Matt Jones: Where is OVM’s Co-Owner Now?

If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that Netflix’s ‘Wrestlers’ is a documentary series that explores not just the way this sport imitates life but is also an art form in and of itself. After all, revolving around the storied Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), it incorporates both archival footage as well as exclusive interviews to really shine a light upon the operations of this industry. Amongst those to thus feature in this original to help navigate the same was actually firm co-owner Matt Jones — so now, if you simply wish to learn more about him, we’ve got you covered.

Who is Matt Jones?

Although born on August 28, 1978, in Lexington, Kentucky, Matthew “Matt” Harper Jones unfortunately grew up in a rather uncomfortable, unstable environment in Middlesboro owing to his father. The truth is the latter was a complete alcoholic and sadly ended up killing a few people while driving drunk one night, leading to a lengthy prison sentence plus the family’s social ostracization. The youngster hence grew up hearing countless things regarding his family, only for his mother to gradually turn things around by serving as a practicing Commonwealth Attorney in Bell County.

Therefore, the fact Matt chose to follow in his mother’s footsteps upon graduating from school came as no surprise, especially as he has never once shied away from admitting she was his hero. “I was very shy growing up,” he candidly expressed in this Greg Whiteley-directed series. “I was tall and awkward. I was never good at sports. I was kind of a nerd. I never totally fit in anywhere… I’m kind of a mama’s boy, right?… It was very important to her I do well in school, that I not get in trouble. I always wanted to please her, so I did those things… She did everything because she wanted me to not be affected by what my dad did.”

As a result, Matt graduated from Duke prior to returning to his home state to practice law, but then everything shifted around the mid-2000s as he began to develop a keen interest in all local sports. His growing passion was actually to such an extent he soon ended up launching Kentucky Sports Radio (or KSR) alongside a small network of podcasts to share the latest updates concerning this world. Though he could’ve never imagined his ventures would take off the way they did thanks to his marketing skills as well as the boon of internet, driving him to evolve KSR into a full-fledged radio show under WKJK’s banner by 2010.

Then came Matt’s stint as a nightly news/recap program ‘Hey Kentucky!’ h ost from September 2016 until July 2019, just for him to gradually find himself dabbling in a few political discussions too. Nevertheless, the former lawyer’s primary focus remained on sports, as made evident by his establishing the Kentucky Sports Bar & Grille (KSBar) in 2019 as well as buying a stake in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in early 2021. The former lawyer actually conceded he had no proper knowledge concerning this, yet he’d grown up watching the same and wanted to help.

Where is Matt Jones Now?

From what we can tell, despite the tumultuous adjustment period as well as standard issues between the OVW co-owners over the past few years, Matt is truly enjoying himself at the moment. After all, the entrepreneurial investor is still a thriving radio host, an esteemed public speaker, a social bar owner, as well as a now-respected wrestling organization owner. The fact it was his idea to go on summer tours and he was the one to connect with AEW CEO to bring his talent to them for better opportunities are just two immediate examples that come to mind.

Matt has epilepsy, anxiety/panic disorder, and possibly a few other health concerns, yet he fully believes one has to speak their mind freely so as to be able to be and transform into their best self. He knows how important being real and authentic is, so that’s what he does with his show and that’s what he loves at OVW too; yes, each wrestler has a gimmick storyline, but they stem from at least parts of their truth, which he absolutely appreciates. There’s both good and light, and he put both.