Eric Young Says His TNA Heel Run Gave Him Confidence

– Eric Young spoke with the Richest for a new interview. A few highlights are below:

On his early training under Waldo von Erich, Carl LeDuc and Scott D’Amore: “Each was his own individual, that’s for sure. Waldo, he was pretty old and beat up when I met him, and he’s since passed on, but he was a great guy and a lot of what I learned from Waldo wasn’t any of the physical stuff, it was the mentality, it was the psychology of wrestling, being in character and making people believe. Those are the things that I hold near and dear still to this day, and this is the guy who still holds the record for longest match in Madison Square Garden history, ninety three minutes with Bruno Sammartino. People thought he was a real Nazi ,and they tried to kill him. It’s hard to imagine how good that would make you feel, and that sounds crazy to say but having people hate you that much and making them hate you is just insane. All those guys were a very integral part early on and even later on in my life. Scott, I’m not sitting here talking to you guys if it’s not for Scott D’Amore.”

On training under Chris Kanyon: “Kanyon, was actually shooting the Jesse Ventura story. He was outsourced by WCW to be the head fight choreographer and stunt coordinator for the Jesse Ventura movie which aired on, I believe, NBC. It was the unsanctioned, official/unofficial Jesse Ventura movie. I met him (Kanyon) up in Toronto. I did a small part in the movie, and up until I started wrestling for TNA it was the most money I had ever made in wrestling, which is hilarious because it’s about 30 seconds of wrestling. You see me, but you can’t really tell it’s me. (In the story) Jesse had just come back from the army, and I go to the ring and there is a quick spot. It was cool being with a guy that was on TV, and I guy that I really liked. He was really innovative and was kind of ahead of his time, doing stuff that nobody was doing way back then.”

On his joining TNA and the Team Canada angle: “Scott was a huge part of that. I was doing tryouts pretty heavily with the WWF, WWE now. Bobby Roode and I were doing them it seemed like every month. Nothing really stuck, I remember having a brief conversation with Stephanie McMahon about coming there. TNA called me because I had done one four-man tag with them on one of their pay-per-views and they were getting ready to do the very first World X Cup, and they said we’re interested in you coming down and being a part of Team Canada. My first contract was for four shows, same for Bobby and Petey (Williams) and Johnny Devine, all the other members of Team Canada. I remember us getting really crazy heat right away, and it just took off. They signed all of us to full-time deals after that. I guess we impressed them and they wanted to have this heel Canadian faction full-time. It was just amazing, some of the fondest memories of my career.”

On his heel run: “For me, it just gave me confidence. It allowed me to just know that I can do it. I think everyone feels self-doubt in whatever it is that you do, and if you have to step outside yourself, then you have to. I feel confident doing anything in wrestling. I’ve said this in other interviews. I’m not good at anything. I’m terrible at life and paying bills and being a regular human being, all that regular life kind of stuff, I’m awful at it. I’m not great at any sports. I’m not really good at much of anything, but wrestling I can do. I was good at it right away, the first day I did it. I mean, you never really know whether you’re going to be able to make it. Truth is, a lot of times it’s out of your hands, even if you are really, really good. I have the confidence and the knowledge that I can do it at any level.”

On how his NXT debut came about and what fans can expect from him in NXT: “My time came to an end in TNA, it didn’t end badly, but it didn’t end the way I wanted it to. People don’t get divorced because they’re happy. I didn’t agree with some stuff, but we couldn’t come to terms and see eye to eye on some things, so it was time for me to go and move on. Twelve amazing years, which is insane to say, and I became a free agent. WWE reached out to me about coming down there for a meeting, and I met and talked with Hunter. Things went great; he is a straightforward and honest guy and so am I, and everything worked out and they said ‘Hey, what do you think about being a surprise on the show?’ I said ‘Absolutely.’ One thing led to another and out I came, and people went crazy. They put the clip up and it airs May 4. It’s humbling; I figured there would be a reaction, I figured there would be something. I worked hard for it and earned it. But I didn’t expect the volume, and the amount of reaction surprised me. It was an amazing experience to be there and to interrupt the new Heavyweight Champion, Samoa Joe, a really good friend of mine, a super talented guy. To get to share the ring with him in the main event on NXT is the first step of many for me and it’s an amazing step.”