Will Josh Alexander continue to make an IMPACT?
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At Bound For Glory we saw Josh Alexander defeat Christian Cage to become the new Impact World Heavyweight Champion, this was a great moment and you could see that this meant everything to Josh Alexander. The moment however was cut short when Moose cashed in his Call You Shot Trophy and speared Josh to instantly become the new Impact World Heavyweight Champion.
Over the next few months we saw Josh chase the world title, however he would continuously be faced with road blocks and other various obsticles. These obstacles came in the face of JONAH, Charlie Haas and now Honor No More. Time after time Josh’s attention swayed from the World Title however through no fault of his own, after every match he would always come out of the other side standing tall and once again, turn his focus towards Moose.
Over past few weeks however we have seen Josh (quite understandably) get frustrated and angry, this has lead to some decisions that have been ill placed and often in the past lead to consequences. This past week was one of those incidents that certainly lead Josh into that direction, after having a quick match against Big Kon (of The Awakening) and getting frustrated by seeing yet another obstacle in his way, Josh took things a step further than what he had before.
After Josh’s victory over Big Kon, Josh refused to break the ankle lock and risked injuring his opponent, this lead security and then Scott D’Amore coming out to try and stop Josh. After shoving Scott to the floor and having an absolutely brilliant back and forth between the two of them, Scott declared that Josh world no longer take part in No Surrender. Not only this but Scott also announced that Josh would be sent home until they had gotten things sorted out and he had got himself into a straight mindset.
When you look at this segment on Impact wrestling between Scott and Josh, a lot was said between both of them and it really can go in so many different directions. Especially when you add in the extra editions of what’s been happening on social media. We had a feeling Josh wouldn’t be at No Surrender given that he stated he was available to be booked for those dates, now we know why that is. Josh is now stating however that he is a free agent and that his US Visa has sadly run out, with the added edition of having to cancel appearances at Terminus and AML Wrestling, This gives more of a shoot feel than it did before.
When you listen closer to the promo between Scott and Josh last Thursday they did go down the route of getting into the personal details and making it feel like this could be for real? We hear D’Amore say “3 years ago we stood in a ring and you were the hottest free agent, I said no he’s not because here’s a 3 year contract.” Scott was really making a point that it’s been 3 years since Josh signed his contract and like every contract, that deal it coming to an end. Josh added onto this shoot style by saying “if I don’t get my rematch against Moose, you could be looking at the soon to be hottest free agent in pro wrestling.”
When you put a thought like this into fans minds, it’s a pretty big statement. Impact have arguably one of their top stars saying “I may leave if I don’t get what I want,” that’s a pretty big deal to us as fans, to Josh and to the company. With everything that Josh has been going through over these last few months, road block after road block, it must feel like a never ending circle. There is a point where something has to break and you wonder what that may be, never say never in the wrestling business, we saw it with AJ Styles back in 2014 after all (this feels a little similar).
The other side of the coin is that this is an Impact Wrestling creative team who are well known for their long term story telling and pulling off some very unique but effective dynamics in wrestling today. There are a few things when you step back and think about it, they make sense and give things a whole new direction and dynamic. If this is a work it’s being played very well (although sometimes a little in a grey area), however blurring the lines is what the best always did.
The biggest thing we saw last week was right at the end of the exchange, Josh stated “Impact is my home” and you hear the crowd chant him, when you have a talent who wants to be there and a crowd who want Josh to be there also, it would be a mistake Impact would never let down if they lost him. Josh also went on to to state that he would be the world champion, the face of the company and the flag bearer who carries Impact to heights it’s never been carried before. Those are strong words for someone who may be on their way out of the company?
With such strong words you have to question if this would be someone who Impact would want to let slip through their fingers? Is an exit truly on the cards or is there more to it than we realise? Admittedly Impact have done some very strange exits over the past couple of years (Ken Shamrock, James Storm), however there is a lot of time being devoted to this and when you contrast that to some of the recent releases that we’ve seen, such as Larry D, Fallah Bahh or Rohit Raju, this feels like it’s falling into a different category for some reason?
With Josh seeming not having a work Visa, currently it’s very difficult to say what could happen next, however it’s safe to say Impact (even if it is a work) seem to be treating this a shoot. With Josh no longer on the Impact roster, it’s a case of wait and see where he may end up next when his visa issue is fixed. That could very well take a couple of months or if we want to delve even deeper in the “work” thoughts, the visa issue could also fall into that?
Whether we see Josh back in Impact or if this past week was his final appearance, one thing is certainly clear. Josh has made a huge connection with the fans and you can see from the overwhelming love that he is getting on social media currently, he is a talent that many Impact fans hold in their heats and want to continue seeing on Impact. In Josh Alexander, Impact have managed to build a true star, something they’ve struggled to do for many years now. You can see that the fans have been on this journey with him and they don’t want it to end.
Personally I do not feel Josh is going anywhere, If you look at Josh he is probably in the promotion that is going to offer him the best deal, he’s in the World Title picture in Impact, AEW would sadly stick him back in the tag division. If we do see Josh stick around I feel what we saw this past week will be very telling for what’s to come.
When we see Josh make his return, it’s possible we will see Scott by his side and in his corner. With Scott saying to him “lets sort this out,” you have to wonder what compromise they’ll come to? Another note to take from that promo was Josh saying “I don’t need an EVP, I need my coach.” We’ve all been calling for the return of Team Canada for some time, with 2022 being Impact’s 20 year Anniversary, this could be the perfect time to do it and this may be just be the first step?
These next couple of months on Impact and on social media are going to be very interesting to keep an eye on, this feels very different to any other wrestler who has left or who you feel may be leaving. At the same time it feels different to those who resign or take a bit of time to (like Grace or Moose). It’s in a very grey area and it will keep many guessing about what may happen. By Sacrifice on March 5th you would like to think we would have more of an idea where things are going with Rebellion just over a month away, but we will have to see?
We can talk all about how well Impact may do with this, however there is always the bad side to every good side also, we are seeing the love that Josh is getting from the fans, as well as the love from current Impact wrestlers. Both Eddie Edwards and Jordynne Grace have both spoken out about how Impact need to sort this situation out and do all they can to hold onto Josh. If this doesn’t get sorted and we do sadly see the end of Josh, it may not only get ugly from fans, but inside Impact also?
This certainly feels like something which is being played along a shoot story and then being fleshed out. We all knew Josh’s contract was coming up, so the fact this has happened is no supprise. The fact we are seeing this turn into such an angle and a deep shoot angle makes it a very grey area type of angle (assuming it is one). It’s being played very different to the exit of Cody and Brandi from AEW yesterday afteral where there where formal statements and it had been rumoured for months. Impact’s next move really feels like it could be a make or break situation for them with many fans currently sitting on the fence, let’s hope it goes the right way for them and all involved.
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