The following are highlights of a new interview with TNA star Gunner:

On teaming and feuding with former partner James Storm: “I’ve always been a tag team fan so to get a chance to team with Storm was great because he had been in two very important and very successful tag teams, as far as Beer Money and America’s Most Wanted. I was at home for 8 or 9 months kinda, sitting in limbo, wondering what was going on, but when they brought me back to team with James, who’s one of the stars of the company, that was obviously a good position for me to be in. We had a fun run and then we got the opportunity to work with each other and carry on a fairly successful storyline that lasted for 5 or 6 months that the fans got invested in it. He’s a guy who goes out and works hard and I tend to think that I work hard. When you put two guys in the ring like that they wanna give, the best product.”

On performing on the Basebrawl shows in baseball stadiums: “It’s a different vibe because you don’t have the acoustics that you do inside of a building as far as the crowd. It’s just really cool, it’s an outside environment, reminds me of the old WrestleMania when I was a kid out at the old Caesar’s Palace and all that stuff, always enjoy those outside venues.”

On TNA World Champion Eric Young: “Eric is one of the most entertaining and most well deserved guys that I think they’ve finally put the title on. He’s been there for a long time. It’s a different time in wrestling, you look at wrestling back in the 90’s it was all 250-300lb guys. I think it’s really good for the business that it’s changed to where certain weight classes are getting that opportunity, like when Austin Aries had the title, I think it’s good because it gives those guys an opportunity, like Aries, he’s an amazing talent in the ring, for those guys to get a chance to run with the title, I think it’s good for the business.”

Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.

The TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view main event could be in jeopardy, as MVP has apparently suffered a knee injury on Friday night while working for Preston City Wrestling. MVP later explained that he heard his knee “pop” during the match.

MVP was scheduled to work another match on Saturday, but came out at the beginning of the show and cut a promo explaining that he was injured. He said he went to the hospital and got an X-Ray that came back inconclusive. He said he needs to undergo an MRI.

Whether or not the injury is serious enough to affect his pay-per-view match with Eric Young in two weeks is a serious question.

– TNA began running promotional ads on the New York City radio station WFAN this week. WFAN is among the most expensive sports radio stations in the country to advertise on. TNA is running ads for their upcoming television tapings in August, with the following talent listed in the advertisement: Eric Young, MVP, Bobby Lashley, Kenny King, Velvet Sky and “New York’s own Bully Ray.”

– Samoa Joe made his return to TNA on last night’s edition of Impact Wrestling. Prior to Joe returning at the TNA tapings in early May, he had been away since the company’s TV tapings in March.

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young recently spoke to The Sports Courier’s Fred Richani for a new interview.

Young spoke about his upcoming “Off Limits” show on Animal Planet, his TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view main event against MVP, his epic beard and more.

You can check out the complete interview above.

On Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling, it was announced that Ethan Carter III will face at the upcoming TNA Slammiversary PPV. Here’s the updated card:

TNA World Championship Match:
– Eric Young (c) vs. MVP

Grude Match
– Bully Ray vs. Ethan Carter III

Join us here Sunday night, June 15th for Live Coverage of TNA Slammiversary XII.

 Top TNA Stars Contacting Jeff Jarrett & ROH, Worried About TNA’s Future

– TNA star Davey Richards revealed on his official Facebook page recently that he is now officially engaged to his girlfriend.

– TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young will be hosting “Monster Week” on Animal Planet this week.

The following are highlights of a new RCWR Show interview with former TNA star Christopher Daniels:

On his TNA departure: “Just disappoint really. I envisioned there be an opportunity for Bad Influence vs the Wolves to happen on television but I found out that really wasn’t in the plans. TNA made the decision of what they thought was best for their product. I don’t necessarily agree with it but in the end it’s their decision and they need to make the decision that they think are best for their business. Whether it’s for financial reasons, creative reasons or a mixture of the two. So disappointment? Yes but not frustration or bitterness. It’s happened before. For every company around has made decisions that have fans scratch their heads on but at the same time those guys have the long term picture in their heads and it may not be clear to the wrestling fans at this point of why they’re doing it but something will come in the future where they will understand and at the same time I’m not dwelling on that decision. I’m looking forward to working in different companies, and the many matchups available for myself and Frankie Kazarian right now in the independent scene. It’ll be interesting to see what we do in the next couple of months.”

On fans seeing TNA as an unrecognizable product with so many veterans gone: “In terms of my presence there you’ll see and feel in the next couple of months cause I won’t be there and you’ll be able to notice before Daniels and after Daniels in that respect. But for people that are saying they’re not going to recognize the talent roster, my retort to that is there’s still going to be guys like James Storm, Ken Anderson, Gunner, Robbie E and Jesse G, people like Gail Kim and the Beautiful People are still there. And then you’re getting this opportunity with guys like Sanada, like Brittney, like Tigre uno, Bram, even Magnus who is still somewhat new to the promotion or at least to the position that he’s in far as being one of the top guys. He’s still a young face and is making strides as a character and as a performer. I think that most wrestling fans will give wrestling an opportunity and it’s up to those people that I just named to give the wrestling fan base reasons to continue to tune in. I neglected to even mention Eric Young who’s their new World champion there. He’s been around for a while, he’s a recognizable face and he’s now the World champion. He’s already got another show in the works for Animal Planet, he’s a very high profile individual and probably a very good choice of World Champion at this point. Now it depends on building up that fan base and getting them use to the idea of Eric Young as champion and those names that I just mentioned to be the benchmark for the company.”

On Eric Young as World Heavyweight Champion: “I feel like he sort of got thrown in the deep end. There wasn’t really an opportunity for fans to get behind him, get behind his road as a no. 1 contender. It all happened so quickly. That’s no fault to Eric as it’s the decision the creative team made. Now it’s up to the creative team and the company as a whole to sort of get behind Eric. The creative team has to decide on how to present him as a strong champion and put all their effort behind him or do you go back to Magnus. Are they going to make Eric a transitional champion and put the title on someone else? These are all the questions that have to be answered in the next couple of months. I feel like if he’s given the chance to succeed on his own merit then I believe he can succeed. It’s just a matter of how decisions are made sometimes and like I said you don’t always understand them when their first made but hopefully people can take a step back and sort of look at the grand picture and hopefully things will turn out will for Impact and Eric Young overall.”

On the reason he was never World Heavyweight Champion: “Not my decision. Those decisions don’t come from us. Any wrestler that has ever been asked why you haven’t been World champion yet the answer is you’re asking the wrong people. When you have your interview with John Gaubrick, Dave Lagana or Matt you can ask them. I think every wrestler in the world has wanted to be World champion at some point and written a scenario where they could be World champion and I’m no exception. I’ve pitched ideas and thought to myself maybe I could do this or that or maybe this would be a good position for me, why they didn’t go that way? In the end it goes back to that broad picture. Creative teams usually have this broad idea and they have certain months and months in advance sort of laid out and their decision making…it’s not up to me to question as I just assume they are just doing what’s best for their business. I thought for a while I was hot enough to do something in that respect but they obviously had a different idea or at least they viewed me in a different light in terms of what I could bring to the table as a character, performer.”

Check out the complete interview above.

The following are highlights of a new RCWR Show interview with former TNA star Christopher Daniels:

On his TNA departure: “Just disappoint really. I envisioned there be an opportunity for Bad Influence vs the Wolves to happen on television but I found out that really wasn’t in the plans. TNA made the decision of what they thought was best for their product. I don’t necessarily agree with it but in the end it’s their decision and they need to make the decision that they think are best for their business. Whether it’s for financial reasons, creative reasons or a mixture of the two. So disappointment? Yes but not frustration or bitterness. It’s happened before. For every company around has made decisions that have fans scratch their heads on but at the same time those guys have the long term picture in their heads and it may not be clear to the wrestling fans at this point of why they’re doing it but something will come in the future where they will understand and at the same time I’m not dwelling on that decision. I’m looking forward to working in different companies, and the many matchups available for myself and Frankie Kazarian right now in the independent scene. It’ll be interesting to see what we do in the next couple of months.”

On fans seeing TNA as an unrecognizable product with so many veterans gone: “In terms of my presence there you’ll see and feel in the next couple of months cause I won’t be there and you’ll be able to notice before Daniels and after Daniels in that respect. But for people that are saying they’re not going to recognize the talent roster, my retort to that is there’s still going to be guys like James Storm, Ken Anderson, Gunner, Robbie E and Jesse G, people like Gail Kim and the Beautiful People are still there. And then you’re getting this opportunity with guys like Sanada, like Brittney, like Tigre uno, Bram, even Magnus who is still somewhat new to the promotion or at least to the position that he’s in far as being one of the top guys. He’s still a young face and is making strides as a character and as a performer. I think that most wrestling fans will give wrestling an opportunity and it’s up to those people that I just named to give the wrestling fan base reasons to continue to tune in. I neglected to even mention Eric Young who’s their new World champion there. He’s been around for a while, he’s a recognizable face and he’s now the World champion. He’s already got another show in the works for Animal Planet, he’s a very high profile individual and probably a very good choice of World Champion at this point. Now it depends on building up that fan base and getting them use to the idea of Eric Young as champion and those names that I just mentioned to be the benchmark for the company.”

On Eric Young as World Heavyweight Champion: “I feel like he sort of got thrown in the deep end. There wasn’t really an opportunity for fans to get behind him, get behind his road as a no. 1 contender. It all happened so quickly. That’s no fault to Eric as it’s the decision the creative team made. Now it’s up to the creative team and the company as a whole to sort of get behind Eric. The creative team has to decide on how to present him as a strong champion and put all their effort behind him or do you go back to Magnus. Are they going to make Eric a transitional champion and put the title on someone else? These are all the questions that have to be answered in the next couple of months. I feel like if he’s given the chance to succeed on his own merit then I believe he can succeed. It’s just a matter of how decisions are made sometimes and like I said you don’t always understand them when their first made but hopefully people can take a step back and sort of look at the grand picture and hopefully things will turn out will for Impact and Eric Young overall.”

On the reason he was never World Heavyweight Champion: “Not my decision. Those decisions don’t come from us. Any wrestler that has ever been asked why you haven’t been World champion yet the answer is you’re asking the wrong people. When you have your interview with John Gaubrick, Dave Lagana or Matt you can ask them. I think every wrestler in the world has wanted to be World champion at some point and written a scenario where they could be World champion and I’m no exception. I’ve pitched ideas and thought to myself maybe I could do this or that or maybe this would be a good position for me, why they didn’t go that way? In the end it goes back to that broad picture. Creative teams usually have this broad idea and they have certain months and months in advance sort of laid out and their decision making…it’s not up to me to question as I just assume they are just doing what’s best for their business. I thought for a while I was hot enough to do something in that respect but they obviously had a different idea or at least they viewed me in a different light in terms of what I could bring to the table as a character, performer.”

Check out the complete interview below.

The following are highlights of a new Sun Herald interview with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young:

On being TNA World Champion: “I’m living a dream. Being the heavyweight champion is all I’ve wanted to be. The heavyweight champion has the biggest clout in the company. It’s a big responsibility and a role I take very seriously.”

On who helped train him: “I received good training from Von Erich, Leduc, D’Amore and Kanyon,” Young said. “I put in thousands of hours to become a good wrestler.”

On being one of the few originals left in TNA: “TNA’s a cool place to wrestle. I’m one of the four originals left. I’ve been on TV every week since 2004. It’s really cool to be through all the changes at TNA.”

Check out the complete interview at SunHerald.com.

The following is an excerpt from a new Vince Russo blog on Eric Young winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship:

“Over the years there were many other conversations with EY backstage at Universal Studios, during times when he may have been getting down on his position in the company, again, I would look him in the eye and say, “Eric–this is the WRESTLING BUSINESS, you have very little control over anything. All you can do is go out there and be the best you can be, but remember–-the cream ALWAYS rises to the top–-you can’t stop talent”. I told EY those words, because from my heart–-I meant them. Over the years EY had become one of the most talented personalities I had ever worked with. I knew that EY was great inside, and out, and he didn’t need his spot on the roster to affirm that. But, I also knew that some day, some way, some how . . . .

I was watching from home the night EY won the TNA World Title in Orlando. I’m not ashamed at all to say that I cried. I cried because no matter how “predetermined” wrestling is–-this moment in time was not fake to EY. This was that one moment that he had dreamed about his entire life–-and it was here! I would have done anything to be there with him that night–-ANYTHING.

I love Eric Young, and if you personally knew him–-you’d love him too. As somebody who was there for the entire ride, I just want to tell you from the bottom of my heart–-don’t you dare take anything away from the current TNA World Champion. Everything he has at this moment in time of his life–-HE HAS EARNED. And, he has earned it not through politicking, not through power plays, not through stepping over others, and not by putting himself first–traits that have come with many of the “Champions” I have worked with over the years. NO–-EY did it the right way. He did it by believing in himself and never giving up on his dream. He did it through hard work, through dedication, through every bead of sweat that fell from his body, to every kid in the crowd whose face he’s ever put a smile on.

To take nothing away from anybody else, there is no one like EY–-no one. Men like him were the sole reason that I survived in a business for 23 years, when on more occasions than one I wanted to take my ball home and punt it over the freakin‘ fence. Guys like EY gave my job meaning, and made me realize that “it wasn’t so bad”.

EY, I thank you, I love, and I respect you more than you will ever know.”

Check out the complete blog at PyroAndBallyhoo.com.

The TNA stars scheduled for next year’s European tour, which was a solid success for the company earlier this year, are Bully Ray, Magnus, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Ken Anderson, Eric Young, Gail Kim, Gunner, Abyss, Ethan Carter III, Tigre Uno and Rockstar Spud. That would lead you to believe that all of those talents are under contract through the rest of 2014 and into 2015.

In the case of Jeff Hardy, whether he’s under contract or not, he can’t be part of the European tour because of his past drug conviction.

The European tour dates are January 29th in Glasgow, Scotland, January 30th in Manchester, England and January 31st in London, England.

The only show announced as a TV taping is the 1/31 date in London, where two episodes of Impact Wrestling are scheduled to be taped. They’ve also announced an Ultimate-X match for the London show.

TNA World Heavyweight champion Eric Young will defend the gold against TNA Director of Operations MVP at Slammiversary.

The announcement came on Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling, with MVP promising Eric Young that he would reveal his Slammiversary opponent later in the night. After hinting that it was someone that EY had never faced before, MVP beat down the champion and declared himself the #1 contender.

TNA Slammiversary XII takes place on Sunday, June 15 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Read Our Exclusive Interview With TNA World Champion Eric Young

Eric Young has been in TNA for nearly a decade and in that time we have seen him be a member of Team Canada, a stint a a comic book hero Super Eric, all the way through to being the top dog in the company and current TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

The 34-year-old from Florence, Ontario, Canada has won numerous titles turing his time in the company including; X Division champion, multiple time Tag Team champion, Television champion and ever Knockouts Tag Team champion with ODB, however the current title around his waste tops the lot.

We caught up with EY to talk about, getting to work with some of his heroes, his Animal Planet shows, and of course the night he was crowned TNA World Champion, plus much more.

Q. How did you first get into the sport of professional wrestling?

I’ve been a fan since I was five-years-old, I’ve watched it my whole life and it’s all I ever really wanted to do. The week after I finished high school I began training at a gym, and three months after that I had my first pro match and it ha just snowballed from there. I’ve wrestled in all 50 states, every province, wrestled all over the world and now I’m the World Heavyweight champion, it has been a pretty wild ride.

Q. When growing up who were some of the wrestlers that you enjoyed watching?

Being from Canada, Bret and Owen Hart were massive influences on me. Then there were guys like Sting, Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, I have a huge list of wrestlers that I enjoyed watching. I loved Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, there was just something about it from the age of five or six and I  couldn’t get enough.

Still to this day I have lots of VHS tapes with tens of thousands of wrestling, I loved it when I five and I still love it today.

Q. You’ve had the chance to work with the likes of Sting, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, what was it like working with guys you grew up watching?

It’s hard to put that into words, these were guys that I idolised growing up, these were people that I wanted to be. I actually got to wrestle Sting in his first match back after 10 years away, and just being in the ring with him was a dream come true but very surreal at the same time. Sting was always good to be, Hulk as well, they always had time for me and it was great to be able to share a locker-room with guys like that and be on the same roster.

Q. The likes of Sting, Hulk Hogan, AJ Styles, and Jeff Jarrett have all left TNA in recent months, what has that been like?

There is always massive turnover in professional wrestling, people come, people go, some people go to work in other places and some people end up coming back, that is just the nature of the beast. It’s never nice to see anyone go, but I’m still really good buddies with AJ Styles and we talk whenever we get a chance – we’re actually planning on doing a bike trip together in the summer.

Q. When you first started in TNA did you ever think you’ll become World Heavyweight champion?

It’s always something that I wanted, and personally it’s always something I believed I could do. I don’t think there is anybody that doesn’t want to become World Heavyweight champion when they are in this business. The night I won the belt from Magnus on IMPACT! was a great feeling, I’m not taking anything away from him, it was an amazing match and he’s a super talented guy but I was better that day and now I’m the World champion and that sounds kind of crazy to say out loud.

Q. What can we expect from you as Champion?

I told the fans and I meant it, that I’m going to be a fighting champion, that’s the kind of champion I like and that is the kind of champion I’m going to be. Every chance I get to defend my title I will, I will defend my title against anybody, anytime, any place, any time.

Q. Who are some of the people you are looking forward to defending your title against?

The list is huge, pound-for-pound TNA has one of the pro wrestling rosters in the world. I’ve got a massive history with Bobby Roode, and he was they guy that held the belt longer than anybody, I would love to get in the ring and test myself against him.

Guys like Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, Austin Aries, James Storm, Gunner, Ken Anderson, these are all guys that I want to defend my belt against. They are all worthy, they all deserve a shot at the belt and secondly I want to test myself against the best and see what happens.

Q.  What have been some of the highlights for you during your 10 year tenure in TNA?

Obviously my favourite moment was that night on IMPACT! when I won the gauntlet match and then went on to wrestle Magnus and become the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. I wouldn’t change anything about my journey, it’s been an amazing journey, I’ve done all these different roles – I’ve been X-Division Champion, I’ve Tag Team champion on numerous occasions, I’ve held the TV title, I’ve even won the Knockouts Tag Titles with ODB.

One of the things I’m most proud of is being on television every week for nearly 10 years, which is something not many people are able to do. I think that shows my versatility, you never know what is going to happen next in this industry, it’s a crazy business but it has been great to experience all of it, the good, the bad and the indifferent.

I’ve always prided myself when the fans say things like, Eric Young is the most entertaining guy in professional wrestling. That’s really important to me, it always has been, it always will be, that’s the name of the game when it comes right down to it, it’s a television show, and it’s about entertaining people, if that with physicality that’s great, if its with comedy that’s great.

My first two years in TNA I didn’t say a singe word, I was the guy on team Canada to carry the action and to be physical, I got hired here because I was a pro wrestler, it had nothing to do with me being funny, and it’s cool to remind people of that because I’m a pro wrestler at my core, or the other stuff is important to me but I’m a pro wrestler first and foremost.

Q. As World Champion, what more can we expect from yourself for the rest of 2014?

More of the same, I’ve always prided myself putting in 100% effort and it doesn’t matter if I’m sick or I’m hurt I will always put in the same amount of effort. As champion I feel that extra weight on my shoulders, being ‘the guy’ it’s important for me that people say Eric Young was involved in the best match on the show. For me it’s about making moments and memories, it’s about making people remember stuff. I’ve had lots of positive feedback so far and I just want to continue defending my belt and being the best I can.

Q. With yourself as TNA Champion and Daniel Bryan as WWE Champion, is it the era of the beard?

Yeah, it’s obviously the era of the beard, I’m not daft, I don’t live under a rock, I hear these things and I’m sure he hears them too. I’ve actually met Daniel in person and I always hear nothing but good things about him. Anytime anyone want to compare me to him, I have absolutely no problem with that, feel free to carry on, he’s a super talented guy and a tremendous wrestler.

Q. Away from wrestling you’ve also presented a number of hit shows on Animal Planet, what has that been like?

It’s amazing, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I still have other goals in my life but TV is something that I’ve always wanted to do. I love entertaining people, the shows allow me to combine my passion of extreme sports, I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I’ve been all over North America and done lots of crazy things, and it’s been an amazing experience.

Q. What is it like being a guest on the Steve Austin podcast?

Steve and myself are kind of wired the same way, he loves pro wrestling and always has, I love pro wrestling. He’s also an outdoors man, he loves fishing an he watched my shows on Animal Planet and loved them and through the miracle of Twitter I got talking to him, we went back a forth and hit it off right away.

We’re still buddies and talk to this day. For me he was a guy that I idolised and is one of the top five pro wrestlers of all time. I got to go to his house in LA, we sat around his computer with the microphone and we just talked about wrestling and life.

TNA recently issued the following:

Superstars Announced for UK 2015 MAXIMUM IMPACT 7 Tour

Bully Ray, Magnus, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Mr Anderson and Eric Young are among the international stars announced today for the TNA IMPACT WRESTLING UK Tour in January 2015.

TNA is set to bring huge live events to Glasgow, Manchester and London on this very special seventh anniversary Tour. Tickets are on sale now, with prices starting from just £20 (plus booking fee) and discounted family packages available.

Also announced today for the MAXIMUM IMPACT 7 events are Gail Kim, Gunner, Abyss, EC3, Tigre Uno and TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp winner Rockstar Spud. Many more top TNA Superstars will be added to the shows over the coming months.

The Tour will start at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro on Thursday January 29, the same arena where TNA made wrestling history last year by taping live television in the UK for the first time. It then heads to Manchester’s famous Phones 4u Arena.

The Tour ends on Saturday January 31 with a double TV taping at London’s Wembley Arena, which will also include an Ultimate X match – TNA’s fan favourite speciality bout full of high-flying and death-defying action.

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING is broadcast on Challenge in the UK and Ireland every Sunday night at 9pm, as well as on Spike TV in the USA and more than 120 other countries.
TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young said: “Every member of the TNA roster who secures a slot on the UK Tour is honoured by the opportunity. The support from the awesome TNA fans across the UK make the Tour some of our most memorable moments as professional athletes. Ask any adult or child who has attended a TNA live event, and they will tell you the energy and excitement is unmatched.”

Additional announcement about the MAXIMUM IMPACT 7 Tour will be made in the coming months. Seats are moving quickly, so fans who are looking to secure the best seats possible should buy today.

MAXIMUM IMPACT 7 Tour tickets will be available via the TNA UK Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tnawrestlinguk, www.gigsandtours.com/go/tna2015gen, www.ticketmaster.co.uk/TNA-Wrestling-tickets/artist/1008830 or direct from the tour venues. Full details of the UK events are:

Thursday 29 January 2015 | Glasgow The SSE Hydro | www.thehydro.com
Friday 30 January 2015 | Manchester Phones 4u Arena | www.phones4uarena.co.uk
Saturday 31 January 2015 | London Wembley Arena | www.wembleyarena.co.uk

At Tuesday night’s TNA Impact Wrestling tapings, MVP came to the ring and announced that Eric Young’s opponent at Slammiversary would be revealed later in the evening. He called out Eric Young and put him over as a fighting champion, promising to give him a worthy challenger to the TNA World Heavyweight championship.

MVP introduced the #1 contender, but nobody came out. He then attacked Eric Young, declaring himself the #1 contender.

TNA World Heavyweight champion Eric Young will defend the gold against MVP at TNA Slammiversary on Sunday, June 15th from College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

The following press release was recently issued:

Eric Young Tests The Limits Of Outdoor Adventure In The New ANIMAL PLANET Series “NO LIMITS”

From Mexico to Alaska and Everywhere In Between, Professional Wrestler “Showtime” Eric Young Is Back and Braver Than Ever – – New 10-Part Series NO LIMITS Premieres on Friday, May 30, at 8 PM (ET/PT)

(New York, New York, April 28, 2014) – IMPACT Wrestling superstar, self-avowed adrenaline junkie, and recently crowned TNA World Heavyweight Champion, “Showtime” Eric Young has spent the last two summers crisscrossing the country in search of the oddest and craziest fishing techniques for his Animal Planet series, OFF THE HOOK: EXTREME CATCHES. From fishing in the frigid Bering Sea with a hardened crew of commercial fishermen to free diving 50 feet beneath the surface in the tropical waters of Hawaii to catch an octopus, Young has embraced some of the most insane fishing practices and trained with the masterminds who pioneered them. Now, Young’s never-ending thirst for adventure continues on land in the new 10-part series NO LIMITS, where he tries his hand at some of the most extreme physical activities throughout and beyond the continental U.S., dreamt up by some of the most passionate outdoorsmen on the planet. From the intrepid to the insane to the just plain dumb and the all-out dangerous, Eric tests his limitations like never before!

Premiering Friday, May 30, at 8 PM (ET/PT), NO LIMITS follows Young as he showcases adrenaline-fueled adventures that take him to the edge of his comfort zone. This season, Young travels to New York, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Maine and many other locations to experience hidden thrills and to discover the wild subcultures and lifestyles of those driven to live the extremes that the outdoors has to offer. Whether he’s searching for invasive pythons in South Florida, river boarding through Class IV rapids on the Ocoee River in Tennessee, or climbing an Alaskan iceberg from a paddleboard, Young (and his iconic manly beard) won’t stop until he puts his signature move on the competition.

New adventures this season include the following:

– The inhospitable terrain surrounding Death Valley boasts record high temperatures and is covered in thousands of abandoned mines. Eric joins a group of thrill seekers to take a dark and dangerous trip 600 feet underground in a mine that is more than a century old.

– Eric trains to be a lumberjack in the heart of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains with some of the toughest woodsmen he’s ever met. And when his intense training is complete, he’ll compete against the pros.

– In Arizona, Eric learns a new desert sport – sand boarding – which combines insane speeds with a hot sandy surface, which can cause serious skin burns if you wipe out! Will Eric survive the gnarly dunes without running into scorpions?

– Eric travels to Mexico to catch one of the hardest fighting fish in the ocean – the striped marlin. While most anglers battle these huge fish from an actual boat, Eric takes on the difficult task from a small kayak.

– By trekking 40 rugged miles on a snow machine, Eric travels to the Great White North to battle the invasive northern pike and joins three expert fishermen on an excursion into the backcountry.

NO LIMITS is produced by Lucky 8 for Animal Planet. Gregory Henry, Kim Woodard and Dan Bree are the executive producers for Lucky 8. For Animal Planet, Erin Wanner is the executive producer, Jamie Dugger is the producer, and Hilary Tholen is the associate producer.

Animal Planet, a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world’s only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. Animal Planet consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 95 million homes in the US; online assets: www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; Animal Planet L!VE, the go-to digital destination for round-the-clock, unfiltered access to the animal kingdom; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service, and merchandising extensions.

TNA announced the following on their official website for this week’s edition of Impact Wrestling:

“HUGE NEWS: ImpactWrestling.com has learned that Eric Young has informed TNA officials that he plans to defend his World Heavyweight Championship on Thursday’s huge IMPACT broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c! After retaining the gold in a war against Magnus at Sacrifice, Eric Young wants to be a true fighting champion and will put the gold on the line on Thursday! Read the official IMPACT preview below – check out the footage of Eric Young with JB after IMPACT went off the air!”

You can check out a video preview for this week’s show below:

http://youtu.be/cHrISU6SZ60

The following are highlights of a Main Event Radio interview with TNA star Bobby Roode:

Looking back at his first world title run: “Things worked out for the best for myself. Becoming World Champion. Obviously the disappointment was there at Bound for Glory. I was the first ever winner of the BFG series. Going through that series and win it the way that I did. Being with Beer Money, winning the tag team titles with James and before that with Eric Young in Team Canada. This was my first real shining moment as a singles competitor. To win the series was a huge deal. And then to walk in to the main event of BFG against a competitor like Kurt Angle. It was a perfect story for me. Walking out without the title that night was very disappointing for me personally. Looking back at it, the way it all went down; I think it actually helped me out.

“It lit a fire under me and made me want the world title even more. In the end, I won the world title; I held it longer than anybody else in the history of the company. Held it longer than anybody else, something that I’m proud of. Those were great matches with Austin [Aries]. We had really good chemistry together, looking back at those series of matches had together make me really proud. Then we had the tag titles together which was awesome. The ultimate goal in this business as wrestler is to be the world champion. From day one, to be the #1 guy, to be the champion has been my number one focus. My sights are set on Eric [Young] or whoever has the World title, maybe Magnus after Sunday. My goal is to once again be a World Heavyweight Champion.”

Thoughts on Eric Young being champion: “I’m happy for Eric. We’re two guys who came up the same way, grew up in Canada, with the dream of being a wrestler and a world champion. He’s a TNA original, we were tag champs together, there’s a lot of history between the two of us. He’s been in the business long enough and he saw the way that I carried the title and he sees there’s a bullseye on his back. When the time comes to doing business, I’m going to do what I have to do. I know what it takes to get it, to win it, to hold it, to keep it. That eagerness to carry the world championship again and to have that responsibility again. That was something I thrived on and something I missed. I will take that opportunity and make the best of it when it comes again.”

Wrestling Kurt Angle: “Kurt is in my personal opinion the best there’s ever been. He can go out there in his entire career and entertain the masses by his professional wrestling, the way he handles himself in the ring, his character. There’s no doubt that he is the best there’s ever been in this business. For me to have been able to go out there with Kurt and to have produced the matches that we did. To have fans talk about our matches as some of the best matches they’ve seen, or as match of the year; it meant a lot to me. Something that I’m proud of. Unfortunately with Kurt’s injury we had to cut the program short. Hopefully down the road we get to meet up again and do something special.”

Beer Money and would they ever reform: “In my personal opinion, Beer Money is probably the most recognizable, most over act that TNA has been able to produce from the ground up. You have two original guys, two guys who went out there as Beer Money. We had the tag team titles longer than anybody else in the history of the company. It’s something special. This week on Impact we came back for one night only. We had a common goal to soften up our opponents before their matches (Bully Ray & Gunner). In the wrestling business, you never say never for down the road. But for right now Bobby Roode’s goal is to put Bully through a table and then go on to become a World Heavyweight Champion again. I’m sure that James Storm feels the same way and has the same goal to become a Heavyweight Champion. Down the road, if the time is right, and we both feel it’s right; maybe Beer Money will come alive again.”

AJ Styles and Sting’s departures: “It’s unfortunate. At the end of the day this is a business Not everybody is going to be happy and people go their separate ways. It’s the wrestling business and we’re seen it happen a million times. Unfortunately, AJ was a TNA original and was the face of our company for a very long time. That departure bothers me the most. I had a great relationship with AJ, we were friends, we were part of Fortune together, and we had some great matches. I understand where AJ’s coming from, it’s all business, and I wish him nothing but the best. Sting was a great guy to have in our locker room. He was a veteran leader. A guy that you can go and talk to, a guy who I had some memorable matches, and a guy who mentored me a lot and taught me a lot in the ring. He’s an icon; his name will live forever in this business. And I wish him nothing but the best of luck. At the end of the day this is a business and you’ve got to do what you can for yourself.”

Future Stars: “Our company is looking really strong for the future. Ethan Carter has a hell of a career in front of him. He’s young; he’s got a lot to learn. His eyes and his ears are always open, always asking for advice. He’s handling himself better each and every week. Down the road he will be a main event guy and possible champion. Gunner’s the same thing. He’s got a look and demeanor about him that is world champion material. The Wolves wrestling ability speaks for themselves. They’re a great tag team and great individual wrestlers as well. The future looks very bright.”

Whatever happened to his classic weapon, the hockey stick: “If it calls for it, I’m not afraid to pull it out. Here’s a funny story: Scott D’Amore, Coach D’Amore introduced the hockey stick every match. I used to wear a hockey pad and we were going to use frozen hockey pucks and put it in my sleeve and hit people in the back of the head with clotheslines. That’s another Canadian cliché, a hockey cliché that we were going to use. Maybe I’ll take out a hockey stick for my match against Bully at Sacrifice. Or maybe they’ll make a table out of hockey sticks and I can put him through that.”

When will TNA return to Canada: “Hopefully we can come back to Canada soon. I would love to get an opportunity to run TV in Montreal, or in Toronto, even in Ottawa. Running 4-5 shows would be great. The guys love coming up to Canada, the Quebec area especially. We didn’t get there last year at all. Hopefully this summer or in the fall we can come up to Canada and have Montreal be one of our stops.”

Check out the complete interview at WebSportsMedia.com.

The following are highlights of a recent Examiner interview with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young:

Learning from his co-workers: “The locker room at TNA is a wealth of knowledge. Kurt Angle is an example of a guy you can’t help but learn from, and there are certainly others. I am friends with many of the guys on the roster and I am always learning and exploring how to get better.”

Being versatile: “Versatility is something I pride myself on and have focused on from the first day I started wrestling. I’ve won every belt in TNA – including Knockouts Tag titles. I can face anyone and go wherever the match leads and takes me. Versatility is my strong suit. It is hard to prepare for someone like me.”

Keeping his beard for TNA & his Off The Hook reality show: “I think if I shaved my beard I might lose both of my jobs. The beard is one of my things now and has been since 2009. I had a beard when it was considered weird. If I shave now people would not recognize me.”

Reaction to him being champ: “The beard makes me completely recognizable. There is no hiding from it – and I don’t want to hide from it. People I meet love seeing the title. They tell me congrats Champ – and it is a thrill. It will never get old.”

Check out the complete interview at Examiner.com.

The following is the final lineup for tonight’s TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view:

TNA World Heavyweight Title Match
Magnus vs. Eric Young

TNA X-Division Title Match
Tigre Uno vs. Sanada

TNA Knockouts Title Match
Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne

TNA Tag-Team Title Handicap Match
Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Robbie E, Jessie Godderz & Zema Ion

Tables Match
Bully Ray vs. Bobby Roode

I-Quit Match
Gunner vs. James Storm

Committed Match
Samuel Shaw vs. Mr. Anderson

Tag-Team Match
Willow and Kurt Angle vs. Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud

Make sure to visit SESCOOPS.COM later tonight for the absolute best live play-by-play results coverage of TNA Sacrifice 2014.

TNA World Champion Eric Young announced via his official Twitter account that his new show, “No Limits,” will premiere on Animal Planet on May 30th. Young tweeted the following:

It's OFFICIAL! MY new show NO LIMITS airs on @AnimalPlanet may 30th at 800pm #nolimits #newshow #imover

— Eric Young (@ShowtimeEY) April 26, 2014

The Discovery Channel sent out a press release earlier this week, which you can read below:

“”Professional wrestler Showtime Eric Young returns to Animal Planet in NO LIMITS, a continuation of the adventure series OFF THE HOOK: EXTREME CATCHES. Follow Young, an avid yet novice outdoorsman, as he crisscrosses the country to try his hand at various extreme activities, ranging from wildly dangerous to all-out weird! Now that he’s conquered extreme fishing, Young’s never-ending thirst for adventure takes him on a new road trip where he meets some of the toughest and craziest people in the country and embraces their odd, local, adrenaline-fueled traditions. From Young learning what it takes to be a lumberjack in the Smoky Mountains to surfing gnarly sand dunes in Arizona, his newfound quest pushes him to the edge of his comfort zone while he showcases some of America’s most extreme lifestyles.”

The following are highlights of a new Between The Ropes interview with Eric Young:

On how he celebrated his TNA Title win: “To be honest, I had a couple beers at Friday’s. I actually treated myself and got Tostito nachos because I wanted to live on the wild side and then I went to sleep.”

On winning the TNA Title: “It’s cool to share that with a bunch of my buddies backstage. Being there for so long and working with so many people. A lot of people don’t get to see coming through the curtain and having everybody there standing and clapping, that huge having the admiration of your peers. The crowd doesn’t get to see that. It’s really special.”

Check out the complete interview at BetweenTheRopes.com.

The following is the final lineup for this Sunday’s TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view:

TNA World Heavyweight Title Match
Magnus vs. Eric Young

TNA X-Division Title Match
Tigre Uno vs. Sanada

TNA Knockouts Title Match
Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne

TNA Tag-Team Title Handicap Match
Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Robbie E, Jessie Godderz & Zema Ion

Tables Match
Bully Ray vs. Bobby Roode

I-Quit Match
Gunner vs. James Storm

Committed Match
Samuel Shaw vs. Mr. Anderson

Tag-Team Match
Willow and Kurt Angle vs. Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud

TNA issued the following press release today …

TNA Entertainment, the Nashville-based sports entertainment company known for the global pro wrestling program, IMPACT Wrestling, has signed with UTA, it was announced jointly today by Dixie Carter, President of TNA Entertainment, and UTA.

TNA Entertainment’s IMPACT Wrestling, one of Spike TV’s top-rated shows, averaging 1.4 million viewers each week, is broadcast in 120 countries worldwide. Additionally, TNA Entertainment produces more than 100 live Impact Wrestling events each year as well as monthly PPV events with such internationally beloved professional wrestling stars as Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle, Eric Young, Magnus, James Storm, MVP, Gail Kim and the lovely and lethal Knockouts.

UTA will represent the 12-year-old company to extend its television broadcast reach as well as to expand its licensing programs and slate of live event programming. TNA will also leverage UTA’s expertise in digital and social media to build monetization strategies for its digital media operations. TNA launched a cross-platform programming effort, #IMPACT 365, in October 2013 to provide viewers with ongoing storyline and original content 24/7 on its website and across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and other platforms.

“UTA’s diverse range of capabilities make them an ideal partner to help TNA add tremendous visibility and value to the global IMPACT Wrestling brand,” said Dixie Carter. “We are confident that by working with the UTA team, we will not only expand our wrestling business in exciting ways, but we will also build new entertainment ventures and properties.”

TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held sports entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee, that specializes in events, products, numerous TV properties, merchandise and music, as well as, the management and promotion of professional wrestlers. The product is the world’s most innovative experience in professional wrestling and is broadcast in more than 120 countries. For more information, please visit www.impactwrestling.com.

United Talent Agency is a premier global talent and literary agency representing many of the world’s most widely-known figures in every current and emerging area of entertainment, including motion pictures, television, digital media, video games, books, music, theatre and live entertainment. The agency is also globally recognized in the areas of film finance, film packaging, corporate consulting, branding, licensing, endorsements and the representation of production talent. The agency operates the brand strategy firm UTA Brand Studio as well as New York and Los Angeles-based United Entertainment Group, a joint venture firm focusing on branded entertainment for Fortune 500 companies. UTA also owns leading broadcast and news agency N.S. Bienstock.

The following are highlights of a recent Busted Open Radio interview with TNA star Gunner:

It has to be an exciting time for not just you, but for TNA as a whole because there has been a shift in how the talent is being used. Do you like how the talent is now being used in a different way? “Absolutely and you know that in pro wrestling, it’s built around the younger guys. Initially, we’re the ones that are gonna help take the company into the future. Kurt Angle and those guys won’t be around forever so for me to finally get the opportunity to show what I can do, them believing in me and believing in other guys as well. I mean, we are the future of company and the future of the business, so you either get to carry the ball or you drop the ball and if you drop the ball you’re obviously not going to be in that position so I’m very confident in my ability to carry that ball for TNA.”

You mentioned that you wouldn’t have re-signed if you weren’t confident in the direction things are going. Is it safe to say that TNA is not going to drop the ball going forward? “I do agree, man. We can sit here and talk about all the computer, lawyers all day. But the fact is it’s been around for 11 or 12 years now TNA. I’ve been with them since 2009 and I think since day 1 they’ve been the company that everybody talked bad about and talked about financial problems. But we’re fine. We’re continuing our ratings the way they have been and I’m confident in the company. Like I said, if I wasn’t then I wouldn’t have re-signed. I’m happy where I am. I’m happy with the company and where it stands.”

There are a lot of people that are happy that Eric Young is now the champion because of how long he had been underutilized. Is Eric the right guy to be the TNA champion? “Sure. Yeah, and Eric Young is definitely a deserving individual. Personally, I love Eric to death. He’s a great guy; he’s worked his tail off since he’s been in TNA. Not only that, but he does his own TV show now, so people know who he is and maybe they’re tuning in because of that reason. A guy that people have always stood behind; I think is a great thing. It’s good for storyline; it’s good for the fans. The fans want to see something different. Usually, TNA has always been a company to give them something different from the six sided ring, to the X division and all these other X division matches. Storyline wise it just continues to be a great company with a great opportunity with Eric Young as the champion.”

You had the feast or fired briefcase for a bit but didn’t successfully cash it in. With Eric Young becoming champion, do you feel like you should be getting your shot at the belt soon? Do you agree that you should be a future champion? “I do agree. I’m not just saying that because you asked me the question. But I do agree because I’ve been around with TNA since 09. I feel like I’ve paid my dues when it comes to this company. They gave me the opportunity in Manchester and obviously James Storm screwed me out of that opportunity. But in the future, with the Bound for Glory series kicking off after Slammiversary in June, it’s something I’m pretty sure I am going to be a part of. But in the future, I don’t know about this year but eventually, being a world champion is my goal. It’s always been my goal since I started wanting to become a wrestler when I was 5 or even started training in 2000. Whoever it is, Eric Young, or Magnus or anybody, I look forward to getting that opportunity once again.”

Since James Storm has turned heel, most of the fans that were behind him have started to gravitate towards you; so kudos to you because you have really won the hearts of the TNA fans. “Yeah, I think so, and we can feel it. Even though I’ve been there for a while, it was real touchy when we did live events, especially when we did live events in Tennessee, but yeah they really have. And as much as I hate James for bashing my dad in the head with a beer bottle and doing what he has done to me, I respect him as a performer and as an entertainer; as a man, not so much. He knows what he is doing in the ring and he definitely has the people hating him right now with me being the babyface in the whole storyline. And I think I’m a good enough babyface to make the storyline and I’m just going out there and really being myself other then I don’t go around bashing my head on turnbuckles every day. I’m taking my real life scenario. Me being in the marine core, me wanting to work with the wounded warriors and stuff like that and just carrying it over. I think people are gravitating towards that because they do respect obviously the military, but it’s something. I’ve never demanded respect, I’ve always wanted to go out and earn it and when I first came into TNA with the storyline about Garrett and Immortal, the crowd hated me. I feel like I’m finally earning their respect and I’m not the guy that will do 50 or 60 different moves during a match. I’ve been very basic. TNA crowds want to see a lot of stuff, but I feel like they are finally respecting who I am as a character, as a performer and as a man so that right there means a lot to me.”

Take us back to when you decided to have your dad get involved in the program involving you and James Storm. “Yeah, it was, and first of all to have my father involved in a program is great because he’s the one who has really supported me 100% throughout my whole career. He always told me as a kid you could do what you want to do if you never give up and he’s the one I grew up sitting on the couch watching wrestling with. So, just to have him be a part of the storyline and be a part of what I do for a living and what I love obviously means a lot. Unfortunately he got bashed in the head with a beer bottle, so that was not what we were planning to have done. I think you’re right with telling stories. It’s what the fans really want to see. Even as a kid, I was amazed by the characters like the Warrior, Macho Man and guys like that. But I was always into the storylines like the one with Jake the Snake Roberts, Macho Man and Ms. Elizabeth. It always amazes me what helped build up into a blow off match. I think TNA has really done that with me and James, which is great. We’ve been feuding with each for close to 6 or 7 months now. At Sacrifice this Sunday, we have the I quit match with me and James where I believe it’s the blow off match for us. So we are gonna get it on like we do. But the fans, I get so much feedback on Twitter, Facebook and all of my social media sites about how much they love it and how much time has been put into it. They really appreciate what we are doing as performers.”

Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.