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While Impact Wrestling may not be at the level that it once was during the Spike TV era of TNA, the company has found its niche in the past few years. Under great leadership from Scott D'Amore, the promotion has thrived creatively, telling compelling, long-term stories across their divisions. No story serves as a greater example than that of the rise and fall, and rise again of Josh Alexander. Becoming the Ace of the X Division after his long-time tag-team partner left the company, Alexander would become a staple of the division before eventually cashing in Option C to become World Champion, only to lose the belt in a matter of minutes. Several months later, Josh Alexander would become Impact World Champion once again, defeating Moose and getting his time in the spotlight before embarking on a path to become the best World Champion in wrestling today.
Josh Alexander Elevates His Opponents
Looking at other world champions, whether men or women, one area that tends to come up a lot when discussing the prestige of a champion is their ability to elevate their opponent. Taking Britt Baker and Roman Reigns as examples, criticism aimed at them often paints both as failing to elevate their challengers, often belittling them or failing to make them look special. Conversely, looking at names like Becky Lynch, Hangman Page, Jon Moxley, or Kazuchika Okada, those names have all helped to build up others around them while carrying the top prize.
For Impact World Champion Josh Alexander, he fits in right at the top of that list. Since becoming World Champion in April 2022, The Walking Weapon has put on some of the matches of the year against the likes of Moose, Eric Young, Tomohiro Ishii, and Alex Shelley. In all of his feuds and matches, Alexander is not shy about making him and his opponents look good, which is what any world champion should strive to do. Failure to do so can often lead towards fans turning on the champion, as wrestling is a medium that requires effort from both sides.
Josh Alexander's Title Defenses In Impact Are Always Different
A key area where Josh Alexander thrives when compared to other current world champions is in the quality and style of his matches as World Champion. Regularly defending his championship, Josh has had nine successful title defenses as Impact World Champion, with each one feeling different from the previous. Whether playing the dominant babyface champion against Jacob Fatu and Alex Shelley, putting on a spectacular TNA/Impact Wrestling Tribute Match with Eric Young, or finding a way to play the babyface in peril against Joe Doering, Alexander's Impact World Championship Defenses have not only all delivered in-ring, but have also felt varied in their execution.
While other world champions have had some great showings in title defenses, a decent amount of them tend to feel similar in terms of their match style, with Jon Moxley, Hangman Page, Kazuchika Okada, Bianca Belair, and Roman Reigns all falling into this realm. Undeniably, Alexander's time as champion has been more varied when comparing his reign to his peers.
Josh Alexander's Reign Has Been Booked To Perfection
A core strength that Impact Wrestling has displayed over the past few years under D'Amore's run as the head of the company has been their ability to feature consistent booking over long periods of time. With Alexander's turn from tag team specialist, into X Division Ace, into failed face of the company, and finally into the redeemed, true face of the company, this has never been more apparent.
While some fans laughed at the shocking finale to 2021's Bound For Glory, in which Josh Alexander defeated AEW's Christian Cage to become Impact World Champion, only to lose the belt moments later to Moose, from a creative standpoint, Impact Wrestling proved that it was the right decision this past April when they finally coronated Alexander as the face of the company. Since then, any wrestling fan would be hard pressed to find a World Champion that has been booked better than Josh has as the Impact World Champion, delivering great feud after great feud, performing at the hightest level on a regular basis, and representing Impact on television and across the independent scene.