Multi-Time TNA Champion Reveals AEW Talks
This major TNA favourite says AEW wasn't for him and that he wasn't Tony Khan's "cup of tea".
Having returned to TNA Wrestling - well, IMPACT, as it was then - at Slammiversary last June, Eric Young has revealed he at one point had loose discussions about joining AEW.
As picked up on by POST Wrestling, a virtual signing appearance for K & S WrestleFest saw Young reveal that he'd had talks with AEW President Tony Khan, but that AEW just simply isn't for him.
When asked whether he'd work for AEW if the offer came his way, EY said:
"No, I don’t think so. No, I’m not interested. We definitely had a bit of a discussion last time when I was a free agent there a couple months ago. Just not for me. I’m glad that it exists. I’ve got tons of really good friends that are there, and there’s tons of die-hard fans that love it. The more wrestling, the better. The more jobs, the better. And I wish them all the luck. It’s just not for me. I will wrestle and finish my career at TNA Wrestling and then I’ll disappear and then move into the woods… I don’t think Tony thinks of me that way, so he’s not gonna [make a huge offer]. He’s always been polite to me. I don’t have anything bad to say about him, but I don’t think I’m his cup of tea. I’m not an internet guy, I’ve never been an internet guy. I’m just not one of those guys. I don’t post my matches, I don’t care about how many stars the internet gave me. So, I’m not concerned with that world. I’m worried about my employees and how many stars my employees give me and the people that pay me. That’s what I’m worried about. That’s it."
After being with WWE from 2016 to 2020, Eric Young was quietly re-signed by the market leader in November 2022. Despite this, the former two-time TNA World Champion was never brought back to WWE TV in any capacity, and thus Young asked for - and was granted - his release in April 2023.
As for those AEW talks, they seemingly took place in the time between that WWE release in April and returning to TNA in June.
Currently in his third spell with the company, Eric Young's history with TNA dates all the way back to 2004, with him making his debut for the promotion as part of Team Canada. During these past 20 years, Young has done pretty much everything imaginable in TNA, from loveable loser, to psychotic heel, to main event babyface.
In addition to those two spells as World Champion, the Canadian has held the X-Division Championship, is a three-time King of the Mountain Champion, a four-time Tag Team Champion, a World Cup winner, and was even a Knockouts Tag Team Champion alongside ODB.
These days, the rebranded TNA has seen Eric Young recently turned on by his former tag team partner Frankie Kazarian, as these two veterans find themselves in the midst of a heated rivalry.