Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Eric Young on returning to Impact, WWE is a "broken system", Sanity, shaving his beard

Episode Date: July 30, 2020

Eric Young talks with Chris Van Vliet from his home in Nashville, TN. He talks about why he wasn't surprised when WWE released him, what made him want to leave Impact Wrestling in 2016, why it was the right place for him to return to now, the missed opportunities in WWE with him and Sanity, why he shaved his beard, his plans to face Eddie Edwards for the Impact Championship, how he became the host of "Off the Hook" on Animal Planet and much more! Support the show by supporting our sponsors! DEAL DASH - Get an extra 100 Free Bids upon signup by using the code CVVSHOW at https://dealdash.fm/CVVSHOWBETONLINE - Head tohttp://betonline.ag and use the promo code BLUEWIRE for your free welcome bonus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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That's a great question. Look at you, man. We're the powerful questions. This is the Chris Van Vleecho. Chris Van Vleet show. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris What an intro. Ah, it gets so hyped up hearing that intro from Justin Roberts. Welcome back to another audio adventure on the Chris Van Fleet Show.

Notice that I say the full name of the show on every single episode? And the only reason I do that is because I know that there's still like 96% of people out there who have no idea how to pronounce it. And that's okay, I get it. I mean, there's all these vowels next to each other. I don't blame you. Van Vliette, Van Vylet. Van Violet, Van Valié, you're from Canada,

it must be French. I've heard it all. Chris Van Vleet rhymes with meat. This episode is brought to you by Deal Dash and Bet Online. And earlier in the week, yeah, I said Chris Van Vleet rhymes with meat. Earlier in the week, we had one of the many surprises from Slammoversa around the show. And we're, of course, talking about the good brothers, gallows in Anderson. And now we have one of the other surprises.

A man who has TNA, has impact wrestling. flowing through his veins. Flowing through his veins, brother. Eric Young had a 12-year run in TNA before leaving for WWE, but now he is back home where it all began. We talk about all of that, the staying in the TNA,

the leaving for WWE, the returning back to a much different looking, different name impact wrestling. And I've known EY for almost 20 years. It's actually, it's actually a funny story about the first time that we met, which we get to in this interview. But first, I got to thank you for these reviews. This one's all the way from India.

Oh, I'm going to keep reading one out on every single episode. Jason Freddie in India says, great podcast. Chris, please increase the length of the podcast. I listen to your podcast before going to sleep. Keep up the great work. Well, thank you, Jason. I can make these as long as I can. An hour seems to be the sweet spot, though.

You know, some, some are a little bit less. Some are a little bit more. But I think the hour is the sweet spot. But, you know, if we can go two hours, three hours, we'll do it if you're okay with that. By the way, how are things in India with COVID? Hope everything's okay. Hope everyone's doing well there.

And, you know, I know that Eric Young is doing more than just okay. He is pumped to be back in Impact Wrestling. He says that they were the second. call that he got after he was released. You might be surprised to hear who that first call was. He says since he did his comedy stuff for almost 10 years that he has a lot left in the tank. And even though he turned 40, he's taken a lot less bumps than most 40-year-old wrestlers

because of all that comedy stuff. It's very clear. It's very clear he did not enjoy his time in WW. He calls it a broken system. He told Vince McMahon to his face that they missed an opportunity on him. You're going to love this. There is a lot. in this. So let's unpack it together. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Eric Young.

EY. Good to see you, man. Christopher. I mean, we went back and forth a little bit, but 10 years in the making. Yeah, I mean, the last time that you and I did an interview was 2011. You and Jeff Jared, Impact Wrestling, was coming to Cleveland where I was working at the time. So we've chatted a bit since then, but it's good to finally be able to catch up with you. Yeah, for sure, man, for sure. It's the floodgates are open, doing media again. Exciting to be alive. Exciting to be a part of something.

Yeah, it's a good time for my soul. I needed it. Well, it's perfect timing. You're back at Impact Wrestling. You have come back home. How's it feel? Yeah, it feels really good. And I was saying this to Scott DeMore, as you know,

like me and him have known each other forever, or just saying, like, how proud the people that have been there. Or, you know, even people that have been there and have left, like how proud those people should be taking a company like that that was in obscurity. You mean, like, it was definitely on the decline when I left. And it got worse from there to the point where they had no TV. Somehow they hung on and survived on fumes. And now it's prospering for sure.

You know, Access TV for them is an excellent television partner. I know some wrestling fans, not even I fully understand, but I do understand that the Pluto get for them is a massive international gateway for them. Just technology nowadays makes it easier to get the product in front of people that want to see it. And it's growing like crazy, you know, like the numbers are in. And it's booming and it's, you know, it's not because of any one person or any group of people. It's definitely a collective effort. But being part of a huge surge for the company is. is exciting for me and gratifying in a lot of ways for sure.

What is what's going on with your forehead? You got pretty beat up. It looks like. It's the old saying. It's not ballet, buddy. It's not ballet. It was a little rusty. I hadn't wrestled in almost five months.

I mean, if you're really counting, if you want to count main event and, you know, throw away matches on raw, I haven't wrestled in three years. So I was a little rusty maybe, a little bit off. Yeah. I mean, it looked good on TV, didn't it? You looked great on TV. It was so good to see you back. I feel like Slammiversary is going to be like this moment in impact wrestling history.

Slammiversary this year, we're going to look back on in a year or two or five and go, that's where things really started to change for you. Did you feel that when you were backstage? You definitely, you wanted to feel that. I don't look forward that much. I have always been a person that just. kind of lives in the moment. And that can be a detriment sometimes. But there's a lot of times I feel like people don't ever just, they're not present. You mean, they're always thinking about what

might happen or what could happen. And I'm just kind of in that pocket of like, okay, this is what's going on right now. Looking back on it now, I believe like what you said, that is what we're going to say. That's what people will be saying. That's what the industry will be saying. That will be part of of impacts history, you know, for the better, I believe. And that's a very cool thing to be part of as well. You mean, like being in TNA or Impact Wrestling before. And you always felt like it was kind of not you versus the world, but like you're the underdog. You're, you know, you don't have the resources. You don't have the generational viewership. You don't have things like that. You mean, in every little step that you could take forward, you felt part of that, you know,

And this is, I believe, is a giant step forward for the company for many reasons. But like I said before, the people that were there before, the wrestlers, the backstage people, the production people, management access, Ed Norum, you know, Frank. I mean, like all these people were in that position because they put us in that position. I mean, it doesn't happen naturally. These are all things that they've done and positioned themselves and made the right. moves and you know of course a huge chunk of people being released all at the same time because of the virus because of cutbacks and stuff like that um us becoming available gave them a huge opportunity and they didn't wait you mean like i can i can tell you now scott demour was the second person

i heard from when the news came out so wow who would have the first person uh this is going to sound weird but actually uh triple h was the very first um he was um he was um he was um he was unaware that it was happening. He's in a different position in the company now. Me and him have always had a very good relationship. And the original plan after WrestleMania was for me to go back to NXT. So we had been talking a lot about ideas and what might happen, this, that, and the other. And then when they said they were going to release talent, I knew for sure I was going to be

on that list. And it's nothing personal. I don't take it personal. I'm not bitter in any way. it's one person made a massive mistake. And I'm not the first person he's made a mistake on. I will not be the last. And that's it, man.

You don't mean like that's it. That's a weird thing. And I'm sure people are curious. And I talked a little bit on Busted Open this morning about it, just saying it's a weird situation to be. And you love something so much pro wrestling. And me and my wife talked about this. My first love in my life was pro wrestling.

The first thing that I cared about so deeply, it consumed everything I did. You know, every thought, every minute, the job I had, the people I talked to, you know, everything in my life was based around pro wrestling and how I could further myself and advance my career. And the last three years, I hated it. You know, I didn't watch it. I didn't talk about it. I avoided it as much as possible. Wow.

Yeah. And that's a weird place to be in. And I'll just say with the WWE, it's just, I mean, I'm not the first guy to say this. He moxley talked about this a bunch when he left the company on much different circumstances. I mean, that's his choice. They were throwing a bunch of money in his way. And he chose to step away. And that's a powerful thing and things that he said.

It's stuff that, you know, is very real. It's a broken system. It's impossible to be creative. It's impossible to get ahead. It's impossible to feel like you have even a foothold in your career at all, like a person that spent 20 plus years grinding, trying to make my reputation, and then it's basically dumped on by one person for no reason whatsoever.

He looked up from his cell phone for five seconds and saw me doing something that maybe he didn't agree with in that moment, and that's the end of it. So it's the whole time you're there. You're just trying to fix other people's mistakes. That's what it feels like. And then that's an exhausting process. You're not having fun.

There's no creativity. He wants everyone to be the same and do the same things and sell the same way. And that's not what pro wrestling is to me. And we, you know, he always treated me with respect when we talked. We, you know, we definitely had a few personal conversation between me and him. And I had pitched some things and told him what I thought. And he was receptive to it. Nothing ever came from it.

I don't take it personally, but I'm in this position because he couldn't recognize that I had anything to offer. And the last thing I'll say about it is this. If you have a three-hour television show, pro wrestling television show, and you can't find something for me to do, then you're failing as a leader. Plain and simple. You failed your company. You failed the shareholders.

You failed the fans and you failed yourself. The reason I wasn't on the show was his choice. No one else's. I think if you asked most of the people that work there, they would be in my corner. He was not in my corner, so I wasn't in the show. And I would tell him to his face, you failed as a leader. You can't find something for Eric Young to do. So it's a weird, it's a really weird place.

You can't fully understand it until you're there. But I have fate tattooed on my underarm. And it's something I believe in. I believed in my whole life and everything happens for a reason. I knew something good was going to come out of this one way or the other, and it did. And it's very, very cool and life is funny that way. Did you have a moment, six months a year into your WWE run where you went, maybe I shouldn't have left impact?

No. So, and that's another thing with, like I said, like I'm just in the moment. You mean, at that time, like I realized my position there was, you know, I work main event. I was an enhancement guy for guys that they were pushing. And if that's what you decide that you mean, you're paying me, I'm an employee, then that's what I'm going to do. And I'm going to do it to the best of my ability.

And that will never change. I feel like it's a massive waste of my talent. It's a massive waste of my experience and my ability to do a bunch of different things. I may not be the best promo or the best in-ring worker or the, you know, the best boss. or the fastest or the strongest, but I'm very, very good at all of it. And I'm not saying that because I think I am. I'm saying because I've done it. You know, I've wrestled on every part of the card.

I've wrestled women. I've wrestled, you know, Exhibition guys. I've done tag. I've been funny. I've been the opening match. I've been the main event. I've been, you know, I'm not saying I think I can do it. I've already done it.

And there's proof on tape of me doing it. So it's, yeah, it's just, it's just crazy to look. back and think like how long I was there and the investment that they had made in me financially and I didn't do anything. And like I said, not the first person that he missed on will not be the last. He's got more wins and he's got losses. Pro wrestling, how it's designed and the size that it is today is because of his vision. He's a genius. I would never take that away from him. I have a giant house and have a very good life because pro wrestling has been very good to me because he made it into a worldwide phenomenon.

That's, you know, any person in wrestling owes that to him. And I respect him for that. I respect, you know, things that he's done. But at this point, it just seems like he's out of touch of what's really going on and what people want to see. Do you think that the product will take a different turn when Vince finally does step down and maybe Triple H and Steph are the ones to take over? Yeah.

I mean, I think most people would bet that. You mean, and I don't think there's anything wrong with if you're, in charge of the company and you're the leader then you know in the end uh he's the one that has the most to lose you know if it doesn't do well yeah you know he's he's a workaholic he's a machine and he's created this empire um but at the same time like sometimes you got to you know you got to ask for help maybe you know you can't do it all on your own and it will it will take a turn and i mean i believe it will improve and um hunter was always well to me my time in nxte was amazing you I mean, it rekindled my love of pro wrestling again.

And it was a good change of scenery for me at the time. And being insanity, being part of that, that whole crew was a very cool time for me. The main roster, I could have done without that. But it's all part of the journey for sure. I wouldn't change. I wouldn't change it. I really wouldn't. It's just crazy to think that you were triple crown champion in TNA.

Incredible career there. And then you go to WWE. and with great respect to you, they don't let you really do anything at all. And it just doesn't make sense to me. It's like you go from being the top of the heap in this one place to being towards the bottom on this other one. Yeah, yeah.

I mean, that's what I said? It didn't surprise me when they said, oh, we're going to be releasing talent. Like, I'm the first to go. Like, I knew that it didn't surprise me at all. Didn't catch me off guard. I knew that it was coming. Before the pandemic, I felt that it was probably going to happen

sooner or later. Because I wasn't contributing anything that was necessary. It's just the reality. That has nothing to do with me or my choice or my decisions. That's their choice. I came to work every week, ready to contribute, ready to wrestle, ready to do whatever it was asked.

They just didn't ask me to do anything. Yeah, it's a, it was a, it was, it's hard, you mean, to deal with something like that. Like, especially for me, it was never, I was never, shown disrespect. You mean like producers there always were kind and kind of let me do my own thing and

promos and things like that especially in NXT I was kind of allowed to do my own thing as well. But to where I was when I went there and the reaction I got when I came out the first time with Joe the buzz on the internet is like that you know this is going to be a good thing.

And it was like the NXT my run there was great. The thing with Sean Spears, Ty Dillon was something that we had always wanted to do. I got to work with one of my best friends, a guy that I trained on one of the biggest stages in the world, and we did house shows and did the cage and did a pay-per-view and did all this stuff,

and then he went up and did the thing of the Rumble. Got to work with Roddick-Strawn and Adam Cole and Gargano and Tomaso, and got to do all this amazing stuff, beat the undefeated AOP, won the tag belts in Brooklyn, like was part of the match of the year, war games the first time that had happened in the wwee so you know it was a very sanity and eric young were a

big part of what went on there was one of the top acts in nxte and then we got called up per his request you know that was he asked for us to come and a bunch of stuff happened it's a lot of victim of circumstance i think and we just ended up in a really weird spot then they sent those two guys down and his request was for me to move over to raw for vince wanted me to come over to raw and and has to figure something out for me over there because at that point he still liked me. And then somewhere along the line, he didn't like me and didn't care for my work. And then I was kind of lost in obscurity there for about a year and a half. So, and that's tough to deal with that for all the work you put in.

And, you know what I mean? I'm a short, chubby kid from Florence, Ontario. I can tell you, I grinded, you know, very, very hard. And I made a lot of sacrifices along the road in 20 years to put myself in that position and build my career to where it was, and it was basically thrown away haphazardly. And that's hard to deal with. Well, you've got it back now. You've got it back.

But this begs the question, why leave impact in the first place? Yeah. I mean, for me, at the point, it's different management. I mean, yes, impact. It was T&A impact when I left. Now it's just impact wrestling. We were not on Access TV. I could see where the company was heading.

And where it went, I was right. I mean, like I saw it going this way. It was dwindling. The numbers were going down. You know, we weren't doing house shows. We weren't making money. You know, we're on Destination America. Then they lose that.

Then we're on pop. I mean, I had it on my satellite, but I had no idea what it was. You know, it just kept getting smaller and smaller. and smaller. Eventually, they weren't going to be able to afford me was a big part of it. And the other part was, I knew that there was going to be an opportunity with NXT. There was nothing official, but I had a very good idea that where I was in my career and who I was in the wrestling world, that there would be interest from them. And I didn't know for sure, but it was kind of like I bet on myself, you know, and I don't think you're ever wrong when you do that. So that's what I did.

And I don't, I didn't want that to happen to the company. I mean, a lot of people I know and like, and I'm still friends with today, lost their jobs. And now we've moved on to other things and did other stuff. But the writing was on the walls where the company was heading. And then when Anthem came in and DeMore and all those guys came in, I mean, they had a long road ahead. And this, you know, this past Saturday, slam anniversary, that's the first step, stepping out of the shadow, I believe, you know. And it's unbelievable of the journey.

I mean, to where I was. And then what happened and now I'm back. And there's this huge groundswell of support for impact wrestling. And it's really, really cool to be part of that. When you look at all of your time in TNA, and I was a huge TNA fan, I'm a big impact wrestling fan, where do you think was the height of TNA? Yeah. For me, there's, I mean, personally, there's a bunch of different answers for that.

company-wise, I feel like when Kurt first came, that was like him and Christian coming over. Yeah, that's like 06 to 010. It really felt like something was happening. You know, like these guys are choosing. I mean, they could choose more money, more exposure, but they're choosing to come there because they see that it could be an alternative. of. Now, there was times when they're like, oh, we're going to do the Monday Night Wars and like, I was never under any illusion that we were competing with the WWE because we weren't.

The WWE at that point, they were the Yankees and we were the Nashville sounds. We're playing the same game and we're doing the same thing, but it's in two different leagues, just the reality of it. You know, like our highest paid guy on our roster isn't even sniffing the numbers of the highest paid guy there. And, you know, Just the overall numbers, like I said, like earlier, it's generational. You know, grandpa's fathers and sons have watched the WWE. And I do believe part of that is the reason they have a stranglehold on the wrestling business is because it's just been around for so long.

You know, you hear that and you think and you trust and it's nostalgic and this, that and the other. If you go online, like most of the stuff written and most of the said is nobody likes it. Well, then stop watching it. Don't watch it. That's your power. Your power to make them change is not watch it. And if you don't, if you keep watching it,

they're just going to keep doing what they're doing. So it's kind of happening now. The ratings are certainly declining with everything that's going on in the world right now. Of course. Yeah. I mean, I think that's just like part of that is like it's just not the same. You mean like I wrestled in front of it,

no crowd for the first time. And I can tell you it is not the best time I've had before. You know, it's not ideal for me making a return to a place where you were before. And I think a pretty sizable surprise for the company and for the wrestling world. And you walk out on stage, your music's playing and it's just nothing, silence. And as a person that's, look, I've wrestled in front of very few people before on several indie shows, you know, like as little as four or five people. But at least they're making noise, you know. But there, there's nobody.

You mean like you can hear the announcers talking and hear me breathing trying to crouch my breath. That must be so weird being able to hear the announcers talking. Yeah, it's a little bizarre. It's a little bizarre. And that was the first time they had been live. You know, that paper was the first time they had been live, live for a while. Yeah. So there's nothing better than live wrestling, live TV.

The pressure of that it brings out the best. And I think it did that night as well. Is there any talk and impact about putting someone in the crowd, AW, WW, they're putting the workers that aren't on the card in the crowd, in the crowd to at least have some sort of buzz in the arena? Yeah, I think, I mean, all the guys are talking about it because it would help, you know. Part of that is we're shooting in a very small studio in Nashville at this point, and there really isn't a ton of room.

The other part is, you know, the owners of Anthem and the people at Access TV are just saying, like, the reality is it's a risk. And by having people in that close proximity, whether you have masks on or plexiglass shields that don't do anything, you know, like you're risking people's health by having him there. and I'm not afraid to get the virus. I'm not worried about it. I wear a mask when I go into public. I wear a mask if I'm going to be around people, but I'm doing it in case I have it because I don't want to give it to somebody else.

But in the end, I feel anthem sports and impact wrestling made the decision is we're in this small studio. We already have, we're at kind of max capacity, just having essential personnel there. Like, you know, like I wanted to bring my wife, but I can't because she's not part of the essential people to shoot this pay-per-view. You know, so, you know, no wives, no friends, no, you know, rides or, you know, local buddies or anything like that. It's just the essential production people and just the people that are booked on the show.

And basically, once you're done, they kind of ask you to leave because we're trying to be as responsible as possible. So I support it either which way, you know, I think it would help the product having a few people in the crowd because just having noise and having someone to work off of would improve it. But at the same time, they're doing what, what we all, you know, anyone living in the United States should be doing right now. You know, we're the slowest country on the on the uptake of this. You know, other, other countries were getting back to real life because they took it serious and people did things together. And that's not happening here. And that's, that's our fault. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Yeah. Do you know if the slamiversaries date already planned? Because it

coincided with the 90-day non-compete like so perfectly yeah as far as I know it was set and wow it is crazy because we all became available I believe on the 17th yeah you know at midnight the 17th all like whatever it was 30 or 40 guys that were all released were all available and could you know I mean like the the good brother is appearing at midnight drinking beer standing in the impact ring all only as they can so yeah it's uh it was uh it was definitely as far as I understand, that's when Slamovirce was happening. That's part of the schedule. And like I said,

fate is a funny thing, man. It's a funny, funny thing. And it's real. I blamed it in my whole life. And the world has got a funny way of kind of working itself out. You know, this call you had with Scott DeMore, did you talk about, you know, what would happen after Slammiversary? I mean, you've done a few

tapings, but did you talk about where you want your character to be headed? Yeah, sure. I mean, we discussed that. And so, and I mean, for complete transparency, I've never been a person that's worried about that stuff. And that might be a detriment to me and my career. Part of that is politics. You mean, part of doing that is being political. And politics exist in all industries.

In all walks of life, it exists at Burger King. It exists at the post office. It exists everywhere. But I can't control that room of writers. and all I can control is my effort and my output of what I'm given. And I've always looked at it. Like, look, those guys, their job is to produce and write and put in position the best show possible. And here at impact, it is more of a collective.

And they do want us involved. And they did ask my opinion. And I gave it to them. Whether that happens or not, I'm not going to lose sleep over it because that's not my job. to decide. You know, they're not paying me enough to decide those kind of things. But yeah, it's, I told them my ideas. We are very similar, have a very similar ideas going forward to what should happen, what could happen. And there's some super cool stuff coming for sure. There's a, you know, we shot some five or six episodes over the last two days, as you can tell by

my face is kind of banged up a little bit here. But yeah, it's, um, For sure, there's some cool stuff coming, but I've never worried myself over that, which is, I think, part of the reason why I've done so many different things is it's just like, oh, well, maybe he could do this. Then I end up being a comedy wrestler for eight. Before I, TNA, I had never done anything funny ever in wrestling. I had never done any comedy stuff ever. And then it happened.

Then I got a fishing show, and I did that for 10 years. You know, it was the comedy act in TNA and I've done a bunch of other stuff. So I don't concern myself with that. If they ask my opinion, I tell them, honestly. If they ask for my suggestions, I tell them. If not, I stay another way. That's their job, not mine. So what would you say is the biggest difference now with Scott D' Moore and Don Callett's in charge

versus when you left the company? Growth. You know, the big part is having a person, you know, Scott being the president, he understands wrestling. I mean, he's wrestled before. And I feel like if you're going to be in charge of a company that is selling wrestling, you have to understand it. And that's no slight on Dixie at all.

She's a very nice lady, always took very good care of me, and built a company from nothing as well into something that was a very legitimate alternative to the WWE at one point. Lots of mistakes were made, just like, you know, are made in business. often, but I think, you know, the team they have in tech now, like, Access TV is, is the second biggest channel that they've ever been on, Spike obviously being the biggest, but access is, is available in, in most homes in North America. And that's a big get for them. And is the flagship program of that channel and the company that owns them also owns Access TV. So it's a really,

really good marriage and all that growth comes from the people that are in charge. Like, those things don't happen on their own. You're being a TV yourself. Like, lots of things have to be pushed and pursued and prodded for things like that to happen. So it's, uh, it's, it's, the management is completely different. And the biggest part of what's happening right now is being part of something that is growing and it's growing fast. Like you, I can feel it. You can feel it. The rest of the world definitely feel it. It feels like impact wrestling on a whole just after Saturday. And it's not like I'm not trying to put a feather in my cap, it is a group effort for sure. But being part of that, it's like it doubled in size overnight. You should put that feather in your cap. I mean,

it was exciting to see you out there. Slam Reverse was trending number one worldwide on Twitter. I don't know the last time that Impact Wrestling was trending worldwide on Twitter. That was so exciting to see. Yeah, it's a huge, huge thing for them. That side of the digital media, social media and stuff is obviously a huge part of wrestling now. So that's a, you know, I am definitely part of that. The Twitch feed from the show last night, Eddie Edwards, they were at, I think, around 6,000, 6,500 people on the T&A Twitch feed. And when I came out, it jumped up to like 96,000.

So it's, you know, like, look, the proof is in the pudding. Like doing one of the 24-7 segments, I slid into the ring and took a boot from Charlotte. Eric Young trended worldwide that night. I was on the screen for five seconds, literally five seconds. Yeah. I mean, the proof is in the pudding. Like, I am, I exist. I am a thing in pro wrestling.

I've been on TV for, I mean, I guess I had a little bit of a hiatus there, but, you know, 15, 16 years in a row. That's not by, it's not by the sake. I like this tweet that Tommy Dreamer put out, speaking of that Twitch feed. He said that you look like a combination of Kurt Engel and Baron Von. What was it? Baron von Roshky. That's right. Old school wrestler, yeah. I kept trying to give him the stomach claw all day.

He was talking about it at the taping. So a very good buddy of mine, Tommy, awesome guy, super smart guy, knows wrestling inside. I don't know if anyone loves wrestling more than Tommy Dreamer. Yeah. For real. Like, it's kind of terrifying. But yeah, he's a great, great guy and awesome guy to be around. It's just a different look, you know, seeing you, you had a beer for, you know, 10 years.

you get asked every single day, like, when's the beard coming back or why did you shave the beard? But it's just a completely different look. What was the thought behind it? So it was in the WWE. I had my beard. I kind of shaved my head low. Look, I'm 40 years old. And like when eventually you'll be 40 and you'll lose your hair and you'll know what this is all about. I'm knocking on 40's door now. So yeah, it's just, I mean, just the reality is it's out of necessity. I'm losing my hair. So this is the look that nature has given me. The beard was a shaved head and beard guy. Yeah, I could be.

I could be. And I was for several months. No one saw it because I wasn't on TV. But if you watched the main event, you saw that look. That was a good look when I was battling with Titus O'Neill and in other dubious characters. But the beard, I looked around in the WWE on the raw roster, like three quarters of the guys had beards. When I grew it in like the end of 2009, 2010, like, I'm not saying I invented beards, but there was very, very few beards in pro wrestling.

So I was like, wow, I'll just grow this crazy beard and look completely different than everybody else than everyone grew a beard. And, you know, people are like, oh, you copy Daniel Bryan. You can go back and look at the tape. I had a full beard before Daniel Bryan even started growing a beard. Awesome guy. Very cool to me. And people would, like, in Paris all the time.

I was like, I mean, you've seen pictures of his wife. right like i've never heard anybody say a bad thing about the guy ever he's one of the most talented pro wrestlers in the world you want to compare us not a problem there were a lot of comparisons because he won the title after beating you know a bunch of people at russomania 30 you want a title that's the title that same year i guess the people thought the storylines were similar then you're smaller guys with beards and it ties it all together for them yep yep that's and all and that had nothing to do with me i don't i don't write the show i'm glad that they wrote it that way. It was winning the world title was cool. I just want to take a quick time out to thank our sponsors

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Visit betonline.orgie for all. all your odds and all your up-to-date sports news. Remember to use that promo code Blue Wire to receive your new welcome bonus. That's promo code Blue Wire. Bet Online, your online wagering experts. Did you think that after being in TNA for 10 years, then maybe your opportunity at winning the championship had maybe passed you by? I mean, I felt like it's something that I thought was always in my wheelhouse.

like I had said earlier I mean I had never done comedy wrestling ever independently you know everywhere I worked I was the guy that they you know like they bring in Jimmy Snooka and I was the guy that wrestled them or you know it was a guy that it was a show that was just a bunch of local guys

I was the champion there like and that's I mean again like I'm not trying to be braggadocious but like in Ontario and in that part of the world and where I wrestled I was the guy one of the guys that was I watched many of those matches Right. So that's, it definitely was in my wheelhouse. It was part of who I could be. So the self-belief was always there. But like I said, like I don't, I don't worry myself for that stuff. You'll go crazy. You know what I mean? And a lot of wrestlers do. Go going crazy, trying to manipulate people and, you know, like talking yourself in a circle and talking to this guy and talking to that guy and trying to get in the air. You'll make yourself nuts. You know, like it. And it happens all the time. I don't have the energy. of that. I'm not a political person. I never have been. I hate real politics. And I hate wrestling

politics as well. So I just avoid it all. I just, I let my work, my attitude and how I treat people. That's, that's what I let do the talking. I don't need to do the other stuff. So we both grew up in Ontario. And I watched a lot of your independent wrestling matches when I was growing up. And actually, you were part of what I think may be the greatest independent wrestling match of all time. You know the one I'm talking about. No, it could be me and Derek Wild Ladder match.

That's exactly. That's so funny. You've wrestled thousands of matches. Thousands. And you know. That's, I mean, that was, I mean, it's one of my favorite matches in my whole career.

And it was very special because that was Neo-Spirit pro wrestling. Yeah. Fighting spirit pro wrestling. saying Niagara Falls, started and owned by two local guys, young guys that worked, and they built that from nothing. You mean, like, I can remember being, you know, I think I won the belt on their first show, and there was maybe 35 people there.

And then you fast forward two or three years later, it's me and Derek Wilde for the title in a ladder match. And there was probably over 1,000 people in that Polish hall. It probably only held 700. They were selling $5 tickets so people could stand on the stage. And people, I still talk to guys that were fans that would go to those shows and stuff. And being part of that, that is, I mean, the ultimate drug. You know, it's to being part of something like that and helping grow that and putting it into a position that it was.

Like, it was, to me, in my opinion, the best indie indie. the area and i'm talking in a in a 50 100 mile radius put on unbelievable shows and and they built it from nothing they never used tv guys they never used old wbd wrestlers it was built around young guys with no name every month you know whatever third fri or third saturday of every month there was a show at the polish hall in niger falls and it became a destination for for independent wrestling fans yeah i drove almost two hours from pickering to Niagara Falls to watch those shows. And what was so special about that match with Derek Wilde

is I'd never seen a ladder match where you guys utilized the ladders and the way that you did. I mean, there was a Death Valley driver off the top of the ladder, which was in the ring, through a table, which was on the outside of the ring.

It's almost 20 years later, and I remember this, like, it's ingrained in my mind. In fact, there's a little clip of it on YouTube, and you can see me, like this tiny little pixelated guy in the background going, ah! Yeah.

Yeah, it was, like I said, like super proud of it. I always kind of said it was more of a happening than it was a match. You know, there's just a bunch of crazy stuff. But we both felt we had wrestled each other so much at that point. Having a ladder obviously changes the dynamics of it because you're going to do other stuff. But we were, you know, it was like a thing of pride to do that. Like, you're not doing it for the money. I can assure you at that point, you're doing it simply because.

because you love pro wrestling and you want people that worked hard to buy a ticket, like someone like you or any of the people that were there, you want them to come back next time. You want them to be like, man, I was part of something, you know, and even though it's regional and it's small, but all those people there, I believe if you asked anybody that night, they'll remember it vividly just like me and Derek do.

Like, you know, that's a special thing. I mean, like you, it's hard to explain how that feels as a performer, but it's, that's the ultimate high. There's no higher than that. I so badly wanted to be a pro wrestler growing up. And I don't know if you remember this or not, but I visited your wrestling school. I remember. Blacks Ontario to just kind of like get, like see how things were done there.

And I tell this story all the time. I'm there. I'm watching the training happen. And one of your students breaks his arm like. 10 minutes into me watching this. So he's walking around with his arm like this and you're like, trust me, this, this, this, this, doesn't happen often. Yeah.

Not often. It does happen though. I mean, you can see my face, you know, 20 years later, it doesn't get easier. So yeah, it's a, I love having that, Jim, man. Mostly it was just so I would have a ring so I could stay sure. Yeah. Working on stuff. But, um, very high success rate.

Crazy Steve, Jeku Riley, who wrestled for all Japan, Sean Spears. I believe the guy that broke his arm is Warhead and he still works. So he broke his arm and then still came back to the wrestling school? He came back after his arm healed for a little while and then he went. He started. There was another school that opened up that was closer to where he lived and he started there, but I believe he still works independently in Ontario. Yeah.

So I think what was crazy about going to your wrestling school, And I ended up training at Squared Circle just because it was closer to my hometown. But it was crazy about going to your school is you were the head trainer with like, what, three years experience or something like that? Yeah. And that's just so rare. Usually it's some guy who's on their way out who's now training people. Yeah, definitely.

And I feel like there was definitely, if you came to my gym and I had said this and I, I mean, I had young people come and their parents would come with them, which was crazy. because that's the time I'm 19. I mean, I'm 20 years old. And now this guy is like, oh, if my son comes here, like, what does he get? And I was like, well, he doesn't get anything. You know, when he leaves here, he'll know how to wrestle. That's all.

Yeah. I mean, like, I'm not going to say he's going to get booked. I'm not going to say he's going to be good at it because I can't dictate that. I mean, you can't make somebody be a good wrestler. They can do it or they can't. Yeah. And after training people, you know, I was, I ended up through circumstance being the head, trainer at the Hart Brothers gym and like the guy that was a trainer there just disappeared in the

night and I was one of the most experienced guys there and was there every night so I just kind of became the trainer by default. So I started training people when I was very, very young and probably shouldn't have been training people, but I knew the most out of the group. So that's just kind of how it happened. And then at that point, I was wrestling all over the place in the United States and Canada. I was wrestling all over the place and was a staple in Ontario. And like I said, like the biggest reason for me having the gym was just so I could have a ring. And having students was a way to pay for the building and pay for the ring. So, but I loved it.

I would, I can see myself opening another one at some point for sure. Oh, wow. So I mean, you're right. You were wrestling everywhere in Ontario and just in that, you know, in that region like upstate of York, all everywhere around there. Yeah. What was the real? What was the break for you after putting in,

all that time on the Indies. What was the break for you to get noticed by impact? So, I mean, at the time, impact was actively looking for independent stars, right? Like part of their business plan, which was smart, was taking these regional acts or independent acts that had a name, that had a buzz, and then putting them on their television show to build that fan base. At the time, you mean, it was just the weekly pay-per-views. So, you know like they're hemorrhaging money uh big time you mean like at that point they had started scaling back from having like the ken sham rocks and you know these guys that cost a lot of money and rather than than building the show around then you build the show around AJ styles and

uh team Canada and people that they could afford is just it's just the reality of it and uh so yeah it was like that there was a smart business plan by them and i was doing a ton of uh dark matches and stuff for the WWE and had talked to them about, you know, possibly working there and had a conversation with Stephanie McMahon. And I had bleach blonde hair. And she's like, oh, your name came up in the meetings. And we're thinking about maybe making you into this surfer gimmick. I was like, I live in southwestern Ontario and I've never surfed in the ocean, but I'm all for it. I'm all for it. I'll be a surfer. No problem. So I always wanted to ask her. I never had an opportunity. But I, we had the conversation. And I mean, she hasn't really, I mean,

I'm just a guy that does dark matches at the time and stuff. But I had been there a bunch, you know, and had done a lot of darks and a lot of, a lot of triodes with the WW at the point. So people started to recognize me from being around so often. And she said the thing about being the surfer. And I was like, oh, geez, I'll be the child molester if you want me to do. And then she kind of looked at me. I was like, oh, God. And I wondered, I always wanted to ask her if you remembered that or if it was something that was off putting to her.

I didn't mean it like that. I was meaning, I was like, whatever gimmick you want me to be, that's what I'll be, you know? That could have cost you your opportunity, you think?

No, I don't think it, I don't think it did, but I'm curious if like, on the drive home, I'm thinking, why would I say that? Why would I ever say anything like that to this woman?

Like, it's such a terrible thing to say at the time, but I was young and super eager. And I think I was trying to be funny and it's a tasteless, Terrible shitty joke, but I said it anyways. And I always wanted to ask her, and I, because I was pretty good friends with Hunter, I always was kind of waiting for my opening to talk to her, and it just never came.

So someday, maybe I'll get a chance to ask her to find out if she remembers. I'm sure she doesn't, yeah, knowing what I know about her now, that she's very easygoing and pretty funny herself. So I don't think she probably remembers, but at the time, I tortured myself for weeks after If there's a new impact wrestling fans who maybe just saw you for the first time at Slamovir. They're just seeing you now on impact. If they go back into the archives, what Eric Young matches should they watch to get caught up on what you're all about? Yeah.

I mean, that goes back to, I mean, it depends on what you like. Well, what do you like? I mean, I'm biased because I mean, I like it all. Victory Road. I'm trying to think of what year that was. 07, maybe, 06. It's tough for me to remember because I'm terrible with dates, but it's definitely Victory Road.

You've been hitting the head a lot. Also, yeah, I don't even know who you are or where I'm at right now. But it's Victory Road. It's America's Most Wanted and Team Canada. I think we're the champions at the time, me and Bobby Root, and they beat us that night. There's a lot of reasons. It's an unbelievable tag match, in my opinion.

I think it was kind of the first match where people were like, whoa, I mean, Eric Young can go. And there's lots of reasons for that. At that point, I had heard rumblings. My contract was expiring, and they were not going to renew it. Dusty Rhodes was the man in charge of booking at that point. And just before the match, I went up to him. And I don't think it was kind. It was definitely not kindly.

It was very forcefully said, like, you're not renewing my. contract. It's a giant mistake. I know you don't watch everything, but you need to watch this match, and I'm going to show you why you're making the biggest mistake of your life. Wow. And we went out, and we definitely, they definitely helped me Bobby and America's Most wanted both at the time, you know, help me to showcase me in that match, selling and stuff, like, you know, basically just me getting my ass kicked. But I said that to Dusty, and when I walked back through the tunnel, he hugged me and said, you'll have a contract tomorrow. So, yeah, that's a very, very little known story.

Me and him where we were not very friendly. I didn't agree with a lot of stuff that went on with him in the booking there, but he watched the match and he did right by me. And I respect that forever, for sure. Wow. Okay, so that's a tag match that we should want. What about a singles match? Uh, singles, uh, one of my favorites.

This is very late. This is me and me and Bobby Rood, uh, from Wimbly. Um, it was, I believe it was a tables. He was a TLC, but it was, it was right near the end of the run. It was a kind of like a combination, um, kind of blow off match for me and him very early on in the show. But that, that's a, that's a really, really big one. I can remember being in the middle of it and being so relaxed and it's a weird thing. because sometimes when you're doing it,

it's just you're so caught up in what you're doing and trying to remember what you want to do next. And we're engaging from what the crowd's doing. What are we going to try to do? Do we switch the plans and try something else? You're kind of caught up in that. But I can remember it being so good and being so relaxed because Bobby Root is one of the best wrestlers in the world still today

and being so relaxed just knowing that everything is going exactly how you planned. And that feeling of like setting something up and then everything that you do, they're reacting, and they're reacting can even more so than you thought that they would. It's a dangerous drug. As a dangerous drug, I'll tell you that right now. But that's a big one for sure. I mean, the super Eric stuff was super fun.

The sketch was Scott Bayo, all the stuff from me being in L.A. and looking for him is, I think that performance-wise, that kind of really put me on the map of saying, like he's not just a wrestler. I mean, like there's something else there. And I always wanted to do stuff like that,

but I never really had an avenue for it. Of course, with independent wrestling, you don't have TV, right? So you don't have the ability to do it. But that was like a very cool thing. Jason Hervey and Eric Bischoff, they believed in me at that point and really liked that part of the character being a big part of the television show

for TNA wrestling at the time. So it was a very cool. People like, oh, man, did you not like doing the comedy stuff? But no, it was awesome. I barely took any bumps for eight years. All I did is extended my career. Like, I'm 40, but I'm really like 30, you know, in ring-wise. So, yeah, I loved it.

And I mean, I got my own show on Animal Planet. I met Oprah, like I was on Today Show, like all this cool stuff stem from that. If I was just a wrestler, I would have never got all that stuff. Yeah. They found me because I was a pro wrestler that was doing funny stuff and skits and out of the box. stuff. That's all they found me. So like you, I am also very passionate about bass fishing, very fast about fishing. I own a bass fishing company, actually. You do. I own the company, Woo, Tungsten. So if you've seen Wu Tungsten, that is me and my fishing partner, Aaron,

we own that company. So when I saw that you got that show, I was so excited for you, but also as the TV host, very jealous of you to be hosting a show on Animal Planet. How did it come together? Yeah, it's one of those, definitely the stories is, you know, it's who you know and who knows you. So at the point, Tomaso Champa's wife now is Jess Whitney. She was a member of the production team for TNA. She was in school, I believe, for the production stuff. She was also cast in the first, tough enough. She was a little blonde girl and she like fell on her head, like first or second episode.

she was voted off various but they the WWE hired her to do production stuff and she was in school for production then she came over to TNA we were close um she had left TNA at the time but we stayed in contact talked a couple times a year and a friend of hers that she worked with on this other show um was producing this fishing show and they had cast a professional angler and shot the sizzle reel in the pilot episode and took an animal planet animal planet nope said this is terrible he's like just talking about braided line and lures and no one really cares about that stuff for fishing people we want it to be funny like you know i mean this isn't the outdoor channel this is animal planet and so they started to recast it and she read a thing that he had put up and said

you know somebody that likes physical humor and is interesting and whatever and she said well would you be interested in hosting this fishing show and i didn't think anything of it i said yeah sure at the time i'm wrestling full time and um in a pretty good spot an impact definitely not where i ended up but it was was in you know very utilized was doing lots of work was on all the house shows was on all the paper views was on all the television shows so i was very busy with that wrestling independently at the time all over the place and i didn't think anything i said yeah sure throw my name in the hat and thinking like i don't have any experience like pro wrestling for whatever reason to people in production world and in the real television world is a

joke and i don't know i still to this day don't understand that um but the secret is getting out that, you know, the biggest box office star in the world is a pro wrestler. And that's because he's hardworking, versatile and things that he learned, tools he learned from wrestling, he adapted those to, I mean, obviously he's a very special person, but, you know, the rock could do anything years ago. And wrestling opened the avenues for that. Anyways, so anyways, they put my name in the hat and we're casting it. And it's like, oh, there's 150 people applying for it. Yeah. So I'm talking to this producer. Dan Bree and he's calling me every day like saying, oh, you're still in it.

You're still in it. He wants me to be in it, but he doesn't get to decide. It's an animal, animal planet and discovery's choice. So they whittle it down and whittle it down. He's calling me every day. I said, look, Dan, like, I'm busy. Like, you don't need to call me every day and give me updates. Like just, I'd love to do the show.

That would be really cool. If not, no big deal. Wow. And they have, they whittle it down and they end up call me and says, okay, they decided on you, we're going to go shoot this sizzle reel, which is a little six, seven minute episode of what an episode could look like. And we went up to Rhode Island and shot in the show a fishing style called skishing, where the guy typically does it at night, where he's an ex-Navy seal, this guy, Ed Fagnet,

and he was awesome and insane. And he basically wears a wetsuit and uses this long beach pole and lets the current pull him out into the ocean. And he catches straight bass while he's floating in the water in the middle of the night. We couldn't shoot it at night because you can't see. anything because of the lighting and stuff. So we did it during the day. And the Cisor Real was a hit. And right away they ordered, normally they ordered six, eight episodes for a premiering thing, but they believed in it so much they ordered 12 right away. And they renewed it for another 14 while we were still shooting the first season. So yeah, that's how it happened. And it came down to

like me and there was this tiny little comedian from Brooklyn, were the last two. And they cast me and luckily, because if he would have done it, he would be dead because the show was, the show was tough and crazy physical. And there's all these things that you had to be strong or, you know, like, at least durable to endure some of the things that happened on the show. And if they would have cast him, I don't think yet he would have been able to do half of it. And if you tried, he probably would have passed away. So they made the right choice. And I ended up with a really cool fishing show. Well, let's, I just need to tell you that that's not usually how casting works. So, like, that's amazing that that worked for you.

Usually it's many auditions, go out and shoot a pilot, and then you just cross your fingers for, like, three months hoping that they'll pick up the show. The fact that you shot a sizzle and then got picked up is amazing. Also, they're calling you every day because most TV hosts are out of work, and they're, like, hoping desperately to get some sort of job. That's why. And, like, at the time, like, it's literally what I said.

Like, she said, I'll throw your name that. And I just think, like, maybe he's just calling me out of a courtesy. to her because they're friends like yeah i'm i never thought i would get it to be honest you mean i believe that i could do it i believe that i i definitely was i the right person for the job i don't know but i knew that i could do it i felt or i felt that i could do it at that point um but yeah it escalated very quickly and when we did the sizzle reel it was like the the show itself was not greenlit it was just in it was in pre-production so we did the sizzle reel and then that went around internally at discovery and they loved it and like instantly boom like literally it was like

okay go and we had 12 episodes of shoot and off i went and was wrestling full time and that whole experience was amazing definitely took years off my life of my you know days would be filled shooting these fishing shows and then the crew and the production people would all fly home and clean their clothes and hang out with their significant others and i would fly to wrestling my days off we're spent getting punched in the face. So, yeah, I was, I was burning it on both ends, but I wouldn't change it, man. It was amazing, amazing experience. Do you want to do more hosting now?

Oh, for sure. Yeah, for sure. And that's something that's interesting, too, with the access is definitely looking for content. And I will have direct contact with them because of the relationship with impact and with Anthem, having the history in television and saying, like, I did this. Yeah. I could do this kind of thing.

So, like, once you kind of get your foot in the door, it's kind of always there. I've auditioned for tons of stuff. Almost got a game show. I can't. I think it was called Bullseye. And what's that guy's name? I was in, like, well, the vampire movie, Welland Lutz or. Kellyn Lutz.

Yeah. That's who I lost. That's who I lost. It was a lot. I lost to him. You guys aren't even similar at all. No. I mean, if you're going to lose, you might as well lose in someone that looks like that.

I guess so. He didn't even have to say anything. He just stand there. He's a gorgeous man. But you're a better host. I feel like I probably would have been a better post for that game. It got canceled, so they made the wrong choice. So let's bring it back to wrestling now.

With Eddie Edwards now as the impact champion, I feel like you guys could line up and have some epic battles together. Yeah, Eddie is a very special talent, man. Was a guy that I worked with some before I left when he was part of the wolves. just a very all-rounded kind of, he's a pro. You mean, an absolute pro and a guy that I would love to work with. I think the character that I'm coming back, the world-class maniac, and who he is, I think there's a very special story to be told there.

The physicality, I feel, will be something that I haven't been part of the physicality like that in a match in a long time, and I'm looking forward to it. Like I know we'll both be beaten up. And I'll probably have more cuts on my head. Broke burn on my forehead and whatnot. But in a weird way, like I'm looking forward to the physicality of that. And the opportunity to tell this really cool story with a little bit of history that me and him have, the history I have with the impact world title, the history I have in that company and the history that he has as well.

Like he's a huge part of why the company was able to stay afloat. I mean, having talented people like that around. And I'll thank him by dropping him on his head, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. What a nice way to thank you. Yeah. What a good guy. I know you play a lot of hockey with what's going on with coronavirus. Are you still able to play? They just opened up a few weeks ago.

So you have to get, it was I played last week, Wednesday. and you have to change in the parking lot. That's new. What? Yeah, you change in the parking lot, which me and the team just turned into kind of a tailgating thing and all kind of put our lawn chairs out and spaced out.

Which you might do anyway, you know? We might do. I mean, this might be the new normal, to be honest, because it was awesome. But you have to wear a mask in.

They take your temperature at the door. There's no spitting. There's no contact anyways, because, you know, the guys I'm playing with it. have to go to work in the morning. So, but yeah, I still, still play. I would play three or four times a week, but I feel that socially irresponsible. So I'm only playing once a week with a team of

guys that I know that are doing the right things and being safe. And it's a huge part of my happiness to be able to play and be part of a hockey team. And is it kind of dangerous for what I do? I suppose it is. But it's, it's something that I can do for fitness. You know, it's a good way to do cardio and stay in shape and have a good time rather than being on a treadmill or whatever. So I've loved it my whole life. We're getting very close to maybe the NHL coming back. And, oh, dude, I'm just holding my breath every day that it happens. Do you wear a visor or a cage when you're playing? I started wearing a cage. It's a funny story.

So during the second season of the fishing show, we were wrapping up the shooting and I was getting ready to do the media tour. and I'm going to go to CBS this morning. I'm going to be on Today's show. Oh, tons of stuff. I went on ESPN. I went on Michelle Beatles, NBC Sports Show. So we got all this stuff lined up. And it's like I'm going to leave, I want to say it's Friday.

I'm leaving Friday morning to New York to start shooting the, to do the media that I'm going from New York to L.A. And Wednesday afternoon, I'm playing in a pickup game and I got no visor on. and the puck gets deflected and hits me right on the bridge of the nose. And, oh, it hurts so bad. I got this huge cut. I'm bleeding all over the place. Finish my shift.

Stayed for the whole game, blood all over my jersey because I'm a man. But I get black eyes very easily. And I showed up at the Today Show two mornings later. And I've got both of my eyes are completely black. And I got this huge gash across my nose. Like, oh, what happens? Like, oh, I was wrestling, you know, whatever. And they covered it.

You can't tell. they just cover it with makeup and you can't tell it all. But from that point on, I was like, I can't afford. You mean, like, you have to look a certain way when you show up on TV. And at that point, I started wearing a mask from that point. And it's funny, I'll get hit with sticks and shoulders and pucks. It feel like every game I get blasted in the cage. It was like, I didn't wear one for like 10 years.

And then I got hit. And then it was like, okay, time to wear the mask. And now I get hit all the time and thinking, like, what if I didn't have that mask on? That could have took my eye out. Anything could happen. I see guys without mask. I'm like, man, you're nuts. No one on the ice is good enough, and they don't have any idea what they're doing.

Don't have control over their stick. They don't know where the puck's going. There's clothes and dry. It's so dangerous, man. Just wear a cage. Hockey guys make fun of me, but that's okay. I had a similar story because, yeah, I wouldn't wear a cage because no one would wear a cage. And then I took an elbow in the corner.

And I went back to the bench and I went to my body. I'm like, am I okay? Am I bleeding? He's like, no, you're fine. But, dude, your job is to be on TV. That's it. Protect the moneymaker. And I'm like, I don't want to wear a birdie.

Yeah. And so it's a weird transition. Now I'm used to it. But like the first couple times, it's like, man, I don't know. I don't know how I did this for 15 years in minor hockey. How did I see the puck? Yeah. So it's a, I definitely wear one now.

And some guy, you get heat from some people, but that's okay. They don't say it to my face. Yeah, well, just tell them like, yeah, well, I got, you know, I got a job on TV every week. Like you should have a job on TV. You look like you should have a job on TV. I look like a caveman. Well, if you need a coach. host for your new Access TV show. You let me know. That could be a thing. You never know.

That could be a thing. We can make that happen. So good to catch up with you. Yeah, man. This was fun. This is really cool. And I'm just so excited to see you back in Impact Wrestling. It's a homecoming for you. And I feel like this run has the potential to be even better than the first run. Yeah, it's scary to think, man, for sure. And the dressing room is full of talented, young, hungry people. And that's, motivating. You mean, like, it's everyone wants to have the best match on the show. Everyone wants to be the top performer

and that competition breeds excellence. You mean, like, they're not competing with each other, they're competing with themselves, but everyone wants to be the best. That's, you know, that's, that's where I want to be. I want to be,

you know, I don't want to be complacent. I don't want to just show up and, you know, eat catering and go home. and I want to be part of it. And I'm definitely figured in a huge part of what's going forward. And there's nothing more exciting that. That's the ultimate rush and the ultimate good feeling in my heart and my soul

is just being part of something that could be bigger. And it's already happening right away. I mean, first night, first night in, the bar has been raised. And now we've got to deliver. And that's having pressure like that, that's, I seek that. That's what I've looked for my whole life. And when I don't have it, I'm not as good. When the pressure is on, I feel that's when I'm at my best.

I know you said you don't like to look ahead too far, but you just turned 40. How many more years do you think you have left in the tank? So I'll say, and I said it in a joking way, but I mean, eight to 10 years of my impact career, I barely wrestled. You mean, a lot of people don't think, because I was on every show. I did something, but it was, I didn't really work a whole lot. And when I did, it was like, you know, taking hip tosses from Earl Hebner. You know, no big deal. So that break, physical break in my career, I believe, will give me longevity.

Also, I'm, I feel like I was, I wish when they made the mold of me, they made me about three or four inches taller, but I was created to be a pro wrestler. Like, I knock on wood, I've never missed a show ever in 22 years of wrestling. I've worked a bunch hurt. I've worked some injured. For sure, I wrestled Dusty Roads with a broken ankle. But I'm durable. That was always a big question until I started doing it for a living.

It's like, can I do this week in and week out? can I perform at a top level every night, every week, 365 days a year, no rest, you know, and talking to other, like I'm a friend with a bunch of the Preds and some of the guys from the Titans and a lot of them love wrestling, you know, but they don't fully, like they're just kind of casual fans and they're like, oh, well, when do you, when is your offseason? I was like, I haven't had an offseason in 18 years. Like there is no offseason. I have to look this way and be in this kind of shape.

day. Because I don't know. Like I hadn't wrestled in almost four months and I was in a 38 minute match on a pay-per-view with people I had, two, three people I had never met. So it's a very interesting position to be in. And, but yeah, it's a, I can, I can do this for sure at a very, very high level for at least five years. But if I was the bad, I would say I could do it for another 10. Wow. Well, Chris, I mean, I'm in the best shape. I'm in the best shape. I been in in probably 15 years. I'm talking real shape as in flexibility, explosion, you know, hip flexibility, shoulder flexibility. I changed how I work out. I changed how I eat. I'm going to look, I felt Saturday I was in pretty good shape. I think six weeks from now,

the TV show, you'd be like, man, he's even more lean because I just switched my diet and now I'm in this dieting face. I've changed a lot of stuff over my fitness regimen and stuff like that. But I would say right now, athletically, maybe I'm not what I was five or 10 years ago, but condition-wise and flexibility and all that stuff, I've never been in this good a shape, my whole wrestling career. Can't wait to see what's next.

Yeah, me too, man. Me too. Thank you so much, man. I'm really looking forward to seeing you in the ring. And I look forward to seeing you in person again, hopefully sometime soon. Yeah, video is good, but in person is always better. I agree. Appreciate it, Chris.

I hope you enjoyed this chat with EY as much as I did. If you could, please snap a screenshot. Tag me. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. Tag Eric. He is at the Eric Young on Twitter. Please let your friends know about this conversation. Even though we're like a hundred and something episodes in right now,

I know there's still a lot of people that don't know that I have a podcast. So anything you can do to have a podcast. So anything you can do to help spread the word, you know, maybe you can't watch on YouTube all the time. Just let people know that this thing exists and turn on that subscription notification. Now, I think we're going to see a lot of great stuff out of EY during this second run in Impact Wrestling. And I think it's not a matter of if, but when we will see him against Eddie Edwards battling it out for that title. I remember when Eric Young won the Impact World Title. I was just so excited for him.

I'm like, yes. We talked about a bit in this interview. It was like, yes. After a decade, finally, deserves this thing. He also hinted at that TV show that he might be pitching to access TV. I'm very curious what that might be. I wonder if it's another like outdoors show. Maybe I could actually co-host this with him.

I don't know. Henry Ford says whether you think you can or you think you can. or you think you can't. You're right. Have a great weekend. Enjoy your time. We'll see you soon. Jim Rome takes on sports.

Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning

only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. the spitfire of sports smack. Ticket ban you of, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.