Jim Ross’ broadcast partner for the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 pay-per-view will be Lucha Underground’s Matt Striker. The announcement was supposed to be kept a secret and revealed later tonight on JR’s podcast however his name was leaked 24 hours before.

Striker was not the first choice to tag team with the WWE Hall of Famer as TNA’s Mike Tenay was approached to do the show but TNA didn’t want it to happen so Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling – who is promoting the show in the United States – went for someone else.

JR talked about getting Tenay briefly on his blog last week saying that he texted TNA asking for permission to get Tenay with him, telling them that it would be “great exposure for the voice of their brand” and thought they could talk about Impact’s new home.

“Obviously, I would have treated Mike with the utmost respect but TNA brass declined the invite. That’s the truth of the matter. It’s a dead issue and no hard feelings but I can’t see the downside of Mike Tenay and I broadcasting the NJPW PPV as it relates to Impact Wrestling specifically as it relates to me,” Ross wrote on his blog.