TNA's Josh Alexander Praises WWE HOFer For Helping Him Expand His Character

Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Josh Alexander will be one of the free agents to watch these next few months. Last November Alexander announced he would be scaling back independent booking dates, and recently disclosed when his current TNA deal expires.

Alexander appears to be "betting on himself" as the old wrestling adage goes, thanks in part to the education he's received along the way. Looking back on their rivalry in the lead-up to TNA Hard to Kill 2023, Alexander credited WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray for elevating his character work and storytelling game.

"I kinda had a chip on my shoulder with that," Alexander admitted on "Insight." "Because the greater wrestling audience on Twitter and social media was like, 'This is gonna suck. Bully's the worst. He's over the hill,' all this other stuff. And I was just like, 'No, this is gonna be awesome.' I think you put Bully Ray, Hard to Kill title defense up against anything I did." 

Alexander admitted that before working with Ray, pre-taped interviews were sometimes a struggle for him. But, Ray gave him a basic strategy for making them feel more authentic.

"A lot of times [pretapes] feel flat," Alexander said. "When it's just a camera, that's where I struggle. And Bully pulled me aside, he was like, 'You look at that camera, and all you see is me. You see me peering at you and you want to give me a thousand-yard stare to make sure that I'm intimidated by whatever you're saying. I was just like, 'Oh my god. How did I not just think about this all the time?'"

Alexander's next move remains to be seen, but it's worth noting that his former tag team partner Ethan Page is thriving in "WWE NXT" and possibly on the verge of a main roster call-up.