Eric Young (wrestler)

Eric Young
Young in December 2015
Birth name	Jeremy Fritz
Born	(1979-12-15) December 15, 1979 Florence, Ontario, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Eric Young
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Billed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Billed from	An Undisclosed Location Freedomland, USA Vancouver, British Columbia Nashville, Tennessee (as Eric Young) Metropolis (as Super Eric) The Orient (as The Not So Great Muta)
Trained by	Waldo Von Erich Carl LeDuc Scott D'Amore Chris Kanyon
Debut	1998

Jeremy Fritz (born December 15, 1979) is a Canadian professional wrestler and television personality currently signed to WWE where he performs in their developmental territory NXT under the ring name Eric Young. He is the leader of the Sanity stable and is one half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions.

He is best known for his 12-year tenure working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2004 to 2016, where he was a one-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, one-time X Division Champion, a three-time Legends/Global/Television/King of the Mountain Champion, and a four-time world tag team champion, having held the NWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Bobby Roode, the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice once with Kaz, and once as a member of The Band with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall (under the Freebird Rule), and the only male to co-hold the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship, winning the title with female wrestler ODB. He is also one of only four men to win TNA's Grand Slam Championship.

All together, Young won 11 championships during his career in TNA, and is considered a "TNA Original".

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1998–2004)

After graduating from high school, Young began training with veteran wrestler Waldo Von Erich in Cambridge, Ontario. After training for ten weeks he wrestled his debut match on October 14, 1998 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, facing his friend "Suicide" Sean Ball. He later received supplementary training from Scott D'Amore and Chris Kanyon. After four months, he had wrestled ten matches and was consequently promoted to head trainer. After his training was complete, Young began working on the independent circuit. When wrestling infrequently, Young subsidised his income with a number of other jobs, including working in a pizza parlour, manufacturing brass horse harnesses and sand casting. During his time in the Ontario independent scene, Young also owned and operated the Wrestleplex training facility out of Cambridge. Notable wrestlers to come out of the gym include Jake O'Reilly, Ontario mainstay Crazzy Steve and World Wrestling Entertainment signee Shawn Spears.

On June 30, 2007, Eric secured the APWF Light Heavyweight Championship defeating former four-time NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion "Luscious" Rocky Reynolds in Oil City, Pennsylvania.

Young appeared on WWE television three times. The first was on an WWE Velocity; he teamed with future tag team partner Bobby Roode and were defeated by Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli. The second appearance was also on WWE Velocity in which he was announced as "Showtime" Eric Young; he lost to Sean O'Haire. He appeared the next day on WWE Sunday Night Heat, losing a match to Val Venis.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Team Canada (2004–2006)

Main article: Team Canada

In January 2004 Young debuted in TNA as a member of Team Canada. He took part in the World X Cup event, defeating Jerry Lynn, Mr. Águila and Taichi Ishikari in a ladder match. Team Canada were a regular feature on Impact! throughout mid-2004, feuding with the 3Live Kru.

Young joined TNA as a member of Team Canada.

On the October 15, 2004 Impact!, Young and Bobby Roode defeated Christopher Daniels and "Cowboy" James Storm for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. They held the titles until November 7, when they were defeated by the 3Live Kru (represented by Konnan and B.G. James) at Victory Road. They regained the titles a month later at Turning Point on December 5, defeating B.G. James and Ron Killings.

Young and Roode began feuding with America's Most Wanted in early 2005, and lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship to America's Most Wanted on January 16 at Final Resolution. Young began teaming with Team Canada member Petey Williams, and on April 24, 2005 they unsuccessfully challenged America's Most Wanted for the NWA World Tag Team Championship at Lockdown. After defeating Apolo and Sonny Siaki at Hard Justice on May 15, Williams and Young challenged and lost to new NWA World Tag Team Champions The Naturals at Slammiversary on June 19.

Team Canada began feuding with The Naturals and Lance Hoyt, with Young, Roode and A-1 defeating Hoyt and The Naturals at No Surrender on July 17. America's Most Wanted formed a loose alliance with The Naturals against Team Canada, with Young, Roode, Williams and A-1 defeating The Naturals and America's Most Wanted at TNA Sacrifice on August 14. After Williams renewed his pursuit of the X Division Championship, Young began teaming with A-1 on a regular basis. At Unbreakable on September 11, Young and A-1 faced America's Most Wanted, Alex Shelley and Johnny Candido and defending champions The Naturals in a four-way tag match. Young was able to pin both Candido and "Wildcat" Chris Harris, but Team Canada lost the match after Chase Stevens managed to pin A-1.

At Bound for Glory on October 23, Young, A-1 and Bobby Roode defeated the 3Live Kru. After the match, their attempt to attack Konnan was foiled by Kip James. Later that night, Team Canada stopped 3Live Kru from saving Rhino from an attack by Planet Jarrett, and then helped Jarrett place Rhino in a casket which they had brought to ringside. As Team Canada and Planet Jarrett celebrated together, however, Team 3D entered the ring and, with the help of the now recovered 3Live Kru, drove Planet Jarrett and Team Canada from the ring. Young, who had been standing atop the casket, was hit with a 3D by Team 3D. He was then thrown into the casket in the place of Rhino, who in turn stood atop the casket, celebrating his earlier victory for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship over Jeff Jarrett. As a result of the events of Bound For Glory, Young, Roode and A-1 faced the 3Live Kru in a rematch at Genesis on November 13. Team Canada lost the match after Ron Killings pinned Young. The long-running feud between Team Canada and the 3Live Kru ended at Turning Point on December 11 when Young, Williams, Roode and A-1 defeated the Kru and Kip James (the "4Live Kru") after Konnan turned on his teammates.

After the debut of TNA on Spike TV in October 2005, Young adopted a new character who was highly paranoid and afraid of almost anything and anybody. The character was introduced at the mock funeral staged by Planet Jarrett for Team 3D on the October 15, 2005 Impact!, when Young was startled after Abyss crushed a box of tissues that were offered to him, and then speculated that the funeral parlour was haunted by a ghost named "Katie", a tongue-in-cheek reference to the WWE "Katie Vick" storyline. The simplest things began to frighten Young, including the pyrotechnics that accompanied Team Canada's entrance. The character drew comparisons to South Park characters Tweek and Butters, and was often used for comic relief. During an interview about the World X-Cup by SoCal Val during TNA Global Impact!, Young stated "Foreigners frighten me. They're from other countries, and I don't know how to deal with that."

Two weeks after Sting and Christian Cage defeated Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown at Final Resolution, Sting made his Impact! debut and announced his retirement. Jarrett wasted no time in pointing out that "after one match with me, Sting took his ball and went home", and most of Planet Jarrett agreed with that assessment. Young, however, became convinced that Sting was not gone, and raised the ire of Jarrett and Scott D'Amore by frequently expressing that belief. In an attempt to persuade Young that Sting had left, Jarrett commissioned Alex Shelley to obtain footage of Sting at home with his children; however, this failed to allay Young's fears. He insisted that Sting would come back and get each of them, he would even go as far as to insist that the fellow Planet Jarrett members should not call him by his nickname "Showtime" any more, due to Sting's catchphrase "It's showtime, folks!". Young lost to Sting in the main event of the April 13, 2006 Impact!. Young's paranoia did not always hinder his abilities during a match. He remained aggressive (even putting people through a table), would not hesitate to cheat, and was not afraid to capitalize on outside interference. He continued to be aided by Team Canada and Planet Jarrett.

When Jim Cornette became the new face of management in TNA and said someone would be fired, Young was afraid it would be him. He was seen on Impact! holding an up a sign in the crowd that read "Don't fire Eric Young" as the fans chanted "Don't fire Eric!" along with him. On the June 29 Impact!, Young wrestled like a classic fan favorite out of fear of being fired, and tried to prevent his fellow Canadians from doing anything underhanded. Cornette announced later that night Team Canada was now disbanded, but Young was more happy than upset because it was Earl Hebner who got fired, not Young. On the July 14 Impact!, Team Canada lost an "all or nothing" match (their only chance to stay together), keeping Team Canada disbanded.

Feud with Robert Roode (2006–2007)

At Victory Road, Team Canada joined together in the ring one last time. After running through how he felt about each member, Scott D'Amore stopped at Young. He then blamed Young for their demise and made him strip of any Team Canada items. D'Amore then said that he believed Eric Young would still be fired as he was to blame for Team Canada's end. Young then remained in the ring after the others had left and began a secret petition with the fans to keep his job. He would soon start being announced from "An Undisclosed Location". Young continued to be worried about his job security, creating his own "Don't Fire Eric" shirts.

Young's paranoia proved warranted yet again as he was fired on the October 5 Impact! after being hit with a golf club by Larry Zbyszko causing Young to lose a "Loser gets fired" match. Due to Zbyszko's interference, however, Jim Cornette gave Young a chance to get his job back by facing Zbyszko in a "Loser Gets Fired" match at Bound for Glory. Young won and got his job back. On the Genesis pre-show, Young scored an upset by defeating former Team Canada associate Robert Roode. This infuriated Roode and on the following Impact!, Roode cut a promo against Young. The match started a long time rivalry between the two.

Young, then dubbed the "Paranoid Pied Piper of TNA" by announcer Mike Tenay, would soon be challenged to a bikini contest by Roode's associate, Ms. Brooks. Young accepted and beat Ms. Brooks in a bikini contest at Turning Point on December 10, 2006, by wearing a SpongeBob SquarePants bikini. Young continued his feud with Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks, with Ms. Brooks trying to get Young to join "Robert Roode Inc.". Finally, at Against All Odds Ms. Brooks successfully seduced Young into signing a contract with "Robert Roode Inc.". This consequently sent him into an angle, where he was systematically humiliated every week by Roode, by having to clean toilets for Roode's own personal use, and getting illegally involved in Roode's matches. Young was forced to perform these tasks because the contract Young signed gave Roode control over his TNA contract as well, so if he was fired from Roode, Inc., he was fired from TNA as well. He eventually began to fight back the orders of Roode, in part due to the advice of a mysterious "friend". On the April 26, 2007 Impact!, the "friend" was revealed as Jeff Jarrett. Young eventually broke free of his contract by defeating Roode at Slammiversary via an inside cradle, after Gail Kim took out Ms. Brooks. At Victory Road, Young and Kim would defeat Roode and Ms. Brooks in a Mixed Tag Team match. Around this time, Young would be billed as from "Freedomland, USA", a reference to Young being free from his contract with Roode.

On the August 2, 2007 Impact!, Roode had Young tarred and feathered on national television in the Impact Zone. On August 8, on TNA Today, Young commented on the humiliation of being tarred and feathered, and then challenged Roode to a "Humiliation Match" at Hard Justice. Roode would eventually go on to accept the challenge. Roode won the match, but Gail Kim came to Young's aid. Roode attempted to attack her, but accidentally knocked Ms. Brooks out instead. Roode retreated up the ramp, leaving a semi-conscious Ms. Brooks to be tarred and feathered by Young and Kim.

When Adam "Pacman" Jones joined TNA, Young was desperate to get an autograph, but ended up getting attacked by Ron Killings and spray painted by Pacman. Young started teaming up with Shark Boy on a consistent basis, nearly winning the number one contenders spot to the Tag Team Championship. Young was Judas Mesias' opponent in his official debut match, and was badly injured despite Shark Boy's rescue attempt. On the October 4 edition of Impact, Young faced and successfully defeated James Storm in a Gauntlet match when he reversed Storm's sleeper hold into a pin. At Bound for Glory, Young won the 15 men Fight for the Right Battle Royal by pinning Robert Roode with a small package to win the first round. He was eliminated from the tournament in the second round after being pinned by Storm. From there, Young and Storm engaged in a storyline which saw them compete in beer drinking contests, most notably at Genesis, where Young took Storm's World Beer Drinking Championship belt after Storm passed out. Young defended the belt on the last Impact! before Turning Point in a 60-second speed drinking contest and won, but was assaulted by Storm. He went on to defeat both Storm and the Angle Alliance, the latter as Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash's replacement partner for Scott Hall in matches at Turning Point.

Super Eric (2008)

Young as Super Eric.

On the February 28 edition of Impact!, Young lost the Beer Drinking Championship in a ladder match to James Storm. Young then participated in a feud with Rellik, losing to Rellik on Impact!. This then led to a match at the Destination X with Young teaming up with Kaz to defeat Rellik and Black Reign in a tag match. It was at this pay-per-view that Young debuted a new superhero gimmick under the name "Super Eric", which was supposed to be his alter-ego. At Lockdown, he and Kaz won "The Cuffed in a Cage" match to earn a future Tag Team Championship match. On the April 17 Impact!, Young (who left the match and returned as Super Eric) and Kaz won the World Tag Team Championship, but later in the night were stripped of the titles due to Young not admitting he was Super Eric. On the May 1 Impact!, he teamed up with A.J. Styles, who was desperately looking for a partner backstage, and won against The Rock 'n Rave Infection. He and Styles went to Sacrifice, as part of the Deuces Wild Tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions, but lost to the eventual winners The Latin American Xchange.

Young started a gimmick where he would look around the streets of Memphis, Tennessee for Elvis. The gimmick took a hiatus at Slammiversary, after Awesome Kong attacked a fake Elvis impostor. He revived the Super Eric gimmick on the July 17 Impact! and joined Curry Man and Shark Boy as part of a Justice League parody, called "The Prince Justice Brotherhood", which was at the same time making fun of the former ring name of TNA wrestler Abyss. At Bound for Glory IV, Super Eric competed in a Steel Asylum match, which was won by Jay Lethal.

Feuding with the Main Event Mafia (2008–2009)

Eric Young at a house show in January 2009.

On the October 30 Impact!, A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe created a stable called The TNA Frontline, which was a group which formed a faction of younger wrestlers to oppose the Main Event Mafia. This group included wrestlers like Eric Young, Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Petey Williams, O.D.B. and The Motor City Machine Guns. His character evolved as well, as he was no longer paranoid and began showing confidence and leadership abilities. He also stopped being startled by his pyrotechnics. On the November 13 Impact!, Young defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir to win the TNA X Division championship after Bashir shoved TNA Official Shane Sewell to the mat, leading to Sewell attacking Bashir, which gave Young an opportunity to hit the Death Valley driver on Bashir and pin him. The following week on Impact!, however, Young was stripped of his X Division Championship due to Sewell's interference, and the title was awarded back to Bashir. Young was awarded a championship match against Booker T for his TNA Legends Championship but lost due to the interference from Sharmell. At Final Resolution Sewell once again helped Young defeat Bashir for the X Division Championship. Due to the controversial ending of the match he was stripped of the championship by Jim Cornette, who set up a tournament for the vacant title. Young defeated Bashir in the first quarter-final match of the tournament to move on to the semi-finals. He then lost to Alex Shelley controversially after Chris Sabin interfered to see The Motor City Machine Guns face off in the final, which was won by Shelley.

On March 20, 2009, Young appeared on Danny Bonaduce's morning radio show on WYSP in Philadelphia where it was announced that the two of them would wrestle each other at Lockdown. Young bad-mouthed Bonaduce and slapped him twice in the face before being pushed out of the room. At the Lockdown pre-show, Young defeated Bonaduce. After the bout, Bonaduce attacked Young before Rhino came to the ring to aid Young and then hit the Gore on Bonaduce.

The World Elite and Global Champion (2009–2010)

Main article: The World Elite

Eric Young at Slammiversary 2009.

Young began to show frustration over losses to the likes of Sting and Jeff Jarrett. On the May 28 Impact!, Young turned heel after attacking Jarrett, who had just defeated him in a King of the Mountain qualifying match. The following week he confronted Jarrett and made implications to him paying more attention to wrestling than to his daughters just like his father, which led to Jarrett slapping him and starting a brawl. The following week Young's good friend Jeremy Borash confronted him in an interview which resulted in Young slapping JB down. At the Slammiversary pre-show, the heel turn was signified even further when he walked out on his tag team partner Rhino in a match against The British Invasion of Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus. His rivalry with Rhino would continue until Young defeated Rhino after a distraction from Rhino's protege Jesse Neal. He would then be chosen by Kurt Angle to be the special guest referee in a 3-way match where Angle faced Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley. Throughout the match he would perpetually slow count all of Jarrett's pinfall attempts and at the end of the match when Angle locked the ankle lock on Foley he ordered for the bell to be rung even though Foley did not tap out or pass out. After the match, Young got beaten down by Jarrett.

On the July 23, 2009, edition of Impact!, Young apologized for his crude remarks and personal issues with Jeff Jarrett, and wished Mick Foley best of luck in his match against Kurt Angle that night for the ownership of TNA and stated "If you lose TNA, I lose TNA. If I lose TNA, I lose everything." Foley allowed Young to join the team of A.J. Styles, Daniels, James Storm, and Robert Roode to face the British Invasion, Kiyoshi, and Sheik Abdul Bashir in a ten-man tag team match. However, in the conclusion of the match, he turned on the TNA originals by hitting Styles with a spike piledriver and allowing him to be pinned. Eric Young then became leader of a new faction named World Elite, consisting of himself (representing Canada), Bashir (representing Iran), Kiyoshi (representing Japan), and The British Invasion (representing the UK). The following week, Young helped Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus win the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Team 3D. On the August 6 Impact! it was revealed that Kurt Angle and Eric Young had made a deal to turn the Main Event Mafia and the World Elite factions into one super faction. That same night Young debuted a new look shaving his head and wearing new attire in a match where he defeated Daniels. On the September 10 edition of Impact!, World Elite recruited Homicide (representing Puerto Rico) into their group, turning him heel in the process. On the October 1 edition of Impact! the alliance between World Elite and Main Event Mafia came to an end in an all out brawl between the two factions. At Bound for Glory Young pinned Kevin Nash in a three-way dance, which also included Hernandez, to win the TNA Legends Championship. On the October 29 edition of Impact!, Young made his first title defense, losing to Bobby Lashley by disqualification. After the match, Young renamed the Legends Championship to the "TNA Global Championship" and claimed he would not defend it on U.S. soil or against any American wrestler. On the November 19 edition of Impact! Kevin Nash congratulated Young on outsmarting him the previous month and joined World Elite. On January 27, 2010, Young lost the Global Championship to World Elite teammate Rob Terry at a house show in Cardiff, Wales. Since the beginning of 2010 World Elite has not appeared together and the only sign of there still being an alliance between its members, apart from the British Invasion, has been Young teaming up with Kevin Nash on the January 21 edition of Impact! in a losing effort against The Nasty Boys.

The Band and mentally challenged gimmick (2010–2011)

Young in 2010.

On the February 11 edition of Impact! Young started showing signs of a face turn after standing up for Kevin Nash after The Band of Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac had turned on him the previous week. The following week Young and Nash brawled with Hall and Syxx-Pac and on the March 8 edition of Impact! Young defeated Syxx-Pac in a singles match, solidifying his status as a face. At Destination X Young and Nash faced Hall and Syxx-Pac in a tag team match, where the Band's TNA futures were on the line. In the end Nash turned on Young and helped the Band pick up the victory, which finally gave them contracts with the company. On the March 29 edition of Impact! Nash offered Young a spot in the Band, claiming that what happened in Destination X was just business and nothing personal. Young refused the offer and in the main event of the evening, teamed up with Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy to defeat the Band in a six-man tag team steel cage match. At Lockdown Nash defeated Young in a steel cage match. On the May 3 edition of Impact!, Young turned heel once again by turning on Team 3D and joining The Band. The following week Nash cashed in his "Feast or Fired" contract and teamed with Hall to defeat Matt Morgan for the TNA World Tag Team Championship Nash named Young one third of the champions under the Freebird rule. At the June 14 tapings of the June 17 edition Impact! The Band was stripped of the Tag Team Championship, due to Scott Hall's legal problems. The following day it was reported that Hall had been released from his contract with TNA. On the June 24 edition of Impact! Young and Nash decided to part ways, as Nash intended to go after Hogan, whom he blamed for what had happened to Hall and Waltman, and did not want Young to get into trouble for it.

At the July 12, 2010, tapings of Xplosion, Young made his return to singles competition, losing to Suicide. In the finish of the match Young took a bump on his head and on the July 29 edition of Impact! he re-emerged as a face, returning to his comic relief roots with a gimmick of a mentally challenged person, teaming with Orlando Jordan and costing him their tag team match against Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore), after throwing a mannequin in the ring, which he had first tagged into the match. The following week Young's antics provided a distraction, which cost Jordan his match against D'Angelo Dinero. Young kept teaming with Jordan the following months, appearing exclusively on Xplosion, before returning to Impact! on the October 7 live edition, where they defeated Ink Inc., after a low blow by Jordan. However, after the match Young announced that they were forfeiting the match due to the finish and suggested they set up a rematch at Bound for Glory. In storyline, Young's mental issues made him completely unaware of Jordan's bisexual orientation and interest in him. At the pay-per-view Young's antics cost him and Jordan the match against Ink Inc. On the November 4 edition of Impact! Young and Jordan were featured in a segment, where they tried to get help from a specialist to improve their relationship with one another. This ended up being Fritz's final appearance for the company on his old contract, which expired shortly thereafter. On November 12 it was reported that Fritz had re-signed with the promotion. Young and Jordan returned to Impact! on December 16, defeating Generation Me (Jeremy and Max Buck) in a tag team match. Prior to the match Young appeared with the old TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt, which had been thrown away by Immortal, when they introduced the newly designed version of the belt. The following weeks, Young kept walking around with the belt, claiming to be the World Heavyweight Champion. On April 17 at Lockdown, Young and Jordan were unsuccessful in becoming the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship in a four tag team steel cage match, which was won by Ink Inc.

On the May 12 edition of Impact!, Young took part in a number one contender's battle royal. After eliminating TNA Television Champion, Gunner, Young jumped out of the ring and left the arena with his title. On May 17 at the tapings of the May 26 edition of Impact Wrestling, Young admitted that he had mistakenly taken Gunner's title and agreed to lie down for him in the ring, but ended up double crossing him and pinning him to win the TNA Television Championship, the title formerly known as the TNA Legends and Global Championship, for the second time, which made him the second person to hold the title under all three of its incarnations. On July 10 at Destination X, Young teamed with the returning Shark Boy to defeat Generation Me in a tag team match. As the new Television Champion, Young started a storyline, where he claimed that the title could only be defended against television stars, making a challenge towards American Gladiators alum Matt Morgan and "defending" the title against TNA producer and former cast member of The Wonder Years, Jason Hervey, in a backstage assault, before embarking on a several-week-long trip to Hollywood to find Scott Baio. The trip culminated in a comedy segment on the August 25 edition of Impact Wrestling, where Young pinned Baio to, in his mind, successfully defend the Television Championship. Young returned to in-ring action on the September 8 edition of Impact Wrestling, when he successfully defended the Television Championship against Robbie E. After another successful title defense against Robbie on the October 27 edition of Impact Wrestling, Young was attacked by both Robbie and his bodyguard Rob Terry, which led to him announcing that he was going to bring Ronnie from the television show Jersey Shore to face them the following week. On November 1, Young became the longest reigning TNA Television Champion in history by breaking the previous record of 167 days, held by Rob Terry. On the November 3 edition of Impact Wrestling, Young and Ronnie were attacked by Robbie E and Rob Terry, which led to a tag team match the following week, where Ronnie pinned Robbie for the win. On November 13 at Turning Point, Young lost the Television Championship to Robbie E, following interference from Rob Terry, ending his reign at 180 days. On December 11 at Final Resolution, Young failed to recapture the title from Robbie E in a rematch.

Teaming with ODB (2011–2013)

On the December 22 edition of Impact Wrestling Young teamed up with ODB in the Wild Card Tournament, advancing to the semifinals after a win over Anarquia and Shannon Moore. The following week, the team was eliminated from the tournament by Magnus and Samoa Joe. After this loss, Young would pursue a storyline relationship with ODB and the two would begin a feud with Angelina Love and Winter. Young and ODB defeated Love and Winter in a tag team match on the January 26 edition of Impact Wrestling. On the March 8 Impact Wrestling, Young and ODB defeated Gail Kim and Madison Rayne to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship, making Young the first male wrestler to have held the title and the first wrestler to have held all of TNA's exclusive tag team titles; the NWA World Tag, TNA World Tag and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships. After the match, ODB accepted Young's marriage proposal.

Young and ODB made their first title defense two weeks later, when they defeated Mexican America (Rosita and Sarita). Young's and ODB's wedding ceremony took place on the April 12 Impact Wrestling. Three days later at Lockdown, Young and ODB defeated Rosita and Sarita in a steel cage match to retain the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. On May 13 at Sacrifice, Young was defeated by Crimson in a singles match. Afterwards, Young took a hiatus from TNA to film his upcoming Animal Planet program. During the hiatus, Young and ODB became the longest reigning Knockouts Tag Team Champions in history by surpassing The Beautiful People's reign of 141 days on July 19. Young returned to TNA on the August 30 Impact Wrestling, reuniting with ODB after her match with Madison Rayne. Young made his in-ring return on November 11 at Turning Point, teaming with ODB to defeat Tara and Jesse in a non-title mixed tag team match. On the following Impact Wrestling, Young was defeated by Jesse in a singles match. The following week during the TNA Turkey Bowl, Young pinned Jesse in a three-way match, which also included Robbie E and forced Jesse to wear a turkey suit as part of the Thanksgiving theme. After the match, both he and ODB were ambushed by the Aces & Eights and they proceeded to injure Young by hitting his exposed ankle with a ball-peen hammer, while ODB was handcuffed outside the ring and forced to watch. Young returned on the February 28, 2013, episode of Impact Wrestling, being revealed as the final member of Sting's Lethal Lockdown team and attacking their opponents, Aces & Eights. On March 10 at Lockdown, Team TNA, consisting of Young, James Storm, Magnus, Samoa Joe, and Sting defeated Aces & Eights, consisting of Devon, DOC, Garett Bischoff, Knux, and Mr. Anderson in a Lethal Lockdown match, with Young pinning Knux for the win.

On the June 20 Impact Wrestling, Young and ODB were stripped of the Knockouts Tag Team Championship by Brooke Hogan due to Young being a male, ending their reign at a record 478 days. The titles were then retired on June 27.

TNA World Heavyweight Champion (2013–2014)

Young in January 2014.

On the September 19, episode of Impact Wrestling Young then returned to singles action when he defeated Robbie E. In September 2013, Young began working and teaming with Joseph Park. On the September 26, episode of Impact Wrestling Young along with ODB and Joseph Park defeated The BroMans (Jessie Godderz and Robbie E) and Gail Kim in a six-person mixed tag team match. At the Bound for Glory pre-show, Eric Young and Joseph Park competed in a tag-team guntlet match for be the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship later that night. However, after eliminating Bad Influence, the team was eliminated by The BroMans. Later, during the PPV, he was attacked by Bad Influence, but was saved by Abyss. On October 31, 2013 episode of Impact, Abyss came to the aid of Eric Young again after he was attacked by Bad Influence, and proved he is no threat to Eric Young. However, on December 5, 2013, Bad Influence revealed the Parks' Law Firm closed 15 years ago. Next week, Park and Young defeated Bad Influence. After the match, Young said to Park that he was Abyss. On December 26, 2013, Young booked a Monster's Ball match between Bad Influence and Park and gave Janice to Park. Joseph won the match when he turned into Abyss. On February 6, 2014, Abyss defeated Young in a Monster's Ball match. However, during the match, Young stripped Abyss' mask, revealing to Park that Abyss and Joseph are the same person. Abyss went on to turn heel as he aligned with Magnus. On March 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, Young lost to Samoa Joe by knockout/submission.

On the April 10, 2014, edition of Impact Wrestling, after winning a battle royal earlier in the night to become number-one contender, Young defeated Magnus to become TNA World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in his career. The victory also makes Young the seventh Triple Crown Champion and the fourth Grand Slam Champion in TNA. The following week, Young successfully made his first title defense against Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. At Sacrifice, Young defeated Magnus in a rematch for the title. Proclaiming himself a fighting champion, he successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Bobby Roode on the following Impact Wrestling. On the May 8, 2014 episode of Impact Wrestling broadcast, Young and Roode agreed to have a rematch, but TNA Director of Operations MVP declined the match and promised World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young that he would reveal his opponent at June's Slammiversary event. MVP revealed himself as the opponent, which was shown when he attacked the champion. On May 15, Young challenged MVP for a match, which he agreed, but was disqualified when Kenny King attacked Young. Bobby Lashley pretended to help Young, but he speared him. On June 5, Young, Bully Ray, Austin Aries and Samoa Joe defeated MVP, Kenny King, Bobby Lashley and Ethan Carter III in a eight-man tag team First Blood match. As Aries and Joe had been among MVP's harshest critics, they were put in matches against MVP associates King and Lashley respectively in singles matches at the PPV. MVP was later injured and not able to compete at the PPV, TNA announced on their website Friday before the PPV, that the match will now be a three-way cage match for the title, with the winners of Lashley vs. Samoa Joe and Austin Aries vs. Kenny King qualifying for the match. At Slammiversary XII, Young successfully defended his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Lashley and Austin Aries. On the June 19, 2014 edition of Impact Wrestling, Young lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Lashley. On the July 3 episode of Impact Wrestling, Eric Young had a rematch but failed to regain the title.

Championship pursuits and departure (2015–2016)

On the January 7, 2015 episode of Impact Wrestling, Young turned heel when he saved Bobby Roode from an attack by MVP, Kenny King, Low Ki and Samoa Joe, but instead hit Roode with a chair, costing Roode his match against Lashley, as well as the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the following night's tapings of the January 16, episode of Impact Wrestling, Young defeated Bobby Roode thanks to help from The Beat Down Clan, and assisted the group in beating down World Heavyweight Champion Lashley, who refused to become a part of the new group. Young and Roode would then face off in a variety of matches, including a steel cage match at Lockdown and a Last Man Standing match, both of which Roode won. The feud ended when Young defeated Roode in a Submission match using the figure-four leglock. Young would then confront Kurt Angle that he is the number one contender. Austin Aries (who won a Feast or Fired briefcase for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship) cashed in, but Young would piledrive Aries on steel steps and then he attacked Angle. Young defeated Kurt Angle in a non-title stretcher match, but on the May 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, Young lost to Angle in a match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with Bully Ray as the special guest referee. At Slammiversary, Eric Young competed in the King of the Mountain match for the TNA King of the Mountain Championship, against Jeff Jarrett, Matt Hardy, Drew Galloway and Bobby Roode, but lost the match. On the July 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, Young competed in an over the top rope battle royal for a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship but lost the match. On the July 29 episode of Impact Wrestling, Eric Young defeated Chris Melendez. On the August 26 episode of Impact Wrestling, he defeated once again Chris Melendez, winning his prosthetic leg. On the September 9 episode Impact Wrestling, during a match featuring Drew Galloway and Chris Mordetzky, Young took Jeff Jarrett's guitar from him to stop GFW from winning the lumberjack match but then turned on TNA by hitting Drew Galloway with the guitar and joining GFW. However. Young along with the rest of GFW was kicked out of TNA after losing to Team TNA at Lethal Lockdown. On the September 23 episode of Impact Wrestling, Eric Young was finally defeated by Chris Melendez in a Lumberjack match, getting his prosthetic leg back.

At Bound for Glory, Young faced a returning Kurt Angle in a No Disqualification match but lost. During October and November (taped in July), he participated in the TNA World Title Series. Young ended first of his block, tied with Bobby Roode, advancing to the round of 16 where he defeated Kenny King and then to Tigre Uno in round of 8 to successed into the semifinals round, but however on the January 5 live broadcast edition of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV, Young almost came in closer to the finals and didn't make it to the final when he was defeated so far by Matt Hardy, thus being eliminated from the tournament. On the January 12 edition of Impact Wrestling, Young defeated Roode to win the TNA King of the Mountain Championship for the record-breaking third time. With this victory, Young is the only wrestler to have held the title in all four of its incarnations, as he won the belt once when it was the Legends Championship, renamed it the Global Championship, and won the title again when it was the Television Championship. On the January 26 episode of Impact Wrestling, Eric Young formed an alliance with Bram, attacking Jeff Hardy and Piledriver him through a table. Eric Young and Bram entered in a feud against Beer Money, after a returning James Storm saved Bobby Roode from an attack of the duo. Eric Young and Bram were defeated by Beer Money at TNA One Night Only, and once again at Lockdown in a Six Sides of Steel match, thus ending the feud. Eric Young entered in a short feud against Jeff Hardy, who defeat him on the March 15 episode of Impact Wrestling in a match for be the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Eric Young was defeated by Jeff Hardy once again in a Six Sides of Steel match on the April 4 episode of Impact Wrestling. On the April 12 episode of Impact Wrestling, Eric Young and Bram were defeated by Beer Money, in a match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, which also included Decay and The BroMans. During the match, Bram unintentionally hit Young. On the April 17 episode of Impact Wrestling, Eric Young declared that he left TNA with the TNA King of the Mountain Championship with Bram. However, Bram refused, which resulted to Eric Young attacked him. At Sacrifice, Eric Young lost the title to Bram in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

On March 19, 2016, TNA announced that Young would be leaving the company after 12 years.

Global Force Wrestling (2015)

On July 7, 2015, it was announced that Young would be part of Global Force Wrestling (GFW). He attacked Jeff Jarrett and stole his King of the Mountain Championship. On July 11, Young was defeated by Johnny Gargano. After the match, Jarrett took the title from Young. Jarrett happily welcomed Young to GFW after he turned on TNA.

WWE

NXT (2016–present)

Main article: Sanity (professional wrestling)

Though not under contract, Young returned to WWE on the May 4 episode of NXT by confronting recently crowned NXT Champion Samoa Joe. Young faced Joe in the main event of the evening and was defeated by submission.

On the October 12th episode of NXT, Young made his return marking his official debut in NXT. Young debuted along with Alexander Wolfe, Sawyer Fulton and Nikki Cross as the heel stable SAnitY. On the November 2 episode of NXT, Sanity lost in the second round of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. On the November 23 episode of NXT, a match between Rich Swann and Kona Reeves was interrupted by SAnitY when No Way Jose came to the ring and called out Young and Young’s allies, leading to a brutal attack on Jose. On the November 30 episode of NXT, Young defeated No Way Jose. On the December 7 episode of NXT, Young and Wolfe defeated No Way Jose & Rich Swann. On the December 14 episode of NXT, Young was defeated by Tye Dillinger by Disqualification in a No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Qualifying Match. On the January 18 episode of NXT, Young invited Tye Dillinger to join SAnitY in which Dillinger turned down the offer, afterwards Killian Dain debuted and SAnitY beat Tye down. On the January 18 episode of NXT, Young defeated Chris Atkins. At NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Young defeated Dillinger. On the February 8 episode of NXT, SAnitY defeated Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose and Roderick Strong in a six-man tag team match. After the match, they were attacked by the debuting Ruby Riot. At NXT TakeOver: Orlando, SAnitY defeated Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno and Ruby Riot in an eight-person mixed tag team match. on the May 10 episode of NXT, SAnitY attacked Roderick Strong which led to a match at NXT TakeOver: Chicago where Young lost. on the May 31 episode of NXT, SAnitY (Young and Wolfe) lost to Strong and Kassius Ohno.

Young returned on the August 9 episode of NXT when SAnitY attacked The Authors of Pain. At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, Wolfe and Dain were originally scheduled to face The Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Championship, but before the match started, a brawl between the two teams occurred and after the match started, Young injected himself in place of Dain before either one could make the first tag of the match, and ultimately, SAnitY defeated The Authors of Pain to capture the titles.on september 28th eric young will face the debut adam cole.

Other media

Fritz appears as a playable character in the video games TNA IMPACT! and WWE 2K18.

Fritz has hosted his own television program, Off the Hook: Extreme Catches, on the Animal Planet channel. After the first season ran successfully from July to September 2012, the show returned for a second season from June to August 2013.

On April 26, 2014, Fritz announced that he would host No Limits, scheduled for May 30 on Animal Planet. The show ran for one season, beginning on May 30, 2014. The show consisted of Fritz taking part in various extreme sports and other activities.

In wrestling

Young performing a camel clutch on Brother Devon.

• Finishing moves
  • Bridging Northern Lights suplex – 2008; used as a signature move thereafter
  • Death Valley driver – 2008–2009
  • Diving elbow drop – 2014–present; used as a signature move from 2003–2013
  • Figure-four leglock – 2015–2016
  • Spike piledriver – 2009–2016
  • Showstopper (Bridging wheelbarrow suplex) – 2003–2004, 2011
  • Youngblood (Wheelbarrow lifted and dropped into an elevated neckbreaker slam) – 2003–2004; 2016–present (NXT)
• Signature moves
  • Backbreaker
  • Belly to belly suplex
  • Front missile dropkick
  • Moonsault
  • Superkick
  • Elevated dragon sleeper to an opponent while seated on the top turnbuckle
• Managers
  • Scott D'Amore
  • Melina
  • ODB
• Wrestlers managed
  • SAnitY (Nikki Cross, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton)
• Nicknames
  • "EY"
  • "The Director"
  • "Showtime"
  • "The Big Game Hunter"
  • "The Bearded Terror"
  • "The World Class Maniac"
• Entrance themes
  • "Oh, Canada" by Dale Oliver (TNA; May 5, 2004 – July 13, 2006; used as a member of Team Canada)
  • "Superhero" by Dale Oliver (TNA; March 9, 2008 – November 2, 2008)
  • "Wolfpac Theme" (Instrumental) by Jimmy Hart & Howard Helm (TNA; May 3, 2010 – June 24, 2010; used as a member of The Band)
  • "T.N.T." by AC/DC (TNA; June 18, 2011)
  • "Vintage" by Dale Oliver (TNA)
  • "Blood & Fire" by Dale Oliver (TNA; January 16, 2015 – March 19, 2016 / GFW; July 7, 2015 – September 16, 2015)
  • "New Heights" by CFO$ (NXT; May 4, 2016)
  • "Controlled Chaos" by CFO$ (NXT; 12 October, 2016–present; used as a member of sAnitY)

Championships and accomplishments

Young as TNA Television Champion.

• American Combat Wrestling
  • ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Allied Powers Wrestling Federation
  • APWF Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
• Family Wrestling Entertainment
  • FWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Fighting Spirit Pro Wrestling
  • FSPW Independent Championship (2 times)
• IWF
  • IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Memphis Wrestling
  • Memphis Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Devine
• Neo Spirit Pro
  • NSP Independent Championship (1 time)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #19 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2014
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • TNA Legends/Global/Television/King of the Mountain Championship (3 times)
  • TNA X Division Championship (1 time)
  • TNA World Beer Drinking Championship (1 time)²
  • TNA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kaz (1) and Kevin Nash and Scott Hall (1)¹
  • TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with ODB
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bobby Roode
  • TNA Turkey Bowl (2011, 2012)
  • TNA World Cup of Wrestling (2014) – with Bully Ray, Gunner, Eddie Edwards, and ODB
  • King of the Mountain (2016)
  • Seventh TNA Triple Crown Champion
  • Fourth TNA Grand Slam Champion
  • Most Inspirational (2006)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal on TNA Impact!
• WWE NXT
  • NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Alexander Wolfe
• Xtreme Wrestling Coalition
  • XWC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

¹ Young defended the championship with either Hall or Nash under the Freebird Rule.
² Championship not officially recognized by TNA.

External links

• Eric Young on WWE.com
• Jeremy Fritz at IMDb 
• Eric Young's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database