James Storm Talks His Future And "A New Door Opening", Impact Rebranding, Changes GFW Should Make
WrestlingINC.com President Raj Giri spoke with James Storm during a media call this week for Global Force Wrestling. A staple of GFW, Storm shared his thoughts on the many rebrandings over the course of the company's history.
The Cowboy James Storm signed with Total Nonstop Action in 2002 and has been with the promotion for nearly every year since. Since then, ownership changes have led to a rebranding of the business. Giri questioned whether Storm knew what the company was officially called now, and Storm admitted that he only knows what's been written on the internet. Giri also asked Storm if he had a particular preference for one particular label.
"I'm so used to calling it TNA, just because I've been here for 15 years," Storm said. "I know a lot of other guys still refer to it as TNA. But I think it's just the lettering ? especially here in the States, when you tell someone you wrestle for TNA, they look at you like you're a weirdo because they think something totally different ? but I think it should just be called Impact Wrestling. Plain and simple. That's what the name of the show is, that's what a lot of wrestling fans are accustomed to. But at the end of the day, that's not my call."
Storm also harbored his own opinions on ways that the promotion could improve. When asked what he would change about the company, Storm offered constructive criticism. The first alteration? Creating a tiered system for the wrestlers.
"We don't have the John Cena or even the Roman Reigns. With Impact, it seems like they try to make everybody on the same level; being in the wrestling business 20 years, I've never had it be like that," he says. "To me, it seems like in Impact they try to have everyone on the same level and everyone's fighting for the same title. Whereas, to me, I think you should have your main event guys, and you have your undercard and undercard title, and all of the undercard guys are working to get to that spot.
"Growing up, I always watched Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect wrestle for the Intercontinental title all the time, while you had Hulk Hogan and those guys doing heavyweight stuff. Once Hogan and them moved out, then you had Bret and them move up, and other guys started going for the IC title. I feel like you need to go back toward that a little bit."
Though he freely reveals his thoughts for the future of the company, he's much more reserved when discussing where his journey with GFW is headed next.
"There's a lot that I can't really talk about, but I always say: you never know what the future holds. There might be a new door opening, I don't know. All I can do is work my butt off, get in the best shape I can, just show up to work and do what I'm told."
He continued, "Right now I'm just having fun being the old Cowboy James Storm."