James Storm Confirms He’s Still A Free Agent, Explains Decision To Leave NWA
Photo Credit: Bill Pritchard
James Storm sets the record straight.
Storm recently spoke with WrestleZone’s Dominic DeAngelo and he addressed his status with NWA, confirming that he is no longer under contract with the promotion.
“As of right now, I’m a free agent. Especially with all of this quarantine stuff, to me, I didn’t really see that there was a need to be under contract. It would have been nice to be under contract but that, to me, is just stealing money because you’re not doing anything and you’re getting paid. Overall, my experience with them has been crazy good because it’s one of those things where I know who the boss is. I have direct contact with the boss and it’s not like a chain of command I have to go through and shit gets lost in translation. And that’s really cool, he tells me what he wants and I go out and do it. If something comes up and I think I have a better idea I’ll pitch it to him, we’ll meet in the middle and that’s how it goes.”
Fightful first reported Storm’s contract expired earlier this year and Storm shed more light on the situation, noting that his contract ran out in February but the NWA had a rollover option they could have exercised if they chose to do so. Storm, still one-half of the NWA Tag Team Champions with Eli Drake, said he spoke with then-VP Dave Lagana and Corgan about them not picking up the option and said he left and good terms, noting that he would go back if they needed him to drop the titles.
“It was one of those things where my contract ended in the beginning of February, and I think I had a month—it was a rollover deal, if they wanted to roll it over. I talked to Dave [Lagana] and Billy and I had some stuff come up, I said ’Look, I’ll help you out as much as I can but I really can’t be under contract right now.’ It was really cool that Billy understood and I said ’whatever you guys need, you need me to drop the belts, I will.’ Storm said. “It was no hard feelings, I left on good terms and I said any time they need me, give me a call. I’m still one of the ‘Tag Team Champions’ so they’ve got to bring me back sooner or later!” [laughs]
Related: James Storm Was Set For WWE RAW Debut Prior To Pandemic
Storm also recently told Pro Wrestling Sheet that he was in serious talks with WWE about debuting on RAW after WrestleMania but the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to his plans. Storm explained that was one reason he’d negotiated his outright release from NWA, and said he’d been in contact with WWE and agreed to terms but hasn’t heard from them since July.
Despite that opportunity not working out, Storm is optimistic, telling DeAngelo that he is now trying to set himself up for his next run in 2021.
“I’ve been talking to some companies and hopefully soon I’ll be talking to some more, and make a decision for the beginning of next year.”
Stay tuned as our complete interview with James Storm will premiere soon; the ‘Cowboy’ discusses his NWA run, the atmosphere of working in the pandemic era, breaking into acting, writing a children’s book and much more.