Impact Wrestling's Josh Alexander on Ultimate X, Slammiversary Surprises, Option C

Impact Wrestling has a massive event on the horizon with the annual Slammiversary pay-per-view on [...]

By Connor Casey

Impact Wrestling has a massive event on the horizon with the annual Slammiversary pay-per-view on July 17. Not only will the show feature another Impact World Championship defense from All Elite Wrestling's Kenny Omega and the return of live fans, but the company is also teasing a boatload of surprises similar to last year's Slammiversary. Reigning X Division Champion Josh Alexander sat down with ComicBook recently to discuss the event, starting off with him defending his title in one of Impact's iconic match stipulations — Ultimate X. Alexander openly admitted he has wanted to take part in the match ever since it first debuted in 2003.

"Yeah, ever since seeing that one... You see those ropes crossing the ring for the very first time with those posts, and you saw Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, and I think it was Matt Bentley, all in that first three-way Ultimate X match," Alexander said. "And for me, it was just the amount of creativity and innovation that can go into this match was something unlike anything I've ever seen. I've seen so many cage matches. I don't think there's much new that you could see, any new possibilities. And I just think that the Ultimate X leaves so much open for creativity and innovation."

Check out the full interview with "The Walking Weapon" below!

Impact-Josh-Alexander-Header
(Photo: Impact Wrestling)

We recently saw you have an hour-long Iron Man Match with TJP on Impact. Who came up with that idea?

You would have to ask somebody else. I'm sure that, partially, the idea came from me doing so many on the independents in the last five years and them knowing that. And I've been calling myself the Iron Man of the Independents, but not in Impact Wrestling. So it was kind of something that I was going for, character-wise, and then, when they came up and suggested it to me, it was honestly met with a smile because I just knew the opportunity that was being handed to me in that moment.

How does one train for so many Iron Man Matches?

Well, ever since returning from my neck injury five or six years ago, whenever it was now, I really just wanted to train to be prepared for anything. I had to push myself to these crazy limits because I just don't want to be unprepared. I want to be ready for any situation.

So every time I trained, I trained for an iron man because I think it's the most grueling possible situation to be put in as a pro wrestler. Right? So I do at least three to five hours of cardio a week, whether it's interval training or it's just steady-state cardio. And I just try to push on, push hard.

One of the things Impact is doing again for Slammiversary this year is teasing the ideas of new names popping up. Is there anybody you'd like to see arrive that you could potentially wrestle down the road?

I'm a fan of [Buddy] Murphy. He's in-ring stuff, I think that would be amazing. I think Samuray del Sol [fka Kalisto] is somebody that I've looked at for the past 10 years. He's one of the best in-ring competitors I ever saw.

It seemed like the world knew that at one point in time, and then they seem to forget. So I think, if he popped up, that would be awesome.

Let's go back to the night Kenny Omega won the Impact World Championship. You got some attention from fans by tweeting out the possibility of using Option C [Cashing in the X Division Championship for an Impact World Championship match]. Is that something that still interests you?

It's not something that I'm going to rule out. I just really, really want to establish myself as one of the best X Division champions of all time before I do anything. And I think giving up that championship wouldn't help that situation until that's been solidified.

When fans talk about the future of Impact, your name is almost always brought up. Is there anything you'd like to see the company accomplish here in the near future?

Oh, nothing specific. Ever since I joined the company, it's been two-and-a-half years now. And slowly, certainly before that, it just seemed like Impact changed their attack on how they were going to grow. And it's been a slow build, but it's been all in the right direction, and so things have been getting better and better and better over the years. And I just hope to continue that moving forward because I see nothing but growth for the company and everybody in the locker room.

When Kenny first started coming over, a lot of fans thought there was going to be this big crossover between AEW and Impact. And along with that, there were some who were hoping for a reunion of The North. Have you and Ethan [Page] even talked about that or is it just fan fantasy right now?

It's just fan fantasy for now. I think we were both happy in our situations, with the challenges we've been given. We're playing in separate fan boxes. Understandably, there's this chemistry between the two of us, as tag team members, that doesn't come along very often. And it'd be a horrible waste, especially with the amount of dream matches that fans want to see. So, from a business perspective and a pro-wrestling perspective, I think, there's a lot to be left on the table if it doesn't happen.

Slammiversary will take place at Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and will be available via pay-per-view, Impact Plus and FITE TV. Check out the updated card for the show below:

  • Impact World Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan
  • X Division Championship: Josh Alexander vs. Petey Williams vs. Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju
  • Chris Sabin vs. Moose
  • TBA
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