Former NXT Tag Team Champion Eric Young is back with WWE.
According to a report from Fightful Select, the star has been under contract since November 1st after making IMPACT Wrestling aware that he would be leaving as far back as October. However, he continued to appear on IMPACT programming in pre-taped segments, last appearing on the December 1st episode.
On that occasion, Young appeared in a vignette speaking with Cody Deaner about “eliminating the sickness” before the two get into an altercation that leads to Young being stabbed, presumably to death. This set up Deaner to lead Young’s group Violent by Design.
Eric Young Once Claimed WWE Couldn’t Afford Him
While he is now back with the sports entertainment giant, Eric Young had doubts about WWE being able to meet his price point during an April interview with Lucas Charpiot for VL Media in France. At that time, which was prior to Vince McMahon’s retirement from the company, he said that he’d love to work with numerous talent there but he didn’t think the company would be willing to pay what he was asking prior to the landscape changing under Triple H, who brought Young into NXT during his first run with the company.
“I mean I’m always interested in making money. I don’t think they don’t want me back though. Besides, my price would be too high for them. They wouldn’t be able to afford it. Obviously, there are tons of guys there that I would love to work with.”
“For example, Seth Rollins, with whom I had the chance to work when he was still very young. I worked with him ten or twelve years ago in Iowa for an indie show. There’s a ton of crazy, crazy talented people there. I would jump at the opportunity, but I don’t think they can afford me to be honest.” (h/t Fightful)
Eric Young made his name in TNA/IMPACT Wrestling where he spent over a decade, winning just about everything that could be won in the company including the IMPACT World Championship in 2014.
By 2016 the Canadian star was on his way out of the company and on his way to WWE as part of the NXT brand. Young became the leader of the Sanity group that at different times included Sawyer Fulton, Alexander Wolfe, Nikki Cross, and Killian Dain. During his time on the brand, Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe captured the NXT Tag Team Championship. The group was drafted to SmackDown in April of 2018, and Young was drafted to Raw the next year apart from his group.
Eric Young was released from WWE on April 15, 2020 amidst budget cuts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.