Alex Shelley enjoys the challenge of proving himself.
Upon his victory over Steve Maclin at IMPACT Against All Odds, Alex Shelley became the new IMPACT World Champion. With his reign now officially underway, all eyes are on Shelley. As of this writing, Shelley will defend his title against Maclin at IMPACT’s Down Under event in Australia. Following that defense, Nick Aldis will vie for the title at Slammiversary on July 15.
As Shelley prepares for several notable title defenses, Aldis recently laid out his thoughts on the newly crowned IMPACT World Champion. During an interview with WrestleZone, Aldis claimed that Alex Shelley was merely a transitional champion between himself and Steve Maclin. If Shelley can defy the odds, though, and defeat “The National Treasure,” Aldis says that will then certify Shelley as a legitimate world champion.
Speaking with Dominic DeAngelo of AdFreeShows, Shelley shared his response to Aldis’ aforementioned statement. “Certainly nobody wants to lose the belt on their first defense, right? Nobody wants that. The advantage I have is that, outside of maybe ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey, I wrestled the most out of anybody on the IMPACT roster, and because of that, I’m constantly in ring shape. I’m constantly thinking the way a wrestler would before a match because I work 10 to 12 matches a month. I don’t get rusty, right? My mind is always turned on, so you never lose it because you never have a chance to lose it,” Shelley said.
“I’m constantly ready. But yeah, it’d be a bummer, man, to lose my belt to Nick Aldis, like, first defense, of course. He’s absolutely right there, and Brian [Myers] is too, like if I lost it to him first and then it’s him against Nick at Slammiversary. But that’s what being a champion is. You knew it was going to be hard when you got into the wrestling business in the first place, but you got into the wrestling business to become world champion also. So, I asked for this. I want this, I thrive on that. I have no issues with that, I enjoy grinding. This is fine for me.”
While there may be some added pressure in carrying the IMPACT World Championship, Alex Shelley welcomes the challenge. “If you can beat me, beat me, please do, by all means. But at the same time, I want the test, I want the pressure. That doesn’t bother me. I enjoy that. That excites me more than it intimidates me. So, bring it on. Yeah, No big deal.”
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