TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young made a shocking announcement today at an IMPACT Wrestling taping that he will be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time due to neck surgery.

Choking back tears, Young, a scrappy bearded underdog who overcame the odds to become champion, assured fans that he would someday return.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back, but will I be back?” he asked rhetorically, prompting the live audience to holler his catch-phrase in unison while thrusting their arms skyward: “Yep! Yep! Yep!”

As Young was leaving the ring, accompanied by newlywed wife Brit Balla, he was suddenly attacked by the demonic masked Abyss, with whom Young has a long and confusing history.

Abyss nailed Young with his trademark “Gravestone Piledriver,” leaving Young incapacitated and in need of medical attention.

As Young was being loaded into the ambulance, Brit Balla squarely placed the blame for the attack on TNA boss Dixie Carter, who then stared awkwardly into the middle-distance.

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