Josh Alexander has relinquished the IMPACT World Championship due to injury.
IMPACT Wrestling has announced that Alexander suffered a triceps tear, and he will be having surgery on March 24. As a result, he has relinquished the title. Alexander was set to defend the title against Steve Maclin at the IMPACT Rebellion pay-per-view on April 16. Instead, Maclin will now face KUSHIDA to crown a new champion at the pay-per-view.
From IMPACT:
The record-setting title run of Josh Alexander is officially over as he will relinquish the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship due to a triceps tear that will require surgery, IMPACT confirmed.
Alexander became a 2-time World Champion at the 2022 REBELLION pay-per-view event in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and is the longest-reigning IMPACT World Champion in company history, with successful title defenses against such stars as Moose, Rich Swann, Alex Shelley, Frankie Kazarian and Bully Ray, among others.
Josh Alexander is currently in Orlando, Florida, where Brad M. Homan, DO, FAOAO, will be performing a triceps tendon repair later today.
Steve Maclin will replace Josh Alexander to team with Swann and Kazarian tonight at the sold-out SACRIFICE extravaganza in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, against Time Machine (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin and KUSHIDA).
On, Sunday, April 16, at the REBELLION pay-per-view in Toronto, KUSHIDA and Steve Maclin will compete in a match to determine the new IMPACT Wrestling World Champion.
Josh Alexander was originally scheduled to face KUSHIDA at the co-branded MULTIVERSE UNITED: ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE show on Thursday, March 30, from the sold-out Globe Theater in Los Angeles, as a part of WrestleCon. His replacement will be announced at a later date.
SACRIFICE will stream live tonight, starting at 8 p.m. ET from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario on IMPACT Plus, YouTube for IMPACT Ultimate Insiders and FITE. A limited number of tickets remain for the SACRIFICE FALLOUT Show on Saturday, March 25, in Windsor. Tickets are available for FALLOUT at Eventbrite.ca.
“We wish Josh a full and speedy recovery, and everyone at IMPACT Wrestling, including our loyal fans, can’t wait to see him back in the ring,” said IMPACT Wrestling president Scott D’Amore.
Alexander was set to face KUSHIDA at IMPACT x NJPW Multiverse United on March 30, and IMPACT Stated that his replacement will be announced at a later date.
Maclin will replace Alexander at IMPACT Sacrifice on March 24; he will team up with Rich Swann and Frankie Kazarian, and the trio will face Time Machine (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin and KUSHIDA).
In a tweet, Alexander commented on his injury. He stated that it was devastating, but he vowed to return better than ever. Alexander also thanked everyone at IMPACT for their support.
Safe to say this news is devastating. I’ve torn my tricep. I will have to relinquish my @IMPACTWRESTLING World title immediately.
— Josh Alexander (@Walking_Weapon) March 24, 2023
I’m heading into surgery momentarily. I’m so thankful for my Impact family for the support.
I’ll be back & I’ll be better than ever.
-- pic.twitter.com/p4oudMz3qE
Alexander won the championship by defeating Moose at IMPACT Rebellion 2022, and he has held the title for 335 days. He previously set a new record for the longest world title reign in IMPACT history. More information is available here.
Fightful will provide more information as it becomes available.
Catch up on our coverage of the March 23 episode of IMPACT Wrestling here.
