"He's there for a check," "Glad he didn't come to NXT" - Fans left underwhelmed by 38-year-old star's AEW run

Some wrestling fans seem underwhelmed by the performance of a recently arrived AEW star. The talent in question, Josh Alexander, is widely regarded as one of the most well-rounded in-ring technicians in the world today.

The Walking Weapon made his All Elite Wrestling debut last month as Hangman Page's wild card opponent in the first round of the 2025 Owen Hart Cup at Dynamite: Spring BreakThru. Shortly after losing his debut match to The Cowboy, Alexander ambushed Page and joined the ranks of The Don Callis Family. Since then, the Canadian has been showcasing his talent in singles, tag, and trios action alongside his stablemates Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher.

The former Impact World Champion joined The Alpha and The Protostar last Sunday at AEW Double or Nothing, where they defeated Paragon. Afterwards, this past Wednesday on Dynamite, Alexander lost to Brody King one-on-one in a qualifier for a spot in the four-way International Title match scheduled for Fyter Fest. Despite live audiences greatly enjoying his performances, a user on X/Twitter recently confessed to being underwhelmed by the 38-year-old's run in the Tony Khan-led company so far.

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The opinion was seemingly echoed by other fans on the social media platform, some of whom implied that Josh Alexander would have been a questionable signing for WWE, even though the promotion was interested in bringing him in. Others, however, acknowledged his prowess inside the squared circle while critiquing his inclusion in the Callis Family.

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"OMG FR THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE," wrote a user.

"just signed to be a jobber!" wrote another user.

"dude is a beast," argued a fan.

"Bad decision putting him with the family tbh," pointed out another fan.

It remains to be seen how Alexander will bounce back after his loss to Brody King this week on AEW Dynamite.

Josh Alexander on why he signed with AEW

Josh Alexander joined All Elite Wrestling last month and has already been featured extensively on the promotion's weekly television shows. In a recent interview with SHAK Wrestling, the grappler discussed his reasoning behind signing with the Jacksonville-based company instead of its main competitor, WWE.

"I think AEW is offering a different presentation of pro wrestling than WWE does. So, you know, the scales will tip and fall back and forth here and there. I don’t think one’s going to pull away forever, or that one’s going to go away," he said.

Alexander's All Elite debut came shortly after his departure from TNA in February.

About the author

Anurag is an AEW writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling. He holds a BA and MA degree in English along with a TEFL certification to teach English. Before Sportskeeda, he worked as a Content and Correspondence writer at Nayabad Titas, a theater group. He has also worked as a English language tutor.

To ensure complete accuracy, he uses internet resources, social media platforms, and especially pieces composed by his peers to find solid, verified information that he presents as objectively as possible. Thanks to his academic background, he can research different subjects thoroughly.

Anurag's interest in wrestling began as a child. He watched RAW and Smackdown frequently from age 10 or 11 and was officially hooked by the YES Movement story in WWE heading into WrestleMania 30.

As a lifelong wrestling fan and lover of stories, Anurag would read news, articles, and other content about the talent and events he enjoyed watching. His understanding of the business continued to grow with time, and his interest in the art and sport of wrestling led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Apart from writing, he loves to read books, watch movies and television programs, play and listen to music, and write poetry and fiction.

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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee