Eric Young compares his two runs with IMPACT Wrestling (Exclusive)

Eric Young is a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer for IMPACT Wrestling.

Ahead of IMPACT Wrestling's Rebellion pay-per-view, Young sat down with John Scott of Sportskeeda at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London to talk about a variety of subjects. When asked to compare his first run with IMPACT Wrestling to the one he's having now, Young believes a lot of it comes down to who he was as a character at the time.

"Well, I mean, obviously, the difference is who I was on the show at the time," Eric Young said. "My first one, with Nick Aldis, I was the underdog, the babyface. It just kind of happened organically on the show. I was coming out of something else and wasn't really in the title picture. I ended up cutting this really good promo with MVP, and that kind of like lit this fire under the fan base, and everyone just -- I was becoming popular at that point, almost like the writing team didn't have much of a choice. I had to win because of my popularity at that point."

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Eric Young believes his two runs in IMPACT Wrestling are the mirrors of his career

Eric Young admitted that when he made his return to IMPACT Wrestling in 2020 it was a completely different company than it was the first time he was there. But the history of the company and what he has done there in the past remains intact.

"And fast forward, coming back to IMPACT now, and it's a completely different company. But the lineage of titles is still there," Eric Young continued. "Anybody that says they don't want to be the world champion is either lying to you or is in this business for the wrong reasons. It's something that I've done twice now, and I'm craving that responsibility. In wrestling, I want that responsibility because you're the flagship of this $100,000 show, a million-dollar show, so it's a huge compliment."

Young has played a heel character since his return to IMPACT Wrestling two years ago, which is a sharp contrast to the character the fans in the IMPACT Zone fell in love with back in 2014. Playing two different characters is something Young has very much enjoyed.

"The second one, I turned heel on my first show back as the World Class Maniac and Violent by Design and all this, so it's a completely different way of winning it, and holding it and carrying it and stuff. So it's kind of a mirror of my career," Eric Young said. "I've gotten so many different things from so many different angles and two completely different characters...it's a cool thing." (Timestamp: 2:30 - 4:30)

Fans in the UK can watch IMPACT Wrestling on IMPACT Plus and/or the IMPACT Insiders YouTube channel.

What do you make of Eric Young's comments? Which EY run have you enjoyed more in IMPACT Wrestling over the years? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Sportskeeda with a link back to this article for the transcription.