Alex Shelley hopes more people would be open to the idea of him being the world champion of IMPACT Wrestling.
IMPACT World Champion Alex Shelley was a recent guest on Fightful’s In The Weeds. When asked about his comments on last week’s episode of IMPACT, where he said people are considering him to be a transitional champion, Shelley said it stems from the fact that Josh Alexander never lost the title.
“I think it’s because Josh never lost the title, right? He never got pinned,” Alex Shelley said. “He had to give it up because he worked so hard that he suffered an injury. And in wrestling, really, in any sport, it’s not a matter of if you’re going to get injured; it’s a matter of when.
“And quite frankly, it’s his title. It’s his company. He’s been the backbone of this place more than I have in the more recent years. And I think that deserves some acknowledgment. At the same time, I don’t think people ever saw me as being champion in the first place, and understandably so. Because, in a lot of ways, I’m the Bobby Eaton or Ricky Morton of this generation. But that depends on who you ask, doesn’t it?
Alex Shelley has high praise for Josh Alexander
“And some people would say that maybe the title was long overdue, and I wouldn’t say it was. I don’t think I was prepared for it earlier in my career, but I have it now. And a lot of people again continue to be surprised, and they’re just kind of waiting for me to lose this. Just waiting, just waiting. And they sit there almost wringing their hands to go, ‘Okay. Yep, that’s right. Alex Shelley finally lost. He shouldn’t have had it in the first place, maybe. How did he get there?’
“And I mean, I got there because of my own guts. My own sheer determination, my own hard work. And that’s an honor for me to have overcome everything much like Trey [Miguel] did too and persevered through all these different obstacles. So now that I have the title, it’d be nice if people were going to give me a chance as champion. I think a lot of people have to be honest with you. A lot of people have, but maybe it’s a naysayer attitude that gets in the back of my mind. It’s hard to shake those sometimes; I can admit that.”
Nick Aldis previously referred to Shelley as a transitional champion; read Shelley’s response here.
Related: Alex Shelley On Facing Hiroshi Tanahashi: I Got To Wrestle A Legend And Learn
What do you make of Alex Shelley’s comments? Have you enjoyed his world title run in IMPACT Wrestling so far? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit In The Weeds with a link to this article for the transcription.
