IMPACT World Champion Eric Young: "Proving people wrong is a fun thing to do" [Exclusive]
"It feels good to be part of something I believe in again."
Those were the words of Eric Young just a few weeks ago when we caught up with the World Class Maniac to discuss his return to IMPACT Wrestling at Slammiversary. Just over one month on, and Young is now IMPACT World Champion after defeating Eddie Edwards on this week's episode of IMPACT!
We're not one to correct the World Class Maniac - but maybe it's worth noting how Eric Young isn't just part of something he believes in, but something that believes in him, too.
Sportskeeda meets IMPACT World Champion Eric Young
We, at Sportskeeda, have been lucky enough to catch up with Eric Young again, and deliver a world exclusive interview from the new IMPACT World Champion himself!
Just moments after his monumental World Championship win, Eric Young told us all about his title win, how he was received backstage as World Champion, and of course about PWI not recognizing the title as a World Championship, among other things.
You can watch the entire interview with IMPACT World Champion Eric Young below, or read on for more.
Eric Young, IMPACT World Champion. Congratulations first of all. How's it going, Eric?
Yeah, it's going great, man. It's good to be king! That's how the old saying goes, and it feels good, man. It feels really good.
The best place I think I can start off, it's only been a couple of weeks since I spoke to you last, and you mentioned a particular quote to me that stood out.
You said, "It's good to be part of something I believe in again." However, I think that needs to be flipped because it's maybe worth noting, you're part of somewhere that believes in you again because Eric Young is the new IMPACT World Champion.
How does that feel?
Yeah. That's very well said, man, and that's the truth. It is good to be part of something, but one hand scratches the other. It's good to be received how I was and put in a position by IMPACT Wrestling and all the people who work there.
They are putting their money where their mouth is. They said a lot of things and there was a lot of hype online for a lot of stuff, and they are putting their money where their mouth is. And to me, that's a good feeling to be appreciated and to be treated well and to be part of something that is truly special.
IMPACT is a company that's growing during a global pandemic. Just take wrestling out of it... I'm just talking business-wise, period. There are not many businesses in the world right now, especially ones that predominantly do crowd-based revenues, that are growing, and IMPACT is growing.
Being, in a way, a flagship of that company, of that product, it feels really good. The responsibility is not lost on me and I have always been a hard worker, but it's extra motivation to go that extra bit and to always deliver the best possible effort every single time. It's so exciting, man, it's such a cool place to be right now.
Next: Eric Young reveals why many former IMPACT talents should be thanked