Alex Shelley continues to defy Father Time, as he remains one of the most acclaimed wrestlers in the business.
Shelley, 40, is one of the most respected veterans in the wrestling business. He is one-half of the Motor City Machine Guns alongside Chris Sabin, but he will challenge Steve Maclin for the IMPACT World Championship at IMPACT Against All Odds. Shelley has been wrestling for over 20 years, but he continues to prove that age is just a number, as his in-ring work remains highly renowned.
In an interview with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard, Shelley was asked whether he has any thoughts on how long he’ll wrestle. He made it clear that he doesn’t, and he noted that he has put a lot of work into learning more about the body in order to extend his longevity.
“None. I think part of that, too, is you said it yourself, Fountain of Youth. I hear that all the time. I’ve got wrestlers, some of these guys are like the top wrestlers in the world. Like, ‘How are you not slowing down?’ That’s what they’re telling me. Like, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘How are you better? Not good, not okay, better. How are you better?’
“I really think about, well, I was working 40 hours a week and wrestling two or three times a week too. And it’s like, ‘Holy sh*t, that’s pretty incredible.’ But a lot of that does have to do with what I’ve learned outside of wrestling, and that’s where I’m grateful for having a skill set outside of anything that would be in this industry, because I do understand the body a lot more than most. And I do understand strength conditioning and I understand programming and I understand maintenance and I understand injuries. I understand these things and I apply them towards myself. That was why, selfishly, I got into those fields in the first place so I could help myself and my loved ones, and honestly, so I could extend my longevity in pro wrestling.”
Shelley also pointed out that he spent part of his career with NJPW, where he saw wrestlers in their 50s who were still “killing it” and having the best matches on the show. He noted that this experience helped him see that the quality of wrestling doesn’t have to suffer as one ages.
“You have to remember, too, that I was the guy who spent three years under contract in New Japan. Man, I’ll be damned if I didn’t see guys in there like early 50s, mid 50s, killing it, killing it. Nagata, Suzuki, Kojima, Liger. These guys are having like the best matches on the show and they’re like over half a century old. So, I started to realize, well, age is important, and your body is going to change throughout your lifespan. That doesn’t mean that your wrestling has to suffer because it definitely doesn’t.”
The full interview is available here:
In the same interview, Shelley discussed his decision to sign with IMPACT. Check out his comments here.
Check out the card for IMPACT Against All Odds here. WrestleZone will have coverage of the show as it airs.
