James Storm Says He’d Like to Have A Good WWE Run & Face Triple H

TNA Wrestler James Storm was a guest on the latest edition Jim Ross’ podcast The Ross Report. Storm discussed various different topics including wanting to have a WrestleMania moment, Triple H being his dream opponent and how he avoided getting visible tattoos out of fear that World Wrestling Entertainment would not hire him if he did.

Although having a WrestleMania moment is not on Storm’s bucket list, he says that every wrestler dreams of having one. Storm tells Ross that he’d still like to have a good WWE run and show what he could do on the grandest stage of them all.

“I wouldn’t really say (having a WWE run) is a bucket list goal, but no matter what any wrestler says, when you get into the (professional wrestling) business and start training and stuff, the ultimate goal is to make it to WWE and to have that WrestleMania moment. And a lot of guys will say, ‘no, I just want to make money for my family’ and stuff, and that’s great, but in the back of your mind, you want to have that run and that’s me too. I’d still like to have a good WWE run to show what I can do, as they say, on the grandest stage of them all.”

Storm talked about how he loved watching guys like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart when he was younger. When the topic of dream opponents came up, Storm named Triple H as the one wrestler he’d love to square off against the most.

“It’d be Hunter because he knows how to be a heel. And he’s not out to try to get a cheer. He’s going out to do a job and that’s to make people hate him. That way, they like the babyface more.”

For a long time, it was understood that Vince McMahon didn’t like wrestlers with a lot of visible tattoos. Aside from leg tattoos that are covered by his wrestling boots and knee pads, Storm mentioned how he never got any visible tattoos out of fear that the WWE wouldn’t hire him.

“A lot of people don’t know that I have my legs covered (with tattoos) from the knees down on both legs. And (people) would say, ‘why don’t you get tattoos on your upper body?’ No, I don’t want that because if something happened and I do some stuff with WWE, they might not want tattoos. And then I would have pigeon-holed myself into a corner because, then, I’ve got all these tattoos. I can’t go take them off, so it’s a lot easier for me not to have tattoos visible than it is for me to have them visible. That’s what I always believed.”

Storm went on to discuss with J.R. his experience in WWE NXT, returning to TNA and much more. You can listen to this episode of The Ross Report in its entirety right here.

Mark’s reaction: Storm left NXT on good terms with the door apparently being left open for a return. It sounds like if the opportunity arises, that he would definitely like to try his hand in the WWE again. He’ll be turning 39 this year so I don’t know if a significant singles push down the road would be likely or not. I doubt it, but then again WWE tried giving a nearly 40-year-old Lord Tensai a push in 2012; so anything’s possible.

Regarding the WWE and tattoos, it definitely seemed like it used to be a thing and maybe Vince still doesn’t really care for them. However, I don’t think it’s nearly as big of a deal as it once was. Roman Reigns, the guy who they’ve been lining up as the future face of the WWE, has his arms covered in tattoos; Randy Orton too. It’s just funny that Storm never got any visible tattoos for that reason. I’m sure he wasn’t the only wrestler with this mindset.

What are some dream matches you’d like to see Storm compete in if he were to return to the WWE (singles or tag)? Leave any of your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thank you WrestlingInc for the quotes.