Thursday, July 17, 2025
NewsINDIEJames Storm Reveals His Reasons For Not Joining WWE, MLP & MLW...

James Storm Reveals His Reasons For Not Joining WWE, MLP & MLW News, WOW S3 E40

480 views

TRENDING

During a recent appearance on the “Insight” podcast, former TNA World Champion James Storm discussed his professional journey and explained his reasons for not joining WWE.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On why he never signed with WWE: “Man, it was a lot. Mostly had to do with my family. Had a little bit to do with money, which is not like ‘They didn’t pay him a lot of money, so he’s not coming.’ It wasn’t like that at all. They gave me a contract, I went home and I got a call from Regal. He goes, ‘Hey, we definitely want to sign you.’ I was like, Oh, great. So I was going to sign the contract and all that stuff, and then he asked me, ‘Can you tighten up a little bit? Lose a little weight?’ I was like, Yeah. I busted my a*s and I lost 20 pounds. I got in really good shape when I got back down there, everybody’s like, Oh my God, you look totally different. Because I always tell people, you give a man motivation, he’ll work his a*s off if. So I did it, and then when I got down there, the contract had changed. They added 25 more dates, but the money didn’t move.

I even told them TNA had offered me another contract to come back because they heard about me wanting to sign with WWE. I said, ‘Look, this is what TNA is offering me. I’m not trying to hold this over your head at all, because you don’t have to match this at all. I’m just saying this is what I’m willing to give up to come and work for this, but it has to be right.’ Because my wife, she wanted to have another child at the time, but she had to take the [IVF] shots and all this stuff, so I was basically kind of giving that up as well, because I was going to be on the road a lot. We came to an agreement, and she was like, ‘Well, if they can just give you this, then you have my blessing to sign.’ Hunter is like, ‘I just can’t do it.’ I was just like, ‘All right, well, I’m sorry, my wife gave me permission not to sign, so I’m going home.’”

On being called by Triple H: “Three days later, Canyon Ceman called me. He goes, ‘Hey, man. Paul wants to know if he can call you.’ I was like, ‘What? Hunter?’ He goes yeah. I go, ‘He has my phone number. I just talked to him not too long ago.’ He goes, ‘Well, since you’re not signed, we had to go through the proper channels, and I had to make sure. You’re on a recorded line.’ I was like whatever, yeah, he can call me. So he called me and I talked and he’s like, ‘Look, you’re not gonna be here long, because Vince loves characters and you know how to work, so you’ll probably be shipped off real quick.’ I was like, ‘Well, can you give what I was asking?’ And like I said, it was not much at all, and he’s like, ‘No, I just don’t have the authority to do that.’ I was like, ‘I’m sorry, man. I’m gonna have to say no.’”

On if it was a tough decision for him: “That was the hardest phone call I think I’ve ever had to get off the phone with a man. Usually I just hang up the phone. I was like, oh, man. Am I making the right decision? But in hindsight, I didn’t know at the time, but it was the right decision for me and my family at that time, because I was able to have my son that’s eight years old now, and everything. So I can’t imagine what if if I would have taken that.”

On his blindfold steel cage match with Chris Harris: “Oh man. Me and Chris were in this big feud. I was supposed to have put his eye out and everything. So they’re like to even the field, you should have to see like he does, and be in a blindfold match. I was like this isn’t the 80s no more. That match is so hard to pull off, especially in those times, even today. I was just like all right, well if that’s what you want to do. Then I was like wait, this is inside of an electrified cage too? There’s so many gimmicks going on in here. But thank God the cage wasn’t on when we did it. But it wasn’t until like 30 minutes before our match started that they realized that they didn’t have the blindfolds, so they ran to somewhere and just got two black bags and just put them over our heads that didn’t have draw strings or anything, so they keep falling off. There’s a point in the match when I look at Chris and I said, ‘No, to hell with this, we’re taking it home.’ He’s like, really? I was like, yep. I think it was the beer bottle and for the finish or whatever. I was like, we’re going home. I got to the back, and to his credit, Vince Russo, he was standing right there, he knew it too, and I just lit into him. He goes, ‘I am so sorry, blah, blah, blah. I understand if you want to punch me.’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m not going to punch you. I want to.’ He goes, ‘To make it up, I’ll let you do any match that you want to do.’ And then that’s when we did the Texas death match.”

On the Mickie James train angle: “The funny thing was, a lot of people don’t know it, I actually had cops come to my house to make sure, they thought it was legit. My brother, who was a detective at the time, he called me. He goes, ‘Hey man, did you kill somebody on TV?’ I was like, bro, it’s wrestling. He goes, ‘That’s what I try to tell him.’ But there was this cop that had just started on the beat with him, so he was messing with him. He had that guy come to my door and ring the doorbell and ask me about all this stuff, and my brother sitting in a car just laughing his butt off. So I had to bring the cop in and put the episode on and show him it’s part of a wrestling angle. Me and Mickie and Nick, all three of us are trying to tell John this is not a good idea to murder somebody on TV. I came up with a plan of having a flash of me, this is what would happen if she wouldn’t agree with me, like, I would push her off and she would die, you know, but they didn’t like that idea. I was like, All right, well, I guess I’m pushing her.”

Major League Wrestling has announced that Ultimo Guerrero will defend the MLW National Openweight Championship against Alex Hammerstone at MLW Summer of the Beasts on Thursday, June 26, at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City.

You can check out the official announcement below:

“Hammerstone challenges Ultimo Guerrero for title in NYC

MLW National Openweight Championship fight set for Summer of the Beasts on June 26.

Tickets now available at MLWNYC.com and Eventbrite

Major League Wrestling (“MLW”) today announced an MLW National Openweight Title Fight: Ultimo Guerrero (champion) vs. Alex Hammerstone at MLW Summer of the Beasts, live on YouTube at 9pm from the Melrose Ballroom in New York City on Thursday, June 26.

🎟 Buy tickets at http://www.MLWNYC.com and Eventbrite. Fans around the world can stream Summer of the Beasts free starting at 9pm ET on YouTube.com/MajorLeagueWrestling Thursday, June 26.

In a historic first-time encounter, the legendary luchador Ultimo Guerrero will make his third title defense against the very man who was crowned the inaugural MLW National Openweight Champion in 2019. Hammerstone, who held the prestigious title for an unprecedented two and a half years without ever losing it, has now set his sights on reclaiming the championship he believes is rightfully his.

The clash emerged after an incendiary confrontation at Azteca Lucha, where Hammerstone interrupted Guerrero’s post match celebration with disrespectful remarks. Moments later, Hammerstone attacked the champion from behind, leaving Guerrero battered and draping himself provocatively in the American flag. The shocking incident marked a transformation in Hammerstone, who now boldly claims he alone can make the National Openweight Championship great again.

Guerrero, undaunted by Hammerstone’s bravado, enters this showdown after successful title defenses in Arena México and most recently in Chicago. Known worldwide for his dominant reigns and epic battles in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Ultimo Guerrero’s prestigious career includes multiple world championship victories and legendary performances at lucha libre’s most storied arenas.

As tension escalates, fans eagerly anticipate a fierce showdown that pits Hammerstone’s raw power and aggressive nationalism against Guerrero’s storied lucha excellence and resilient fighting spirit.

Will Guerrero’s reign continue, cementing his legacy further? Or will Hammerstone reclaim the championship and usher in a controversial new era?

Secure your seat today at www.MLWNYC.com and Eventbrite, with tickets starting at just $15. Don’t miss your chance to experience MLW live from New York City!

Local bell time for ticket holders is 6:55pm ET.”

Gisele Shaw will defend the MLP Women’s Championship against Shotzi Blackheart at MLP Resurrection on July 5th in Laval, Quebec, Canada.

And finally, WOW – Women of Wrestling released the lineup and preview for this weekend’s Season 3 Episode 40, which you can check out below:

* Lovely Laurie and Lucious Lindsey Carlson vs. Penelope Pink and Holly Swag w/ Lana Star

* Tormenta vs. Sylvia Sanchez

* Tiki Chamorro and Kalaki the Island Girl vs. The Brat Pack (BK Rhythm and Gigi Gianni)

* Fury vs. Sandy Shore

- Advertisment -

LATEST NEWS

- Advertisment -

Related Articles