What Ever Happened To Backstage Announcer Josh Mathews?

Source: The Wrestling Observer

Announcer Josh Mathews is still under contract to WWE, but he hasn't been used on SmackDown in about a year. The last time he appeared on SmackDown was last December when he was "possessed" by The Undertaker while he was interviewing Randy Orton in an effort to play up their ongoing feud at the time. He is now doing editing work for WWE 24/7 programming and is believed to be hosting the SmackDown recap show WWE Afterburn, which only airs in international markets. He was the play-by-play man for Velocity, but when the show was shelved in favor of ECW last June, he was left stranded. The reason for why he hasn't appeared on SmackDown in about a year is because he is under some sort of ongoing punishment. Although, it is not known as to what he did to warrant the punishment.

Furthermore, a few years ago, there were plans to use him as a wrestler, and then he asked for a talent contract. However, WWE producer Kevin Dunn stepped in and said that he had no future as a WWE wrestler and that he was more valuable as an announcer. Also, he is indeed married to former WWE TV host Rue DeBona, who worked for the company from August 2003 until June 2004 when she asked for her release from the company.

Also, Josh Mathews' profile on WWE.com was removed from the SmackDown section about two weeks ago.