Silas Young is one of the hardest hitting talents in Ring of Honor. This impactful star has adopted the moniker of "The Last Real Man (in Professional Wrestling)" and he'll be seeking to prove he has all the manly qualities it takes to make it to the top of the RoH ladder when in the UK on the company's forthcoming tour. Ring of Honor is coming to London, Liverpool and Edinburgh on 18, 19 and 20 August respectively. Amongst other matches, Young will be facing off against Haskins and his longtime, bitter rival Jay Lethal. All of the relevant information on the tour including ticket links has been collated here by RoH. For now, read on to find out more about the one and only Silas Young!
Which match of the UK tour are you most looking forward to?
I think the match I'm looking forward to the most is the one with Jay Lethal because me and him have had a lot of issues with each other, to put it nicely. So I'm looking forward to shutting his mouth finally.
You'll be doing that, presumably, because you are "The Last Real Man". Can you explain where that nickname came from? Is there a specific influence?
Absolutely. It's all based on my father. I grew up in a home where I had five older brothers and a no-nonsense type of father who didn't put up with anything, even as a kid. My friends were scared of him. So Last Real Man is definitely modeled after my father, to a T.
As the 'Last Real Man' character you tweet and speak out in a certain way. Do you worry that some fans, female fans, for example, might find it off-putting?
I like to think that at the end of the day, women like men to be men and sometimes being a man doesn't mean I'll be saying the most popular things. So if there's some women out there that don't like it - then so be it. You can't expect everyone to like you.
Prior to your current run with Ring of Honor, you had another from 2007-9. Then you went away before returning. What happened in the intervening years and what brought you back?
Wrestling is just one of these businesses where things can change on a weekly or daily basis. I was at a different point in my career then. I was doing and trying different things. When I came back it was just a feeling that the time was right and I was looking to return and make a little bit of a bigger difference than I had done first time around.
Well, that's been happening. Your stock has risen, you've been in championship matches. When are RoH going to put a title on you!? Are you frustrated?
That's a good question! I've wondered that for quite a while myself. You obviously sound like a smart man if you think the title should be with me. I like to think that it's going to happen sooner than later, that's for sure.
You've signed to RoH for a year, was that short term deal a considered decision or will we see you on an RoH UK tour next year too?
I'll be honest with you, I'm very happy working with Ring of Honor. I very much enjoy what we're doing there. I'm looking to be there for the foreseeable future. There are a lot of things I'd like to accomplish before I leave, so I think the fans can definitely expect to see me with Ring of Honor for quite some time yet.
You've been working with the Beer City Bruiser, he's not on the tour but would you like to do more tag work in the future?
Oh, absolutely! Bruiser's a good buddy of mine. He's a guy I've known since pretty much first starting in the wrestling business 15 years ago. I very much enjoy his company (and the partying we get to do together), obviously, or he wouldn't be my tag partner. We like to say, we're in a business full of people who are full of egos, and we're always looking to have tag team opportunities but we'd never be mad at the other for taking singles opportunities. There are definitely things we want to accomplish though.
Reflecting on your previous experience with WWE, with the benefit of hindsight, do you feel at ease with what happened when you were there?
Well, I was with them for less than a cup of coffee...or a cup of tea. It was a very short-lived experience. Honestly, it was one of those things where I never really even got started. After some time has passed, I feel like everything in life happens for a reason and life is good now. So I'm happy about it but to be honest I was real bitter.
You've talked honestly about the bitterness and also about your previous drug use. Do you think the industry needs more openness and honesty in general?
I think I'm one of the few people to talk about it because wrestling's full of a bunch of people nowadays who are so worried that they might say the wrong thing or might make somebody angry. I don't live my life that way. You either like me or you don't like me. If you do or you don't, I don't really care. A lot of people are afraid to talk about the elephant in the room, so to speak. It's going to happen. It's a business that beats people up. I'm a proponent of trying to get people away from using pharmaceutical drugs and pain killers and things like that because that stuff can ruin your life. Some people have had OK experiences; some people like myself have had really bad experiences, so I feel like it's something guys should talk about.
What's the real story of your relationship with Stan 'The Lariat' Hansen?
You know, it's funny, I think years back I had wrestled a show and the guy I wrestled maybe, had claimed to be the nephew of Stan Hansen. When the story got written, it was confused, and people said that I was his nephew. It started popping up all over the internet. So, there is no relation to Stan Hansen. I like to think I'm a pretty badass man like Stan himself but unfortunately, there's no blood relation or anything like that.
Well, that's set the record straight. Moving away from Lariats, you have your 'Pee Gee Waja Plunge' finisher and now 'Misery'. What brought the new finisher into play?
I started using the Pee Gee Waja Plunge as a younger guy and after a long time, guys started knowing that was my finishing move. So I figured it would be a good idea to come up with a secondary finishing move, something to perfect so that I could throw guys off their game. I think it was just one of those things that after a while wrestling, you have to change things up a bit to keep people on their toes.
Well Young will be keeping the fans on their feet when he's on these shores, that's for certain. Make sure to get your tickets and see all relevant details here!
