James Storm on How His WWE NXT Arrival Happened, When He Will Be Back, Backstage Reaction

– Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion James Storm spoke to WWE’s website this week after making his WWE NXT debut. Below are highlights:

WWE.COM: Can you walk us through how the conversation of you coming to NXT began?

STORM: It came about because I’m good friends with Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. They put it in Triple H’s ear that I was free and clear of all contracts, to see if there’s some interest there. I actually called Road Dogg to see if it was OK that I went up to the NXT Nashville show not too long ago. He said, “Yeah, just try to stay out of sight.” So, I stayed in the locker room. There were reports that I was sitting in the front row at an NXT show, and I didn’t deny that I was there. I just said, “I saw the reports and I’m sorry, but that was not me sitting in the front row.” [Laughs.]

Then, [WWE Performance Center Head Coach] Matt Bloom pulled me aside and asked if I was available to come down that Wednesday and Thursday to Orlando. I went down and talked to Triple H at the NXT TakeOver: Respect special. Then the next night, he asked if I was willing to appear, and I said yes.

WWE.COM: What were you thinking as you walked into the NXT locker room in Nashville that first day?

STORM: I really didn’t know what to expect because I didn’t know if these guys were looking at me, going, “Here’s a guy coming in, trying to take my job.” Basically, that’s what I’m doing. I’m trying to find me a spot. I learned a long time ago that you don’t have to worry about your spot if you’re doing your job right. But all the guys were so cool. All of them came up to me; a couple of them made me feel kinda old, like, “Hey, I used to watch you 10 years ago.” [Laughs.] But nobody said a negative word or gave me a dirty look, or anything like that. Everybody was super-cool and actually welcoming me in with open arms.

WWE.COM: The million-dollar question: When will we see you back in NXT or even WWE?

STORM: That’s the million-dollar question. That’s not really up to me. My job is to go out and get myself over, as they say. And it’s up to what we call “the suits” to make the decision of whether to bring me back to NXT or the WWE main roster. I get so many people all the time saying, “We want to see you and Bray Wyatt go at it on the microphone.” I always say that you never know what’s going to happen in wrestling. And I just take one day at a time.

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