James Storm popped up in NXT on the October 21, 2015 edition of NXT, scoring a victory over Danny Burch. He returned on Dec. 2 to defeat Adam Rose. At the time, it looked like Storm would be joining Samoa Joe in jumping from TNA to NXT.
However, Storm was back on TNA television on January 5, 2016.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Storm detailed why he remained with TNA despite NXT having an offer on the table.
"I went down to NXT and talked to Hunter, then I went back again and had another match with them. Impact had put an offer out on me, and so did NXT. I actually sat down with Hunter and had the contract with me and said, 'This is what Impact was offering." To tell you the truth, it wasn't even about the money," said Storm. "I told him the situation, which a lot of people don't know about, is that me and my wife were trying to have another kid. It was one of those deals where, if you're with WWE, you might as well forget it because you're on the road so much. He was telling me that they're going to run between 100 and 125 dates with NXT. I was explaining to him about my personal life and trying to have a baby. He told me, 'Look, go get your life straight. Get yourself in the best shape you can. And in two years, we can do business again.'"
Almost three years have passed since Storm re-joined TNA. He left Impact Wrestling in early 2018 after losing a career vs. career match against Dan Lambert. He's wrestled for various Independent promotions across the country since then, but has yet to find a new full-time home.
He made headlines last week when he posted a photo of himself next to an employee with a WWE shirt.
Storm told Busted Open Radio that he's ready for a return to NXT/WWE and that, "I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, in my entire career. I basically want to prove it to myself as well."
You can listen to the full clip below.