% done. However, we’re definitely coming and I can’t wait to be back.
Q: What are some of the most memorable moments of your career?
A: Some of the biggest highlights for me, and it’s hard for me to look back since I’m a forward thinker, but some of the biggest moments has to include getting a Stunner at WrestleMania in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta which has to be a career highlight.
Just getting to work with some of the brilliant minds in wrestling from Jim Ross to Paul Heyman to Michael Cole; people like that who have helped me along the way to the announcer I am and to whom I’m beholden.
I’m in my mid-thirties and I’ve been doing this for almost two decades now and you can’t buy that experience. You have to live it and learn it. You have to drive the car and get coffee for the boys and you have to live that experience to come out on the other end and I just want to give back to our sport now.
Tune in to GFW Impact every Friday at 7 PM on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD.
