WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.120 Imagine showing up to your highly competitive, 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:07.000 hyper masculine corporate job tomorrow. Right. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.619 And you're wearing a SpongeBob SquarePants bikini. 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.919 I mean, you'd be fired instantly. Exactly. Escorted 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:15.019 right off the premises before you even hit lunch. 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:18.379 Oh, for sure. But for Jeremy Fritz, doing exactly 00:00:18.379 --> 00:00:20.600 that... didn't end his career at all. In fact, 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:23.440 it was just like one bizarre chapter in a playbook 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:25.640 that made him an absolute legend. It really is 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:27.339 the kind of detail that makes you do a double 00:00:27.339 --> 00:00:28.980 take. Yeah. But when you look at the entirety 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:31.219 of his career, you know, it somehow makes perfect 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:33.619 sense. We are talking about a level of adaptability 00:00:33.619 --> 00:00:36.539 that just completely defies logic. Absolutely. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:39.700 So today we are taking a deep dive into the ultimate 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:42.859 survival guide in a cutthroat entertainment industry. 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:46.079 We're analyzing a man who has reinvented himself 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.079 for nearly three decades, a professional wrestler, 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:52.259 Eric Young. A true chameleon. Right. We are going 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:54.700 to look at how a guy who had 30 throat surgeries 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:57.840 hosted fishing shows on Animal Planet and played 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:01.899 everything from a terrified comedy act to a dark, 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:04.560 terrifying cult leader. Which is just a wild 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.959 resume. It's insane. And how he ends up invading 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:11.620 a rival wrestling promotion in 2025 and winning 00:01:11.620 --> 00:01:15.060 a major briefcase in 2026. Yeah. OK, let's unpack 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:17.200 this. Let's do it. Because where does that kind 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.159 of relentless drive even start? You don't just 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:22.239 wake up one day and decide to be a chameleon. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:24.480 No, you really don't. You build that kind of 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:28.099 armor through sheer unglamorous repetition. Like, 00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:30.379 if you look at his origins, he was born in 1979 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:34.480 in Ontario, right? Debut in 1998. Exactly. But 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:36.780 he wasn't handed some lucrative developmental 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:39.540 contract. To fund his early career, he worked 00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:42.879 in a pizza parlor. He made brass horse harnesses. 00:01:42.980 --> 00:01:45.579 Which is just, I mean, so random. And he did 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:48.659 sand casting. Wait, sand casting? Like pouring 00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:51.359 molten metal into sand molds in a foundry? That's 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:54.959 exactly it. It is grueling, physically demanding 00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:57.859 manual labor. Wow. When you are, you know, pouring 00:01:57.859 --> 00:01:59.879 hot metal and building horse harnesses just to 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:02.060 pay for the gas to drive to a high school gym. 00:02:02.099 --> 00:02:04.599 To rattle for 20 bucks. Right. You develop a 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:06.760 very specific psychological baseline. You do 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:08.960 not take a single second of television time for 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.909 granted. That makes total sense. It builds this 00:02:11.909 --> 00:02:14.270 this blue collar hustle that just says I will 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:16.270 do whatever it takes to stay on this roster And 00:02:16.270 --> 00:02:18.389 that hustle was tested almost immediately, right? 00:02:18.610 --> 00:02:20.750 Yeah by something that really should have ended 00:02:20.750 --> 00:02:24.090 his career before it even started his way The 00:02:24.090 --> 00:02:27.030 voice is iconic now, but man, right if you follow 00:02:27.030 --> 00:02:29.129 the product at all, you know, Eric Young has 00:02:29.129 --> 00:02:33.449 this incredibly distinct raspy almost strained 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:36.479 It sounds like it hurts. Yeah. And the source 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.740 material notes this is due to papillomas. Which 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:41.840 are like non -cancerous warts, right? Exactly. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:45.860 On his vocal cords. Yeah. And he has had 30 separate 00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:48.240 surgeries to deal with them. That's just wild. 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:51.539 30. So my question is, in an industry that requires 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:54.319 you to grab a microphone and literally scream 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:57.539 your intentions to 10 ,000 people in an arena, 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:01.300 how does a guy with vocal cords damaged by 30 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:04.099 surgeries even survive? Well, what's fascinating 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:07.620 here is how a perceived defect becomes an undeniable 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:10.740 asset. Okay, how so? Think about it. In a locker 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:12.819 room full of guys trying to sound like, you know, 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.280 polished, booming action heroes, Young sounded 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:20.060 real. You sounded damaged. Exactly. When he spoke, 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:23.159 it had this desperate, visceral texture to it. 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:25.060 He couldn't sound like everyone else, even if 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:27.139 he wanted to, so he didn't even try. Right, he 00:03:27.139 --> 00:03:30.110 leaned into it. He did. That gravelly voice gave 00:03:30.110 --> 00:03:33.629 him a signature identifier that you absolutely 00:03:33.629 --> 00:03:36.569 cannot manufacture in a performance center. You 00:03:36.569 --> 00:03:38.669 either have it or you don't. Which brings us 00:03:38.669 --> 00:03:42.810 to his breakout in TNA around 2004 when he was 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:45.610 with Team Canada. Oh, the early TNA days. Yeah. 00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:49.060 He brings this blue -collar grit. and this damaged 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:51.520 voice into the company, but he doesn't use it 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:53.819 to be a generic tough guy. Not at all. He goes 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:56.419 the complete opposite direction. He becomes a 00:03:56.419 --> 00:03:58.460 comedy gimmick. And a great one. This highly 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:01.539 paranoid character who is just terrified of everything, 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:03.460 like he's scared of his own pyrotechnic. Which 00:04:03.460 --> 00:04:06.039 is hilarious for a wrestler. And there's this 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:08.479 incredible detail in the sources where he was 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:11.099 frightened by a crushed tissue box in the locker 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:13.900 room. Oh, the Katie thing. Yes, because he was 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:16.000 convinced a ghost named Katie did it. Which is 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:19.050 just a brilliant subtle Piece of meta humor. 00:04:19.389 --> 00:04:21.329 A completely unhinged reference to the Katie 00:04:21.329 --> 00:04:24.290 Vick storyline. Yeah, exactly. If you know, you 00:04:24.290 --> 00:04:26.490 know. And it works so well that he literally 00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:30.529 starts a Don't Fire Eric petition with the live 00:04:30.529 --> 00:04:33.750 crowd to keep his job. It's like watching a dedicated 00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:36.129 method actor dropped into the middle of a chaotic 00:04:36.129 --> 00:04:39.689 sitcom. He plays the sheer terror completely 00:04:39.689 --> 00:04:41.709 straight. But I have to challenge this, though. 00:04:41.850 --> 00:04:45.209 Go for it. In a ring full of massive muscular 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:50.029 alpha males. How does leaning into absolute absurdity 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:52.930 and vulnerability, like literally wearing a SpongeBob 00:04:52.930 --> 00:04:55.990 bikini to win a contest against Ms. Brooks? Right, 00:04:56.170 --> 00:04:58.209 the bikini contest. How does that actually secure 00:04:58.209 --> 00:05:00.170 your spot on the card? Wouldn't management look 00:05:00.170 --> 00:05:02.449 at that and say, you know, this guy's a joke, 00:05:02.589 --> 00:05:04.649 get him out of here? You'd think so, yeah. But 00:05:04.649 --> 00:05:07.089 that ignores the fundamental psychology of the 00:05:07.089 --> 00:05:09.970 live audience. Pro -wrestling is entirely about 00:05:09.970 --> 00:05:11.850 emotional connection. If the crowd doesn't feel 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:13.610 anything for you, you're dead in the water. No 00:05:13.610 --> 00:05:16.149 matter how flawless your suplex is. Exactly. 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:18.230 Everyone else on the roster was trying to sell 00:05:18.230 --> 00:05:20.810 the audience on invincibility. Young sold them 00:05:20.810 --> 00:05:23.389 on relatability. That's a good point. His raspy 00:05:23.389 --> 00:05:26.129 voice, his visible anxiety, his willingness to 00:05:26.129 --> 00:05:29.730 just look utterly foolish. It bypassed the standard 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:31.670 tough guy metrics and went straight for empathy. 00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:33.649 They wanted to root for the underdog. The fans 00:05:33.649 --> 00:05:36.189 wanted to protect him. When he brought out that 00:05:36.189 --> 00:05:39.129 petition, they were emotionally invested in his 00:05:39.129 --> 00:05:42.430 survival. because they saw a piece of their own 00:05:42.430 --> 00:05:45.449 everyday workplace anxieties in him. Right. He 00:05:45.449 --> 00:05:48.290 wasn't a superhero. He was just a guy terrified 00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:50.870 of getting a pink slip. But, you know, the danger 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:53.529 of being the lovable, terrified comedy guy is 00:05:53.529 --> 00:05:55.829 that the joke eventually has a shelf life, right? 00:05:55.829 --> 00:05:58.470 Oh, absolutely. Like, a sitcom character can 00:05:58.470 --> 00:06:01.370 do the same bit for 10 years, but in wrestling, 00:06:01.569 --> 00:06:05.120 the crowd gets bored fast. Very fast. So to survive, 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:07.600 he does the unthinkable. He actually becomes 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:12.120 a superhero. Super Eric? Yes. In 2008, he debuts 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:15.379 this alter ego called Super Eric. He would literally 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:17.600 leave the ring during a match. Just walk out. 00:06:17.740 --> 00:06:20.720 Run to the back and return dressed as a superhero. 00:06:20.980 --> 00:06:23.000 He even did vignettes wandering the streets of 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:25.519 Memphis looking for Elvis. It was spectacular 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:28.540 campy nonsense. It really was. But wait, here's 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:30.759 where it gets really interesting. OK. Because 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:33.339 the pendulum swings violently in the other direction. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:38.439 Just a year later, in 2009, he does a hard pivot. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.399 A very hard pivot. He turns heel. He shaves his 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:44.259 head, forms this anti -American faction called 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:47.180 the World Elite. Right, the bad guy turn. He 00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:50.100 renames the legend's title, the Global Championship, 00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:54.079 and flat out refuses to defend it on United States 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:56.860 soil. He is demanding serious main event level 00:06:56.860 --> 00:06:59.959 heat there. And then, a couple years later, another 00:06:59.959 --> 00:07:02.319 massive pivot. He's back to comedy. Yeah, with 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:05.540 Orlando Jordan. Right. Teaming with Orlando Jordan 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:07.959 and eventually marrying ODB in a steel cage. 00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:10.480 A classic wrestling wedding. And he even makes 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.060 history holding the Knockouts Tag Team Championship, 00:07:13.480 --> 00:07:16.819 the women's title, for a record 478 days. Before 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:18.939 management strips him of it just for being a 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:21.730 male. Right. Now hold on. If any other television 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:24.610 character went from a superhero to an anti -American 00:07:24.610 --> 00:07:27.509 terrorist to a comedic husband holding a women's 00:07:27.509 --> 00:07:30.290 title for over a year, the audience would completely 00:07:30.290 --> 00:07:32.790 revolt. It's total genre whiplash. How on earth 00:07:32.790 --> 00:07:34.930 did management let him do this? And why did the 00:07:34.930 --> 00:07:37.689 fans accept it? Well, if we connect this to the 00:07:37.689 --> 00:07:40.149 bigger picture, we have to look at how wrestling 00:07:40.149 --> 00:07:42.750 narratives function differently from, you know, 00:07:42.970 --> 00:07:45.360 traditional serialized television. Right. In 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.199 a standard drama, yes that inconsistency destroys 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:52.399 the show's credibility. But wrestling operates 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:55.220 much more like comic book continuity. How so? 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:58.699 Like the multiverse? Kind of. Think about Batman. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:02.180 You have the campy Adam West era from the 60s. 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:04.560 Right, the pow and bam stuff. Then you have the 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.439 dark, brooding Frank Miller era, the animated 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:10.480 series. Fans accept all of them because they 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:12.819 understand the character is a vessel for different 00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:14.879 styles of storytelling. That makes a lot of sense. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:17.860 Wrestling fans are smart. They view a performer's 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:21.470 career in eras. Young's secret weapon? The reason 00:08:21.470 --> 00:08:24.410 he could hold a knockouts title for 478 days 00:08:24.410 --> 00:08:26.370 and make it entertaining rather than insulting 00:08:26.370 --> 00:08:29.550 is his 100 % commitment to the bit. He never 00:08:29.550 --> 00:08:31.990 winks at the camera. Never. The audience rewards 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:34.350 total dedication. They don't care that you were 00:08:34.350 --> 00:08:36.710 a radical anti -American last year and a campy 00:08:36.710 --> 00:08:38.549 superhero the year before. As long as you believe 00:08:38.549 --> 00:08:41.980 it. Exactly. As long as you fiercely, genuinely 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:44.220 believe in whatever you are doing in this specific 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:47.139 moment. If you believe it, the crowd believes 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:50.379 it. Wow. That chameleon -like adaptability isn't 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:54.059 inconsistency. It's a survival mechanism. If 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:56.779 a comedy act gets stale, you pivot to danger. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:58.980 And if danger gets played out, you pivot back 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:01.679 to comedy. Precisely. Which perfectly sets the 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:04.179 stage for the ultimate test of that chameleon 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:08.779 armor. We transition from this brilliant, chaotic 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:12.860 character work into legitimate athletic credibility. 00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:16.759 The world title run. Yes. Because in April 2014, 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:19.720 the guy who wore the SpongeBob bikini defeats 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:22.360 Magnus to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.720 He becomes a Triple Crown and Grand Slam champion. 00:09:24.740 --> 00:09:27.120 And he doesn't just win it on a sluk. He defends 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:30.179 it in absolute wars. Oh, some brutal match. Just 00:09:30.179 --> 00:09:32.139 wrestling Bobby Lashley. He's wrestling Abyss 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:34.864 in a Monsters ball match, which involves like... 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:37.559 thumbtacks and barbed wire. Heavy, heavy stuff. 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:40.440 And simultaneously, he crosses over into mainstream 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:43.000 television. He gets his own shows on Animal Planet. 00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:46.639 Right, off the hook. Off the hook. Extreme catches 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:49.279 and a show called No Limits, where he's doing 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:52.080 extreme sports. Huh. So what does this all mean? 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:55.519 It's a huge shift. To me, it feels like taking 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:57.899 a beloved character actor, someone you love, 00:09:58.509 --> 00:10:01.309 for their weird supporting roles, like a Steve 00:10:01.309 --> 00:10:04.490 Buscemi. Great comparison. And suddenly casting 00:10:04.490 --> 00:10:07.210 them as the leading action hero who saves the 00:10:07.210 --> 00:10:10.570 day. And he actually pulls it off. It's a massive 00:10:10.570 --> 00:10:13.309 risk for a wrestling promoter. But the reason 00:10:13.309 --> 00:10:17.029 it worked is a concept called sweat equity. OK, 00:10:17.090 --> 00:10:19.629 let me push back on that, though. Wrestling fans 00:10:19.629 --> 00:10:23.460 are notoriously cynical. They reject anything 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:26.019 that feels forced or unearned. Surely they didn't 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:28.460 just buy the paranoid comedy guy as the legitimate 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:30.279 heavyweight killer overnight. No, they didn't 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:32.080 buy it overnight. They bought it over 10 years. 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:35.299 That's the sweat equity. Ah, I see. They didn't 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:37.360 reject him as a serious world champion because 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:39.559 they felt like they went on the entire agonizing 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:42.080 journey with him. They watched him grind through 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:44.840 every possible storyline, every spot on the card. 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:47.440 From the opening match to the mid -card comedy 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:50.490 segments. Exactly. He put the sweat in. So when 00:10:50.490 --> 00:10:53.090 he finally reached the top, the cynical fans 00:10:53.090 --> 00:10:55.110 didn't say, oh, management is forcing this guy 00:10:55.110 --> 00:10:56.950 down our throats. Right. They said, finally, 00:10:57.250 --> 00:10:59.850 this guy earned it. It felt like a lifetime achievement 00:10:59.850 --> 00:11:02.409 award that he actually bled for. And what about 00:11:02.409 --> 00:11:05.330 the Animal Planet shows? How does a professional 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:08.649 wrestler convince a major cable network to let 00:11:08.649 --> 00:11:12.009 him host a fishing show? Because the charisma 00:11:12.009 --> 00:11:14.710 wasn't just a trick of the wrestling ring, the 00:11:14.710 --> 00:11:17.309 Animal Planet shows proved that his ability to 00:11:17.309 --> 00:11:20.029 connect with an audience translated outside the 00:11:20.029 --> 00:11:22.070 squared circle. He was just naturally engaging. 00:11:22.330 --> 00:11:25.070 He was a genuinely compelling television host 00:11:25.070 --> 00:11:27.629 who could carry a mainstream network show simply 00:11:27.629 --> 00:11:31.059 by being himself. It validated the TNA World 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:33.340 title run. The guy wasn't just a good hand in 00:11:33.340 --> 00:11:35.559 the ring, he was a legitimate star. But, you 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:37.600 know, as we know in this industry, individual 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.200 brilliance often collides with corporate reality. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:42.960 Unfortunately, yes. And for Eric Young, that 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:46.440 brings us to the WWE Machine era, roughly 2016 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:49.759 to 2023. A very interesting period. So after 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:54.179 12 years, he leaves TNA and joins WWE. He starts 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:57.059 in their NXT brand and he's brilliant. He leads 00:11:57.059 --> 00:11:59.980 this chaotic villainous faction called Sanity. 00:12:00.139 --> 00:12:03.519 They win the NXT Tag Team Championship. The presentation 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:06.299 is incredible, but then they get drafted to the 00:12:06.299 --> 00:12:08.860 main roster on SmackDown. and the whole thing 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:10.919 just hits a brick wall. Just completely stalls 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:14.120 out. The group disintegrates. There's this amazing, 00:12:14.379 --> 00:12:16.840 almost insulting detail in the source material 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.940 where www .com actually published an article 00:12:19.940 --> 00:12:23.440 blaming Sanity's lack of success on being in 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:26.080 a, quote, crowded tag team division. Which is 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:28.820 just wild for a company's own website to publish. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:31.779 Right. And by 2020, amid the COVID -19 budget 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:34.200 cuts, he's released. It's a jarring shift from 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:36.440 being the undeniable face of a company to being 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.200 completely lost in the shuffle of corporate monolith. 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:41.899 Right. So he goes back to TNA, he forms another 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:44.590 dark. cult -like stable called Violent By Design. 00:12:44.669 --> 00:12:47.070 DVD, yeah. They win the tag titles using the 00:12:47.070 --> 00:12:48.830 Freebird rule where any member of the group can 00:12:48.830 --> 00:12:51.269 defend the belts. But then he tears his ACL. 00:12:51.429 --> 00:12:53.549 A terrible injury. And here is where wrestling 00:12:53.549 --> 00:12:56.649 storytelling reaches its absolute peak of absurdity. 00:12:56.970 --> 00:12:59.789 Oh man, this part. To write him off television 00:12:59.789 --> 00:13:02.269 so he can go get real -world surgery, they do 00:13:02.269 --> 00:13:05.230 a storyline where he is literally stabbed by 00:13:05.230 --> 00:13:07.879 his babel mate, Deener. You really just have 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:10.600 to love an industry where a fake stabbing is 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:13.360 considered a practical human resources solution 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:16.139 for medical leave. Exactly. It's amazing. But 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:18.240 the real drama happens behind the scenes, right? 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:23.659 Because in 2022, he returns to WWE. He is secretly 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:26.080 resigned. The plan is to put him in a massive 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:29.580 high profile storyline with Bray Wyatt. This 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:31.879 is prime television real estate. Huge money, 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.820 huge exposure. But he requests his release without 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:38.039 ever appearing on screen. simply because he refused 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:40.720 to work with Vince McMahon. So I have to ask 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:44.100 you, why did a guy who successfully reinvented 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:46.580 himself a dozen times suddenly fail on the WWE 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:49.240 main roster and then voluntarily walk away from 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:51.000 one of the biggest paydays of his career? Well, 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:53.080 this raises an important question about the stark 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:55.480 difference between creative control and corporate 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:58.080 micromanagement. Okay, break that down. In TNA, 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:01.000 Young was given the canvas to paint on. He could 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.259 commit to the bit because he was the one designing 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:05.139 the bit. He knew the mechanics of how to make 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:08.700 it work. Right. But the WWE main roster is a 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:12.000 tightly controlled billion dollar. corporate 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.820 ecosystem. If the machine decides, you are an 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:18.259 afterthought, if they literally write an article 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:21.500 blaming your failure on a crowded division rather 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:24.860 than their own creative booking, there is nothing 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:27.360 even the greatest chameleon can do to save it. 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:29.860 You can't outact a bad script if you aren't allowed 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:32.179 to change the words. He was a square peg and 00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:34.299 they were a corporate round hole. Precisely. 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:38.080 But what is truly profound is his decision in 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:41.860 2023 to walk away. turning down that money. Think 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:43.879 about the financial and professional implications 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:47.159 of that. He gave up guaranteed WWE money and 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:49.639 a spotlight next to Bray Wyatt. Who was one of 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:51.299 the biggest stars in the industry at the time. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:54.080 Exactly. And he gave it up because he stuck to 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.460 his personal moral principles regarding Vince 00:14:56.460 --> 00:14:58.740 McMahon. He wasn't just chasing a paycheck anymore. 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:01.639 He was protecting his peace of mind and his integrity. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:03.919 Which brings us to his modern renaissance from 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.620 2023 to 2026, proving that walking away on his 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:10.759 own terms was basically a masterstroke. Absolutely. 00:15:10.889 --> 00:15:13.149 He comes back to TNA as a babyface, a good guy. 00:15:13.549 --> 00:15:16.029 He teams up with Josh Alexander. But, you know, 00:15:16.330 --> 00:15:18.669 the chameleon never sleeps. Never. On January 00:15:18.669 --> 00:15:23.250 30, 2025, he ruthlessly turns heel on Josh Alexander, 00:15:23.669 --> 00:15:25.690 forming a new faction called the Northern Armory. 00:15:26.309 --> 00:15:28.509 The cycle of reinvention just continued. It really 00:15:28.509 --> 00:15:31.309 does. He defeats Alexander in his farewell match 00:15:31.309 --> 00:15:35.269 in February 2025. Then, in September of that 00:15:35.269 --> 00:15:37.980 same year, He is part of a massive crossover 00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:40.679 storyline, actually invading WWE's NXT brand. 00:15:40.740 --> 00:15:44.039 Just brawling with their roster. Right. And just 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:47.720 recently, on January 29, 2026, he wins the annual 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:49.980 feast or fired match. Oh, the chaotic match at 00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:52.240 the briefcases. Yeah, where briefcases hold either 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:55.179 a title shot or a pink slip. And he secures a 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:57.440 shot at the TNA X Division Championship. I mean, 00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:58.919 think about the logistics of that for a second. 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:02.659 It's staggering. After 28 years of taking bumps, 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:06.179 30 throat surgeries and playing literally every 00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:09.080 character imaginable, he is still turning on 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:12.320 his friends, invading rival promotions and winning 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:16.440 major briefcases in 2026. It is the ultimate 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:19.000 testament to his mastery of the wrestling business. 00:16:19.289 --> 00:16:22.389 Eric Young is the living blueprint for survival. 00:16:22.669 --> 00:16:26.210 He really is. He never, ever allows himself to 00:16:26.210 --> 00:16:29.490 become a nostalgia act. That is the trap so many 00:16:29.490 --> 00:16:31.570 veterans fall into when they hit their third 00:16:31.570 --> 00:16:33.730 decade in the ring. You just come out, play their 00:16:33.730 --> 00:16:36.370 greatest hits, do the old catchphrases. Exactly. 00:16:36.429 --> 00:16:39.750 And just collect a check. But by constantly forming 00:16:39.750 --> 00:16:42.090 new stables like the Northern Armory, by turning 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:44.850 on trusted allies, by crossing promotional lines 00:16:44.850 --> 00:16:48.230 to invade NXT, he forces the audience to engage 00:16:48.230 --> 00:16:50.409 with him in the present tense. He makes it impossible 00:16:50.409 --> 00:16:52.710 to ignore him right now. Exactly. You aren't 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:54.549 watching Eric Young to remember how funny he 00:16:54.549 --> 00:16:57.490 was with ODB in 2012. You are watching him because 00:16:57.490 --> 00:16:59.850 you legitimately want to know what this master 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:01.610 manipulator is going to do next week. He keeps 00:17:01.610 --> 00:17:04.190 the audience entirely off balance. Which keeps 00:17:04.190 --> 00:17:06.430 him permanently relevant. Which is why, you know, 00:17:06.490 --> 00:17:08.509 as someone who follows this industry, you really 00:17:08.509 --> 00:17:10.809 need to look at the career of Eric Young and 00:17:10.809 --> 00:17:15.200 honestly every mid -card comedy act with a completely 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.000 new level of respect. Without a doubt. Because 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.700 his journey isn't just a list of title reigns 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:23.660 and funny vignettes. It is a master class in 00:17:23.660 --> 00:17:25.920 professional resilience. It really is. It's about 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.980 not letting one bad run in a corporate machine 00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:31.700 define your value. It's about having the sheer 00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:34.759 audacity to reinvent yourself the second the 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.490 old model stops working. And crucially, it's 00:17:37.490 --> 00:17:40.529 about having the integrity to walk away from 00:17:40.529 --> 00:17:42.849 a toxic situation no matter how much money is 00:17:42.849 --> 00:17:45.289 on the table. It forces you to reevaluate what 00:17:45.289 --> 00:17:47.410 actual job security looks like in this business. 00:17:47.569 --> 00:17:49.809 It's not about having the biggest biceps or the 00:17:49.809 --> 00:17:52.430 loudest pyrotechnics. Adaptability is the ultimate 00:17:52.430 --> 00:17:54.490 armor. And it leaves us with something really 00:17:54.490 --> 00:17:58.170 fascinating to mull over. What if the very things 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:01.190 that make us feel, you know, flawed or weird. 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:03.920 Whether it's a raspy voice from medical surgeries, 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:06.539 an unconventional background, pouring molten 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:09.740 metal, or a willingness to look utterly ridiculous 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:12.539 in front of millions of people. What if those 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:15.160 are actually the secret weapons that guarantee 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:17.240 our longevity? That's a great way to look at 00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:19.599 it. Maybe true security doesn't come from being 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.200 perfect and predictable. Maybe it comes from 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:25.640 being entirely unapologetically adaptable. So 00:18:25.640 --> 00:18:27.319 the next time you look at a wrestler who seems 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:29.920 to be constantly shifting gears, remember Eric 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:33.769 Young. Sometimes leaning into the chaos is exactly 00:18:33.769 --> 00:18:34.849 what it takes to survive.