Matt Striker Always Makes Us Smile

Twitter: @badguywrassler

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
EDITED FROM AN ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 22, 2018 

What fun to come across this photo on Twitter of Matt Striker and "Good Ol' J.R." Jim Ross. It was taken at a World Class Revolution wrestling event at Southfork Ranch outside Dallas, Texas. 

Conrad Thompson noticed something about the t-shirt Matt is wearing, and pointed the photo out to me. It is an old Mid-Atlantic Gateway t-shirt which was sold here many years ago. That made me smile. 

A former WWE Superstar and broadcaster, Striker is most recently known in wrestling for being the lead announcer for "Lucha Underground", which aired for four seasons on the El Rey Network. During that time, it was one of my favorite hours of television every week. Although the program showcased modern-day styles in wrestling (along with a heavy dose of superhero/science-fiction story telling), Matt managed to weave many "old school" wrestling references into his commentary on the show, my favorite being a nod to Greg Valentine's famous t-shirt "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" from season one. I always get a kick out of those references. Even though he is a veteran of the pro wrestling business, Matt is at heart an old school wrestling fan like the rest of us. A very nice fellow, as well.

J.R. digs the our little website, too, we're told. He even told Bruce Mitchell once on his podcast that the Gateway was "an icon on my iPad."

We have great respect for both of these gentlemen, so it goes without saying we're honored.

EDITED FROM AN ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 22, 2018

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See also: "For Matt Striker, the Past is Prologue" (A look at a couple of those early Mid-Atlantic references on Lucha Underground.)

This Photo Made Us Smile

Twitter: @badguywrassler

What fun to come across this photo last night on Twitter of Matt Striker and "Good Ol' J.R." Jim Ross. It was taken at a World Class Revolution wrestling event at Southfork Ranch outside Dallas, Texas.

Conrad Thompson noticed something about the t-shirt Matt is wearing, and pointed the photo out to me. It is an old Mid-Atlantic Gateway t-shirt which was sold here some 10-15 years ago. That made me smile.

A former WWE Superstar and broadcaster, Striker is currently the voice of "Lucha Underground" on the El Rey Network, one of my favorite hours of television every week. Although the program showcases modern-day styles in wrestling (along with a heavy dose of superhero/science-fiction story telling), Matt manages to weave many "old school" wrestling references into his commentary on the show, my favorite being a nod to Greg Valentine's famous t-shirt "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" from way back in season one. I always get a kick out of those references. Even though he is a veteran of the pro wrestling business, Matt is at heart an old school wrestling fan like the rest of us. A very nice fellow, as well.

J.R. digs our website, too, we're told. He even told Bruce Mitchell on his podcast a couple years ago that the Gateway was "an icon on my iPad."

We have great respect for both of these gentlemen, so it goes without saying we're honored.  - D. Bourne

* * * * *

See also: "For Matt Striker, the Past is Prologue" (A look at a couple of those early Mid-Atlantic references on Lucha Underground.)

For Matt Striker, The Past is Prologue

"I harken back to events that made everything you remember possible. 
I am aware of origins."   - Matt Striker

I don't know Matt Striker, but I suspect he and I might get along if we ever crossed paths.

Striker is the play-by-play broadcast voice of Lucha Underground, the cutting-edge wrestling program that airs Wednesday nights at 8PM ET on El Rey Network. At present, El Rey Network can be a little hard to find; it's a relatively new network. But I absolutely promise you if you make the effort to get there, Lucha Underground is so worth that effort.

It might seem strange that a 53 year old fan of 1970s and 1980s territorial wrestling like me, terminally stuck in the past and who has very little interest in today's wrestling product, could be so enthusiastic about such a modern, alternative product as Lucha Underground. But I am completely, totally, 100% head-over-heels in love with this show. Nothing else in wrestling compares to it today. Heck, not much on TV compares to it today. It is the best hour of my television week.

Lucha Underground combines the best parts of Mexican lucha libre, American independent style, Japanese strong style and even a little European style, too. It is the perfect hybrid, making it almost a style all its own. It also contains some the best story-telling through a series of short, gritty, cinematic style vignettes. It's just magic and wonderful in every way.

I didn't know a whole lot about Matt Striker when I discovered Lucha Underground. I wasn't watching WWE when he was a regular wrestler and commentator there. I first became aware of him when he and Ricky Steamboat dubbed commentary for the 1-hour broadway Flair vs. Steamboat match from the "Boogie Jam" in 1984 that was on Ricky Steamboat's WWE DVD set. Hearing him on that, I figured he had to be a big fan of the 1970s and 1980s. And it appears I was right.

From the onset, I enjoyed Striker's enthusiastic commentary on Lucha Underground. He and his broadcast partner Vampiro do an outstanding job on calling their matches. They walk the line perfectly between the professional call of the action and also letting you know they are fans just like us. For my money, they are the best in the business right now.

Matt Striker and Vampiro call the action on Lucha Underground.

As I got interested in Lucha Underground, I quickly started picking up on Striker's frequent references to old-school wrestling, making comparisons to wrestlers and teams from the 1970s and 1980s. Some of these were very obscure, some more widely known. I loved it! His analogies seemed almost educational at times. He would even occasionally reference angles from 40 years ago, but without making them seem like old references or being out of place.

Two quick examples: Charlie Brown and Greg Valentine's famous t-shirt "I Broke Wahoo's Leg"...