Lance Storm Considering Retirement

[Guest jm29195]

Lance Storm has updated his online commentary. This week he talks about leaving alone any in-ring work. “A lot of you have been wondering why I have been completely of the road and television the past few weeks,” writes Storm, “Well this is your answer. I have been talking with the office about taking my career in a new direction for some time now.” From what we understand this has been a recent topic between Storm and WWE management since WrestleMania. “I have been dissatisfied with my in ring career for quite a while,” He says, “I have been lost in the quagmire for the better part of the year, with no direction, no focus, and quite frankly no forward motion. This isn’t anyone’s fault so much as it is a compilation of several factors. I have always wanted to be an important part of the product and I had come to the point where I was feeling that I could contribute more outside the ring than I have been inside it. With the encouragement and support of Dave Finlay (WWE road agent and the man I respect most in this business) I started looking into the possibility of becoming a road agent.” You can check out the full piece at www.StormWrestling.com.

 

Credit Rajah:- Well he really hasn't done anything to the level of his wcw stuff since summer 2001- although some will probably say he could if given a chance....

[JoeDirt 0]

PWI says he is done.

 

"Lance Storm has revealed that his win over Steven Richards last Monday in Calgary (broadcast on Heat last night) was his last match as a full-time wrestler. Storm, in his latest website commentary, has revealed that he will be going to Ohio Valley Wrestling to work as a trainer with young talent, and is hopeful to be brought back into WWE as a road agent.

 

Storm wrote that 4 bulging discs in his lower lumbar and a chronic problem with his sciatic nerve has helped him in making the decision to step away from the ring."

 

Can't imagine a much better trainer than Lance Storm. Good luck to him!

[haVoc 0]

That sucks. Best of luck with the trainer and road agent thing.... even though he'll probably be released still.

[Guest JMA]

Well, this certainly does suck. Still, it's his decision and only he knows what's best for himself.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Here's the commentary from his site:

 

Last Monday night in Calgary was a monumental evening for me. For those of you with terrible short-term memory, last Monday night was RAW live in Calgary. I’ve done 3 TV events in Calgary, the first was my WWE debut with the first Invasion RUN-IN, the second I was not given a match, and this third time I had a match and I am both happy, and sad to tell you that it may have been my last. WHAT? Let’s start with, No I have not been fired, and No I am not quitting the business. I am, if I can borrow an expression from good old Vinny Mac, moving onwards and upwards.

 

A lot of you have been wondering why I have been completely of the road and television the past few weeks; well this is your answer. I have been talking with the office about taking my career in a new direction for some time now. This actually dates back to before WrestleMania. I have been dissatisfied with my in ring career for quite a while. I have been lost in the quagmire for the better part of the year, with no direction, no focus, and quite frankly no forward motion. This isn’t anyone’s fault so much as it is a compilation of several factors. I have always wanted to be an important part of the product and I had come to the point where I was feeling that I could contribute more outside the ring than I have been inside it.

 

With the encouragement and support of Dave Finlay (WWE road agent and the man I respect most in this business) I started looking into the possibility of becoming a road agent. I’ve always thought I would be good at, and enjoy being an agent, when it came time to hang up my boots and I was to the point where the idea of hanging them up was not looking all that unfavourable to me. I’ve mentioned my back troubles to you in the past and I have always played down the pain and discomfort I am in. The truth is my back has been quite bad and it was making my decision much easier. I have 4 bulging discs in my lower lumbar and a chronic problem with my sciatic nerve. It has gotten to the point where there a certain bumps I won’t take and I am limping and in great pain after most matches, I have even had my legs go numb on me on a few occasions. It is a condition that with proper time off and rehab I could likely work through, but with the way everything else was going I started to look at alternatives, like the agent job.

 

When I first breached the topic of the agent gig with the office they were a little hesitant yet receptive. I think they felt I could be an asset as an agent but thought the transition from “locker room” to “office” would be a bit too quick. They then asked if I would be interested in opportunity to pass on my knowledge as a trainer in OVW (Our developmental territory). This caught my interest, as teaching was another avenue I’ve thought about for when I’m done wrestling. I was predominately working with guys recently brought up from OVW anyway, and this was a chance to get at them even earlier and maybe even make a difference. The office and I have been discussing terms for the Training position for the past few weeks, which is why I’ve been sitting home. There was no point giving my character any direction if I wasn’t going to be wrestling much longer and to be honest the time off has done wonders for my back. It hasn’t felt this good in over a year. Last Monday night in Calgary we came to an agreement for the Trainer position, which I am quite excited about, and they were nice enough to give me a match in Calgary so I could have fun and wrestle at home. So it was last Monday that my career came full circle. I was trained in Calgary and my WWE debut was at the Saddle Dome here and what will be my last match, at least for a while, (never say never) was in the Saddle Dome in Calgary as well. I hope everyone caught Heat on Sunday because that’s when my last match aired.

 

It was a real emotional time for me Monday night. The prospect of this being my last match weighed on me heavily. I was originally wrestling a local kid (I think the office figured why beat a regular guy with a someone who won’t be on TV again) but Steven Richards asked if they could switch our matches so he could work with me. I would have liked to have an amazing match for my last outing but I was a professional to the end and did my job. Stevie and I had a good 6-minute match for HEAT (going all out with countless near falls would have been out of place, in my opinion, and I’ve never been one to do a match just for my own purposes) and I had the time of my life. If this match is going to be my last I’m so glad it happened in Calgary. I am proud to be one of a long line of great (if you’ll indulge my ego one last time) workers to come out of Calgary, and the support I received that night from the crowd was unbelievable. I love you all and can’t thank you enough for making possibly my last night one to remember. I managed to get my “Tribute to Owen” flip in as well as my Davey Boy suplex, and if Benoit wasn’t’ on the card I would have even worked in a Sharp Shooter. My post match celebration was very emotional, if the cameras hadn’t cut so quickly you may have even spotted a tear in my eye.

 

Part of me hopes there is another chapter to be written in my “in ring” wrestling career, but part of my wants it to end as it did in Calgary…Alberta, Canada, in front of my family, my friends, and my city. Either way I hope you guys stick with me on my site because I’m going to keep this site going as long as my “Stormtroopers” keep stopping by. I am still going to be a part of this business and I am confident (cocky) enough to think an important part. If I can pass on my knowledge to the future of this business perhaps, I can still, indirectly, have a positive effect on your wrestling enjoyment. I start in OVW May 2nd, and if all goes well that will be my regular gig. The travel schedule and off time should work out very favourable for my family and I am excited about my future role in this business. I will likely do several “Looking back” commentaries over the next few weeks so be sure to look for those. All the best everyone, and thanks; I wouldn’t have been able to have almost 14 years of fun in the ring if all of you hadn’t showed up to watch. I am truly grateful.

[Guest Fook]

I'm going to miss seeing Storm wrestle as I was always a fan of his. Being a trainer sounds like a good idea and hopefully he can pass on the knowledge he gained in the Hart Dungeon.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Well, good luck to him in the future.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

This actually kinda sucks. I've always had a soft spot for Lance.

[Guest glennsoe]

sad to see Lance quit wrestling....wwe never did anything good with him....

 

A small fish in a BIG bowl is his destiny...but we all have our ecw dvd's !

 

Thanks for the maaaaany great matches Lance....You were always one of my favorites.....

 

- Glenn -

[notJames 0]

...I was originally wrestling a local kid (I think the office figured why beat a regular guy with a someone who won’t be on TV again) but Steven Richards asked if they could switch our matches so he could work with me. I would have liked to have an amazing match for my last outing but I was a professional to the end and did my job...

Was that a dig on Steven Richards, or am I just being cynical?

 

In any event, Storm's better off this way. Better to try to help the new generations of hosses than end up staring up at the lights for the current crop.

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

I'm glad he's recognised the limitations of the human body rather than pressing on with surgery after surgery. Good luck to Lance with the training gig.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

I wish he would have gotten a chance to be on a Wrestlemania card and just not the Heat before it. And I don't think that was a dig at Steven Richards. I think it meant he didn't want to lose his last match.

[notJames 0]

I thought Storm won. This is the SNHeat match we're talking about, right?

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

Actually, in checking, he did win. I think maybe he was talking about the fact it was only 6 minutes then. Because Stevie asked for the match after hearing this might be Lance's last match.

[Ripper 0]

I'm pretty sure he meant he would have liked it to be a blowoff to an angle or a bigger deal than wrestling a short match on basically a throwaway show.

[Placebo Effect 0]

...I was originally wrestling a local kid (I think the office figured why beat a regular guy with a someone who won’t be on TV again) but Steven Richards asked if they could switch our matches so he could work with me. I would have liked to have an amazing match for my last outing but I was a professional to the end and did my job...

Was that a dig on Steven Richards, or am I just being cynical?

 

In any event, Storm's better off this way. Better to try to help the new generations of hosses than end up staring up at the lights for the current crop.

I believe that quote was edited a bit from what appears on Storm's website. In ( ) he mentions how he would've liked to go all out with near falls, but it wouldn't have made sense in the span of a six minute match.

[Nevermortal 0]

Good riddance.

[Nevermortal 0]

Good riddance.

 

*Double Post Negative Nancy!

[Guest drdrainoscott]

Considering the fact that WWE thought so highly of his technical wrestling skills they taught the fans to chant boring at him while he wrestled, I give his stay as trainer in OVW 6 months tops.

[King Cucaracha 0]

A wrestler retiring of their own free will?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nah!

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

good. he was being misued anyway. free up space for someone else.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I wish they would have given Lance a chance to get over. He did in ECW and WCW as a heel. But lord forbid Vince give a great worker an honest shot

[ISportsFan 0]

It's amazing how positive everyone is toward Storm when quite a few people characterized him as a decent worker at best, and some even called him a waste of space. I always thought he was good, but not great. Maybe the naysayers just haven't shown up en masse yet.

 

Personally, I thought he was a solid worker who could have great matches, but most of the time his matches would be thoroughly average to good. Probably his best match in WWE was with Edge at SummerSlam 2001, and I can't even remember another great match he had in the company.

 

He was better than many of the guys the company pushed, though, so that makes me angry since I always thought he had the charisma and ring ability to be a solid upper midcard player. In that case, I definitely agree with YNA. But, it just wasn't meant to be for him, and for that I do feel bad.

 

But, he was never going to be a main eventer in WWE.

 

Jason

[The Kid 0]

Wow...thats brutal. At least I got to see his last match live.

[DerangedHermit 0]

It sucks, but:

 

Lance Storm as road agent/trainer > Lance Storm unemployed

[LucharesuFan619 0]

WOW. The guy personified what a wrestler should be. I'm sad to see him go. Best of luck to the Canadian Stormtrooper.

[clean rob 0]

Ah well, if he's got serious back pain then it's probably best to get out before it gets any worse. Best of luck to him, whether training in OVW or as a road agent. Like others have said, I always had a liking for Lance too. He was never a great worker, but he always put on a pretty good match and judging from his commentaries was a really nice guy.

 

I vote Benjamin inherits his half crab.

[Guest I Got Banned for Sucking]

Pretending that he isn't injured for a second... (If I hadn't read that before, I thought that the "4 bulging discs" might have been a DVD or something)

 

It's really sad that such a talented guy is now just, gone. I'm pretending that he isn't injured for a second because his use in the company was obviously one of the main contributing factors.

 

So, I think that it sucks that it's happened, but if he's injured and a trainer is now what he wants to be, then he should go for it.

 

He hadn't even reached his prime yet.

[Styles 0]

Good for him. He wasn't happy with his career, so he's going to do something he's wanted to do anyway, and maybe make some of these stiffs they're calling up better in the future. Plus, he left the possibility open in the future that he might wrestle again once he gives his back some rest...

[Aero 0]

Damn, I'm disappointed. I actually did watch Heat last night and thought it was a great match for Heat standards. Lance looked like he was having the time of his life with the Calgary crowd, even showing off here and there. I regret not taping the match. I still wish they reunited him with Dawn Marie, but looks like she's gonna get paired with Rene Dupree now.