Josh Alexander: “The mental part’s the hardest part”

IMPACT’s Josh Alexander sat down with Straight Talk Wrestling recently and shared some details about his recovery before returning to the ring (via Fightful). Alexander explained that the physical strain wasn’t nearly as much a factor for him as the mental weight of seeing missed opportunities go by during his time away. You can find a few highlights on the topic and listen to the full podcast below.

On the decision to take time off to fully recover: “The mental part’s the hardest part. Physical pain, if anybody’s watched me wrestle for the past nearly 18 years I’ve been in this business, pain doesn’t really stop me that much. Only for the sake of me having my son Jett, my son Lucas there did I even consider surgery this time to fix this injury. It’s something I probably could have rehabbed and worked through and come back a little bit faster. But I didn’t want to have a left arm that was compromised moving forward in my life with my children and all this other stuff.”

On the strains of being sidelined while healing: “The mental game, it’s just sitting on your coach, watching everybody have all this success, do all the things that you want to do and not be part of the team. IMPACT Wrestling, as much as we’re competing for these championships and for everything else all the time, I look at that place like my family. Everybody else on that roster, from every Knockout to every member of the male locker room to everybody on the crew, they’re family. For me to not be on the road, not be competing, not be doing my part to try to grow this company and get eyes on it, that ate away at me every day, so that’s the part I’m looking forward to most coming back.”