At IMPACT Against All Odds, Alex Shelley headlined the show as he challenged Steve Maclin for the IMPACT World Championship, and came out on top. Following the win, Shelley said it still hadn’t sunk in.
Speaking backstage in a digital exclusive for IMPACT Wrestling, Shelley said that the moment still didn’t feel real. He said that he was still “revved up” over the win, and that it felt surreal, and he still didn’t feel much due to the adrenaline.
“It really hasn’t sunk in,” Shelley said. “I’m still so revved up. My adrenals are just pumping. I’m just like a big ball of stress right now, but that’s fight or flight for you. It did feel surreal. As soon as there was a three count and I pinned him, it felt surreal. It’s a very lucid, waking dream. kind of sublime, like standing at the edge of a building and like looking over like, ‘I don’t know if I should be here right now.’ My back hurts. Everything hurts. My heart don’t hurt. My brain doesn’t hurt, and as soon as that bell rang, it was autopilot. It’s what I was meant to be doing. Effortlessness, time slowing down, felt like I was in complete control, even when I wasn’t. I was always not just one step ahead, but ten steps. I think the end result speaks for itself.”
Shelley also reflected a bit on the path he took to get here. He said that the last 20 years of his career have taught him a lot, mainly that he couldn’t accomplish the moment on his own, and that he has to prove he is worthy of the honor of being IMPACT World Champion.
“It’d be nice to say that I did this on my own,” said Shelley.” Twenty years have taught me nobody does. Nobody. I’m legitimately just a product of everything around me. Just absorbing that energy and learning all these look into applying them. I mean, honest to God, it’s cliche, but you do your best, and that’s all you can do. It took me a long time to realize that my best was good enough. Now, I’ve got that to prove it.”
Watch our interview with Shelley below:
