Exclusive Interview with David Young

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH "THE MASTER OF THE SPINEBUSTER" DAVID YOUNG

 

So many great things are happening for everyone at TNA right now as we celebrate our two-year anniversary in June. One of the TNA superstars who has been with the promotion since the beginning is David Young. Always upbeat and a true class-act in the TNA locker room, David Young recently sat down with new TNAwrestling.com correspondent referee Andrew Thomas for an exclusive interview about his career, TNA and advice to newcomers in the wrestling business.

 

AT: First off, how did you get started in the wrestling business?

 

DY: I've watched wrestling all my life. I can remember when I was five years old, sitting in front of my television, when I told my mom and dad I wanted to be a wrestler when I grew up. My first match was August 17, 1989, and I was 17 years old. I kind of got in by accident. I went to a wrestling show and a friend of mine was doing security and he had me help - and I never left the business. I started training the very next day.

 

AT: Who were some of the wrestlers you watched when you were growing up?

 

DY: Dusty Rhodes was one of my heroes. Arn Anderson was a big influence on me. Ricky Morton was like a god to me. I thought the Rock N' Roll Express were the greatest thing since sliced bread, and to this day I love tag team wrestling. I just think, as a wrestler, those are my favorite kind of matches.

 

AT: I know at one point you were the Tag Team Champion for the NWA Wildside promotion in Georgia, and you got to face the Rock N' Roll Express in the ring. What was it like to wrestle one of your heroes?

 

DY: I had actually tagged with Ricky Morton a few times before that, but I never had wrestled them. I remember that match against the Rock N' Roll Express like it was yesterday. It was two out of three falls, and I pinned Ricky Morton on the third fall. It was probably one of the biggest nights of my career.

 

AT: I know you live in Georgia now. Are you originally from there?

 

DY: No, I'm actually from a little town outside Knoxville, Tennessee.

 

AT: Is that where you started wrestling?

 

DY: No, it was actually in a little town in Georgia called Dalton for a little independent group, the MWF (Mountain Wrestling Federation). That's where I got my start, from a guy named Larry Santo who took me under his wing. He taught me the in's and out's of the business and how to survive on the road which is probably one of the most important things in this business.

 

AT: So you started in 1989, and that makes you a 15 year veteran. A lot of guys in TNA haven't been around that long, but I'm sure they've learned a lot traveling with you.

 

DY: I worked with AJ Styles a lot when he first started. I think there was a year straight we wrestled each other constantly on the road. Elix Skipper is another guy I've traveled a lot with, although I haven't wrestled him that much. I remember one time in Alabama, Elix was coming out of a bathroom and I had pulled my truck right up to the door of the bathroom. As he was coming out I hit my horn and scared him half to death.

 

AT: From personal experience, I know you're definitely a prankster in the locker room.

 

DY: Well I've always felt you need to have fun no matter what you do. If you can't have fun then what's the point? That's what I love about this business. Being in the locker room is just as fun to me as being out in the ring. Especially in the wrestling business, every locker room is a tight-knit group. Even when something bad happens to somebody you don't necessarily like, it still bothers you. That's a good thing about being in the wrestling business...if something happens there's always someone there to help you. We keep each other sane on the road because we spend so many hours on it. I've probably been home three days in the last three weeks. It's really hard to keep that schedule and not go stir-crazy while you're driving around.

 

AT: So TNA is going into a new era with Impact. What have been your thoughts on everything that's happened in the weeks building up to it?

 

DY: I'm really happy to be on Impact, because I was one of the wrestlers on the first TNA Pay-Per-View in 2002. There's not a lot of the original guys left that were here that early on. To see this company grow and the way they took baby steps and did things the right way and to see things come together for Impact - it's an honor to be involved with this company and where it's going. I hope it goes all the way to the top and I hope I'm right there with it.

 

AT: Last thing - do you have any advice for someone who might want to become a professional wrestler like you?

 

DY: Stay in good shape, and don't stay in one spot. A lot of wrestlers stay in one little independent group and they think they owe a lot to that promoter - and I can see that to a certain extent - but there's nothing wrong with bettering yourself and breaking out and going to new places. Because I can promise you that a TNA talent scout is not sitting in the front row of that indy group. You have to get your name out there - that's a big key to succeeding in this business. It took me a while to figure that out, too. I think that's the most important thing I could tell anyone trying to get into this business.

 

AT: Thanks David!

[Placebo Effect 0]

Wish they would've gone to kayfabe towards the end and brought up the losing streak.

[Guest JacK]

Yeah . . . that's what I thought would've happen'd, maybe then have a bit how Young got up and Snap Spinebustered the interviewer for daring to mention it.

 

But it's good to read an interview not designed to further an angle from an official sight.

15 year veteran? How old is he? I didn't think he was much older than 30, but then I've got a track record of being wrong on these sort of things.