Eric Young will headline IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversary almost 20 years after he debuted, and he still loves performing.
Young will challenge Josh Alexander for the IMPACT World Championship on Sunday, and in an interview with Alistair McGeorge of Metro.co.uk, he noted that it will be an emotional night, as the show marks IMPACT’s 20th anniversary. He also made it clear that this kind of high-profile match is the responsibility that he craves.
“There’s a lot of emotions,” said Young. It’s cool, it’s 20 years to the day, June 19th was the first TNA weekly pay-per-view, the very first time anyone saw TNA Wresting. IMPACT, obviously, is a different company run by different people but we use the lineage, we use the title history – and we should.
“It’s cool, and to be back in the main event at Slammiversary against arguably one of the best wrestlers in the world, a huge opportunity for me. It’s an honor, and I crave that kind of responsibility. It’s what I live for.”
As a seasoned veteran, Young is at the stage of his career where it’s easy to start wondering how much time he has left as an active performer. He stated that he’ll keep wrestling as long as he can do it at a high level, and he emphasized that when that moment comes, he’ll stay away for good.
“Coming through the curtain and performing is something that I’m still in love with,” said Young. “It’s not the best way to say it, but it’s a drug that I’m still addicted to. I’ve always said in my life, as long as I can still do it at a high level, I’ll do it.
“This is a promise to you, a promise to any wrestling fan. The second that I think that I can’t perform, I can’t keep up, or I don’t want to do something because I’m old or I’m hurt – I will walk straight to Scott D’Amore and I’ll retire and you will never see me again.”
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