The Arm Drag Takedown Podcast with Pollo del Mar sent out the following:
TIM STORM JOINS “ARM DRAG TAKEDOWN” PODCAST
The Former NWA Worlds’ Heavyweight Champion Tim Storm Talks To Host Pollo Del Mar About NWA’s Studio Audience Guiding The Company’s Growth, Making Mama Storm And The Question Mark Stars
Many expected the National Wrestling Alliance’s unique studio wrestling production to fail in the modern era, admits Tim Storm. Quite the opposite happened, according to the former Worlds Heavyweight champion. The NWA’s in house audience not only succeeded — it shaped the company’s product in unexpected ways!
“The studio audience at our TV tapings, they became part of our show,” Storm tells the “Arm Drag Takedown” podcast.“From the very first promo Nick Aldis went out and cut, the fans were just… it was amazing,” said Storm. “Then every time going out, they very quickly chose sides — and sometimes the sides were surprising.”
Often during the NWA’s tapings in front of live Georgia audiences, Storm says, the fans’ unexpected responses altered the product’s trajectory. He acknowledges concepts and ideas “nobody thought would connect” became immediate favorites of those in attendance. “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 Arkansas-born grappler admits.
For Storm, this happened when he mentioned his mother during a promo. Fans immediately began chanting “Mama Storm!” — and it has followed him since. “The whole ‘Mama Storm’ thing was unplanned, accidental and I had no idea,” he told the podcast. “It’s not like I said, ‘Hey, watch this! I’m going to go out and get my mom over!’”
Storm said it was simply a line he threw into a promo, one he meant, and the crowd latched onto. At this point, it’s taken on a life of its own — even spurring the now-famous spoof of his “mother” appearing in a storyline. “For me, that was another opportunity to work with Jax Dane,” Storm says of the man from whom he won the NWA Worlds’ Heavyweight title. “He deserved that opportunity to be seen on NWA Powerrr.”
“Mama Storm” wasn’t the only fan-driven angle which unexpectedly became part of the show. Tim began laughing when host Pollo Del Mar brought up the seemingly unexpected impact of The Question Mark and the masked wrestler’s Mongrovian history. “Did you see how careful I was to not say who it was?” Storm chuckled, referencing an earlier statement where he suggested some elements of the show initially considered by producers to be “jokes” really captured audiences’ affection, “But you knew who I was talking about! 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,” Storm said of The Question Mark’s undeniable popularity.
“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,” he continued. “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,” Storm went on to say. “And everybody’s glad they did!”
Also on Arm Drag Takedown with Pollo Del Mar, Tim Storm Discusses:
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.”
Listen to Arm Drag Takedown with Pollo Del Mar’s Exclusive Interview with NWA Superstar Tim Storm Here: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/pollodelmar/episodes/2020-08-10T18_20_02-07_00
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