Learn about the history and origins of the For Your Consideration series at voicesofwrestling.com/2021/11/30/for-your-consideration-2021-introduction

Josh Alexander vs Jake Something
Impact Wrestling Emergence
August 20, 2021
Skyway Studios
Nashville, Tennessee

Watch: FITE

It’s no longer controversial to say that an Impact wrestler could be Wrestler of the Year.

When his tag team partner left to join AEW, those who hadn’t been paying attention might have labeled Josh Alexander as the weak link of The North, but those in the know realized that as a singles competitor, it was Alexander’s time to step up and be counted among the greats. In just one year, he’s clawed his way up to the very top of the promotion through a series of matches that can’t be denied.

When the opportunity to write for For Your Consideration came up, I knew I had to pick a Josh Alexander match. The Iron Man with TJP came to mind, not only because it was fantastic (and is also likely to make my top ten list), but because it was then that heads started to turn. Also in the running was his X Division title defense against Black Taurus, a match that slipped slightly under the radar, but is well worth seeking out. However, I kinda always knew Josh Alexander vs Jake Something would be the match I would pick. It was really something.

The early stages of the match are like a steam train gathering speed; Alexander the giant wheels that turn ever faster, Something the controlled explosiveness of fresh coal in the burner. Josh sets the pace, Jake keeps up and occasionally bursts ahead in spurts of raw power. The match leaves the station at the point that Something catches Alexander in mid-dive and delivers a death valley driver to the floor and is rewarded by a round of “This is Something” chants from the Impact Wrestling faithful.

Wrestling psychology has always been more about the way in which a move is done rather than the move itself. It’s a testament to both that the next stage centered around the simplest of moves, a vertical suplex, to become a fraught battle of ring positioning and pincer-like attacks from Something as he presses home his advantage.

The gears shift and it’s Alexander’s turn to be explosive and then the centerpiece of the match happens. A whopping ten German suplexes in a row that brings the crowd to their feet. During the pandemic, Impact’s crowd-less shows were a necessity, but it’s good to have them back and matches like this show just how much a crowd can help a match.

The exact moment when I realized this was a MOTY was when the enormous elk-like mass of Jake Something flew over the top rope. It was at that moment that we moved into the sublime. What followed was a furious back and forth as both competitors hit each other with everything in their arsenal, and more, with Alexander finally picking up the win with a C4 spike. This was everything you could have wanted from a match and the pacing was incredible.

I spoke about Josh Alexander in the opening paragraphs and while he’s certainly having a banner year, this was definitely a match of two incredibly talented wrestlers.

Jake Something has been with Impact for a while now and has yet to really break out as a singles star. A decent series with Rohit Raju earlier this year notwithstanding, this match was (or should have been?) his coming out party. Impact Wrestling has someone who could be a legit star on their hands and this match proved he can go at an elite level.

More of him please, and more of this please oh great Anthem Owl.