Alex Shelley will be returning to wrestling for the first time in 2021 next month. GCW has announced him for their September 3rd show in Chicago.
Shelley was forced to withdraw from Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill event back in January. He had been scheduled to team with Chris Sabin and Rich Swann to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers.
“There are certain things in life that are just out of our control and unfortunately, my ability to compete at Hard to Kill has been dropped into that bucket,” Shelley said regarding having to withdraw from the event. “So, on that note, I owe an apology to Chris Sabin. I owe one to Rich Swann, I owe one to the fans. And I owe a receipt to the Good Brothers and Kenny Omega.”
Shelley would clarify a couple of weeks later that he would be unable to wrestle until a COVID-19 vaccine became available.
“I am a physical therapy clinician,” Shelley stated. “Physio is my livelihood and career. Wrestling is my livelihood and passion project. At my company, due to the volume of sick and injured patients we are in care of, we modify our COVID-19 mandates as needed. As numbers went up, so did restrictiveness.”
“To circumvent the topic, I could not be at Hard To Kill due to my career. I respect the decisions made by our company surgeons and doctors: I look to them for advice and guidance. I am unable to travel and wrestle until I am vaccinated.”
It is not yet clear if Shelley will be returning to Impact Wrestling.
