Eric Young Talks Response To His Title Win, TNA Rumors, Struggles In His Career, & More

New TNA World Heavyweight Chmapion Eric Young recently did an interview with Give Me Sport. Young talked about winning the world title, his goals moving forward, Ultimate Warrior, Undertaker and more. Check out the highlights below:

Finally becoming a TNA world champion: “It’s kind of surreal, it’s all still settling in,” said Young. “I’ve been thinking about that moment since I was six years old. I’m 34 now, so it’s a long time in the making.It’s a dream come true, and that may sound cliché and cheesy and all that stuff, but it’s an amazing feeling. I’ve been a pro wrestling fan all my life, this is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’m at the pinnacle of it right now.”

The reaction to him becoming champion: “The messages have been piling in on Twitter and people have been texting me and calling me non-stop ever since. It’s been really overwhelming,” revealed Young. It’s an amazing feeling to know you’re appreciated, cared for, loved and respected. There’s something very validating about it. It makes it all worth it, all the hard work, all the bumps and bruises, the bad days and the long days. It was cool to share that moment with the Impact Zone, and the response worldwide has been a beautiful thing.”

His responsibility and goals moving forward: “It’s a massive responsibility and a massive honour to be the World Heavyweight Champion of a wrestling company that is one of the biggest in the world. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. Winning that title is the biggest moment of my professional wrestling career, and I’m hoping to make a whole bunch more of those in a row coming up.For me, you set a goal and then you move onto the next one. My first big goal was to sign a contract in pro wrestling, and I did that in 2004. I’ve been on TV every week since then. That was my first goal, then I wanted to win a title, I did that, then it was to win another title, I did that, defend the title, I did that.

Then it was to win the World Heavyweight Title, and now I’ve done that. Now I want a run as World Champion, I’m going to hold onto this for as long as I can. I’m hoping I can have it for a long, crazy fun ride.”

Thoughts on Ultimate Warrior: “The Ultimate Warrior is a guy that I idolise, because he is the epitome of a larger than life character,” revealed Young. “He was a guy that didn’t seem like a human being. He didn’t look like a human being and he didn’t act like a human being. He was a larger than life character, and for a lot of people that was what drew you in. It’s so sad to lose someone like that, such an icon in this business.”

The Undertaker and his steak: “He is one of the best professional wrestlers of all time. He’s a guy that I respect immensely, and his Wrestlemania winning streak is something that I don’t believe should have been broken.”

TNA being compared to WWE: “TNA has been around for ten years, and you can’t expect in ten years to make up all that ground. To me, it’s not a competition, they’re doing their thing and we’re doing our thing, they offer something different to what we offer and vice-versa. You just have to hope that wrestling fans watch both. I don’t view it as a competition and I don’t think many people here do. We’re competing with ourselves, we can only do what we do and try and be the best that we can be.”

Constant rumors on TNA’s struggles: “I’ve been here since 2004 and every month is seems like there’s some kind of a new thing about TNA is struggling, it’s on hard times, it can’t last,” Young explained. “But we’re still here, Spike TV is happy, we’re seen in over 120 countries around the world, house shows every weekend have been going well, merchandise sales are doing well. People are always going to doubt you when you’re the underdog.”

New talent in TNA and the companies future: “I think this is the best pound for pound locker-room in the world today and we don’t let that stuff affect us. I don’t buy into it; I don’t listen to it because I can’t control it. I only control what people see from me, and I always put in 100% effort. Everybody here is the same. People have been saying that about us since 2004, but we’re a tight group and we’re still here – we don’t let that stuff get to us.”

On working with Abyss: “I think he [Abyss] has got to be one of the best big men ever, if not the best,” said Young.“He’s a super talented guy, he understands wrestling inside and out and I had a blast with him.”

The struggles throughout his his career and overcoming them:“There were four or five years of really struggling, driving all over the place, doing try-out matches, being told no, you’re not big enough, or you’re not this or you’re not that. I could barely afford to eat, I would have to count change to put gas in my car to get to a show, just to make 20 dollars and get a left over hot dog.

That’s how I became who I am today. That’s how I became the man I am and, more importantly, that’s how I became the professional wrestler I am. I wouldn’t change any of it, none of it at all.”

Advice to up and coming wrestlers: “If I was going to give an up and coming wrestler one piece of advice, it would be that the work never stops. You have to outwork everybody, or at least try to outwork everybody, because there’s always going to be somebody else.”