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Josh Alexander reveals IMPACT Wrestling contract status and thoughts on a WWE move
IMPACT Wrestling star Josh Alexander
Josh Alexander has opened up on his ‘loyalty’ to IMPACT Wrestling while weighing up his future with four months left on his contract.
The former X-Division Champion signed a three-year deal with the company in February 2019 – months after he returned from what he was initially told was career-ending neck surgery – and he’s gone onto become one of the most respected stars in the business with a huge IMPACT World Championship match coming up against Christian Cage at Bound For Glory.
Reflecting on his upcoming contract decision, Josh exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘I’m extremely loyal. That’s just how I am! Growing up, I didn’t have any family so I found that when I had comfortable relationships with people I knew I could build trust with, that’s trust I’m gonna have forever.
‘IMPACT’s no different, everybody there from management down – I love everybody there. And then there’s the other question of – it’s just a balance. I wanna wrestle, I need to wrestle.
‘IMPACT’s the perfect spot for me to do that, I’m very happy with that, but also I have to support my family. So there’s things to think about there.’
Josh – who has a three-year-old and six-year-old son with his wife Jade Chung – will consider all options when it comes to his future, another key influence on his decision is a personal goal to work in Japan one day.
‘There’s things I wanna do on my bucket list, like I wanna wrestle in Japan and if I were to go to a different company, I know that might not happen,’ he said, seemingly alluding to WWE’s lack of openness on that front, given the freedom elsewhere in the wrestling business right now.
The former X-Division champ has some lofty goals in mind (Picture: IMPACT Wrestling)
‘There’s a lot of dream scenarios for me in New Japan because I have not wrestled in Japan yet and that is the one place that has eluded me and I think I would be very successful me. It bothers me, so a lot of those dream matches for me fall into that.’
The 34-year-old star’s loyalty to IMPACT Wrestling goes back to the end of 2018, when he returned to the business three years after he feared his career was over after neck surgery.
By the following year, the company offered him his current contract, and he’s thrived in such a positive environment.
‘The second I stepped in there, it was just a very welcoming locker room, it was very laid back. It was nothing like the horror stories you hear from people at other companies,’ he laughed, carefully choosing his words.
‘IMPACT, from day one, I stepped in – I knew a lot of people in the locker room, it was a comfortable spot. They were the first people to ever, in my entire career, to give me an opportunity.
‘They gave me a contract, they said, “Now we’ll get you that visa and it’s on you to make sure that you can do what you think you can do. The pressure’s back on you.”
‘I made the best of it ever since. I’m very thankful that they did that for me two and a half years ago.’
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With all that said, the question is where Josh ends up in the near future as his contract approaches its end in February 2022 – and there’s clearly a lot to think about, even if one option seems to be standing above the rest.
‘So, there’s benefits and there’s other things here and there – there’s stuff to think about,’ he admitted.
‘I can certainly see myself wrestling in IMPACT for the rest of my life, if everything breaks right.’
*IMPACT Wrestling: Bound For Glory airs Saturday night (October 21) at 1am on Fite TV.
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