It appears that Josh Alexander could’ve remained in TNA afterall.
When the former Impact World Champion left the company earlier this year, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Actually, it wasn’t a surprise. Josh admitted himself that he told TNA officials not to pick up his option year, but management decided to do so as the 37-year-old was a big part of their roster at the time.
Fast forward to 2025 and now Josh is in AEW as a member of the Don Callis family. But it didn’t have to be that way as the AEW star could’ve actually stayed in TNA if they made him an offer. Josh spoke on The Wrestling Classic on Casual Conversations and revealed that they didn’t even give him an offer to make a decision on whether he should stay or go.
"I had the meeting with TNA the year before, and they picked up my option. They were like, 'We really want to keep you.' 'Okay, guys. I would be doing myself and my family a disservice by not seeing what else is out there from a financial and opportunity perspective. You guys come to the table with an offer. I love this place. I love the locker room.' Part of me was like, 'I don't want to leave, but it doesn't make sense to stay if it's not in the same ballpark.' They never made me an offer, ever.
They took that and were like, 'Oh, he's leaving. Okay, even though he had conversations several times, 'Just make me an offer, guys.' They never did. Obviously, I went and talked with two other companies and I had to make my decision there. I chose AEW. It was the right fit for me and my family. Very happy to be there,"
To be fair, can you blame TNA officials? It did sound as if Alexander wanted to leave given that he requested the company to not pick up his option year. It’s not clear if Josh tried to have another conversation with officials in hopes of trying to negotiate a new deal or not. But given that money seems to be his biggest driving source, it’s possible that TNA just didn’t have the budget to match a WWE or AEW offer and opted not to even attempt to do so. This is all pure speculation on my end.
Even so, TNA invested a lot of time and effort in turning Josh into a main event star. They pushed him hard after The North disbanded and he still holds the record for the longest reigning Impact World Champion, so it is a bit surprising that officials didn’t try to make any attempt at keeping a guy they spent years investing in. But as mentioned above, it’s understandable why TNA simply assumed that Josh had no interest in staying within the company.