Source: Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald
“The Cowboy” James Storm recently talked with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald. In a wide ranging interview, the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion covered a variety of topics including how his various family tragedies made him stronger, his private comments to Kurt Angle after defeating him for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, and his daughter being the popular girl in school because of him.
You can read the entire interview and article on the Miami Herald’s website by clicking here. Also, you can scroll down to read highlights from the interview below. Enjoy!
On the family tragedies that made him stronger:
My dad passed away when I was 12-years-old and my grandmother passed away when I was 19. She actually watched one of my local matches that I had just a couple of days before she passed away. She always wanted to go, but she was an older lady, so it was hard for her to go. It was a really good feeling to me that she got to go to one, before she passed on. [Also, when he was 15, his two step brothers were killed by a drunk driver, and his step father died when he was 16.] Being a young kid, I dealt with a lot growing up, but it made me who I am. It made me a stronger person.
On being thankful that TNA Wrestling opened after WCW was bought by WWE:
We wanted to try to get to WWE once it bought WCW, but the problem for us was you had so many other guys, who were trying to get into WWE, and they were the more established stars, and we were just enhancement talent. So it was hard, but lucky for guys like me and Chris Harris and Abyss and A.J. Styles that TNA started up.
On his post-match comments with Kurt Angle after defeating him for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship:
Me and Kurt, we’re friends, and it’s just one of those things that you don’t believe it, until it happens to you. So I was laying in the ring, and I looked at Kurt, and he was kind of laying there, and I said, ‘Did I just beat you for the world title?’ He said, ‘Yep,’ So, I said [with a smile], ‘Well, get the hell out of my ring.’ It was one of those surreal moments, and it made a huge statement for me. Not only did I beat him, but I beat him in like 10 seconds. It was a great moment for me.
