James Storm recently spoke with WWE.com about making his NXT debut this past Wednesday night on NXT. Here are the highlights.
What are your thoughts on NXT, which has graduated from a developmental system into a standalone brand?
It’s unreal what Triple H has done. It went from FCW to NXT, and like you said, it’s not just the little baby brother anymore. It’s starting to be its own brand, and it just shows how much work Triple H has put into it and how much work all the guys on the roster have put into it. When I got in there, I looked around the locker room and I could see a lot of guys who were like me — hungry guys who want to be there and want to make it better. That’s the locker room you want to be a part of.
You’ve crossed paths with some Superstars in NXT, Samoa Joe, for example. But there is the potential for many first-time dream matches, in NXT or WWE. Who do you want to wrestle?
I never really got into a big rivalry with Joe, so he’s actually one of them. Also, Finn [Bálor]. Not a lot of people know that me and him go back a long ways. We did a bunch of Japan shows together, but we were never in the ring together. I always tease him and say, “Hey, where’s that little kid who used to come out to the ‘Karate Kid’ song, ‘You’re the Best Around’?”
What were you thinking as you walked into the NXT locker room in Nashville that first day?
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.
You can read the entire interview here.
