Alex Shelley - The World Champion (Retains @ BFG!)

[mj0mn0m]

For a wrestling fan that is a bit stuck (slowly and surely, I'm re-learning to appreciate present day stars too...) in 2004 to 2014 = Alex Shelley, THE WORLD CHAMPION, just feels right!

Only difference is that this time he is the veteran instead of the up-and-comer that he was. So thrilled he gets to fly solo. What's even cooler is that he recently beat motherf***ing Hiroshi Tanahashi!



Could this late career resurgence mean we get to see more of (singles) dream matches from him, before he retires for good? What do you guys and gals want to see next!?!

This reign of his reminds me of Christian Cage's world title win(s). He is the epitomy of "better late than never", well deserved... 😎☝️

[mj0mn0m]

[ace]

It’s funny because he was kind of pigeon holed as one of those guys who was always going to be a tag/midcard single (partially because he never stuck somewhere long enough). And then he won out of nowhere and totally carries himself like he belongs. It helps that he’s never been buried or treated like a joke anywhere he’s gone. The Guns specifically are always used as a top tier tag. But he slipped into the role of great wrestler who is now on top effortlessly.

He had a couple incredible big singles matches with Josh Alexander and Jay White when he returned to Impact.  So I should have seen that he would look the part.  D’Amore obviously saw it

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

Always thought he should have been a bigger star than he was. Back when I was getting into TNA I was impressed most by Joe, AJ, Daniels and Alex Shelley (who low key was also the best talker of the bunch). Really happy to see him finally get his moment.

[WinOwensWin]

Alex Shelley has been one of my favorite stars of all time for a long time, and honestly, he deserves it.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Currently watching some old impact and during the MEM run and that boy had negative charisma

He has always been great in the ring and the personality will shine more soon but he is right now probably my most hated guy behind Mick Foley on the shows

[Starshine]

I got into TNA right around the time Paparazzi Productions started up, and he and Nash were a big part of why I kept up with the shows then. So even while I don't follow Impact anymore, it's still pretty cool that he's headlining now.

[ace]

His work in Paparazzi productions should make him a first ballot hall of famer in every hall of fame. Wrestling, baseball, rock n roll…I don’t care. He and Nash were absolutely hysterical together.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

I always felt like Shelly could get to this level, and I'm glad he got a reign that actually feels like it means something, which I sadly cannot say for the time Sabin got the belt...

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

Dude's been absolutely demolishing it on the indies for the past few years, just everywhere.

[chazraps]

Most underrated match of 2019 was his surprise ROH World Title match against Matt Taven. Worth a revisit.

Later that year, I believe, he had a great absolute sprint short match with Colt Cabana at Final Battle for their first and only meeting.

But yeah, always loved dude and he keeps getting better and better.

[Wieners=$$$]

Since my initial exposure to Alex Shelley in early ROH and into the formation of Generation Next, I have been a fan.

I really need to watch more Impact. Shelley and Sabin still impress me when I do watch.

Detroit never did get that Briscoes v. MCMG match. RIP Jay😔

EDIT: Bonus Points for rocking BRMC.

[callmekc]

Aug 21, 2023 11:00:00 GMT -5 ace said:

It’s funny because he was kind of pigeon holed as one of those guys who was always going to be a tag/midcard single (partially because he never stuck somewhere long enough). And then he won out of nowhere and totally carries himself like he belongs. It helps that he’s never been buried or treated like a joke anywhere he’s gone. The Guns specifically are always used as a top tier tag. But he slipped into the role of great wrestler who is now on top effortlessly.

He had a couple incredible big singles matches with Josh Alexander and Jay White when he returned to Impact.  So I should have seen that he would look the part.  D’Amore obviously saw it

I mean kinda? I believe he would have gotten the ROH title back in 2004 as part of Generation Next if he wasn't in TNA. They couldn't and wouldn't put the title on someone that couldn't 100% commit to the company, and as was proven a couple of years later TNA could and would pull their guys from ROH shows if they had to. That's why they dropped him from the stable. From 2006-2012 Shelley was a loyal TNA guy. If they had wanted to, they could have moved him into the main event at any time. Six years is a long time in wrestling. It's the same amount of time as RVD's WWE career from Invasion to WWECW and his departure (it's also like 75% of Stone Cold's entire WWE career). But they didn't. Hell, TNA barely wanted to use the guns at all a lot of the time. They were the best team in the company for like three f***ing years before they got a run with the belts. Remember when Sabin's ACL blew up and Shelley disappeared for several months until Austin Aries ran out X-Division opponents during his long run with the belt. Even before that the guns had an entire angle where the 'joke' was that they weren't getting booked.



If anything that can be ascribed to Alex Shelley that held him back before 2020 it wasn't his loyalty (or lack thereof) to any promotions. It was the fact that he was a little shithead. This is a guy that wrote on his blog that he hated the Orlando fans (compared to PWG or ROH fans) and was pretty outspoken, which is (on average) a poor way to get in the good graces of people with power. Especially when you're in a division that's cared about less than others (and Shelley was an X-Division guy in a tag team so that's a double don't care). There was also a lot of competition in TNA with how many established names they bought in.


I'd actually argue it wasn't his tag work that allowed Shelley to move to the top of the card and look like he belonged there. It's that... half the main eventers that have come up in WWE and AEW have been stealing his shit for years. Seth Rollins does his complete shot into the turnbuckles. Gargano uses the Border City Stretch (Gargano Escape). Jay White uses the Shellshock (Bladerunner), and also lived with him for months while he was on excursion. The Young Bucks were bought into TNA by Shelley. People better versed than me in the indie scene and modern wrestling can certainly correct me if I'm wrong but Shelley was way more influential than his position on the card would suggest. And that's ignoring how much of modern tag team wrestling is influenced by the MCMG double team blitzing that they bought to the mainstream.

[HMARK Center]

I spent 2005 hoping against hope that Shelley would win the ROH title off Austin Aries; I was at Manhattan Mayhem when he got his shot against him, and was super bummed when it didn't happen. Guy brought it all from the mat to the mic and just the overall attitude, but yeah, 2005 ROH wasn't about to strap up anyone who was signed to TNA.

He's always had another major singles run in him, but MCMG are a great act and stuck together for a long time, and even during his NJPW run he was tied close with KUSHIDA in the Time Splitters, and both teams did great things for his career. Regardless, seeing him on top is a very welcome sight; knowing that Chris Daniels won the ROH World title and now that Shelley is a World champ does my nostalgic heart good.

[callmekc]

So, who do you guys think is next for Shelley? Obviously he's got to have a match with Alexander at some point in the near future, but I think there's money in having Alexander 'earn' a shot at the gold by winning at Victory Road for a match at either Impact 1,000 or Bound For Glory.

Alexander probably ends Shelley's reign, when they do go one on one for the title so as an extremely biased person, I'm hoping they hold off on running the match for a good while, but so long as it rocks and Shelley keeps on being high up the card I'll be happy enough.

[tirtefaa]

Aug 21, 2023 11:58:40 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

Always thought he should have been a bigger star than he was. Back when I was getting into TNA I was impressed most by Joe, AJ, Daniels and Alex Shelley (who low key was also the best talker of the bunch). Really happy to see him finally get his moment.

Absolutely.

I mean I found it even criminal when they wouldn't even make him X-Division champion, when he was clearly one of the more recognizable guys they had. Even when he got it in 2009, it felt like it was at least 2 years too late.

[Mozenrath]

Aug 22, 2023 16:27:49 GMT -5 callmekc said:

So, who do you guys think is next for Shelley? Obviously he's got to have a match with Alexander at some point in the near future, but I think there's money in having Alexander 'earn' a shot at the gold by winning at Victory Road for a match at either Impact 1,000 or Bound For Glory.

Alexander probably ends Shelley's reign, when they do go one on one for the title so as an extremely biased person, I'm hoping they hold off on running the match for a good while, but so long as it rocks and Shelley keeps on being high up the card I'll be happy enough.

Alexander's got a strong case for best Impact world champion reign in its whole history (Yes, I would place him over any given Kurt reign, for instance), so while him winning it back would be cool, I do agree that they do not need to rush it.

[Numero Dos]

Aug 22, 2023 16:27:49 GMT -5 callmekc said:

So, who do you guys think is next for Shelley? Obviously he's got to have a match with Alexander at some point in the near future, but I think there's money in having Alexander 'earn' a shot at the gold by winning at Victory Road for a match at either Impact 1,000 or Bound For Glory.

Alexander probably ends Shelley's reign, when they do go one on one for the title so as an extremely biased person, I'm hoping they hold off on running the match for a good while, but so long as it rocks and Shelley keeps on being high up the card I'll be happy enough.

Alexander feels like the Bound For Glory match and I figure they’ll then move into the Alexander/Maclin feud they had planned before Josh’s injury.

I’d really like them to squeeze in a Shelley/Sabin world title match before he loses it though. Their match at I wanna say Genesis 2009 was fantastic.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Aug 23, 2023 0:56:23 GMT -5 Numero Dos said:

Aug 22, 2023 16:27:49 GMT -5 callmekc said:

So, who do you guys think is next for Shelley? Obviously he's got to have a match with Alexander at some point in the near future, but I think there's money in having Alexander 'earn' a shot at the gold by winning at Victory Road for a match at either Impact 1,000 or Bound For Glory.

Alexander probably ends Shelley's reign, when they do go one on one for the title so as an extremely biased person, I'm hoping they hold off on running the match for a good while, but so long as it rocks and Shelley keeps on being high up the card I'll be happy enough.

Alexander feels like the Bound For Glory match and I figure they’ll then move into the Alexander/Maclin feud they had planned before Josh’s injury.

I’d really like them to squeeze in a Shelley/Sabin world title match before he loses it though. Their match at I wanna say Genesis 2009 was fantastic.

Incidentally, Shelley is also the champion of Prestige Wrestling, one of the best indies going today, and they are running Shelley vs. Sabin for their world title next weekend.

[Rave]

Aug 22, 2023 10:30:22 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

He's always had another major singles run in him, but MCMG are a great act and stuck together for a long time, and even during his NJPW run he was tied close with KUSHIDA in the Time Splitters, and both teams did great things for his career. Regardless, seeing him on top is a very welcome sight; knowing that Chris Daniels won the ROH World title and now that Shelley is a World champ does my nostalgic heart good.

This. I'm very upfront about Daniels being my most enduring and fervent love in professional wrestling, but Shelley is an incredibly close second. It's a beyond welcome sight seeing him with Impact's top prize after all these years.

Now if only Impact would bring Daniels back in for a run with the title, then I can stop being salty about the Jeff Hardy UK debacle.