Josh Alexander loves IMPACT Wrestling, and that admiration extends to when he started watching when it was called TNA Wrestling.
Sportskeeda recently spoke with Alexander and asked him to share his first IMPACT Wrestling memory. Alexander remembers racing home to watch the first-ever TNA Wrestling show and feeling hooked from the start.
“The first one, I remember it like it was yesterday. I came home [after] working at Subway; I was a sandwich artist back in the day in high school. I came home for my shift just in time for eight o’clock to flip on that pay-per-view on Wednesday night,” Alexander said. “The first match was the Flying Elvis against AJ Styles and Low Ki and Jerry Lynn. And I remember it like it was yesterday.
A Fan From The Start
“I was familiar with Jerry Lynn, obviously from his ECW days and stuff like that. And a little bit of the Flying Elvises; some of their members were in WCW. And I hadn’t really seen AJ Styles when he was in WCW. So AJ Styles and Low Ki were completely new to me as a fan,” he said. “They blew me away in that very first match in whatever ten minutes it lasted. That was the hook that was set in me to make me a TNA fan, an IMPACT Wrestling fan from the very beginning. I didn’t miss a Wednesday pay-per-view anytime after that. Obviously, Low Ki and AJ Styles are just something special. And they really established that to me that very first night.”
Alexander said his favorite IMPACT memory was different from his first one. He then recalled Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe’s infamous first encounter.
“The most memorable moment to me is when Kurt Angle faced off with Samoa Joe in his debut and that headbutt. And just the image of Samoa Joe rising up from behind Kurt Angle as he was posing afterwards with like the bloody forehead and everything,” Alexander said. “And then it was just like, we’re off to the races, and the brawl started and everything else. So that is the iconic moment that is forever burned in my mind as the moment for IMPACT Wrestling for me.”
IMPACT Explodes
Josh Alexander echoed his comments about Samoa Joe’s debut in a recent interview with WrestleZone. Alexander was asked about his favorite moments that he wasn’t involved in. Several things came to mind, but one specific moment stood out.
“The first time I saw Low Ki, the first time I saw AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. That stuff sticks out in my mind. But the one that holds true, always,” he noted, “when Kurt Angle came to the company and he had that first stand-off with Samoa Joe. I remember I was chomping at the bit as a fan, as a young pro wrestler breaking into the business.
“That headbutt and for Samoa Joe to get [busted open] the hard way and just stand up behind him, that image has left a lasting impression on me,” he added. “It was like an explosion for IMPACT Wrestling. As a fan, watching him, you knew you were seeing something special. This company was gonna reach heights it had never reached before just on the backs of these two guys alone, let alone on the stacked roster they had.”
Check out his pick for favorite moments from his own IMPACT career here.
Read More: Josh Alexander: Headlining An IMPACT PPV w/ AJ Styles Would Be A Hell Of A Dream Match
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