If you watched this week’s episode of NXT (and if you didn’t, seriously, why aren’t you watching NXT yet), you might have noticed a new face in the Full Sail arena, named James Storm, who was given something resembling a hero’s welcome by the NXT fans. For those who are wondering just who James Storm is and why they should be interested in his NXT debut, we’ve amassed a few quick facts just to help you understand the history of “Cowboy” James Storm, one of the best tag team wrestlers to come out of North America in the last twenty years.
5. He Actually Got His Start in WCW
You may have heard the NXT commentary team talking about how his wrestling career started in WCW, and that might have surprised you, because WCW has been out of business for a long time at this point. But it turns out, just like other independent stars Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles, Storm was brought in near the end of WCW’s life as part of their last-ditch effort to find young, inexpensive talent to supplement (and, theoretically, eventually replace) the older, highly-paid stars that were clogging up the WCW roster. Storm never made it off of WCW Saturday Night and WCW Worldwide (programs designed to showcase WCW’s younger wrestlers) before the company folded, but it was in WCW where he adopted the James Storm name that he would keep for the rest of his career. Hey, we even found a James Storm match from his time in WCW!