Where Did James Storm Go Wrong?

[Lowdown]

We're all in agreement that Storm should've won the title at Lockdown. Yet his career didn't stall I think. He is still in the mix here and there, but it appears they're trying to keep Roode as the top contender, especially considering that Bully Ray is wrapped up in his own story with the Hogans. Things should pick up for him hopefully this year.

[Headman]

He's pretty one dimensional. To be honest he got stale the second he and Roode broke up. I think he's doomed to be a midcarder or tag team wrestler. I don't see much of a future for him in the main event scene.

[Zeven_Zion]

Originally Posted by Headman

He's pretty one dimensional. To be honest he got stale the second he and Roode broke up. I think he's doomed to be a midcarder or tag team wrestler. I don't see much of a future for him in the main event scene.

Pretty much. Except I think he'll be a bit better off than that. I see him as what you said, but also this one guy who might win the belt 1-2 more times (at best) and occasionally get bumped up for a filler feud with a heel Champion.

Dude needs more damn depth, we're not all rednecks thus we can't all associate with the farm and the beer.

[FitFinlay4Life]

I believe James Storm is the unluckiest guy (oh, the irony) in TNA. First off, he was used as the stepping stone to put the belt on Bobby Roode as a heel rather than a face in 2011. Next he was a victim of the dearth of top level heels meaning it made more sense to keep the belt on Bobby at Lockdown and, finally (for now), he suffered from the his feud with Bobby being to, well, TNAy for it to be for the Championship at BFG.

Presently, he appears to be occupying the same role in TNA as Randy Orton occupies in the WWe. He rarely loses, but doesn't seem to carry this through to challenging for top honors. One point that could be to his favor is that TNA does appear to be building a better heel base than it has had in recent times, so a title run could be feasible with guys like Roode, Aries, Daniels and the A&8s to compete against. Against this, though, we have the apparent decision of creative to have Jeff Hardy be the John Cena 'face' of the company.

If I was to really sum up were I think he has "went wrong" per se, it's that he hasn't been a name outside of TNA, which is hardly his fault. In the last year TNA has shown the courage to let a nonWWe heel carry the big belt for sustained periods, the question now is if they are willing to pull the trigger on letting a homegrown face do the same?

[Dagger Dias]

At first I was going to say Lockdown. I thought at the time there was absolutely no reason for him not winning there. However, looking back on it, the victory gave Roode more hatred from the fans. TNA still had a chance at giving Storm his moment even after Lockdown. They had the perfect Bound For Glory main event right in front of them the entire time. Storm needed to win the Bound For Glory Series to go on to main event Bound For Glory against Roode, who should still have been TNA World Champion going into the event. That of course all changed with Aries winning at Destination X which, while an interesting move, might not have been the best decision.

As much as I like Aries, having him win the world title and lose it to Hardy at Bound For Glory pales in comparison to what it would have been like for Storm to finally win at the biggest show of the year, getting the title from his former friend in the ending to one of the best feuds I have ever seen in the federation. The argument for Lockdown being where TNA went wrong with James Storm is a strong one, but I'd say that not having him win the Bound For Glory Series is it. That deprived him of the opportunity to truly overcome Roode in the best possible environment. Storm winning at Bound For Glory would have been a career defining moment for him.

[Hugh G. Rection]

I believe Storm has just gotten lost in the shuffle with all the other big players hanging around. I don't agree with those who say he should've won at Lockdown. How would things have panned out from there? Roode's reign wouldn't have been as good.

However I do think he should've main evented BFG by winning the series. Him vs Roode or Aries could've been amazing headlining BFG (His match with Roode was match of the night no question!). It would've been predictable sure, since Storm was the favourite to win the series throughout. But sometimes predictable is good. Especially if predictable is something we all want!

Storm is one of my favourites. I don't think he's stale, he's just fine as a main eventer. FitFinlay4Life your comparison to Orton is a perfect one. I believe he will win the world title this year.

But hey, worst case scenario, he forms another kickass tag team with another wrestler.

[wrestlingfan]

Like Zevon Zion said. The problem with Storm is layers in his character. He has a fun gimmick, great mic skills, and a decent ring worker but his character doesn't have much layers and depth. (That's where the lines is drawn between rednecks like Dusty Rhodes, Stone Cold Steve Austin & Road Dogg, Trevor Murdoch,). It's been simply just catchphrases, and comedy. He was at his best around Lockdown of last year where people bought into him as a legit babyface. A heel turn would be best because Storm's character will be over whether face or heel.

[JulesWagner]

I think people got fed up after a while... Then again, Impact Zone audience is not much of an indication. His move set is Shawn Michaels with a few alterations, his attitude is a poor man's Stone Cold (just remember the Christmas bit) and on the mic he's um... alright but feels downright forced especially when he tries to be either funny or sarcastic. I like the guy but he has little charisma. I could do with him if he wasn't just an obvious rehash.

[comrade_mario]

Originally Posted by Dagger Dias

At first I was going to say Lockdown. I thought at the time there was absolutely no reason for him not winning there. However, looking back on it, the victory gave Roode more hatred from the fans. TNA still had a chance at giving Storm his moment even after Lockdown. They had the perfect Bound For Glory main event right in front of them the entire time. Storm needed to win the Bound For Glory Series to go on to main event Bound For Glory against Roode, who should still have been TNA World Champion going into the event. That of course all changed with Aries winning at Destination X which, while an interesting move, might not have been the best decision.

As much as I like Aries, having him win the world title and lose it to Hardy at Bound For Glory pales in comparison to what it would have been like for Storm to finally win at the biggest show of the year, getting the title from his former friend in the ending to one of the best feuds I have ever seen in the federation. The argument for Lockdown being where TNA went wrong with James Storm is a strong one, but I'd say that not having him win the Bound For Glory Series is it. That deprived him of the opportunity to truly overcome Roode in the best possible environment. Storm winning at Bound For Glory would have been a career defining moment for him.

Actually, thinking about it, I agree with this so long as they got rid of Storm's two month lay off. Have Roode fluke win at Lockdown and deny Storm a rematch. Have Storm win BFG and challenge for the title for the ultimate showdown. That would be a one year build for former friends and tag partners to ultimately decide who is the best and that is wrestling gold

[New Hot Fed]

Originally Posted by Dagger Dias

At first I was going to say Lockdown. I thought at the time there was absolutely no reason for him not winning there. However, looking back on it, the victory gave Roode more hatred from the fans. TNA still had a chance at giving Storm his moment even after Lockdown. They had the perfect Bound For Glory main event right in front of them the entire time. Storm needed to win the Bound For Glory Series to go on to main event Bound For Glory against Roode, who should still have been TNA World Champion going into the event. That of course all changed with Aries winning at Destination X which, while an interesting move, might not have been the best decision.

As much as I like Aries, having him win the world title and lose it to Hardy at Bound For Glory pales in comparison to what it would have been like for Storm to finally win at the biggest show of the year, getting the title from his former friend in the ending to one of the best feuds I have ever seen in the federation. The argument for Lockdown being where TNA went wrong with James Storm is a strong one, but I'd say that not having him win the Bound For Glory Series is it. That deprived him of the opportunity to truly overcome Roode in the best possible environment. Storm winning at Bound For Glory would have been a career defining moment for him.

Exactly. And I don't think it helped Roode either, they both feed off each other to give us this great epic tapestry. It's not that strange that Lockdown had the best buyrates of the year, it was a great story with two guys at the top of the their games. So unfortunate that at the beginning of the year Roode and Storm were the two biggest stars of TNA and by the end of the year they had been thrown under the bus to make place for an easy star to push, a WWE reject in Jeff Hardy and a Johnny Come Lately in Aries(who was essentialy the hot guy of the moment but no history to back it up). I go back to Stone Cold and how even if he was uber hot and popular in 1997, they just didn't give him the belt, they waited for him to win the Rumble 98 then fought HBK at Mania and won the belt there. So they had the time to do a big build up. It was too soon for Aries to become champ.