Lance Storm believes there are at least two major issues in the wrestling industry right now.
Where there are plenty of flaws in the business, the former WWE star-turned-coach highlighted two of them during an appearance on Talk Is Jericho. First, Storm noted that an important element of psychology and presentation is missing from the game right now because indepent wrestlers don’t frequently work with more experienced performers. He stated that, as a coach, he’s trying to help correct this shortcoming by showing younger competitors different aspects of wrestling.
“Analyzing the psychology and the presentation…I think sadly at the indy level is really missing,” said Storm. “There’s a lot of guys at the same level wrestling guys at the same level. And it doesn’t get that additional perspective, and that’s something that you and I both know had that. When you’re breaking in and you wrestle a guy that’s got an extra five years experience., you see the business from a different side and puzzle pieces fall into place.
“So that’s what I’m trying to do from the coaching aspect is, I can look at your work, I can use my best judgment on how I think it could be presented different and try to open people’s eyes to different aspects of the business to enable them to step up their game, so to speak.
The four-time WWE/World Tag Team Champion also emphasized the global “sameness” that’s apparent in modern wrestling, which can at least somewhat be linked to the accessibility the internet provides. He used an example of a student from Portugal clearly using some of the same spots as someone in West Virginia. Looking back on his own career, he explained how he, like Jericho, personally learned some “flavors” of international styles.
“There is a sameness to the business worldwide that wasn’t there when we broke in,” said Storm. “I did a session with a woman from Portugal, and it’s like you can tell she’s pinching the same spots that [someone] from West Virginia was pinching spots from. And it’s the internet and the easy access.
“That was the thing that I found so interesting when we broke in is like we trained together, we learned the same level, we worked with the same guys. And it’s like you went to Mexico and then I went to Europe, and it’s like you found stuff in Mexico you’d never seen before. And I worked with people I’d never heard of and did a different style I’d never seen before. And then two years later, we’re back in a place working with each other, and it’s like I get to see the new flavors that you learned, and you get to see the new flavors that I learned.”
As a coach, Storm expressed his goal to help students understand the psychology behind spots and what makes them work. By using a cooking metaphor to elaborate, he stated that while anyone can watch a spot and use it as an ingredient in their own recipe, wrestlers need to know the thinking behind it so that they can make the bread rise.
“Now with the internet, everyone has access to seeing stuff and that’s where I think I’m being the most productive for students,” said Storm. “They see the spots, they see the ingredients, but they don’t always understand why they’re put together a certain way so the bread rises, if you will. And it’s reminding people the reason behind stuff and how different ways of getting a reaction out of something.”
The full episode is available here:
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