For the first time, Eric Young speaks about his recent WWE stint.
In December 2022, it was first reported by PWInsider that Eric Young was heading back to WWE. There was a segment that aired on their weekly show during which Deaner continuously stabbed Young.
At IMPACT Wrestling’s Slammiversary pay-per-view, Young returned as Scott D’Amore’s tag team partner and they defeated Deaner and Bully Ray.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider conducted an interview with Young and he dove into his recent WWE stint and his return to IMPACT. Young never stopped working with IMPACT’s parent company, Anthem. He is part of their Game Plus Network. He stated that personally, professionally and morally, he could no longer continue working at WWE. Young expressed that the contract and what he was poised to do on TV was great, but he did not want to take orders from someone he’s not willing to do that for.
The (tweet) with me in front of the laptop with the keyboard is definitely a side project that I’m working on… I’ve never not worked for Anthem since leaving IMPACT. I’ve been appearing once, twice or sometimes four times a week on Game Plus Network for the last three years, so I was still linked to them when I was under contract at the other place (WWE)… I signed up for one thing and it turned into something completely different, and personally, professionally and more importantly for me, morally, I just couldn’t work there anymore. If you’re a wrestling fan, you know what’s going on, and I know that you’re a smart guy, Mike (Johnson), and you’re well aware of what I’m saying and what’s going on.
It was not a super difficult choice for me to be honest. I know it was a dream come true, going back, for sure. The contract was fantastic and all this other stuff and what I was poised to do on the TV show was excellent, but in the end, I would’ve had to answer to somebody that I’m just not willing to. That’s where we ended up now. Like I said earlier, I’m a believer in fate and everything happens for a reason, and I’m not mad about it. I’m not bitter about it, just like I wasn’t last time. Obviously, it’s a massive mistake on one person’s part, but a huge gain for wrestling.
I’m still very good at this, and it’s something that I’m very passionate about. Something that I work myself to the bone trying to make the best possible outcome of each thing that I’m handed to do. So, I’m excited for the future, and I’m always working on other stuff. The reality is, wrestling, you can’t do it forever. I’ve got tons of other interests outside of wrestling, but wrestling is my first love. It will always be one of my biggest passions in my life and I think it’s the perfect creative medium for anybody that loves sport and loves cinema, and those are the two things that I love most in the world.
He does not regret departing IMPACT in 2022. Young recounted company President Scott D’Amore telling him he’d be a fool not to give it a shot. There was a part of Young that did not want to leave.
No (I don’t regret leaving IMPACT in 2022). Yeah, I don’t. I can say that I don’t really regret anything that I’ve done. I’ve said this in other interviews before, as I’m a very experiential person. Even Scott (D’Amore) would say, he would tell me… he told me himself, I would be a fool to not go. That’s just the reality of the business side of it. The truth is-is anybody close to me, my wife and a bunch of guys on the IMPACT roster that are some of my best friends in the world. I said it and I said it to Scott, ‘I don’t want to leave.’ Like there was part of me that was really not wanting to, and I’ve never had that where I felt this weird regret of leaving because I felt we were doing something very special.
I think IMPACT Wrestling (is) for people that love pro wrestling… it’s a very special place to work. You could ask almost anybody that’s on the roster and they’re gonna tell you the same thing to varying degrees. But, to me it’s the best minute-for-minute pro wrestling show in the world. That’s biased because I work there, but, I would’ve told you that at any point because it’s written for pro wrestling fans by pro wrestlers, so it’s minute-for-minute, the best one. I’m proud to be part of it, but (do I have) regrets? No, but I didn’t want to leave. That’s the truth. It was what it was business-wise. It totally made sense to me. I can’t do this forever and, uh, I’m hoping to not work when I’m 55.
At the post-Slammiversary IMPACT TV taping, Young went one-on-one with Nick Aldis. Aldis finished up with IMPACT and he spoke in-depth about his recent run there.
