Alex Shelly was originally expected to be part of Impact Wrestling‘s Hard To Kill main event but he was pulled from the show a day before the PPV without any explanation. This sudden change without a given reason had started many rumors about his status and now the high flying star has come forward to clear the air.

Shelly took on his Twitter recently to post a lengthy statement and one half of the Motor City Machine Guns explained that his day job as a physical therapy clinician prevented him from making an appearance at the PPV:

“I am a physical therapy clinician, physio is my livelihood and career. Wrestling is my livelihood and passion project. At my company, due to the volume of sick and injured patients we are in care of, we modify our COVID-19 mandates as needed.

As numbers went up, so did restrictiveness. To circumvent the topic, I could not be at Hard To Kill due to my career. I respect the decisions made by our company surgeons and doctors: I look to them for advice and guidance. I am unable to travel and wrestle until I am vaccinated. “

Alex Shelly then discussed how he does not want to receive the coronavirus vaccine so soon but he wants to help the people in therapy and wrestle as well:

“But I want to wrestle very badly while I help people in therapy. So there’s no option. @IMPACTWRESTLING was supportive and understanding and as someone who doesn’t have nor want a contract at this point, my hands were tied. Thanks for your support everyone.”

There is no word yet on how long Alex Shelly will have to stay away from action. Impact Wrestling taped a few months of content coming out of the Hard To Kill PPV and the former tag champion did not work these tapings.

The next Impact PPV Rebellion is scheduled for April 24 and we will have to see if the former champion is able to return to the ring before that.

You can check out his full statement below:

Most days out of the week, I look like this. I read theories about why I wasn’t at @IMPACTWRESTLING for Hard to Kill. They ranged from injury, to illness, to getting arrested, to harming my family members and attempting to cover it up; I am a physical therapy clinician.

Physio is my livelihood and career. Wrestling is my livelihood and passion project. At my company, due to the volume of sick and injured patients we are in care of, we modify our COVID-19 mandates as needed. As numbers went up, so did restrictiveness.

To circumvent the topic, I could not be at Hard To Kill due to my career. I respect the decisions made by our company surgeons and doctors: I look to them for advice and guidance. I am unable to travel and wrestle until I am vaccinated. I took every caution I could before…

But I don’t feel right maintaining this duality unless I take every possible safety measure. When the vaccine became available, that required extra security on my end and my company’s end for our patients. I honestly don’t want to get the vaccine so soon…

But I want to wrestle very badly while I help people in therapy. So there’s no option. @IMPACTWRESTLING was supportive and understanding and as someone who doesn’t have nor want a contract at this point, my hands were tied. Thanks for your support everyone.

— @Lx$ (@fakekinkade) January 28, 2021