Former WWE announcer Josh Mathews appeared as a guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast to talk about his days working at WWE as well as his future as TNA’s lead announcer. He had plenty of things to say regarding Vince McMahon and the current situation with the WWE.
“I just look at (Vince McMahon) as someone who doesn’t get it anymore, and who has lost so much touch with what his product is, and didn’t like anything else that was going on so he literally created his own universe. That’s what they called it the ‘WWE Universe’ because he created it and he lives in that bubble.”
Mathews also said if he thinks that the performers in WWE, TNA, or elsewhere should be referred to as pro wrestlers, Superstars, or entertainers.
“I don’t think ‘wrestler’ is a dirty word, but I call them ‘athletes,’ I don’t call them ‘wrestlers.’ I definitely don’t call them ‘superstars’ because I think that’s just lame.”
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin discussed the Superstar versus pro wrestler debate on his podcast with Vince McMahon back in December, and Austin has continued to push the fact that athletes in the ring should be referred to as pro wrestlers, because — like Mathews — he believes that being referred to as a WWE Superstar is lame and embarrassing.
Regarding Mathews calling Vince McMahon out of touch, as most wrestling fans know, he’s not the first former WWE employee or critic to make that observation. CM Punk was the first major name to call Vince out of touch when he elaborated on his decision to leave WWE on Colt Cabana’s podcast back in November. Furthermore, Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer said earlier this week that Vince McMahon is “out of his mind.”
As for current WWE employees coming out and criticizing McMahon, that is not going to happen, as it would be result in them being possibly released. However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer claims that he gets numerous emails and tweets from current WWE talent on a regular basis who claim that they’re extremely unhappy with the way things are going in WWE and with Vince McMahon himself. These current WWE employees do tell Meltzer to keep them anonymous, of course.
McMahon, who will turn 70 on August 24th, will likely never step down as WWE’s head honcho. There have been talks of him stepping aside in the past, and WWE did a storyline where Vince was forced out back in 2011 by the WWE board of directors. As for real life, McMahon will likely remain WWE’s top guy until the day he passes on.
