Josh Mathews has been a wrestling play-by-play announcer for nearly 20 years and spent the last 5 years as lead man at the Impact Wrestling commentary table. It came as a surprise when Impact brought in a new duo to call the action earlier this year as Mathews transitioned behind the camera. Don’t cry for Mathews, because he’s back on TV for your viewing pleasure.
Impact announced that Mathews will be part of a new show called Before the Impact airing prior to Impact Wrestling on Tuesday nights.
BREAKING: A new one-hour weekly TV show Before the IMPACT will debut next Tuesday, February 16 at 7pm ET on @AXSTV!
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
BTI will feature in-depth previews, exclusive interviews with IMPACT Wrestling stars, and an exclusive match each week.
FULL DETAILS: https://t.co/adchTxQLeB pic.twitter.com/cgCUSJDmtr
A new one-hour weekly TV show from IMPACT Wrestling – BEFORE THE IMPACT – will debut next Tuesday, February 16, on AXS TV, it was announced last night.
‘BTI’ will air at 7pm ET/4pm PT every Tuesday night on AXS TV as a lead-in to the action-packed flagship IMPACT! show which airs at 8pm ET/5pm PT.
Nashville-based sportscaster Jon Burton will be BTI’s host. The NewsChannel5 anchor will be joined by reporters Gia Miller and Josh Mathews.
Mathews, who also serves as BTI’s senior producer, said: “BTI will feature in-depth previews of the biggest matches, exclusive interviews with IMPACT Wrestling stars, behind-the-scenes access you won’t see anywhere else and an exclusive match each week.”
BTI will feature exclusive news on the pro-wrestling industry from insider George Iceman – the “Iceman’s Intel” segment is expected to be a highlight of BTI.
“BEFORE THE IMPACT will be IMPACT Wrestling’s version of a pregame show,” said IMPACT Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore. “Fans have been asking for more IMPACT action on AXS TV and we’re excited to debut a new show and format with BTI.”
The premiere installment of BEFORE THE IMPACT will feature a collision between Team XXXL and the recently reformed, new-look Decay.
My biggest takeaway from the press release is that there is somebody named George Iceman. If I had Iceman on my birth certificate, then I would petition to delete my first name. I would also speak in the third-person. “Iceman wants a beer, baby.”
Congratulations to Mathews on the new gig. Will you be watching BTI? Does the concept sound interesting to you?