In late 2016, WWE NXT began running vignettes for a mysterious and apocalyptic new faction, Sanity. The group made its debut not long after, and it was revealed that its leader was former Impact Wrestling World Champion Eric Young. Young’s steampunk repackaging as the group’s frontman received positive responses, and he led them on to win the NXT Tag Team Championships. Next month, Young, along with fellow Sanity members Big Damo and Axel Tischer, formally Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe, respectively, will reunite next month for the first time since their WWE run at PROGRESS Wrestling 160 – VENDETTA.
In an exclusive Haus of Wrestling interview, Young commented on the opportunity to get back in the ring with some of his fellow Sanity members.
“I loved working with those guys,” he said with a smile. “I think they would probably say the same. I don’t know. We’ll be missing crazy Nikki, but her spirit will be alive and well with us, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
The “Nikki” that Young is referring to is current WWE main roster star Nikki Cross. Cross was one of the original members of Sanity, debuting alongside Young, but was removed from the group when they made their leap to the main roster. Many fans were upset that she was removed from Sanity as she was such a beloved member, and the outrage seemed aimed at Vince McMahon for the bizarre decision. With McMahon no longer in power, I asked Young if there were a chance Paul “Triple H” Levesque would let Cross appear on the big independent UK show.
“You never know. Wrestling, it’s a wild place,” he responded. “I would be surprised, but I’ve been surprised plenty of times in my life.”
Levesque served as the booker for WWE NXT during Sanity’s run and developed a close relationship with Young. The connection between the two is strong enough that Young returned to WWE after McMahon retired last year, reportedly to work with the WWE Chief Content Officer. However, Young never made it to WWE TV, as he reportedly decided to leave after McMahon ended his retirement and reinserted himself into the WWE creative process.
“I still have a very good relationship with Hunter; I was just talking to him a couple of days ago,” Young revealed. “I loved it. The truth is, I never wanted to leave NXT. I knew that the main roster was the destination, and that’s where you made money, and that was kind of the end goal for most people. But the truth was deep in my heart I never wanted to leave in the first place. So yeah, I absolutely loved NXT. The main roster was not the same experience. It was a very poor experience, probably my least favorite out of my 30-plus years in wrestling.”
Despite the WWE creative process reverting back to Levesque’s control, Young tells Haus of Wrestling he is “pot committed” to Impact Wrestling. For that reason, he will not be making a leap back to WWE anytime soon. With that said, he did note that this is pro wrestling, and you can “never say never.”
Haus of Wrestling’s full interview with Young will be released tomorrow at 2 pm EST on the Haus of Wrestling YouTube channel and podcast feed.
Eric Young, Big Damo, and Axel Tischer reunite as Sanity on Sunday, November 26 for PROGRESS Wrestling 160 – VENDETTA. Tickets can be purchased at www.progresswrestling.com.
Haus of Wrestling has partnered with Inside The Ropes to present An Afternoon With Kevin Nash And Sean Waltman on November 25 at Joe’s Live in Rosemont, IL, ten minutes from the All-State Arena. Tickets are now available at JoesLiveRosemont.com.
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