WWE News: Former TNA Star Eric Young Has Not Signed With WWE Despite WWE NXT Appearance
Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young made his WWE debut last night on the WWE NXT taping. He came out very early in the night to confront new NXT Champion Samoa Joe. The two then fought later in the night with Samoa Joe winning after a good match with the two. It was noted for weeks after Eric Young decided to leave TNA that he would be heading to WWE. Both he and Bobby Roode were expected to be targeted by WWE and it looked like both would be signed soon.
When WWE came back for NXT tapings, both Roode and Young were backstage. Only Eric Young worked the tapings, but it does look as if Roode will be signed soon enough and could very well be with the company officially at some point this summer. According to Daily Wrestling News, despite Young’s appearance and match, he is not signed with WWE at all. This means he worked the show only, but we should certainly not rule out more appearances.
Does this mean he won’t be signing a deal? That seems doubtful. The internet exploded when Young appeared at the tapings and the live NXT crowd blew the roof off the building. Clearly EY’s appearance was anticipated, but no one knew if or when he would make his debut. Now that WWE fans have gotten behind him, there is no way WWE won’t find a way to bring him in. WWE wants to bring in someone like Eric Young for a few reasons.
The first is that he is obviously an excellent worker who is an all-around talent. He can talk well and work well in the ring. Plus, his style mixes with everyone on the roster and obviously has the ability to blend with anything WWE asks of him. He is an excellent character actor. Young has played sane and crazy, good and evil. As a character, Eric Young has more than enough ability to work with WWE and do anything they ask of him.
Characters are important to WWE. When you are able to do anything asked of you as a performer, that shows you can be put in literally any role and excel in it. Young made things like Super Eric work in TNA Wrestling. Clearly, if he can do that, then he can obviously work in a role WWE asks of him.
WWE needs to bring in a lot of people. With the possible brand split, WWE is going to need a lot of people to come up and help fill roster spots. Eventually, this will gut WWE NXT and there will be a need to bring a lot of people in. This could very well be why WWE is attempting to sign as many top stars as they can from the independent scene while also signing potential “project talent.”
The project talent would train for a year or so to become a good performer for WWE. Meanwhile, NXT will show the people who are ready to be used but are newer to the WWE. Some may be called up sooner than others, but you might have some NXT lifers. It is almost certain that due to Eric Young’s flexibility as a performer, he will most likely see the main roster eventually. However, there has to be a need for him. Right now, WWE has yet to bring up some important talent like Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura.
People like Eric Young and Bobby Roode will take their spot. Once WWE brings in other talent and has a need for people like Young and Roode on the main roster, they will see it. As of now, however, we will have to wait and see what happens with Young. The fact that WWE allowed him to work, especially against the NXT Champion on his first night, means they clearly believe he will sign something soon.
[Image via WWE]
