TNA Wrestling’s Eric Young on Hosting ‘Vinyl Obsession’ & Season 2’s Celeb Record Fans

TNA Wrestling star Eric Young has been tapped to host Season 2 of AXS TV’s Vinyl Obsession. One might ask what makes the former World Champion a good candidate for this assignment. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find Young is a big record enthusiast having amassed more than 2,000 vinyl albums. He is also a regular on the Nashville music scene attending countless concerts.   

The show sees Young link up with some of the biggest names in and out of music as they decide their top five records of all time. Megadeth Dave Mustaine and radio personality Bobby Bones kick off the season with a trip to Grimey’s in Nashville. From there, former Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach and Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett take over the search at The Record Parlour in Los Angeles. Future episodes include guitarist John 5, Grammy winner Steve Vai, Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt, Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, 98 Degrees’ Jeff Timmons, pop icon Debbie Gibson, and more. 

Ahead of the premiere, Young goes on the record about the season and the recent resurgence of TNA’s popularity. 

Eric Young (TNA Wrestling)

What made you start collecting vinyl? 

Eric Young: Music has just been a massive part of my life. My parents were avid music collectors. Actually, a quarter of my collection is probably my mom and dad’s. I’ve got some old Bob Dylan albums that are older than me that still play. Then like everyone else, I had music digitally and did not own anything. My wife bought me a record player about 10 years ago. She might regret that now because I went nuts. For me, I’m curating in my opinion the perfect record collection. It’s only perfect because of me and my music taste. I truly listen to everything. I’ve got old country albums, Biggie Smalls. Punk rock, everything. If I’ve heard something I like, I want to physically own it. 

Being a able to have a record store to yourself and picking your favorite vinyl sounds like a dream come true. Then again a very difficult decision having to narrow down to a Top 5. 

I start by giving people on the show the task, but I know it can be an impossible thing to do. I think it would depend on when you catch me and the mood I’m in. If I’m in a good mood like I am now, it will be different albums than if say my dog passed away. It’s tough to say. We ask them to choose ones influential to them or have some sort of connection to them. There is something ritualistic about being in a vinyl store and flipping through and finding something that you may think in your mind, “How has nobody bought this? How has nobody bought this hidden gem?” Or even stuff you may have forgotten about. They are transported back. There is something rich in memory that I love about collecting vinyl music. 

This show comes at a time when vinyl has made a comeback, even though there are so many record stores that have closed. What kind of impact do you think this show has? 

There is such a resurgence to the point where you can go to Walmart to get vinyl records. I think there are more traditional stores closing, which is sad. Grimey’s in Nashville is a rite of passage there. It has been there 30, 40 years. It has lasted when vinyl wasn’t the preferred way. I think 2017 was the last year CDs were the king of the castle for physical music. From then until now, the number one way people buy physical music is vinyl records. I’ve met and talked to people online about music. Many of them collect records but don’t own a record player. There is a whole experience to it with the art and liner notes. It’s all back in a big way. I’m glad it’s back because it’s such a cool way to experience art the way the artist intended it. The more I get into it, the more it fuels my addiction. It’s a dangerous world. 

There is such an eclectic set of guests this season. Who for you was a surreal meeting? 

It was a wide variety of musicians and musical tastes. A guy I still talk to today was Jeff Timmons. I wasn’t a massive fan of 98 degrees. I didn’t own their albums, but I can say Jeff was such an honest, real person and open about his career and open about his taste in music. He was such a super personable guy. We became friends through the show. The intertwining of stories makes music a special part of everyone’s life. 

Marcus King is another buddy of mine who was a guest on this show. He sings Southern blues rock, but he is in his 20s. He just recorded a new album with Rick Rubin called “Mood Swings,” but we got him before he did that. It is cool to introduce a whole new audience to this music. My favorite part was learning what made these people make the music they made or listen to the music they listened to. Each one of them was different, there were these constant throughlines of family and friends. It’s a piece of art that has affected everyone’s life. 

Melissa Joan Hart (Photo By: Kurt Ozan)

Anyone featured who were wrestling fans who got excited about your background? 

Melissa Joan Hart is a closeted wrestling fan in many ways. She watches a ton of it and knows a lot about it. We’re around the same age, so she had Nine Inch Nails and Mudvayne. Alternative bands were some of her favorites and talked about them while she was in Grimey’s. She was such a sweet person. A regular person who just talks about music and how it affects their life. That was cool to know she really was a wrestling fan. They are everywhere and all walks of life. 

I know Sebastian Bach had some beef with Chris Jericho, so I thought about that when he linked up for you here. 

He was awesome for the show. He was a walking quote machine. Just one-liners left and right. He grew up in Canada, so once he found out I was Canadian, we started talking about some old Canadian bands. We bonded over that. I told him that Skid Row, their self-titled album was the very first cassette tape I ever owned myself. I bought it. They were one of my favorite bands growing up. He is more insane about vinyl music than I am. He has got I want to say more than 9,000 and several hundred copies of different KISS albums he buys. Anything KISS, he buys it. 

Years ago you hosted Off the Hook and No Limits. What was it like to return to helm another show based on your interests? 

Clearly, I’m not a lead singer. I can’t play an instrument. I can’t read music, but I think the only thing that matters to the show is I’m coming at it from a fan’s perspective because that’s what I am. The only thing that matters is I love music. I’m really a small part of the show, the rutter that steers it. Being there and talking to these people and seeing how passionate they are about music, it’s kind of the same way I am with pro wrestling. It’s a really slick show. I can’t wait for people to see it. 

Music and pro wrestling have gone hand-in-hand. What are your go-to wrestling themes? 

The Hardys theme. We recently saw Matt and Jeff return to TNA. Hearing that song come on and the guttural reaction they get from fans. Half of the roster grew up idolizing these guys and mimicking them. People are backstage dancing like Jeff. The Hardy theme is an all-timer. There is “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Jim Johnston wrote some unbelievably catchy songs for WWE. They will live on forever.

TNA has been selling out venues left and right. You feel this momentum. Having been a part of just about every era the company has been through, what makes this one stand out? 

The newfound success of the last few months…It’s not any one thing, but an accumulation of everyone having a hand in pulling the rope. That’s what is special about that company. Everyone has their own stuff to worry about, but everyone is puling the rope in the same direction. That’s a powerful thing. We have talented people, and passionate people who care about the product. These are the results. Numbers are up…It’s a very special time for us and wrestling. The growth in the last six months has been apparent. 

Chris Shifflet of Foo Fighters (Photo By: Kurt Ozan)

You’ve worked with Triple H and Shawn Michaels in WWE. What are your thoughts on this partnership WWE NXT has had with TNA? 

It is beautiful. For me, I’m a comic nerd and still read them to this day. It’s the what-if comics or dream booking. Now it has people thinking, “What if this person shows up?” There is no reason for companies like WWE NXT and TNA not to be working together. It’s beneficial for both sides. I think the proof is in the pudding. The interest is up on our side. I think WWE would say NXT is up on their side having people like Joe Hendry and Jordynne Grace and Hammerstone and Frankie Kazarian. Showing up on their show also gives them legitimacy too. 

A lot of people are very young and fairly new to the wrestling business. They may not have the equity a Jordynne Grace may have. Having them on their show gives them more credibility. The most important thing it has fans talking. Any time there is talk, there is buzz and eyes on what’s going on. It’s really cool and doesn’t surprise me. I still have a very good relationship with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. It doesn’t surprise me they are working together. 

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Is there anyone from WWE you want to see on TNA or vice-versa? 

I would be foolish to not say I would love to have Shawn Spears back. He is one of my best friends in the business and someone I trained when he was a young kid. Infinitely talented and a pro’s pro. I’d love to see that or me showing up and doing something together. I don’t know if it will end with NXT. I think there have been some discussions about the main roster. I think they would be foolish to not entertain those ideas. I think that is the hope. 

Vinyl Obsession premiere, October 6, 10:30/9:30c, AXS TV

TNA Impact, Thursdays, 8/7c, AXS TV