Matthew Kaye

Infobox Wrestler
name=Matthew Kaye

---

img_capt = Striker (left) talking down to Kelly Kelly at an ECW live event.
names=Matt Lacheycite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/m/matt-striker.html|title=Matt Striker Profile|accessdate=2008-03-02|publisher=Online World Of Wrestling]
Matt Rite
Matt Martel
Ultimate Striker
Prince Striker
Stryker

Striker
Matt Strikercite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/superstars/mattstriker/bio|title=Matt Striker Biogrpahy|accessdate=2008-02-05|publisher=WWE]
height=height|ft=5|in=10
weight=convert|224|lb|kg|lk=on|abbr=on
birth_date=Birth date and age|1974|6|26
death_date=
birth_place=Queens, New York
resides=Ossining, New York
billed=New York City
trainer=Johnny Rodz
debut=January 2001
retired=|

Matthew Kaye (born June 26 1974) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager better known by his ring name Matt Striker. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), working as a color commentator on its ECW brand.

Career

Teaching career

Matthew Kaye worked as a social studies teacher at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Queens, New York while becoming a wrestler.cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/nyregion/01teacher.html?_r=1&oref=slogin|title=Skipping Class to Wrestle, Teacher Lands in Trouble|date=July 1, 2005|author=DAVID M. HERSZENHORN|accessdate=2008-02-03|publisher=NYTimes] However, he resigned from his position as a teacher when the High School found out that Kaye was using sick leave days as an excuse to keep up with his wrestling commitments.

He often wrestled for Major League Wrestling as well as various promotions on the independent circuit of America.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2005-Present)

Kaye made his first appearance in World Wrestling Entertainment during a commercial for its "King of the Ring" pay-per-view in 2002. Kaye played a person who, while auditioning for the King of the Ring tournament, tried to climb the ropes but fell off.

Kaye resigned from his teaching job after the school discovered he was constantly calling in sick due to his wrestling bookings. He had gone on a wrestling tour for Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX in Japan, and wrestled Kurt Angle as Matt Martel in an invitational match on the February 24, 2005 edition of "WWE SmackDown!" in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, using sick days to excuse his absence. [cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/050224.html|title=WWE SMACKDOWN! RESULTS - February 24, 2005|date=2005-02-24|accessdate=2008-03-12|publisher=Online World Of Wrestling] After recognizing Kaye, someone reported him to the school board and it was discovered that he had been in Japan when he claimed to be sick (the one who reported Kaye is unknown). In a statement, Kaye said he didn't realize sick days and personal days "were two entirely different things."

After the story broke out and was posted on news sites around the world, Matt Striker made a second appearance in WWE on the July 11, 2005 edition of "WWE Monday Night Raw" in East Rutherford, New Jersey to face Kurt Angle once again. Kaye said his name was Matt Martel and that he was from New York but Kurt Angle recognized him as Matt Striker, and reminded the audience that Striker was the guy in the news who got fired from teaching for being a wrestler and that Angle had defeated him before when Striker said he was from Philadelphia. Calling Striker "a liar" Angle finally decided to give him a second chance. In the 3:00 minute time limit match Angle defeated Striker for a second time, but Angle managed to make him tap out with only 1 second left on the clock.

WWE signed him to a contract on July 12, 2005.

On July 18, 2005 Striker made a third appearance for WWE in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, once again attempting to win the Olympic gold medal from Kurt Angle in his invitational. Striker this time said he was Matt Martel and that he was from Philadelphia. Once again exposing him to be a "Big Liar", Kurt Angle attacked and beat Striker/Martel for a third time, though Martel did manage to get Kurt Angle in his Happy Monkey chokehold and hold him in it for nearly two minutes.

Raw brand (2005-2006)

Matt Striker made his official signed debut on an episode of "HEAT" airing August 7, 2005, where he defeated Johnny Parisi.

On September 28, 2005, Striker appeared on WWE Byte This webcast show and did a less-than-flattering impression of Ultimate Warrior, including numerous references to steroids. He, Todd Grisham and Droz had several jokes at Warrior's expense, resulting in an edited version to be [http://www.wwe.com/community/bytethis/ released] on "WWE.com" days later that takes a more light-hearted approach. This was due to Warrior releasing a paragraph-long statement, calling the host Grisham a "queer," and frequent contributor Droz (who was left a paraplegic by a wrestling accident) a "cripple."

On October 21, 2005, Matt Striker turned heel when he walked out on his tag team partner - then babyface Shelton Benjamin - in a match against Kerwin White and Nick Nemeth, only one week after Striker helped Benjamin fend off an attack from the pair. He would go on to release a promo on WWE.com referring to WWE as his school. Striker teamed with Kerwin White to defeat Val Venis and Shelton Benjamin on the "Taboo Tuesday" pre-show "HEAT", with Striker pinning Benjamin to obtain the victory.

Striker's heel teacher gimmick had him hosting a segment called Matt Striker's Classroom on "Raw", which was debuted on December 12, where he would insult the crowd about their family values and treat them as intellectual inferiors. The gimmick, which has been compared to that of Dean Douglas, often insinuates that many people in the arena are "smoking the pot" as one of the many insults. Shortly after, in a match that took place on December 18, Matt Striker faced Lance Cade at a house show. During the match, Striker had taken a slam from Cade that went awry, thus dislocating his shoulder and putting him out of action until January 23, 2006, when he continued his "Classroom" segments once again.

Striker would continue to host his segment during "WWE.com Unlimited" for several weeks. On February 21, Striker announced that he was in the then-latest edition of GQ Magazine. Striker would later return to defeat jobbers on "HEAT".

Striker would reappear on Raw on April 17 for another classroom segment where he claimed that "School is Cool". This brought out then baby-face, Carlito who took the teacher's apple and spat it in the face of Striker. Striker returned to "Raw" in-ring action on April 24, where he teamed up with Chris Masters and then-WWE Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin to face Carlito, Rob Van Dam, and Charlie Haas in a six-man tag team match. Striker would end up on the losing end of the match when Rob Van Dam pinned Shelton Benjamin in the closing moments of the contest.

During Backlash, Striker would begin to feud with the (kayfabe) mentally impaired Eugene, after Eugene made an appearance on Matt Striker's Classroom during the PPV. Eugene put a booger in Matt Strikers mouth and then gave him a stunner. Striker gained some measure of revenge on Eugene the following night by hammering him in the back of the head with a dictionary while he was being interviewed. This feud would also involve a tweener Carlito, for a short while, who ended up attacking both Eugene and Striker after Eugene inadvertently caused Carlito to lose a match to Striker by Disqualification on the May 8 edition of "Raw". The feud apparently ended when Eugene gained a mentor in Hacksaw Jim Duggan and finally was able to defeat Striker, after losing to him only two weeks before. After this match, Striker proceeded to smash Eugene's head on the steel ring steps. He fled to the back as Duggan approached him, however. Striker later defeated Duggan at a house show.

Afterwards, Striker would end up back on the web-show "HEAT", defeating jobbers. He made small appearances on "Raw" during June 2006, mainly on "WWE Unlimited", but occasionally wrestling as well. During July, Striker would appear on "Raw", occasionally teaming with Rob Conway to lose to the debuting Highlanders tag team. During these tag matches Striker would abandon Conway. This resulted in a match between the two on "HEAT", which Striker won.

Striker's final match on "Raw" was on July 31, where he was defeated in quick fashion by John Cena. This match came about as a result of Striker insulting Cena during one of his "Classroom" segments a week prior, claiming that then-WWE Champion Edge was greater than Cena.

ECW brand (2006-present)

At the end of August 2006, Striker would leave "Raw" to join WWE's revived ECW brand. Striker continued his "Classroom" segment on ECW, often only to be interrupted by The Sandman. However, during one such segment on September 5 , 2006, Striker made a controversial remark that alluded to the death of Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin, who had been killed by a stingray 36 hours earlier. Due to the outrage caused by the remark, the incident was edited out of the replayed Australian broadcast and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon released a public apology on [http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/news/strikertoofar WWE.com] following the incident:

Striker's Classroom segment was not on the next week's (September 12) show and Striker did not participate on the program in any capacity.

Striker made his in-ring debut on the September 19, 2006 edition of "ECW", teaming up with Mike Knox and Test to face Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, and The Sandman.cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/archive/09192006/|title=Taken to royal extremes|date=September 19, 2006|author=Craig Tello|accessdate=2008-02-03|publisher=WWE] Despite Striker eliminating Sandman from the match after pushing him from the ring apron onto the ring barrier, he, Knox, and Test lost the match by disqualification due to Test pushing the referee.

Striker would continue his feud with the Sandman for the next few weeks, until Sandman came out victorious in a Singapore Cane on a Pole match on the October 17, 2006, edition of "ECW". Striker lost the match by Countout.

At the ECW December to Dismember pay-per-view, Matt Striker faced Balls Mahoney in a "Striker's Rules" match, meaning no eye gouging, hair pulling, top rope attacks, or foul language. Despite the match being of his own creation, Striker was pinned by Mahoney. Striker would continue the feud with Mahoney until the December 19, 2006, edition of "ECW", where Striker defeated Mahoney cleanly.

On February 6, 2007, Striker joined Mr. McMahon's New Breed stable and, with his stablemates, engaged in a feud with the ECW Originals. At Wrestlemania 23, the New Breed was defeated by the ECW Originals in an 8 man tag. Elijah Burke and Striker began to have tension between each other after Striker and Marcus Cor Von were defeated by the debuting Major Brothers. Eventually, the New Breed would feud with the ECW Originals, CM Punk and the Major Brothers at the same time. At One Night Stand, Striker along with Marcus Cor Von & Elijah Burke lost to Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, & CM Punk in a Tables Match.

On June 26, 2007, he was a guest on Piper's Pit. Since it was his birthday, he asked Rowdy Roddy Piper to sing happy birthday to him. While singing, Piper threw a cake that was brought into the ring right into Striker's face. Striker was then chased from the ring by the Boogeyman, but Piper chucked him back into the ring where he was chokebombed and then fed worms. On July 10, 2007, Striker invited Boogeyman to the ring to apparently educate him on worms, only to bring out the debuting Big Daddy V (formerly known as Viscera on the Raw brand), who would attack Boogeyman and throw him through Striker's desk and chalkboard.

Striker has since acted as the manager of Big Daddy V, as well as the occasional manager of SmackDown! superstar Mark Henry.

On April 11, 2008, he returned to in-ring action against Finlay. He lost by pinfall thanks to a few humorous distractions by Hornswoggle. On April 30, 2008 he was mandible clawed by Mick Foley on a segment of Matt Striker's Classroom on ECW.

As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Striker was drafted to the Raw brand. [cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/Raw/wwedraft2008/7505418/|title=Official 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft Results|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment|accessdate=2008-06-25] Once SmackDown color commentator Mick Foley was storyline injured by Edge, however, Tazz moved over to Smackdown to fill in for Foley and Striker moved back to ECW to take over Tazz's duties as color commentator. [http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/superstars/]

Matt Striker missed pay-per-view No Mercy due to his father's death. He was supposed to commentate the ECW Championship match between Matt Hardy and Mark Henry with Todd Grisham, he was replaced with Jerry Lawler.

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves :*"Golden Rule" (Inverted overdrive) - 2006:*"Happy Monkey Submission" (Rear naked choke) - Independent circuit/Early WWE:*Overdrive - 2005-2006 :*Double knee backbreaker:*Facewash:*Hangman's neckbreaker:*Reverse DDT:*Scoop slam:*Single leg Boston crab:*"Skayde Lock" / "Striker STF" (Standing STF):*Swinging neckbreaker:*Thumb to the eye

*Nicknames:*"Modern Marvel" Matt Martel (MLW):*"Hot Stuff" Matt Striker (3PW):*"Macho Man" Matt Striker (3PW):*"Your Teacher" Matt Striker (WWE / ECW):*"The Extreme Educator" Matt Striker

*Wrestlers managed:*Big Daddy V:*Mark Henry

*Best WWEek Worst WWEek:*Striker used to host a weekly segment on WWE.com called "Best WWEek Worst WWEek", where he comments on which WWE superstars and other celebrities are having the best week or the worst week, and also reads out fans' emails. After 12 episodes, Striker announced an end to the segment citing time issues in regards to his duties as an announcer. [citeweb|url=http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/mattstriker/videos/bestworstweek/|title=Best WWeek, Worst WWeek section|publisher=WWE.com]

*Entrance themes
**"Gargantua"
**"Formula One"
**"Next"
**"Dickin' Around"
**"Hard Lesson"
**"Teacher"
**"Teacher (Version 2)"

Championships and accomplishments

*Assault Championship Wrestling:*ACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Scotty Charisma

*Connecticut Championship Wrestling:*CCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*East Coast Wrestling Association:*ECWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) [citeweb|url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/ttecwa.html|accessdate=2008-06-28|last=Dupree|first=Jim|title=ECWA - EAST COAST WRESTLING ASSOCIATIONTAG TEAM TITLE HISTORY|publisher=Solie] - with Ace Darling

*New York Wrestling Connection:*NYWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/nywc/ | title=New York Wrestling Connection | accessdate=2008-07-07|publisher=onlineworldofwrestling.com] :*NYWC Interstate Championship (1 time):*NYWC Tag Team Championship (1 time)

*Premier Wrestling Federation:*PWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) [citeweb|url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/ttpremwf.html|accessdate=2008-06-28|last=Oliver|first=Earl|title=PWF - PREMIERE WRESTLING FEDERATION PWF TAG TEAM TITLE HISTORY|publisher=Solie] - with Josh Daniels

*Pro Wrestling Illustrated:*PWI ranked #166 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 [citeweb|url=http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi500.htm|accessdate=2008-06-28|title=Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 2006|publisher=Solie]

*Total Professional Wrestling:*TPW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time):*TPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Red Flair

*USA Pro Wrestling:*USA Pro New York State Championship (1 time) [citeweb|url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/nystusapw.html|accessdate=2008-06-28|last=Tsakiries|first=Phil|title=USAP - USA PRO WRESTLING NEW YORK STATE TITLE HISTORY|publisher=Solie] :*USA Pro Tag Team Championship (3 times) [citeweb|url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/ttusapw.html|accessdate=2008-06-28|last=Tsakiries|first=Phil|title=USAP - USA PRO WRESTLING TAG TEAM TITLE HISTORY|publisher=Solie] - with Simon Diamond [cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/other/2003-05.html | title=Independent Wrestling Results - May 2003 | accessdate=2008-07-05|publisher=onlineworldofwrestling.com] [cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/other/2004-02.html | title=Independent Wrestling Results - February 2004 | accessdate=2008-07-04|publisher=onlineworldofwrestling.com] (2) and Rahul Kay (1)

*World of Unpredictable Wrestling:*WUW Continental Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* [http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/superstars/mattstriker WWE Profile]
* [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/m/matt-striker.html Profile] at Online World Of Wrestling
*imdb name|id=0443356|name=Matthew Kaye
* [http://fans.wwe.com/mattstriker Official WWE Fan Nation Page]