James Storm Says Free Agency Has Rekindled His Love of Wrestling, Talks NWA Title Match This Weekend

– James Storm spoke with Wrestlezone for a new interview promoting his match against Nick Aldis for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship this weekend at New Year’s Clash. Highlights are below:

On wrestling in his home state of Tennessee: “The cool thing is, I spent a lot of time up in Clarksville at Austin Peay [University]. A lot of people don’t know that I played basketball. You take a look at me and it’s like ‘there’s no way that guy played basketball’ but I grew up playing. It’s going to be special to go back up there, and I know a lot of the guys that still live up around that area that are going to come to the show as well.”

On wanting to add to the legacy of the NWA World Championship: “When I got the phone call that I was going to challenge him [Nick Aldis], I was pretty ecstatic about it. I have a NWA World Title that was signed by Dusty Rhodes back when he was with TNA [IMPACT Wrestling]—I’m friends with Ric Flair—to be able to win it and to pay homage to those guys while having my name added to the list to the guys that won the belt would be pretty cool.”

On challenging an intimidating opponent like Nick Aldis: “That’s the key. A lot of people see him, and he is big and he is fast, but with Nick, he wins most of his matches before he gets in the ring. A lot of people look at him as pretty intimidating—he’s 6’2’’, 6’3’’, 260 pounds; he’s a big boy—but I’m a guy that’s as redneck as it comes and I don’t get intimidated that much [laughs]. So I’m one of the guys that always pose a threat to Nick because he knows I’m not intimidated. He knows he can’t use that intimidation factor in a match against me because he knows it doesn’t work. I think that’s why I’ve had a lot of success when I’ve been in the ring with him.”

On his free agency: “It kinda rekindled my love for professional wrestling, going out and basically hustling again, getting bookings and traveling the world and just living like a nomad really. I’m just going place to place and helping out the young guys who ask me to watch their matches when I get a chance to. I give them feedback because I know how it was when I was with TNA; guys like Mr. Perfect and Dusty Rhodes would come and give me feedback. It’s pretty cool that these guys get to ask me, but at the same time, I’m not done paving my path.”