In an interview with Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, James Storm revealed details on how the COVID-19 pandemic derailed plans for him to debut with the WWE after the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view.
Storm revealed that he was first approached by the WWE during the weekend of the 2020 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, however he missed the e-mail being sent, as he was working a show for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and did not see it until he returned home, noting that Canyon Ceman had contacted him noting that Paul Heyman wanted Ceman to reach out and bring him to the WWE RAW brand at the time.
Storm stated that he told the National Wrestling Alliance that he would work the weekend of WrestleMania shows with Eli Drake, dropping the NWA Tag Team Championships to whoever the promotion wanted them to drop them to, however that show got cancelled for obvious reasons.
Storm added that despite all this, he still prepared for WWE’s mandatory pre-signing physical in the months that followed, paying out of his pocket each month, just to make sure that he would pass the tests, while he also bought new ring gear to prepare for his debut, revealing that both sides had agreed on the terms and things were signed.
Storm later revealed that unfortunately, as the time approached, he was told by the WWE that they would have to put things on hold for now, because of COVID-19 and that continue all the way up until July, the last time that he spoke with the company about future plans.