Josh Alexander says his neck is fine now, and being forced to retire after he broke it was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Alexander dealt with health issues earlier in his career, as he was forced to retire in 2015 after he had neck surgery. The procedure came after he previously suffered a broken neck.
In an interview with Matt Young, Alexander commented on wrestling after his initial retirement. He stated that breaking his neck and stepping away from wrestling was the best thing that happened to him, as it gave him time to think. He noted that having some time away allowed him to return with a new perspective that helped him reach the next level and strive to keep improving.
"This is like the weirdest thing. I’ve been asked this question many times and it’s always the same answer. Breaking my neck and having neck surgery and having to step away from wrestling was the best thing that ever happened to me in my entire career because I was always talented before. I wrestled for, I think, nine years before I broke my neck. I was always talented. I always got booked. I was a champion around in Ontario. I was very successful, but I never did the work. So when I thought I had to retire and my neck was banged up, I really had time to think. I had all these regrets of not putting in the work where I needed to, to get to that next level. When I came back it was nothing but work to make sure I got better so when I got those opportunities I could hit home runs and here I am, man. IMPACT Wrestling gave me an opportunity and that’s all I’ve been doing since," Alexander said.
As for his neck, the IMPACT World Champion stated that it's fine. He expressed his hope that his previous neck injury will be the worst thing he'll ever have to endure. Alexander also noted that he has to do more work on his body in order to say healthy now, but he feels younger than he did a decade ago.
"The neck’s fine. There’s no wood to knock on. But you get bumps and bruises and all that stuff. I’ve had a few injuries along the way, but nothing that’s gonna keep me down. That neck injury is hopefully the worst thing I’m ever gonna have to endure. Now, being a full time wrestler, I do so much more work on my body to keep myself healthy, to make sure that I’m in tiptop shape so I can keep doing this at a high level all the time. I feel younger now at 35 than I did at 25," he said.
Alexander recently asked Kurt Angle for permission to use the Ankle Lock. More information is available here.
Frankie Kazarian will challenge Alexander for the IMPACT World Champion at IMPACT Wrestling Over Drive. Check out the card here.
Alexander previously commented on paying tribute to TNA at IMPACT Wrestling. Click here to see what he had to say.