You can’t always go home again. What once was, may no longer be. These little phrases would have really been beneficial for James Storm a few months ago, and now he’s been abandoned, left nearly alone to represent the “originals” who used to so proudly brag about how they “built this place,” and that there was nowhere else they belonged but TNA.

But it was Storm who appeared ready to move on with his career. After a great run in TNA that saw him capture the tag title on multiple occasions, as well as the TNA World Title with a clean, one minute victory over Kurt Angle, Storm had decided last year that he wanted something new. New faces, new challenges… even if the overall location was just about the same.

Storm’s arrival to NXT last fall got people talking, as many were excited to see the next phase of the popular wrestler’s career unfold. Would he receive a push in NXT? Would he be used to put people over? Was there any chance that he could end up on the main roster?

His NXT run would be short, however. TNA, looking to make some waves, would make him a better offer than NXT, and Storm would decide to return home. In his return to TNA, he would assist Bobby Roode during an attack by Eric Young and Bram, and they’d make it official by announcing that Beer Money was back together.

Storm would tell the TNA audience that TNA was where he belonged, that he had spent 13 long years busting his ass to make the place matter, and that he wasn’t happy with how the last run had ended – that he hadn’t “been (him)self” – and that he was back to kick some ass and have a little fun, and that Bobby was the perfect guy to help him accomplish that.

At the time, there was certainly a segment of the fanbase that felt Storm had made a huge mistake. He was free! He was off the sinking ship! He could now maximize his star power in a promotion that continues to gain praise after nearly big event that they throw.

Returning to TNA, it seemed to these fans, was simply giving up. It was returning to a safehouse, where one already knew all the possibilities. There was no challenge here, just complacency and walking in the same footsteps you had laid before.

It may have seemed like a selfish reaction, but as the popular refrain goes in the comments, they were just sharing their opinion, so that can’t possibly be bad, right?

The Beer Money reunion only helped to strengthen this idea. Storm returned to TNA, and didn’t even want to win the World Title? Or the King of the Mountain Title? He just wanted to reform a team that was first put together roughly 7 years ago, to win a tag championship that he had already won with multiple partners? For some, that just didn’t add up.

And, to be fair, it doesn’t have to. James Storm doesn’t owe us anything. He’s done nothing but entertain, and if he wanted to return to the place he worked so hard to build, and if he wanted that return to include a reunion of TNA’s greatest tag team, and a championship run with one of his good friends, then, well, who the hell are we?

Almost as soon as he arrived, however, things began to fall through. The word was leaked around the end of March that both Bobby Roode and Eric Young had requested – and received – releases from TNA. They worked the remaining shows that weekend, did the proper honors of dropping titles, and were cut loose from the company.

Roode would make a quick cameo at NXT Takeover: Dallas, simply nodding in approval while the fans chanted his name. Thanks to the taping schedule, Beer Money would remain together in TNA until this past Tuesday, where they dropped the titles to The Decay.

Then this past week, that social media contraption went nuts when it was revealed that Eric Young had made his actual NXT debut.

Just like that, James Storm had been left in the cold.

It reminds me of, a few years back, when Elton Brand of the Los Angeles Clippers made grand overtures towards Baron Davis of my beloved Warriors (this was before 2015, so eat it) to join the team, painting a beautiful picture of them dominating the scene. However, as soon as Baron had signed with the Clippers, Brand then jumped ship and headed to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Not that I’m accusing Roode of begging Storm to return to TNA, only to head to NXT himself. I’d even guess that Storm gave his blessing to Roode (if he even needed to), because that’s what friends do.

And that leaves me here, where I’d like to blame anyone but James Storm. I’d love to blame Roode for not having the same loyalty to the company or the friends he has that Storm showed. I’d love to blame TNA for letting Roode and Young walk after trying so hard to bolster the roster at the beginning of the year.

The fact is, I can’t. I can only blame James Storm. He had his shot. He decided against it. And yes, he absolutely has his reasons, and they’re more than fair. But that doesn’t change the fact that, at this moment, everything James Storm returned for is gone.

He and Abyss represent “the originals,” but Abyss is too busy being creepy to really bother to carry that flag. There’s no one left for him to “have fun like we used to” anymore. Sure, perhaps he’ll get a bit of a singles push, a thank you for sticking with them, but I’d guess that adds up to a King of the Mountain Title run than a TNA World Title run. I just don’t see him fitting in the current Drew-Jeff-Matt-EC3-Bennett scene that they’ve got going currently.

James Storm made his bed, and now he has to lie in it. And, hell, maybe he’s perfectly comfortable in it. He has a family, and he’s getting the financial support he needs to provide for them. That’s fine. As a man, I can accept his choices, as if I have a choice in the matter.

As a fan? As a fan, I’ll always be disappointed that he returned to TNA, and especially so now that he’s been left behind while the guys that helped him build TNA are now in NXT, ready to move on with the next chapter of their careers.

And, like a smarter man than I has said before… I’m guess I’m just sorry about his damn luck.



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