Steve Maclin appeared primed for a lengthy reign as Impact World Champion following his victory over Kushida at Rebellion, not to mention his dominant title defenses against Rhino and PCO. But Maclin’s title reign lasted all of 54 days, and on Friday night’s Against All Odds show, Impact Wrestling crowned a new champion: veteran tag team wrestler Alex Shelley, who has been with the company on and off since 2004, but had never won its top prize.
The match was built around Shelley targeting Maclin’s vulnerable left arm, attacking the body part from the onset, and eventually softening up the bigger and stronger Maclin with a series of kicks. As the match progressed, Shelley displayed his submission skills, but then picked up the pace, nailing Maclin with some of his signature high-flying offense. Eventually, Maclin scripted his own demise by ripping off a turnbuckle pad, inadvertently allowing Shelley to gain the advantage by sending Maclin face-first to the exposed steel before connecting with the Shell Shock for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Shelley and his longtime tag team partner, Chris Sabin, celebrated in the ring together as the loyal Impact Wrestling fanbase gave them a rousing ovation. Sabin won the X-Division Championship for a record-breaking ninth time earlier in the night, defeating Trey Miguel in a hard-fought match. As such, Against All Odds proved to be a memorable night in the celebrated careers of the Motor City Machine Guns.
Shelley probably won’t have to wait too long for his first title challenger — on the same show, Nick Aldis defeated Bully Ray, Jonathan Gresham, and Heath in an 8-4-1 match to become the #1 contender for the Impact World Championship. Impact has yet to announce the date for the inevitable Shelley vs. Aldis title match.
Smirfitts Speech 