'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Sportskeeda meets Eric Young
Did any of IMPACT's other new recruits ask Eric Young for advice before signing? Who does Eric Young want to work with? How far does Eric Young see IMPACT going?
Our interview with IMPACT Wrestling star Eric Young continues below.
It wasn't just Eric Young who returned to IMPACT Wrestling at Slammiversary and on the tapings that immediately followed. Obviously, a lot of those guys came from the same place as yourself and are now in IMPACT. Did any of the guys come to you for advice before signing since Eric Young is essentially a TNA legend?
"Yeah, if you're just saying, the word 'brotherhood' and stuff like that is definitely thrown around. In the wrestling world, because there is no union, we are all our own business. Some guys take that more serious than others - but I can say the fact there is a very big group of guys that were let go all at the same time and there was very open conversations between all of us."
"I'm friends with all those guys at different levels, very close with Gallows and Anderson, very close with (No Way) Jose, very close with (Zack) Ryder (aka Matt Cardona) and (Curt) Hawkins (aka Brian Myers). These are some of my very good friends in the industry. There's obviously open conversation about 'What we are going to do?' and, 'What's your plans?'"
"To be honest, I don't, I'm not a person who really thinks very far ahead. I had talked to Scott, I can say that Scott D'Amore and me are very close, we've been close for years. I've known him for 20+ years and he was one of the first people to call me and say, 'Man, it sucks. I'm thinking about you,' and whatever."
"I knew that it was coming, it didn't really upset me," Young said. "It was a bit of a relief more than anything. For me, anyway."
"Some guys took it differently but I knew there was the option there, it was definitely high on my list but I wanted to make sure that I had all my i's dotted and my t's crossed and made sure. To be honest, the contract really wasn't signed until about a week before Slammiversary, so it was still very up in the air. It was something I wanted to do but things had to be right professionally, financially, personally for all that to happen, and it did. I've got the word 'fate' tattooed on my right arm because I'm a big believer in that and the world has a funny way of working itself out and everything worked out the way it was supposed to."
I mentioned that you're somewhat of a legend around these parts. There's a lot of veterans in that locker room right now with Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Ken Shamrock, etc then you add Eric Young to the mix. What role does Eric Young take in the locker room? Is Eric Young the locker room leader, or is there one in IMPACT right now?!
"I feel like I've always kind of taken that role. I don't know if I'm super verbal about it but I just kind of let my work ethic and my work and how I carry myself do the leading for me. I'm not pulling guys aside, telling them what to do. I'm not that. I'm not a big ra-ra guy and getting everybody together, and trying to make myself look more important than I really am."
"I go about my business the way I've always gone about it. That will never change, no matter my level of stardom or where I am on the card. I show up for work and whatever I'm doing, I'm going to work on that as hard as possible and I think that's the kind of leadership in pro wrestling that is the best. When someone is preaching to you and there's a million different ways to go about it. For lack of a better word, pro wrestling is art, so everyone is going to have their own take and our own way of doing things."
"If someone asks my opinion, I'm going to be honest. If someone asks me to watch their match, I'm going to watch. If someone asks if I saw their match and what I thought, I'm going to tell them. I feel like I've earned it that I can take them aside and say, 'Look, man, this isn't how it's done. You've got to do it this way or do it that way, think about changing this or think about changing that.'"
"I can say a lot of the younger guys in the locker room are really hungry to learn which is the same position I was in when I was young and not as experienced and I can say that wrestling on TV and wrestling independently, those are two different things and when you get on TV and you're in this weekly programming of extending your storyline, extending your character, you realise that it's a very different thing and I feel like my number one skill-set is being a very good television wrestler."
"I try to lead that way and by helping when I can but it's not a forced thing. I can see there's a lot of potential in the IMPACT locker room which is really exciting, man. It's tons of guys I want to work with, tons of guys that, even in a short amount of time that I've been exposed to the younger guys and they're all respectful and hard-working, and it's exciting to be part of a locker room like that."
Next: Eric Young discusses being embroiled in a rivalry with the current IMPACT World Champion Eddie Edwards
Coming up:
- Eric Young reveals who he wants to work with in IMPACT
- Eric Young gives an update on Rich Swann
- Eric Young discusses how far IMPACT Wrestling can go
- Eric Young discusses whether he's officially signed with IMPACT
