We’ve mentioned before that Colby Covington made a positive impression on those within the Impact Wrestling locker room during his time there in 2017, despite his abrasive personality in the world of MMA. Apparently that carried over to non-wrestlers as well.
Josh Mathews wears many hats in Impact Wrestling, and has a heavy presence on both Impact’s weekly television show, as well as digital programming. When speaking to Fightful recently, Mathews had nothing but positive things to say about the interim UFC Welterweight Champion.
“I love Colby, John Hartnett and Dan Lambert everyone from American Top Team. TV tapings can be long and boring, and John came up to me in Ottawa and said ‘do you mind shooting some stuff with us? We’re going to try to get Tyron Woodley upset.’ We put videos together, and Colby’s always been great. When the rumor of him getting (the interim title) fight, (John and Colby) reached out individually and thanked me for everything I did to help them get the fight. I was just there, Colby got the fight. We got along very well. I wish Colby nothing but the best, he’s going to be a star for the UFC,” said Mathews.
As far as transitioning into pro wrestling for the angle, Mathews said it was pretty simple — they just let Covington and the members of American Top Team play themselves naturally.
“The cool thing about Impact is we just let Colby be Colby. Colby stood out as a star. He’s gone to New Jersey and did some things in New Jersey where he pretended to fight “Tyquil” Woodley. It’s just funny things. Those are the cast of characters UFC needs going forward. UFC in general needs to be more pro wrestling-esque in the way they handle their promotion,” said Mathews.
You can see Josh’s full comments on Covington in the video above, and check out any number of interviews that Fightful has conducted with Colby Covington, as well.
