Alex Shelley was scheduled to team alongside Chris Sabin & Rich Swann at IMPACT Hard To Kill to take on Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers.
On January 15, IMPACT announced Shelley was out of the match due to "unavoidable circumstances" with Moose being named as the replacement. The following day, Shelley apologized to fans and his teammates and explained his absence by saying, "I assure everyone out there I do not have COVID. I am not orthopedically injured, but in the interest of safety, my situation is a very complex one."
On Thursday, Shelley offered further explanation on his situation.
Most days out of the week, I look like this. I read theories about why I wasn’t at @IMPACTWRESTLING for Hard to Kill. They ranged from injury, to illness, to getting arrested, to harming my family members and attempting to cover it up; I am a physical therapy clinician. pic.twitter.com/i68Bg0XHhl
— @Lx$ (@fakekinkade) January 28, 2021
Physio is my livelihood and career. Wrestling is my livelihood and passion project. At my company, due to the volume of sick and injured patients we are in care of, we modify our COVID-19 mandates as needed. As numbers went up, so did restrictiveness.
— @Lx$ (@fakekinkade) January 28, 2021
To circumvent the topic, I could not be at Hard To Kill due to my career. I respect the decisions made by our company surgeons and doctors: I look to them for advice and guidance. I am unable to travel and wrestle until I am vaccinated. I took every caution I could before...
— @Lx$ (@fakekinkade) January 28, 2021
But I don’t feel right maintaining this duality unless I take every possible safety measure. When the vaccine became available, that required extra security on my end and my company’s end for our patients. I honestly don’t want to get the vaccine so soon...
— @Lx$ (@fakekinkade) January 28, 2021
But I want to wrestle very badly while I help people in therapy. So there’s no option. @IMPACTWRESTLING was supportive and understanding and as someone who doesn’t have nor want a contract at this point, my hands were tied. Thanks for your support everyone.
— @Lx$ (@fakekinkade) January 28, 2021
It is unknown when Shelley will get the vaccine and return to IMPACT Wrestling.
With Shelley absent, Sabin recently teamed with James Storm on IMPACT to battle Private Party.
