NWA star Tim Storm was a recent guest on the Arm Drag Takedown show to talk all things pro-wrestling. Highlights are below.
Talks the importance of their studio audience:
The studio audience at our TV tapings, they became part of our show. From the very first promo Nick Aldis went out and cut, the fans were just… it was amazing. Then every time going out, they very quickly chose sides — and sometimes the sides were surprising.
How the studio fans have even helped influence the product:
The fans grabbed onto that, and it changed the directions because [NWA producers] were willing to listen to the direction the fans were going. The whole ‘Mama Storm’ thing was unplanned, accidental and I had no idea. It’s not like I said, ‘Hey, watch this! I’m going to go out and get my mom over!’That’s a testament to the person doing it, because they recognized what the crowd was reacting to, and it’s a testament to the people writing and booking the show. I don’t know what the original plan was necessarily, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for that to be one of the premiere characters. Especially because it doesn’t embody necessarily that ‘old-school’ style of wrestling. But they recognized what was happening, kind of changed directions and rode the wave. And everybody’s glad they did.
On Spending His Lockdown Watching and Learning from Classic Wrestling:
I do this not just from an entertainment value, but I like to watch people I can learn from, people I enjoy watching… Maybe I’d watch Arn Anderson one day. They next day, maybe I’d try Dusty Rhodes and watch a lot of promos. The next day, it might be Rey Misterio. Obviously I’m not going to work that style. A lot of Undertakers stuff. Four months is a long time; you can watch a lot of wrestling during a quarantine like that.
On Wrestling Fans Pitting Promotions Against Each Other:
Not just for people watching, but for professional wrestlers, I grew up in a time when territories were a ‘thing.’ The way you grew, learned and got better at your craft was to move around — and then that model went away. I compare professional wrestling to flavors of ice cream. I can tell you what my favorite flavor is, but it might not be your favorite — and that’s ok. I think the more opportunities there are, the more opportunities for fans to watch and the more opportunities for us to get out there and entertain, hopefully very soon.
The Appeal of NWA:
Billy Corgan and with Dave Lagana, their commitment from the very beginning was ‘We’re going to under promise and over deliver.’ Our first episode, that within the first week had over 500,000 views, I don’t think anyone predicted that. So talk about over-delivering! The production quality was obviously outstanding. The talent roster…I would sit there on every taping, look around, and just shake my head. It seemed every week it would just get richer and richer, and we were going to continue that. I knew some of the people who were coming in, before shut-down. They continued to have a mixture of exciting young talent, veterans and then legends. That’s just a great mix if it’s being used right — and it was definitely being used right.
Full show can be heard below.
