Josh Alexander Makes History With Impact World Title Reign

As of January 4, 2023, Josh Alexander has officially made history as the longest-reigning Impact World Champion in the history of the company at 257 days and counting. The record was previously held by Bobby Roode, who held the title for 256 days from 2011 into 2012. Other lengthy title reigns include AJ Styles at 211 days, Johnny Impact (John Morrison) at 196 days, and Sting at 189 days.

Alexander first captured the Impact World Championship at Bound For Glory 2021 when he defeated Christian Cage. The reign only lasted mere minutes before Moose cashed in his Call Your Shot trophy to steal the gold. "The Walking Weapon" embarked on a journey to reclaim his prize for several months, which culminated in Alexander beating Moose in the main event of Rebellion in April 2022. Since then, Alexander has headlined a number of pay-per-views and special events with title defenses that have been deemed "match of the year" contenders including his Slammiversary match against Eric Young and his Bound For Glory defense against Eddie Edwards.

To close out 2022, Alexander defended the world title against "Speedball" Mike Bailey in an impromptu TV match that went 59:48. Right before they reached a time-limit draw, Alexander pinned Bailey to retain. The Ontario-native's record-breaking title reign will be put to the test at Impact's Hard to Kill event on January 13 when Alexander defends against Bully Ray in a Full Metal Mayhem match. If Ray wins, it will mark his third Impact World Championship.